Williams, Charles David

(July 30, 1860-Feb. 14, 1923). Bishop, theologian, and social gospel advocate. He was born in Bellevue, Ohio. Williams received his B.A. in 1880 and his M.A. in 1893 from Kenyon College. He studied for the ordained ministry at Bexley Hall. Williams was ordained deacon on June 17, 1883, and priest on Oct. 30, 1884. He was rector of the Church of the Resurrection, Fernbank, Ohio, and the Church of the Atonement, Riverside, Ohio, 1884-1889. From 1889 until 1893 he was rector of St. Paul's Church, Steubenville, Ohio. In 1893 Williams became the dean of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, where he remained until 1906. He was consecrated the fourth Bishop of Michigan on Feb. 7, 1906, and continued in that position until his death. Williams supported the Inter-Church World Movement and was president of the Church League for Industrial Democracy. His social views were articulated in A Valid Christianity for Today (1909), The Christian Ministry and Social Problems (1917), and The Gospel of Fellowship (1923). In 1920-1921 he delivered the Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at the Yale Divinity School. These lectures were published as The Prophetic Ministry for Today (1921). Williams died in Detroit.