SKANEATELES - The congregation of the First Baptist Church has found itself without a pastor, but it has not found itself without guidance in recent weeks.
Jill Conor / The Citizen
The Rev. Robert Williams takes a moment to pray during Holy Communion at the Sunday morning service at First Baptist Church in Skaneateles. Williams has been filling in at the church, that is currently without a permanent pastor.
The Rev. Robert Williams takes a moment to pray during Holy Communion at the Sunday morning service at First Baptist Church in Skaneateles. Williams has been filling in at the church, that is currently without a permanent pastor.
Ed Posecznick, a deacon at the Skaneateles church, said pastors will often stay for a brief time before feeling their calling is to move on to another part of their mission.
“In the Baptist Church, it isn't like other traditions,” Posecznick said. “A pastor will stay for a while and then move on and the congregation will find itself without a pastor until we find new candidates and when that happens we will find people to serve in the interim.”
Posecznick is in charge of finding guest speakers to serve in interim positions. He discovered Robert Williams and his wife, Marjorie, through a New York State Baptist Church representative. During phone conversations, Posecznick thought he would make a good guest speaker
“So I asked him to come for a few weeks and it has been going well and he will be speaking on Sunday for at least another five times as an interim,” he said.
Williams was a Quaker but changed to Baptist after he attended a Baptist service while pursuing Bible studies and found what he was looking for in the Baptist faith.
“Around 1952 I was teaching Sunday school,” Williams said. “I felt that I didn't really know enough about the Bible and so I decided to go back to school to learn more and then I went on to get my degree.”
The 81-year-old studied at the Dallas Theological Seminary before attending the Baptist Bible College in Pennsylvania where he was an instructor for 25 years.
His experience teaching allowed him the opportunity to travel and serve congregations across the country.
“I've done 37 interims,” Williams said. “That has let me work in a lot of different churches in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Ohio, all over the place.”
After all his years of traveling and teaching, Williams decided to move to New York to be closer to his daughters and the pastor now calls Newark Valley home.
When he heard about the opportunity to serve in Skaneateles, Williams was eager to become involved in the Skaneateles church, despite a long drive every Sunday.
“It is about 62 miles,” Williams said. “I don#'t mind doing all that driving. I have really enjoyed being a part of the Skaneateles church. It is a small congregation, but everyone knows and takes care of everyone else and it is nice to be able to be a part of that. They are tremendous and generous people.”
Williams has spoken about several topics, from Easter Sunday discussions to Communion Sunday, and he has had a particular focus on the Book of Romans.
Posecznick called Williams a strong and moving speaker,
“I think all the people definitely feel blessed to have him with us,” Posecznick said. “He is very well educated and he knows the Bible very well and he is so aware and he brings that with him when he speaks.”
His wife, Marjorie, also has taken part in the congregation by playing music and assisting others at the church who play piano and the organ.
Williams has no intention of slowing down.
“It is very delightful,” Williams said. “I plan to keep doing this as long as I can. I really enjoy these interims. I'd recommend it to any young man that is in the ministry and has the opportunity. It is a wonderful experience for me.”
“In the Baptist Church, it isn't like other traditions,” Posecznick said. “A pastor will stay for a while and then move on and the congregation will find itself without a pastor until we find new candidates and when that happens we will find people to serve in the interim.”
Posecznick is in charge of finding guest speakers to serve in interim positions. He discovered Robert Williams and his wife, Marjorie, through a New York State Baptist Church representative. During phone conversations, Posecznick thought he would make a good guest speaker
“So I asked him to come for a few weeks and it has been going well and he will be speaking on Sunday for at least another five times as an interim,” he said.
Williams was a Quaker but changed to Baptist after he attended a Baptist service while pursuing Bible studies and found what he was looking for in the Baptist faith.
“Around 1952 I was teaching Sunday school,” Williams said. “I felt that I didn't really know enough about the Bible and so I decided to go back to school to learn more and then I went on to get my degree.”
The 81-year-old studied at the Dallas Theological Seminary before attending the Baptist Bible College in Pennsylvania where he was an instructor for 25 years.
His experience teaching allowed him the opportunity to travel and serve congregations across the country.
“I've done 37 interims,” Williams said. “That has let me work in a lot of different churches in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Ohio, all over the place.”
After all his years of traveling and teaching, Williams decided to move to New York to be closer to his daughters and the pastor now calls Newark Valley home.
When he heard about the opportunity to serve in Skaneateles, Williams was eager to become involved in the Skaneateles church, despite a long drive every Sunday.
“It is about 62 miles,” Williams said. “I don#'t mind doing all that driving. I have really enjoyed being a part of the Skaneateles church. It is a small congregation, but everyone knows and takes care of everyone else and it is nice to be able to be a part of that. They are tremendous and generous people.”
Williams has spoken about several topics, from Easter Sunday discussions to Communion Sunday, and he has had a particular focus on the Book of Romans.
Posecznick called Williams a strong and moving speaker,
“I think all the people definitely feel blessed to have him with us,” Posecznick said. “He is very well educated and he knows the Bible very well and he is so aware and he brings that with him when he speaks.”
His wife, Marjorie, also has taken part in the congregation by playing music and assisting others at the church who play piano and the organ.
Williams has no intention of slowing down.
“It is very delightful,” Williams said. “I plan to keep doing this as long as I can. I really enjoy these interims. I'd recommend it to any young man that is in the ministry and has the opportunity. It is a wonderful experience for me.”
