| NEWS | In Appreciation:
Frank Leviticus Williams From Mark Williams The Rev. Frank Leviticus Williams, the son of Robert and Theodosia Williams, was born in Barnwell, S.C. Oct. 12, 1915, and died May 31. He was the fifth of eleven children, and the last surviving male of his immediate family. He was a man of God. Williams began his professional career as a primary school teacher in Brunson, S.C. After meeting renowned theologian Benjamin E. Mays at a teacher conference, he decided to devote his life to Christ and enrolled in the Divinity School at Howard University, where Mays was in residence. There, Williams was charged with delivering a practice sermon to his classmates. Mayss critique was, You moved me, but you didnt make me think. Williams took these words to heart and his sermons, for the rest of his life, were as intellectual as they were spiritual. During his 50 years of ministry, Williams served for 16 years as senior pastor at Asbury UMC in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he served at Metropolitan UMC and Christ UMC, in Baltimore and John Stewart UMC in Washington. Following his retirement in 1984, he served at Christ and Sharp Street UMCs and the Morgan University Christian Center, all in Baltimore, and at Van Buren and University UMCs in Washington. Father, a title of endearment bestowed upon him by his best friends, was a member of a United Methodist-sponsored preaching mission to Panama, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. In Brazil, he once found himself amidst an adoring mob that had mistaken him for the soccer hero Pele. He was a member of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, and served as a short-term missionary to Sierra Leone, Liberia and other West African countries. He also received distinguished service assignments to Costa Rica, Japan and Antigua. Amidst his countless awards were the Conscience of the Conference given in 1997 and Swords into Plowshares, for propounding peace with justice, which was presented in 1992. Both were given by the Baltimore-Washington Conference. However, nowhere was his dedication to Jesus Christ more evident than in his intrepid leadership against civil and social injustices in the Baltimore and Washington communities, and in his absolute devotion to the visitation of the sick and shut-in. Williams was married to the former Ruth Estella Carr for 61 years. He is survived by his wife, four children, Frank, Beryl, Cheryl, and Mark; three grandchildren, Kyla, Seth, and Jeremy; and one great-grandchild, James. He also leaves his sisters Alma Jenkins and Ernestine Robinson of Orangeburg, S.C., and many other relatives, nieces and nephews. |
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