Memorial service to remember black church pioneer

Street Pastors founder Les Isaacs and Bishop Melvin Powell, founder of Tooting New Testament Assembly church, are some of the church leaders expected to join a special service celebrating the life and achievements of Rev Dr Io Smith, a key pioneer of Britain's black church movement.

Dr Smith died in May after a brief illness and was buried in her homeland of Jamaica.

The memorial service at Tooting NTA on September 14 will allow people who were unable to attend her funeral service to pay their respects to a church leader who played a key role in establishing the black church in Britain.

Rev Joel Edwards, the General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance, will be the special guest speaker.

Rev Delroy Powell, Senior Pastor at Tooting NTA, will host the service. He paid tribute to "the tremendously important legacy" left by Dr Smith.

"Not only did she serve the NTA faithfully, and helped raise the profile of the denomination through her tireless efforts, she was also a dear aunt and has been both a great inspiration and encouragement to me and countless others," he said. "This service will not only pay tribute to her, but give people an opportunity to share how her ministry impacted their lives."

The Jamaican-born Dr Smith was an ordained minister within the New Testament Assembly, and for several years was pastor of the New Testament Assembly in Leyton, east London.

During her time as leader, Dr Smith was renowned for her love for God and passion for young people. She established a number of community initiatives, including running a summer school for children and young teenagers, opening a youth hostel and old people's home in the London borough of Waltham Forest, funding the Io Smith primary and junior school in Ghana.

She also undertook many evangelistic missions in the Caribbean, the US and Canada and launched the NTA's first Youth Mass Choir. She was also author of 'An Ebony Cross', a groundbreaking book which chronicled her life as a black female church leader. She was awarded an MBE in 1994 for her community work.

Sheila Belgrave, one of Dr Smith's six children, commented, "I still get people coming up to me to state that they can't believe that mum has gone and then sharing a story of how they were either converted under her ministry or saying how she inspired them to play an active role in the community. My mother was a woman of the people, that's why this memorial service is open to anyone who wants to celebrate her life with us."