About

Welcome to Richard's Food for Thought — a place where ideas get a little room to breathe.

I'm Richard Smith: a pastor, writer, and occasional poet living in North Carolina. For more years than I care to count, I've been thinking out loud about faith, humor, leadership, and the strange business of being alive. This blog is where those thoughts land when they need somewhere to go.

What You'll Find Here

The posts here don't fit neatly into a single category — which is, I suppose, something of a theme. You'll find reflections on the lectionary, lists of ideas that have been useful to me, poems written in the small hours, humor about the absurdities of ordinary life, and essays about patience, attention, and the courage of not knowing.

I write because I think better with a pen in my hand (or its digital equivalent), and because the discipline of putting an idea into sentences forces a precision that staying in my own head never does. If something here is useful to you, I'm glad. If it starts a conversation, I'm even gladder.

Get in Touch

The best way to follow along is to subscribe by email — the form is in the sidebar. You can also find me at Ocracoke United Methodist Church on Ocracoke Island, where I serve as pastor and where the wind off the Atlantic keeps me honest.

Thank you for reading. It means more than a polite note at the end of an About page is able to convey.

— Richard Smith