After 13 years, the Rev. Art Gatewood will say goodbye to his flock at Grace Presbyterian today.

He gave his final sermon Sunday, April 13, during a service that marked the church's 13th year in existence. It also marked the end of Gatewood's 36-year ministerial career, although he is with the church officially until Wednesday, April 30.

Now that he's retired, Gatewood said he plans to spend more time kayaking, traveling to visit family and building houses with Habitat for Humanity.

"Our Presbytery bought 16 acres of cow pasture; We had no buildings and no members," he remembers. "We started at zero, now we have about 220 families."

Before coming to Fort Mill, Gatewood served 16 years as pastor of a Presbyterian church in Marion. Prior to that he was the chaplain at Presbyterian College in Clinton. His first job, after graduating from the seminary in 1972, took him to Albermarle, N.C., where he served as a youth pastor for three years.

"It is difficult to say goodbye. I've had a whole month of teasing and tears, but it's time for me to move on," Gatewood said. "We have made some dear friends and I will miss them."

Gatewood has no plans to leave Fort Mill, but church rules don't allow him to attend services at Grace.

The church is currently searching for an interim pastor for the next year and eventually a permanent successor will be chosen. Having the former pastor sitting with the congregation during Sunday services can be awkward, Gatewood said.

"The people need to get used to the new minister," he said. "They don't need me in the way."

When Gatewood helped organize the church, he was starting from scratch. Without a sanctuary, he had to find somewhere else to hold services. That place was the Fort Mill National Guard Armory. Grace had access to the building 49 Sundays a year because the Guard was using the building for training on the other Sundays. That arrangement led to one of Grace's traditions.

On the Sundays the church couldn't use the armory, Gatewood held open air services at Windjammer Park in Tega Cay. They turned out to be very popular services, and once Grace had its own building, Gatewood decided to continue the outdoor service once a year at Windjammer with an Easter sunrise service.

"We're often joined there by Canadian Geese, mallards and other wildlife," he said. "It adds to the experience."

Though Grace is still a young church, Gatewood is proud of the missionary focus the congregation developed on his watch, thanks mainly to the lay leaders in the church. In addition to local missions such as giving to the Fort Mill Care Center and organizing Habitat for Humanity build teams, the congregation has sent more than 100 members to Copan, Honduras, on 15 mission trips.

He's also proud of the youth and family ministries the church has created over the years. With the influx of young families to Fort Mill, many drawn by the reputation of Fort Mill's school system, those ministries do some of the church's most important work, he said.

"All those things have been a credit to the church members and leadership," Gatewood said. "It's been wonderful to see all that happen on my watch."

Gatewood's successor will inherit a growing church in a growing area, an opportunity not afforded to many pastors of rural churches.

"A lot of rural churches are drying up as more people move to urban centers," he said. "The new pastor will have the opportunity to serve a church that continues to welcome new folks from all over the U.S. It's a wonderful experience."

The members at Grace have been saying goodbye all month. Back on Thursday, April 17, they held a banquet to honor Gatewood complete with testimonials from members who know him well. This past Sunday, following the service, the congregation held a picnic-style "dinner on the grounds." Finally, Gatewood is being named Pastor Emeritus of Grace Presbyterian.

"It's an honorary designation as a way to say thank you," he said. "And I appreciate it very much."