Roanoke pastor called to community

The Rev. Kenneth Wright can’t remember a time when he wanted to be anything other than a preacher.

He said his parents encouraged him to live by Christian standards, and by the time he was 12, he had professed his belief in Jesus Christ.

“I received the call to preach in my second year of college,” Wright said. “I always had a love of people.”

But at the age of 71, Wright said he never envisioned that he would lead one church for four decades.

A special service on Sunday morning recognized Wright’s 40 years of dedication to First Baptist Church in Gainsboro.

City Councilwoman Anita Price proclaimed Aug. 11, 2013, as The Reverend Kenneth B. Wright Day.

Councilman Court Rosen and state Sen. John Edwards also attended, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe made an appearance at a luncheon after the service.

“You have been marvelous for this community,” Edwards said, addressing Wright. “When you think of Rev. Wright, I think of someone who is a born preacher.”

Edwards echoed the words of several others Sunday who praised Wright for his leadership both in and outside the church.

Wright, a native of Elliston, graduated from the Christiansburg Institute in 1959 and was licensed to preach in July 1960 at First Baptist Church of Elliston. Four years later, he was ordained as a minister at the same church.

He became the pastor of Christiansburg’s Schaeffer Memorial Baptist Church in 1964 and remained there for eight years. Wright said the decision to move to First Baptist Church in Gainsboro was not his.

“I felt it was divine,” he said.

He had recently quit preaching in Christiansburg because he felt conflicted about how best to serve the public. At the time, he was the deputy chief of New River Community Action, an agency that works to reduce poverty and promote self-reliance.

“I prayed selfishly to the Lord to give me social work or the church,” Wright said. “God mercifully guided me.”

At 31 years old, Wright became the pastor of First Baptist Church in Gainsboro. But he didn’t quit social work altogether. Wright has been active in Habitat for Humanity and several community organizations in both the Roanoke and New River valleys.

“I really had no inkling or idea that I would be pastoring one church for this duration of time,” Wright said. “But I have always been committed to preaching since I accepted the call.”

Wright graduated from Roanoke College in 1977 and attended the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. He also received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Virginia Seminary in 1977.

His seminary training has helped him write sermons for 40 years, he said, adding that he comes up with topics by relying directly on scripture and addressing particular needs of his congregation, which has about 200 members.

Randy Donaldson, a trustee of the church, said Wright was a messenger sent from God.

Donaldson reminded those in the congregation that in 1973, when Wright became the leader of First Baptist, the country was dealing with the Vietnam War and Watergate.

“I am so thankful God sent us a man of God to lead this church,” Donaldson said. “We didn’t know it would be 40 years. We didn’t know if it would be 40 days.”

Wright said not much has changed about his job during the last 40 years but that church leaders should be working on making scripture relevant to and practical in daily life.

“The word of God never changes, in my opinion,” Wright said. “However, the methods need to be flexible as to meet the attention span and to meet the personal needs of the parishioners.”

Wright still lives in Elliston with his wife, Karen. They have one daughter, Kimari, and one granddaughter, Keelee Shai.

“I never thought he would stay this long,” Karen Wright said. “It has had its ups and downs, but through it all, the joy has overridden the bad times.”

But as far as retirement is concerned, Kenneth Wright said he doesn’t have a plan.

“Generally I say that when the stop sign appears, I don’t intend to drive through it,” Wright said. “I feel that at a certain point, your imagination, creativity and, of course, the energy that is demanded for an effective pastorate starts diminishing. However, I don’t intend to stop preaching until the Lord calls me home.”

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