Services set for longtime Mount Pilgrim pastor

Services for Dr. Chrispin Finnegan Smith, who served as pastor at Morgan City’s historic Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church for more than half a century, are scheduled for Saturday.
Smith died at 12:02 p.m. July 9 at his Morgan City home.
A public viewing will be 3-6 p.m. Friday at Mount Pilgrim, 113 Federal Ave. Attendees are being asked to wear face covering and observe social distancing guidelines.
A private wake will follow at 7 p.m. Friday. Viewing resumes 8-10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. Saturday. The wake and funeral are for the family’s invited guests only, but the services may be viewed on the Jones Funeral Home Facebook page at 7 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.
Smith earned bachelor and master’s degrees from Virginia Union Theological Seminary in Richmond and received his doctor of divinity degree from United Theological Seminary in Monroe. He had a doctor of letters from the Baptist Theological Seminary in Houston.
He had served as first vice chairman on the Enrollment and Finance committees of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc.
Smith’s church stands on ground donated by Olympus Young as a church site for freed slaves in 1865.
A Mr. Lawrence, a former slave-holder, gave a bell from his plantation to be used as a call to worship. The bell remains at the church today, according to history maintained by the church.
The church says it housed the first kindergarten in Morgan City and was the site for the first four-year high school graduation for Morgan City Colored High School.
Smith was preceded in death by his wife of more than 50 years, Laura C. Smith. They were the parents of four children.