Andrew Williams (bishop)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrew Williams | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of New England | |
| Church | Anglican Church in North America |
| Diocese | New England |
| In office | 2019–present |
| Predecessor | William Murdoch |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 2000 (diaconate) 2001 (priesthood) |
| Consecration | March 16, 2019 by Foley Beach |
Andrew Thomas Williams is a British-born American Anglican bishop. Since 2019 he has been the diocesan bishop of the Anglican Diocese in New England, part of the Anglican Church in North America. He was a lawyer in the United Kingdom prior to his entry into ordained ministry in the Church of England and his move to the United States.
Williams was born in the United Kingdom. He graduated from Tavistock School in 1985 and received a law degree from Exeter University in 1988. In 1985, he met his future wife, Elena, at Exeter University; they married in 1992 and have three daughters.[1]
Williams trained for law in Chancery Lane and worked from 1989 through 1994 at Cameron McKenna in London as a litigator defending architects, accountants, actuaries, insurance brokers, and Lloyd's underwriters in civil suits. From 1994 to 1998, he was a senior litigator with S.J. Cornish and Bond Pearce, where he specialized in legal malpractice defense.[1]
In the 1990s, the Williamses moved to a large house in North Devon. While there, Williams said he "had this deep conviction that there was something missing. There was a quiet sort of despair within me that was only temporarily distracted by the next grand interior decoration scheme."[2] To meet locals, they visited their local Church of England parish, where Williams said "a kindly new vicar and a friendly small group of people came around us, and I found myself intrigued by and drawn to them all at the same time. . . . [T]hey always spoke about Jesus like they knew him personally. I decided that I liked them sufficiently that I was not going to hold that against them." Not long after, Williams participated in a Lenten Bible study and had a conversion experience, praying “I am saying ‘yes’ to You without reservation. Whatever You want for my life, I desire too.” His wife had a similar experience.[2]