Phillips Memorial Baptist Church
A Note from Our Pastor
Phillips Memorial
Baptist Church
565 Pontiac Ave.,
Cranston, RI 02910
401-467-3300
fax 401-467-3302
Dear Members and Friends
of Phillips Memorial Baptist Church,
There are tasks in ministry which are much more difficult than others. This is one such task.
Since October 1, 1998, I have had the privilege of serving my Lord as your senior pastor. These eleven years have been wonderfully challenging. They have included Columbine, 9/11, the Station Nightclub fire, tsunamis, Katrina, SPNM leadership, scores of new members, scores of memorial services, Joyce and my marriage, and many of your marriages, strategic ministry plans, and the worst recession since the Great Depression. To this very day I have so enjoyed captaining this crew of God’s faithful servants, always acknowledging the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Seasons and times change, however, and at this time in my life, I feel that the time has come to serve the Lord back in my home state of New York. On January 3, I accepted a call to be the pastor of First Baptist Church of Hamilton, NY. This historic church, which sits upon the main green of a small town, is the mother church of Colgate University. I arrived at this decision after several months of searching my soul and dialoging with life-long colleagues.
It is our desire to be with you over the next couple of months. I want to assist the leadership in any way possible to make the conclusion of my ministry among you as meaningful as its beginning. I will assist in every appropriate way to prepare for the interim time. In all of these matters, I have complete faith that God will guide and strengthen us, even as we pray and plan for the next stage of our lives as servants of Christ. I promise my continued prayers for you, and ask your faithful prayer support for Joyce, Gerry and me as we leave our beloved community of faith here and begin a new and different journey with our Lord in New York.
Please know that we leave, sincerely believing that God is calling us forward to new ventures of service.
May God’s always sufficient love be with you.
In love and prayer,
Rev. Wesley A. Smith
