A Life of Service: Reverend W. ED Mansfield Reflects on Faith, War, and the Civil Rights Era

Reverend W.E.D. Mansfield, Pastor Emeritus of Piney Grove Baptist Church in Hot Springs, Virginia, has lived through—and participated in—some of the most important chapters of American history.

Raised in Clifton Forge, Virginia, Mansfield left home as a young man to serve his country in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. When he returned, the nation was entering a period of profound social change. Mansfield became closely connected to the civil rights movement and was present at the historic 1963 March on Washington.

Eventually, his path led him into ministry—a calling he has described simply as the responsibility to “feed the sheep.”

At Piney Grove Baptist Church, a congregation established in 1919, Mansfield has served for nearly one out of every four days the church has been open. Over the course of his ministry he has walked with families through joy, hardship, illness, and grief—laying more than a hundred members of his congregation to rest and standing beside countless others in life’s most difficult moments.

His leadership has also helped strengthen relationships between churches across the Allegheny Highlands. Each year Piney Grove hosts a powerful Seven Last Words service on Good Friday, bringing ministers and congregations together from across denominations in a shared moment of worship and reflection.

In this conversation with Danny Cardwell, Reverend Mansfield reflects on growing up in Clifton Forge, serving in the Air Force, witnessing the civil rights movement firsthand, and the long journey that ultimately led him to Piney Grove’s pulpit.

It’s a story about faith, perseverance, community, and the quiet work of a pastor who has spent a lifetime walking alongside his people.