Welcome to The Pastor's Corner

Reverend Wendell Smith - Pastor

Who is Pastor Smith?

Friendsville United Methodist Church's (FUMC's) pastor is Reverend Wendell Smith. Pastor Smith grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. His high school and undergraduate education was completed in Knoxville, where he obtained a B.S. Degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee. His Graduate work was conducted at Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Illinois, where he obtained a Masters in Divinity Degree, with a major in Greek.

Pastor Smith pastored two Lutheran Churches in New York, one on Long Island from 1965 until 1970, and the other in New York City from 1970 to 1981. From 1981 to 1993 he was pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in San Diego, California. He returned to East Tennessee in 1994 and served as pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church in Rockwood, Tennessee for four years. He has been pastor at FUMC since 1998.

Pastor Smith believes the Bible is the word of God and preaches the Gospel of Christ with full authority.

A Message from Pastor Smith

Welcome to our place on the Internet! What a delight it is for us to serve God in the Friendsville area. From time to time this message and our church calendar will change. But one thing will not change - the fact that we desire to know ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ, and that we will continue to center our lives and our work on Him.

William Willimon told the story once of talking with a man who was explaining why he did not attend church. "I don't go to church because it is full of hypocrites," he said. Willimon replied, "Well, no, it isn't. I saw some empty seats there just this past Sunday."

Church is the place we bring ourselves, just as we are, into the presence of God's grace and love. We bring with us all of our faults and failings, all of our fears and longings, all of our strengths and weaknesses, hoping that there will be Words of God for our lives today. We hope you will come visit us at FUMC. Please go to the "How to Find Us" section of our Web site for directions and a map.

I hope to have a chance to meet you soon. If you need assistance you may contact me at the Church at 995-9150 or call me at home at 995-2576.