Ted Williams

My full name is William Theodore Williams, but I have always been known by my middle name Ted. I grew up in Altoona, the youngest of five children. My father was a truck driver with a 9th grade education, and my mother was a secretary. They instilled in all of their children a good work ethic that has helped all of us to succeed.

There wasn't a stress on education in our family, and I didn't really have any idea of what direction my life would take. I joined the US Army after high school and the six years I spent there were formative in many ways. I trained as a Combat Medic and then went to Practical Nurse training in the Army. This was the beginning of a career in health care that has been very rewarding over the years.

After the Army, I attended Nursing School and became an RN. I worked mainly in the State Prison system as a staff nurse, nurse supervisor, and my last 10 years were as the Health Care Administrator at SCI Rockview.

In my last 10 years in Corrections, I was discerning a call to ministry and started Seminary at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. I graduated in February of 2022 with a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Justice and Reconciliation.

After graduation I served at St Mark, Pleasant Gap as transitional Minister from March 2022-August 2023. I have also done some mission development work in the Altoona area for marginalized populations. I recently started a Part Time job with Nason Home Health doing care in homes of people recently discharged from the hospital.

In ministry, I utilize all the gifts I have and all the skills I have developed throughout my life. All my experiences have been helpful in ministry.

And finally, the scripture that grounds me and which I use to interpret all other scripture is the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. The Beatitudes are my daily reminder to be humble. They are also a call to action to be a disciple of Jesus in everything we do.

God bless!

Ted