We are proud of our staff! Small church friendliness, large church creativity.

J. Michael Smith became the pastor of Grace Church in July 2001. He is an experienced pastor, serving churches in that capacity since 1972.

Mike is married to Jie Wu. Jie (pronounced “Jay”) is an associate professor of computer science at a university in Nanjing, China. The couple celebrated the publishing of her first book (on XML) at the same time as their wedding this fall. Click here for a wedding day photo gallery. (So far this gallery works only with Internet Explorer. If you are using a different browser, click here.)

Mike has two daughters, Mindy and Alison

, and a step daughter, SiJia Li. Mindy is a theater graduate of Bradley University. Alison is a college student studying Psychology at the University of Illinois. SiJia is currently in the 9^th grade in Nanjing, China and plans to come to Urbana soon.

Many of Mike’s writings can be found on the website of Grace United Methodist Church in Urbana. He writes a letter (that is especially popular) each Sunday to his congregation. His sermons and frequent humorous essays are also in demand. He can be reached by phone through the church office or by e-mail jmichaelsmith@insightbb.com

Mike was born into a family of preachers and teachers. His father was a preacher and his mother was a

teacher. (They are both retired now and living in Springfield, Illinois.) A grandfather and a great-grandfather were also preachers. Shortly after his birth, Mike was baptized into the Christian faith at the Wood River Evangelical United Brethren Church. He preached his first sermon in front of this same congregation when he was 18. The topic was “Peace,” and the time was near the end of the Viet Nam War.

Mike is the oldest of four brothers and a sister. The family moved around the state while he was growing up, his father being subject to frequent reassignment by the bishop. He attended schools in Hinckley, Dalton City, and Dakota, Illinois. He graduated from Sterling High School in 1972, got a degree in Psychology from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville in 1976, and graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. in 1980.

Mike has traveled extensively in this country and also been to Canada, Europe, Central America, the Near East, and Asia.

Some of Mike’s interests include reading (novels, biography, history, psychology, sociology), writing, traveling, softball, tennis, cooking, the fine arts, and conversation.

He is especially interested in biblical studies, leadership development, the relationship between religion and culture, and the relationship of religion to such things as aging, healing, and mental illness. Many of his sermons, projects, and writings reflect those interests.

Gordy is Director of Music and Media at Grace United Methodist Church on Philo Road in Urbana, Illinois. Degrees earned are: Bachelor of Music in applied piano, Miami University of Ohio, 1961; Master of Music in Theory and Composition, University of Illinois, 1963. He is married to Connie, director of the First United Methodist Child Care Center in Champaign, Illinois. Connie and Gordy have two sons, Ryan and Cory. Ryan is married to Melissia. Ryan works for the U of I as a cook at Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall. They have two sons, Corbin and Joel. Cory is single with ten years of experience in car care and collision repair. He recently secured a managerial position at Gallo-Miller Paint and Collision Repair, Inc. in Champaign.. Gordy has two sons from a previous marriage: Paul lives in San Diego and is employed with AmTrak. Gavin lives in DeKalb, Illinois with his two sons, Holden and Adam. Gavin and Mary own the Hillside Restaurant in DeKalb. People of Grace have traveled to DeKalb to attend the annual father and son show at the Egyptian Theater. Gavin has also added added the title of successful insurance agent to his list of accomplishments.

Gordy continues to work as a freelance musician. More recently, Gordy and his aggregations of musicians have secured the services of Barbara Hedlund as booking agent.

Linda Entwistle joined the staff at Grace Church in January, 2004. She was an elementary school teacher by profession, before taking 10 years off to raise her children (son, Eli and daughter, Kyra).

They began attending Grace in the fall of 2001, at the invitation of a friend. It was a very emotional spiritual reawakening for Linda, who had not been active in a church since childhood.

Linda has served as a small group leader for Fellowship Time, coordinator of Hospitality and Involvement, and a member of the Church Council.

She has volunteered her time to help out with Vacation Bible Schools, children’s musicals, the meal ministry, and the annual corn project.

She was a member of a long-term, faith-based small group and attends Bible studies.

Beth Morgan has accepted the part-time position of Nursery Director. Beth is the mother of three. She has many wonderful ideas for our nursery program. She and her husband, Terry have already spent many volunteer hours redecorating the nursery and making it a safer and more pleasant space for our children. Beth has also worked very hard on organizing the church library as well as other volunteer contributions including co-chairing the Bazaar.