Mike Williams to retire after 51 years of dedicated service

Mike Williams, currently a Reader in the benefice of Hardwicke, Elmore with Longley, is set to retire after 51 years of service to the Church of England and 31 years to the Diocese of Gloucester, both as a Reader and Diocesan Secretary.

Bishop Rachel and Bishop Robert said, “We are deeply thankful for Mike’s longstanding service both in the Diocese of Gloucester and beyond. Vocation is not always clear cut, but Mike’s faithful years of prayerful ministry bear witness to his steady focus on faith and using his skills to benefit the Church.”

Mike took on the role of Diocesan Secretary for the Diocese of Gloucester in 1993, a position he held for over 12 years. During this time he was also a Reader, serving at St Catharine’s Church for 23 years and in the benefice of Hardwicke, Elmore with Longley for eight years.

“I have preached in over 70 churches across the diocese, from notable locations like Gloucester Cathedral and Tewkesbury Abbey, to really small parish churches. They were all equally amazing and memorable experiences,” Mike reflected.

Now aged 79, his journey into ministry began early in his life in Penzance, Cornwall. As a member of the Student Christian Movement at school, he was introduced to Methodist circuit churches, including a church called Wesley Rock.

“The church was named Wesley Rock because it was alleged that the church was built on a rock in which evangelist John Wesley had preached. This inspired me to become a Reader, as well as my local Church of England Church preacher at that time, who was excellent,” Mike said.

He moved from Cornwall to London where he became a church server in Pimlico. He got married and began a family, before training as a Reader in the Diocese of Southwark in 1973, serving there for 20 years.

“Some people have a calling to ministry through an experience or multiple experiences with God. I know people who have had this happen to them. For me, I drifted into everything I have done, and it wasn’t until I realised afterwards that my role as a Diocesan Secretary and as a Reader were vocations. Especially with my role as a Diocesan Secretary, I never thought that my vocation was to administration, but on reflection, I think it was.

“Calling can come in different forms. It can be a clear moment of revelation, or it can gradually unfold over time,” Mike said.

One of the significant changes Mike has seen over the years is the shifting role of the Reader: “When I first started, it was common for congregations to have a deep knowledge of the Bible. It was common to be brought up with Bibles, reading it on their mother’s knee or being read Bible stories at Sunday school. As time has gone on, people don’t know their Bibles as well, so preaching nowadays is as much about teaching as it is about delivering a message,” he said. “I do think it’s a pity that people have a lesser knowledge of their Bibles these days, but it means that the role of a Reader is really important to keeping people educated on it.”

Mike encourages those who are considering ministry or discerning their vocation to be open minded about the ways they might be called to serve: “As a society, we often think of vocation as being about ordained ministry. From my time serving, I have found that, for most people, their calling is to lay ministry. All forms of ministry in the life of the Church are important.”