Community celebrates retirement of pastor, activist in Gulfport

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - After 31 years as First Missionary Baptist Church’s pastor, Sonny Adolph is getting ready for retirement.

The longtime figure had his final Sunday services this morning in front of an in-person and online crowd.

Friends, family and the congregation all came by to say their goodbyes and wish Pastor Adolph well on his new journey.

The decision to retire did not come easy but the pastor said he’s leaving the church in good and capable hands.

“The plan was to retire after 30 years but with the pandemic hitting and the church world being somewhat unstable with where and how we will continue to exist I didn’t want to leave in such an atmosphere,” said Pastor Adolph.

Pastor Adolph said he is still working on what he wants to do during retirement. But his phone number will not change in case anyone in the community needs to talk to him.

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