Matt SmithI grew up in United Methodist congregations in the suburbs of Portland, OR and Austin, TX.  I ventured into the evangelical parachurch movement in high school and college through Young Life and InterVarsity.

I began to deconstruct the faith of my childhood and the influence of  fundamentalism through courses in philosophy and religion at Drake University.  There I was introduced to liberation theologies and explored the intersections of religion and social change while studying in Central America and Northern Ireland.  I then joined the Lutheran Volunteer Corps and worked with refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Liberia in Minneapolis, MN.  In Minnapolis I found the Community of St. Martin, an ecumenical Christian community rooted in Scripture, sharing worship and ministry, affirming active nonviolence, love of justice and peace, and the integrity of God’s creation.  I left Minnesota to study at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

I followed my partner, Sarah, to California after she completed medical school in 2004.  I took classes for one year at Pacific School of Religion and then returned to the United Methodist Church through ministries with youth and young adults.  Sarah now teaches in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UC Davis.  We were blessed with the birth of our first child, Eleanor, on October 17, 2009.

As though the transition to parenthood weren’t enough, I’m also working with a pastor colleague to start a new United Methodist community of faith in Sacramento called The Table.