Harry Lester Smith was an American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church

Methodist Episcopal Church

The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

 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 industrial

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

 career

Career

Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....

 in the oil fields of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 and turn his steps toward educational preparation for ordained ministry. Harry entered Allegheny College

Allegheny College

Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...

 in 1900 and carried a full academic load. He also served in a student pastorate.

The Rev. Harry Lester Smith entered the Pittsburgh Annual Conference

Annual Conference

An Annual Conference in the United Methodist Church is a regional body that governs much of the life of the "Connectional Church." Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge . Each conference is a geographical division...

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

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 in 1904 with a Phi Beta Kappa. 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 of the Methodist Church at Bellevue, in Pittsburgh. After this service he had the unusual distinction of being appointed the Senior Pastor of the same church. After three years service in that appointment, the Rev. Smith was appointed to the Delaware Avenue M.E. Church in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

. After a brief pastorate, he was sent to Detroit to pastor the great Central Methodist Church. He filled this appointment for eight years. It was during this time that others saw in this young preacher

Preacher

Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...

the skill and interest in the general work of the Church to the extent it was thought he would make a good Bishop.