[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 59 (Friday, April 26, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    TRIBUTE TO REV. F.N. WILLIAMS, SR., ON THE OCCASION OF THE 55TH 
 ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PASTORSHIP OF ANTIOCH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH IN 
                             HOUSTON, TEXAS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 26, 2013

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Rev. F.N. 
Williams, Sr., the legendary pastor of the legendary Antioch Missionary 
Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. This Sunday, April 28, 2013, will 
mark the 55th anniversary of Rev. Williams' pastorship of this great 
church. For more than a half century, Rev. Williams has ministered to 
the needs of his congregation, spoken truth to power, and been an 
advisor to several presidents, including Presidents George H.W. Bush, 
Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
  Born into a family of preachers and community leaders, Floyd 
Nathaniel Williams, was the son of the Rev. M.C. Williams and grandson 
of Rev. Mike Williams. In 1945, at the age of sixteen began to sense a 
call to the ministry and responded to the call by earning a Bachelor of 
Divinity Degree in extended studies from Bishop College.
  After serving in the U.S. Army as a Warrant Officer during the Korean 
War, Rev. Williams began his pastoral career at Greater Union Baptist 
Church in Matthews, Texas. From 1951 to 1958, he served the Lord at 
Friendship Baptist Church in Eagle Lake, Texas and at St. John Baptist 
Church in Beaumont, Texas.
  In April 1958, after the passing of his father, Rev. Williams was 
named to succeed him as Pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 
located at 5902 Beall Street, where he continues to serve today.
  Rev. Williams did not just preach to the choir. He recognized that to 
do God's work and to extend his Word, it was important also to reach 
those in need outside the church. He was the first pastor to implement 
an athletic program outside of school to provide instruction and 
support for the youth of the community. And out of that effort came 
four future ministers whose lives were turned around.
  Although the Bible bears witness that, a professed believer should 
be, ``in the world but not of the world,'' for 55 years Rev. Williams 
has understood that African American communities have serious problems 
and thus undertook initiatives outside of the church to ameliorate the 
suffering and in his community. Among his many initiatives and 
activities, Rev. Williams served as Editor of the Globe Advocate 
Newspaper; Director of the Advisory Board Standard Savings Association; 
Director of the Houston Council on Human Relations; Director of the 
Northwest Water District City of Houston; and Member of the Human 
Relations Committee of the Houston Independent School District.
  Mr. Speaker, Rev. Williams has served the church in numerous ways: as 
Moderator for the Independent Baptist General Association of Texas; 1st 
Vice President of the Missionary Baptist General Convention of Texas; 
President of the Houston Baptist Pastors and Ministers Fellowship; 
Member of the Board of Directors of Rural and Urban Ministers 
Conference, Prairie View A&M University; Member of Board of Directors 
of Church College Relations Board at Bishop College in Dallas, Texas; 
1st Vice President of the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston; 
Member of the Houston Metropolitan Ministries; Advocate and Supporter 
of the Texas Youth Commission; and Founder of the Houston Ministers 
Against Crime. Rev. Williams believed and strongly supported the vision 
of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and played an indispensable 
role in bringing Dr. King to Houston. Rev. Williams often reminisces 
about how he sat only three seats away from Dr. King on April 3, 1968, 
the night he delivered I Have Been To The Mountaintop, his famous last 
speech.
  A few years after Dr. King's assassination, Rev. Williams and several 
other local pastors decided that, they ``didn't need the government to 
tell us when to celebrate our history'' so they initiated the first 
ever Martin Luther King Celebration in 1971. To date, he has held 40 
Annual Martin Luther King Day Celebrations.
  Rev. Williams has been a valued advisor to Presidents. He is a close 
and personal friend of former President George H.W. Bush whom he 
brought to the Acres Home and Garden Oaks communities to meet with 
local residents to discuss the major issues and challenges confronting 
those communities.
  Since that time, Presidents from George H.W. Bush to Barack Obama 
have sought the advice and counsel of Rev. Williams. On August 19, 
2000, Rev. Williams was inducted into the Religious Hall of Fame Elite 
in Dallas, Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, for 55 years Rev. Williams has provided remarkable 
service to our nation as pastor of the Antioch Missionary Baptist 
Church and community, state, and national leader.
  I am proud to call this remarkable American hero my friend and I 
offer him my heartfelt congratulations on the 55th Anniversary of his 
pastorship of Anitioch Missionary Baptist Church and my best wishes for 
continued success for many years to come.

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