A bishop and unflagging advocate for the power of prayer was a former career civil servant who started out as a postal clerk and rose to Chief Immigration Officer.

The Right Reverend Neville Smith, the Bishop of the Radnor Road Christian Fellowship Church, was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1996 for his life of service to the community.

Receiving his MBE at Buckingham Palace from Queen Elizabeth II was said to be one of his most cherished memories.

Bishop Smith’s career as a public officer spanned more than 30 years under an array of ministers, concluding with 14 years as the Chief Immigration Officer in what was then known as the Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety.

After he retired in May 1996, Bishop Smith devoted his energies full time to the pulpit at Radnor Road.

He founded the church in 1987 with his wife, Loretta Smith. It later moved to its present location on land formerly used as a horse-racing track.

The journey of Bishop Smith, whose celebration of life was held yesterday, was marked by “unwavering love, deep compassion, enduring patience and steadfast faith in God”, his family said.

Bishop Smith hailed from the “close-knit working-class” neighbourhood of Middletown on the outskirts of Hamilton, attending Central School — now Victor Scott Primary School — followed by the Prospect Secondary School and the Bermuda Technical Institute.

Jobs as a teenager including selling newspapers for the Bermuda Recorder and repairing shoes at Sinclair Francis’s shop on Court Street. He received an Outstanding Bermuda Young Person Award from the Bermuda Jaycees.

Bishop Smith attended the Bermuda College, studying accounting and administration, and started in full-time work at the Bermuda Book Store.

In 1985, he became a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute in Britain.

Bishop Smith’s public service career began in April 1977 as a dog registrar as well as post office clerk. He went on to serve as government youth employment officer and secretary for the apprenticeship and training council.

In the late 1980s, he moved to the Department of Immigration as the Assistant Chief Immigration Officer, and was promoted to chief.

He became a licensed marriage officer in 1992, and was given the Bermuda Hotel Award for “professionalism and guidance” in 1996 — the same year he received the Salvation Army Award.

He became a Justice of the Peace in 2002.

Bishop Smith’s spiritual journey began with the Salvation Army Hamilton Citadel Corps, where he joined the Boy Scouts, learnt to play the trombone and became a member of the Salvation Army Band and Salvation Army Songsters. He was also a self-taught pianist.

Bishop Smith trained at the Salvation Army College in Toronto in the late 1960s. On his return to Bermuda, he served as the Young People’s Sergeant Major and led the youth choir.

In 1981, he was promoted to Corps Sergeant Major and appointed pastor of the Salvation Army Shelly Bay Corps, in which he served until 1987.

Bishop Smith met his future wife at the Shelly Bay Corps in the 1960s and the couple married in 1969. They had three children: Lauren, LaMohn and Tiffanie.

He was ordained as a Bishop in 1997 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Bishop Smith loved bowling and enjoyed cricket as a devoted Somerset supporter

He was an avid reader with an extensive personal library of scripture, inspirational literature and books on leadership.

Yesterday, in the House of Assembly, David Burt, the Premier, called for a letter of condolence to be sent to Bishop Smith’s family, calling him a pastor and teacher whose “words touched many in the community”.

Bishop Smith’s family said: “He lived his life with humility, patience and kindness, exemplifying God’s grace and redemption. He leaves behind a legacy of faith and love.

“He was a gentle, generous man who always made time for others. His deeply rooted faith in God was unshakeable — influencing all who crossed his path.”

• The Right Reverend Maxwell Neville Alexander Smith, a former Chief Immigration Officer who led the Radnor Road Christian Fellowship Church, was born on October 15, 1945. He died in August 2025, aged 79