About Union Congregational Church

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Introducing Pastor Donald 'Skip' Smith.  Donald"Skip" Smith Jr. was born and raised in Bridgton, Maine. Skip attended Lake Region High School and participated in the music program, including sharing his original song, "Christmas Day" at several local houses of worship. Skip has been involved in business management since his late teens managing retail stores and supervising operations and marketing programs.  Skip and Linda married in 1989 and lived in the North Conway, NH, area for several years, purchasing a home in Albany and raising their children Elizabeth and Benjamin while attending Conway Village Congregational Church.  Moving to Rochester, NH, in 2000, they began attending and being active at First Congregational Church. During the early part of the decade, Skip and Linda felt they had more love to give and through discussions were led into Foster Parenting.  After several temporary placements, two brothers came to the family that were eventually adopted, Jordan and Mikah.  Through encouragement of friends they joined the First United Methodist Church, where Linda became active in the Christian Ed program while Skip was involved in the choir then moved into Missions, Lay Leadership, and starting a "contemporary" music group (GRASP-Group Reciting Alternative Songs of Praise). Skip led a small team that developed a third worship service called "Hope Cafe"-a more casual worship service Sunday evenings with food.  Skip became the Associate Pastor in 2009 and led many worship services as well as was instrumental in community programs and developing the church mission statement.  In 2011 Skip was asked to consider the Local Pastor Ministry through the UMC, attended the Wesley Theological Seminary program and was called to be the Pastor at Berwick UMC in Berwick, ME.  In Berwick, Skip served for 6 years leading weekly worship services, creating community events and outreach, developed the church online presence and shared services on the local cable tv station.   Feeling discouraged from the institutional "politics" of the UMC, Skip left the ministry and returned to the business world.  Longing to put his Christian values into action, Skip provided occasional ministry service for weddings, funerals, and other programs, being ordained by the NACM (National Association of Christian Ministers) as well as the AMM (American Marriage Ministries). At the end of 2019, Skip found his current position combining his business skills and call to serve as Executive Director of the SHARE Fund, a non-profit based in Rochester that provides food, clothing, and financial assistance to neighbors in need.  For several years Skip and Linda have been active members at First Baptist Church of Greater Rochester where Skip led the music ministry.  In late 2023, at the urging of their dear friend Rev. Estelle, Skip stepped into pulpit supply, providing worship leadership to several churches in the Seacoast Area.  As empty nesters, Skip and Linda are excited to begin a new chapter in their lives being part of the York community and active ministry at Union Congregational Church.