By BRENT TUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE volleyball fraternity lost one of its former outstanding players, who switched from bumping, spiking and blocking the ball to devoting his time and energy to proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ as an associate pastor.

Patrick Smith, one of the most talented hitters in the New Providence Volleyball Association and a member of Macedonia Baptist Church in the Baptist Sports Council, passed away on Monday at Doctors Hospital after being diagnosed with cancer.

At age 60, Smith was the parts manager at the Auto Mall, having worked for Executive Motors for the past 31 years. He served as a devoted member and an associate pastor of St Paul’s Baptist Church, Fox Hill, where he worshipped with his family, including his wife Felicia Smith, two daughters Alicia and Alia, one son Patrick Smith Jr, and two grandchildren Taylor Grace Godet and Brayden Henfield.

“He was a humble man, a loving man, who loved his family but, most importantly, he loved the Lord and who lived a life according to God’s word,” was how his wife, Felicia, described her husband.

Rev. George Bodie, a former long-time public relations officer of the Baptist Sports Council, and the soon to be newly installed pastor of St Paul’s Baptist Church, said in addition to being elevated as an associate pastor, Rev. Smith was also one of their organists and was also responsible for Bible Study.

“He was one who knew the word, lived the word and preached the word,” said Rev. Bodie, who will take over from the retired Senior Pastor Bishop J. Carl Rahming as the new pastor of St Paul’s in an official service on Sunday, January 28 at 3:30pm.

“I can tell you this. We will really and truly miss Rev. Patrick Smith. He is a good supporter. Whatever the former pastor or myself presented to him, he would support it. We will really miss him and we pray for him and his family.”

Although he spent a lot of time in church, Rev. Bodie said he remembered Rev. Smith was a sports enthusiast, who loved to play volleyball.

“He was a great volleyball player, but when he left the sport, he decided to devote a lot of his time to the church,” Rev. Bodie said. “He would lead us in our Baptism class. He was always around doing a lot of things in a small way. We will dearly miss him.”

While St Paul’s didn’t have a sporting programme at the time, Rev. Smith gladly accepted the invitation to play for Macedonia Baptist Church in the Baptist Sports Council, under the leadership of senior sports reporter Brent Stubbs. He played with players such as Jason Saunders, Carl Cooper, Jeffery Wilkinson, Fred Demeritte and John Taylor, who won numerous titles or played and lost against Pilgrim Baptist Temple in one of the great rivalries in the sport.

Peter Ferguson, who played on Pilgrim’s team, noted that his relationship with Rev. Smith began from the 1980s when they first met in Grand Bahama and it flourished when they played together with the Technicians in the NPVA.

“Pat and I played volleyball together until I injured my knee. After a short comeback I decided to coach the Technicians and Patrick played for me as a middle player.

“Patrick was a Christian that stood strong in his faith, he loved no one like he did God and his family. Patrick protected his family from start to finish. But he was a warrior on the volleyball court.

“There were so many memories.”

Ferguson said he will never forget the epic match-ups his Pilgrim team had with Macedonia and how after each game, they would embrace and reflect on their performances.

They also got to travel as members of the Technicians to travel to Florida, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to compete. They were separated after Ferguson moved to Exuma in August, 2023, but he noted that on a visit to Nassau, they reconnected.

“We spoke in his work place for about half an hour talking about family and God, we embraced and said we must do better at communicating,” Ferguson said.

“We texted a few times since then but I never saw this.

“Patrick has never changed, you will always see him with a serious look but welcoming and will stand and share a word with you always no matter what. He did a very good job of masking any pain or sickness he had.

Ferguson noted that Rev. Smith’s smile and his greeting with a hug will be missed, along with his encouragement in the Lord and his positive attitude on and off the volleyball court and in the church setting.