Welcome Our New Youth Ministry Director
Kailey Beth ("KB") Smith is a native of Mobile, AL, and grew up along the Gulf Coast. She is passionate about gardening, sharing meals, and honoring beauty in the natural environment. Her hobbies include reading, writing, crafting, gardening, and hosting gatherings for her community. KB has three cats, one dog, and four chickens (and, yes, they always keep her on her toes!)
She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (with a minor in Philosophy and Religion) from Auburn University in 2020 and her M.Div. from Duke Divinity School in 2023. While at Auburn, she was active in the Auburn Wesley Foundation, holding multiple leadership roles and specializing in Spiritual Formation. While at Duke, she pursued her interests in Food, Faith, and Environmental Justice, and she served the Duke Wesley Foundation as a Pastoral Intern. She also spent a few months living in Todd, North Carolina, where she served again as a Pastoral Intern. Her duties included helping lead worship, building relationships with congregants, working with the youth, and managing several satellite community gardens. She assisted several nonprofits in Western NC, such as Todd's Table (Community Shared Agriculture Program) and Watauga Compassionate Communities Initiative (WCCI), working on their client relationships and building their mental and communal health resource database.
She currently serves as Lead Pastor for Lottie UMC, a small community nestled in the pines of North Baldwin County, Alabama, and as Administrative Assistant for the South Alabama Wesley Foundation.
She greatly looks forward to joining the Calvary UMC community in Normal, Illinois, and thanks God and the team at Calvary UMC for the wonderful opportunity to connect with youth. She hopes to help them deepen their relationships with and respect for God, one another, and all creation. She starts with us in March.