Rev. Wallace Smith, esteemed pastor who helped revitalize prominent Black church, dead at 82
Longtime pastor at St. Thomas Baptist Church in North Preston, N.S., retired in 2022
Rev. Wallace Smith Sr., who spent over 20 years as the senior pastor at St. Thomas Baptist Church in North Preston, N.S., has died.
Smith was beloved for his role as a church leader and was seen as a pillar of the tight-knit historical Black community.
"This is where I was born and raised. Everything that happened to me [and] my family — everything happened right here in North Preston and in this church," he recalled in a 2022 interview with CBC News marking his retirement.
After taking over as senior pastor in 2001, he became a key driver of the church's growth, known for his lively sermons, and high-energy, music-filled services.
"When the pastor gets going on Sunday morning ... there's no telling what he's liable to do," his son Wallace Smith Jr. told CBC News back in 2005.
That year, he shepherded an ambitious plan to raise the roof of the church, now over 100 years old, to meet demand from an expanding congregation.
'Dreams do come true'
In times of joy and in tragedy, Smith was there for his community, helping them get through the good and the bad.
"In a week, two or three people would call to say, 'Could you bury so and so,'" he said last year. "There was a lot of bending my knees and … praying for people and comforting people."
But for much of his life, Smith wasn't a full-time pastor.
He only put on the cloth in his 50s after working for the Department of National Defence.
"He tells this story quite often about being at work and ... that's where he kind of had his revelation," his grandaughter Reeny Smith said in 2022, because he realized he wasn't walking in "his destiny."
When he retired last year, he marvelled at all he'd achieved in his many years as a church leader.
"When I look around and see all the things that have been accomplished in the community since I've been here, it's something that I never dreamed would happen," he said. "But dreams do come true. So, I'm blessed."
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
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