Harry Lester Smith was an American Bishop of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

and The Methodist Church. He was elected to this office by the 1920 M.E. General Conference.

Education and ordination

In his youth, H. Lester Smith felt the urge to abandon his early choice of an

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in the

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Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and turn his steps toward educational preparation for

ordained ministry Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vario ...

. Harry entered Allegheny College in 1900 and served in a student

pastorate A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

. The Rev. Harry Lester Smith entered the

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of the M.E. Church also in 1900 as a Member On Trial. He graduated from

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in 1904 with a

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. He then entered the Drew Theological Seminary, taking the full three years' course in only two years.

Marriage and Family

Harry married Ida L. Martin, who was an active youth worker in one of the churches he pastored. One son, Edward Marshall, was born to this marriage, who died at the age of thirty-five.

Ordained ministry

The Rev. Harry Lester Smith served as an

Associate Pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of the Methodist Church at Bellevue, near Pittsburgh. After this service he had the unusual distinction of being appointed the

Senior Pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Or ...

of the same church. After three years service in that appointment, the Rev. Smith was appointed to the Delaware Avenue M.E. Church in

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. After a brief pastorate, he was sent to

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to pastor the Central Methodist Church. He filled this appointment for eight years. During this time, his skill and interest in the work of the church was noticed, causing thought that he would be a suitable candidate for bishop.

References

* ''Memoir'' for Bishop H. Lester Smith, in The Official Record and Year Book of the Fourteenth Session of The North-East Ohio Conference of The Methodist Church, held at Lakeside, Ohio, 24–29 June 1952. Hazen G. Werner, D.D., LL.D., ''Presiding Bishop,'' John Lane Williams, ''Secretary.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Harry Lester Year of birth missing Year of death missing Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church Bishops of The Methodist Church (USA) 20th-century Methodist bishops