Longtime steward retires from Smithtown Landing Methodist Church

The nearly 200-year-old Smithtown Landing Methodist Church has a new caretaker after its longtime steward stepped down over the summer.

Kimm Schmidt, president of the volunteer group that manages the church, recently retired from her role, she said in an interview with Newsday. Since 2017, Schmidt had managed the small white church that was built in 1834 and is nestled on the corner of Landing Avenue and Oakside Road. It was originally dubbed "the little church in the woods" and seats up to 60 people, according to the church's Facebook page.

Her successor, Robert von Bernewitz, 66, of Smithtown, has been affiliated with the church for years. In succeeding Schmidt, he took the reins of the now-renamed Smithtown Landing Methodist Church Auxiliary. Von Bernewitz has worked to rehabilitate gravesites at the Smithtown Landing Avenue Cemetery, which borders the church but is not owned by it. 

"I still get emotional just thinking about the little church," said Schmidt, a Smithtown native who was president of the Smithtown Landing Ladies Auxiliary. The building holds a special place in her heart, she said — she grew up on Landing Avenue on the other side of the church.

Efforts to grow

The church stopped holding weekly services in 1957 as the congregation's numbers dwindled, Newsday previously reported. There are biannual services in the fall and winter, and the building is open to the public.

Schmidt said she wanted the church to grow its presence in the community to "share the history of how important that little Landing area was to the history of Smithtown."

"The history of the people who went to that church are the people who formed Smithtown," Schmidt said. "The ship builders, the sea captains, the farmers, the local doctors, the person who built wagons ... they all lived in that area and they shared in the rich history of forming the Landing in Smithtown, which is incredible."

Von Bernewitz has credited Schmidt with keeping the church going through the COVID-19 pandemic.

"She kept the church running and left it in perfect condition to hand over to me," von Bernewitz said in an interview. "Because she was so focused on keeping the church’s history alive, she made it real easy for me."

Dave Thompson, president of the Landing Cemetery Association for the Smithtown Landing Cemetery, said Schmidt helped direct attention to preservation efforts. That, he said, has "made a huge difference."

Spearheaded repairs

In recent years, the group tried to raise money for various church repairs, including windows and caulking. Schmidt also led efforts to get the building added to both the New York State and National Register of Historic Places to qualify for grant money.

Von Bernewitz, a historian who specializes in knowledge of graveyards across Long Island, said he will continue efforts to win the church landmark status.

He also grew up close to the church, on Landing Meadow Road, roughly two blocks away from where Schmidt grew up. Von Bernewitz said he passed the building on many walks home during his childhood. 

"Kimm and I each grew up next to the church. She was on one side and I was on the other, so it was destined to be," von Bernewitz said with a chuckle.

Von Bernewitz said he hopes to organize a small museum at the church property to highlight the history of the Landing Avenue area. He has been collecting artifacts, including bulletins from the church dating back to 1966, to feature as part of the church’s history.

While stepping away from the church is "bittersweet," Schmidt said she believes it's in good hands.

"He’s the absolute perfect person for it," Schmidt said of her successor. She said she hopes he will "continue to get the word out of how important that little church and that Landing area is to Smithtown."