Roger Smith helped start a Port Royal church in his living room. ‘He will be missed’

The Rev. Roger William Smith, who helped launch from his living room a Port Royal Episcopal church that now has 300 members, is being remembered for his life-giving faith and belief in social justice.

Smith died in Hampton, Massachusetts, on Monday morning, according to the church. He was 95.

Smith was a character, said the Rev. Roy Tripp, the current rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

“He approached faith with the understanding that it is good news,” Tripp said, “that it is life-giving. He also believed there was strong justice component to living one’s faith. He was as close to a mentor as I could have here.”

Along with a small but dedicated group of loyal Episcopalians, Smith was instrumental in launching St. Mark’s, with the group first meeting in living room of Roger and his wife, Headley, on Oct. 26, 2003.

At the time, Smith was retired from serving as the rector at St. Helena’s Episcopal Church in Beaufort, which later became the Parish Church of St. Helena, an Anglican church.

Smith had long believed Beaufort County could support two Episcopal congregations, Tripp said.

“They simply wanted to have an alternative,” Tripp said.

The St. Mark’s congregation attained mission status with the Episcopal Church in South Carolina in 2013 and was made a parish in 2015.

Today, about 300 members of St. Mark’s worship at the historic Union Church at 1004 11th St. The inclusive church appeals to a broad section of the community and has an outward-looking approach, Tripp said, including donating 10 percent of its total budget to outreach and missions, giving away $45,000 in 2022.

Smith, Tripp said, “was the founding guy.”

“The man just lived life to the fullest,” Tripp said. “I know that sounds trite. I can’t say enough what he means to us and the guidance he gave to me.”

Smith, a native of Jackson, Michigan, received a master of divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School. Besides serving in South Carolina, he also served congregations in the Virgin Islands, Connecticut, Michigan and Massachusetts.

Smith, a long-time resident of the Lady’s Island residential neighborhood of Newpoint, died in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he moved in 2021 to be closer to family members.

“He will be missed,” Tripp said.

Funeral plans have not yet been announced. A memorial service also will take place at St. Mark’s at a later date.