The Christ Church Riverdale community held a drive-by farewell for a beloved pastor who's making a cross-country move to a new church. 

Father Andrew Butler served at Christ Church for six years, but is moving to continue his ministry in California.

Community members say the event wasn't just a sendoff, but also a reunion since many haven’t seen each other in person since March.

Residents drove by the church to give socially distanced goodbyes. They gave elbow taps as they thanked Butler for his time in the community.

The church says if there weren’t concerns about COVID-19, they would have held a feast inside the church with international food and Lloyd's Carrot Cake, Father Butler's favorite.

Many parishioners say Butler motivated them to be their best selves, calling him warm and caring.

"They've all said that all along ever since I've been here, so it's not been a surprise how I feel about them and how they feel about me and I think we need to live that way," says Butler. "We need to share with people how we feel about them and how special they are in our lives all the time and not wait for goodbyes."

Parishioners tell News 12 they're happy they got say goodbye in person because doing it virtually wouldn't have been the same.