News Photo by Darby Hinkley The Very Rev. Bill McClure, at right, poses with family members who attended his special retirement luncheon last week at Trinity Episcopal Church in Alpena. Pictured, from left to right, are Hazyl Wheeler, Lauren Wheeler, Dominic Sidell, Deb McClure and Bill McClure.

ALPENA ­– When you hear the call, you know. And the Very Rev. William J. McClure, Jr., knew right when he was called to ministry. He was working at a grocery store.

“I think you get to a point in your life when you’re humbled,” he said. “I said, ‘Ok. I’m not in control.’ And that is when I started to hear God … I decided I had to get off the fence. I had one foot in the secular world, one foot in the religious world, and I had to go one way or the other.”

He entered seminary in 1998, and graduated in 2001 from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia.

His title is the Very Reverend, but his friends call him Bill. He explained the title, saying it is “because I’m Dean of the Northern Convocation of the Diocese, so I have a special role with the Diocese.”

He and his wife Deb moved to Alpena in 2015. They met at St. James in Cheboygan, where Deb was organist. He worked there for 13-1/2 years prior to coming to Alpena.

“Being northern Michigan acclimated, it wasn’t too big of a move,” he recalled. “The timing was right.”

And now, the time has come to retire from his full-time position at Trinity. Sunday is his last day at Trinity.

“This will be an opportunity for me to take some time, to take a breather,” said McClure, 63.

He plans to eventually serve as needed in the Cheboygan area. Cheboygan is about 80 miles northwest of Alpena, just south of the Mackinac Bridge.

They own a house in Cheboygan, where Deb hails from, so they are returning “home.” They will continue their ministry there, surrounded by family. Bill grew up in the Episcopal church in Gladwin.

Financials played into the decision to retire, he said, as the church has had deficits since 2019, and the pandemic did not help that situation.

“When you start to get deficits, and the start to get bigger, you begin to think, ‘Maybe we need to shift from full-time to part-time,'” he said. “There needs to be a transition.”

Trinity Episcopal congregant Cathy Meske said McClure has been valuable to the church and community.

“Bill encouraged us to be involved in the community where we live,” said Meske, who has been attending Trinity since 2004. “He was involved in the Martin Luther King Committee, A Beloved Community, he was involved in Habitat for Humanity, he sang in Besser Male Chorus. Deb is involved with Thunder Bay Arts Council, she does grant writing, so they really became involved in the community. And he really encouraged us to go outside of our comfort zone and to do something that makes Alpena better.”

She added that his gentle demeanor is rare and appreciated in a leader. His humility is evident upon talking to him just once. Those who have known him for years look forward to spending time with the peaceful servant of God.

“As Christians, as people who try to follow the teachings of Christ, I think he’s the perfect example,” Meske said.

Bruce Connon has been a member at Trinity since about 1970. He grew up in the Episcopal church.

“We’re going to miss him immensely,” Connon said. “We were very grateful to get him to be a part of our congregation. He has delivered on everything that we desired, and what he promised. We’re going to have a tough time finding somebody equal to him. He practices what he preaches.”

The McClures may be leaving Alpena, but Cheboygan is not too far.

“We’ll stay in touch,” Connon said. “I’m sure he’s going to continue to be a part of spreading the word in Northeast Michigan.”