Chaplain celebrates 17 Years at Heritage Pointe

Growing up without parents, Bill Rapp, 87, who is celebrating 17 years as a chaplain at Heritage Pointe of Huntington senior living community, knows how far kindness can go to uplift and support another person in need.

He knows this from first-hand experience.

After Rapp’s father left the family and his mother died when he was just five months old, his grandparents raised him and his three older siblings. When they passed away when he was a teen, he was considering parking his Model A car in a pasture and living in it until a cousin stepped in to offer help.

“They were a couple who didn’t have children, and they asked if I wanted to live with them,” says Rapp, who accepted the offer and remains grateful today for the many times when another person’s helping hand has made a positive difference in his life.

“The Lord has blessed me at times, and some person has come and offered to help me,” he says.

Being that same sort of caring person that his grandparents and cousin were is what has guided Rapp throughout his career. He decided when he was very young that he should pursue a career as a pastor.

“I was in sixth grade in study hall when I had a vision that’s as fresh in my mind today as the day I had it,” he says. “I had a vision of a person standing in a pulpit preaching, and I knew that person was me.”

It was not until after he finished college and had married Doris, his wife of 65 years, that Rapp made good on that vision. He attended the seminary to become a pastor in the Global Methodist Church.

He credits his wife, with whom he raised six children including three who were adopted, with being a stabilizing force in life, enabling him to achieve his dream of serving others.

He retired as a full-time pastor in 2000 but has continued to work part-time, including as a chaplain at Heritage Pointe of Huntington.

In addition to meeting with residents one-on-one or in small groups, Rapp holds devotions on Tuesdays and Thursdays in assisted living and memory care. He leads Bible Study on Thursdays and a worship service on Sundays that is attended by 25 residents a week.

“They’re very responsive,” he says of the attendees. “They look forward to it, and they are very loyal.”

He also frequently gives a blessing before meals at the community’s seven dining spaces.

“I give a blessing for food and fellowship,” he says.

When he knocks on residents’ doors and asks to enter to chat with them, he says he has always been welcomed.

“I try to be uplifting,” he says. “That’s what they need. They need a friendly face.”

He says he’s never at a loss for words because “the Spirit leads me in knowing what to say and what to ask. I joke with them, or they joke with me. I come in with a happy face, and they perk right up.”

He enjoys being part of the community that welcomes residents of all denominations but has a strong foundation based in the Christian faith.

He describes Heritage Pointe as a warm and friendly place that is well-known and highly respected in the wider community.

Addressing the spiritual needs of residents and being the sort of person who once offered him a helping hand when he was in dire need, is what drives Rapp to continue to do the work that he loves.

He adds that residents at Heritage Pointe “are a joy to be with.”