St. John Baptist Church . . . SUBSIDIZED . . . FOR BLACKS ONLY?
The 3 months of official mourning for Rev. Bennett W Smith, who died Aug. 7, are over.
It has been an eventful 3 months. Recently his widow, former-City Treasurer Marilyn Smith got into fisticuffs over whether she could still park in the status “First Lady” spot. She had earlier caused a stir by twice “body snatching” her husband’s corpse from the church, taking it overnight to her 292 Red Oak Williamsville home, in a battle for control, after demanding new keys to changed locks on the church, where Smith’s body ‘lay in state’.
In late September an unsigned flyer, created by an obviously-informed insider, asked 14 questions, charging:
“There are still many unanswered questions that the Chairman of the Deacon Board won’t answer &. . . . the Chairman of the Trustees Board can’t answer for foe some strange reason!”
And the Nov. 14 CHALLENGER has a 4”X4” ad for
“SPECIAL CHURCH MEETING FOR Members & Petitioners of St. John Baptist Church, 184 Goodell, Saturday, Nov. 17, 3PM . . be sure to attend & voice your concerns”
All of this reflects a leadership vacuum left behind in a “cult of personality” created by the 30 year BW Smith era in the church. A full-page ad in a Nov. 8 VOICE Buffalo annual banquet program, while other churches focused on “justice”, declared:
Dedicated to the memory of our Senior Pastor Reverend Doctor Bennett Walker Smith, Sr., 1933-2001
Nobody seems to be in charge of a heavily taxpayer-subsidized empire Smith left behind . . . 2 massively HUD-subsidized housing complexes, private school, & now, a community center. It has created power struggles, a morale crisis, & questions about integrity of church leadership. A Buffalo News photo of the grand opening of also heavily-subsidized, newly built Bennett W Smith Family Center featured BW’s 92 year-old mother. His embattled widow was not included.
Marilyn, 22 yr. younger than BW (& married him after a torrid affair) also caused a stir by not turning in BW’s (now missing?) gun within 30 days after his death. One of Rev. Smith’s less positive legacies is making it OK to be a PISTOL-PACKIN’-PREACHER (to defend upscale cars on mean city streets? By suburb-dwelling Shepherds? One wonders, what would Jesus say?). Nobody will talk about BW’s missing gun as the Sheriff’s Project EXILE declares: One illegal gun is one too many!
Our founding fathers warned about mixing church & state. Rev. Smith has successfully broken that taboo, even writing $1000 checks to Buffalo’s Masiello from 292 Red Oak, as he & his then-Treasurer wife got DA Clark to prosecute this writer 3X for exposing Marilyn’s non-residency. She lied & played the ‘race card’, accusing me of stalking her at her fake city address. BW repeatedly committed perjury in clerical collar. City Court Judge Manz dismissed all charges, but labeled me “paparazzi” (Princess Diane had just died). BW soon after prayed on national TV (in our packed hockey arena) for our “First Perjurer” .
The legacy of the much-worshipped BW Smith appears to be a mixed one. For one, a heavily taxpayer-subsidized, politically powerful, church he left behind needs close scrutiny . . .& very likely, reform.
Will outsiders (taxpayers?) be allowed into the meeting Saturday? This aging white (gray?) guy will be immediately recognized as an intruder (BW threatened arrest when I attended a meeting of 1,000” VOICE supporters several years ago). The over-whelmingly black membership of a nationally famous “civil rights leader”, decades after integration, itself needs scrutiny . . especially since BW insisted on living miles up “ Martin Luther King FLEEWAY” (Kensington Xway) in an overwhelmingly white, affluent Williamsville neighborhood.
STAY TUNED
Richard Kern, MSW, 882-2388, Nov.15, 2001
WEBSITE: www.kernwatch.com email: Kernwatch@AOL.com
