Q&A: Rev. Adam Snell Feeds Community's Spirits And Stomachs

Since 2004, the Rev. Adam Snell has been serving the Kensington community as the pastor of on Armory Avenue. Patch sat down with Snell to find out a little bit more about his background the history of St. Paul’s and to explore the church’s strong ties with the community.

Patch: You served as a civil engineer for 17 years before becoming a pastor. Can you tell us the impetus for such a unique career change?

Rev. Adam Snell:  I had been an active member of and worshipper at Cavalry United Methodist Church in Annapolis for years. I even served as a bible teacher for five years, focusing on the book Disciple. Then, one day, I was standing in the lobby of the church, looking at the bulletin board when God spoke to me. Everything was utterly silent except for the words “I want you to be a pastor.” I couldn’t sleep for the next two nights – I knew it was right. I then shared the calling with my pastor.

Patch: You’ve been the pastor at St. Paul’s since 2004, what are some of the differences between Annapolis and Kensington?

A.S: It’s funny. When I got the call to serve at St. Paul’s in Kensington, I said ‘great, where’s Kensington?’ I had this vision of six lanes of traffic in Kensington and thought that the people must really be stressed and frantic. But where St. Paul’s is, just one block from that, it’s quiet, tree lines and everyone knows everyone. Annapolis was very transient, with the (Naval) Academy, but here in Kensington, we are celebrating folks who have been members for 50 years.

Patch: Kensington is a wealthy community. Do you face the same social issues that many churches encounter—such as hunger—at St. Paul’s?

A.S: Since 20895 is one of the wealthiest zip codes, I initially thought we’d have to go to Wheaton or Silver Spring to find the hungry, but the real truth is we have many hungry families right here. Out of the 7,000 or so residents of Kensington, we have 40 families— or about 200 people— month in and month out that are food insecure. Our ‘Community Collects’ program, where members bring in food the first Sunday of the month, gathers between 1,200 and 1,400 pounds of food, which is given out on Thursdays.

I also want to share something about the ‘Smart Snacks” program. At , there are a number of kids who receive free or reduced meals, but realized that there was nothing for them on the weekends, so each Friday, we fill backpacks with good and healthy snacks from Manna. The has been a great partner in the program, donating gift cards so the kids can have fresh produce.

Patch: What is something about St. Paul’s that our readers may not know.

A.S: Well, St. Paul’s has been around for 127 years. We started out in what is now a yellow house at the corner of St. Paul Street and Plyers Mill Road. That church had a bell that was not only rung each Sunday morning for worship, but it was used to alert members of Kensington’s volunteer fire department when there was a fire. We still have that bell at our current location. And speaking of bells, most churches now have electric bells, but not here. We have a real bell – bigger than the original one, of course, but it is a real bell, with a real rope that an usher pulls each Sunday morning. The fire department has its own bell now.

To learn more about St. Paul’s Methodist Church and their programs, visit their website.