From the Parish Magazine
 

 

July

 

Fr Simon writes . . . about the Eucharist - final part 

(the parts from the May & June issues follow below)

 

4. The Eucharistic Prayer

 

The Eucharistic Prayer is the central action of the Mass. It is sometimes called ‘The Thanksgiving’ - and indeed ‘thanksgiving’ is the meaning of the Greek word from which we derive the name ‘Eucharist’. Other names for this prayer are ‘The Canon of the Mass’ and ‘The Prayer of Consecration’. ‘Canon’ means ‘rule’ or ‘criterion’, and so, together with the Creeds, it has always had an important role in guiding and expressing the faith of the Church. Lex orandi, lex credendi is a slogan that was used in the early church and it means that the way we pray and worship cannot be separated from what we believe. They are two sides of the same coin. ‘Consecration’ means ‘sanctifying’ or ‘making holy’ and it refers to the action of the Mass in which bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ by which sinful men and women become holy.

 

Set out below are the elements of the Eucharistic Prayer with quotations from the Prayer used in the Sung Mass at St Barnabas on Sunday:

 

1. Dialogue

The theme of exchange, which has been noted before, occurs again in the dialogue between the priest and the people. This part of the Prayer is sometimes called the Sursum Corda - Latin for “Lift up your hearts”. The exchange of words emphasises that the Eucharist is an action of the gathered people of God with their bishop (or priest).

 

            The Lord be with you etc

 

2. Preface

The priest has invited the people to give thanks. Now he makes a proclamation of the content of the thanksgiving. ‘Preface’ means ‘proclamation’. The Preface generally gives thanks for  

·         Creation: Father, we give you thanks and praise through your beloved Son Jesus Christ, your living Word, through whom you have created all things…

·         Incarnation: who was sent by you in your great goodness to be our Saviour. By the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh; as your Son, born of the blessed Virgin, he lived on earth and went about among us…

·         Redemption: he opened wide his arms for us on the cross; he put an end to death by dying for us; and revealed the resurrection by rising to new life; so he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people.

 

3. Sanctus and Benedictus Qui Venit

The Preface concludes by joining the praise being offered on earth with the worship of heaven, sometimes (not now always) with the words:

 

Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you, and saying:

 

Then all say or sing Holy, holy, holy Lord... based on the words of the worship of heaven quoted in Isaiah 6.3 and in Revelation 4.8. The anthem Blessed is he who comes... (Psalm 118.6) is associated with Christ’s entry into Jerusalem for his Passion (e.g. Matthew 21.9).

 

4. Epiclesis of the Gifts

‘Epiclesis’ means ‘calling down’. The priest calls down the Holy Spirit on the gifts of bread and wine:

            Bless and approve our offering; make it acceptable to you, an offering in spirit and in truth. Let it become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ, your only Son, our Lord.

 

In Prayer F (based on the Anaphora of St. Basil) this part actually occurs after the story of the Last Supper containing the words of Jesus, “This is my body”, etc. In the East there is a slightly different theology about consecration from that of the West.

 

5. Institution Narrative

The story of the Last Supper now follows, including the words of the Lord: This is my

body... This is my blood... Do this... in remembrance of me. The words of the Institution Narrative are common to all the Eucharistic Prayers. They are derived mainly from St. Paul’s account of the Last Supper in 1 Corinthians 11.23-25, but borrow also from the Gospel accounts, e.g. Mark 14.22-24.

            The day before he suffered he took bread in his sacre hands and looking up to heaven to you his almighty Father, he gave you thanks and praise…

 

6. Memorial Acclamation of the People

The Memorial Acclamation of the People: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again is really part of what follows (the Anamnesis). It is provided as another way in which the people can participate in the Prayer. There are several options related to the particular season of the Church’s year.

 

7. Anamnesis

The nearest equivalent in English to the meaning of the Greek word anamnesis is ‘memorial’. Anamnesis implies a ‘making present’ of an event in the past. Through the Eucharist, Christ’s sacrifice and saving work become a present reality, and the benefits of them are made sacramentally available to the faithful:

            Father, we celebrate the memory of Christ, your Son. We your people and your ministers, recall his passion, his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension into glory…

 

8. Anaphora or Oblation

‘Anaphora’ means ‘offering’. Here is the anaphora fo the Eucharistic Prayer used at St Barnabas:

            … and from the many gifts you have given us we offer to you, God of glory and majesty, this holy and perfect sacrifice, the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation.

Look with favour on these offerings and accept them as once you accepted the gifts of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith,and the bread and wine offered by your priest Mechisedech.

 

In the Eucharistic Prayer, the Church, in union with Christ, offers his one, eternal sacrifice to the Father, through the work of the Holy Spirit. In the words of St Thomas Aquinas’ hymn:

 

“While the people all uniting

In that sacrifice sublime

Offer Christ to his high Father,

Offer up themselves with him.”

 

9. For the Departed

The sacrifice of the Mass is offered not just for the living but for the dead. The faithful departed are united with us in Christ and so we pray for them as we prepare to be united once more with Christ by receiving his Body and Blood.

 

            Remember, Lord, those who have died and have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, especially those for whom we now pray… May these, and all who sleep in Christ, find in your presence light, happiness and peace.

 

10. Prayer for Benefits of Communion

Having prayed for the welfare of the departed, there is a prayer for ourselves who will be partakers of Holy Communion:

 

            For ouselves too we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas… Though we are sinners we trust in your love and mercy. Do not consider what we truly deserve but grant us your forgiveness.

 

11. Doxology

The word ‘doxology’ literally means ‘glory-speak’. It is a formula of praise giving glory to God at the end of a prayer, hymn, etc.

            Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.

 

12. People’s Amen

A whole book could be written (and probably has been!) on the significance of the word ‘Amen’ in the New Testament and in worship. Suffice it to say here that it is associated with the coming of God’s kingdom (Jesus often says “Amen, amen I say to you...” before a solemn pronouncement), and that it shows assent. Of all the ‘Amens’ in worship, the People’s Amen at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer is the most important. It shows the people’s assent to all that has been done and said, and their participation in it.

 

  

June - Fr Simon writes . . . about the Eucharist - part 3

 

3. The Liturgy of the Sacrament

 

Four Actions

The four actions at the Liturgy of the Sacrament are based upon those of the Lord at the Last Supper, when he consecrated himself as a sacrifice to his Father, gave his body and blood to his disciples, and commanded them to celebrate this sacrament in remembrance of him. The story of the Last Supper and the Institution of the Eucharist is told at every Mass in the Eucharistic Prayer (Consecration):

      

Who in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples...

 

There we can see the basis of the four-action shape:

 

HE TOOK                                 (Offertory)

HE GAVE THANKS                (Eucharistic Prayer)

HE BROKE                              (Fraction)

HE GAVE                                 (Communion)

 

Peace

Just as the priest greeted the people at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word, “The Lord be with you”, and received their response, he begins the Liturgy of the Sacrament in a similar way. This time the greeting is “The peace of the Lord be always with you”. The Peace recalls the greeting of the Lord to his disciples in the Upper Room on Easter Day (John 20.19). This time the people not only respond “And also with you”, but also exchange with him and with one another a sign of peace. This was originally a kiss, the “Kiss of Peace”, but in England a handshake or handclasp is more often used.

 

In the early Church, those who had not yet been baptized and admitted to ‘The Mysteries’ were required to leave after the Sermon. That is why the Intercession which follows, is called ‘The Prayer of the Faithful’. The Kiss of Peace was therefore a greeting exchanged only by initiated members of the Church.

 

Preparation of the Gifts: “He Took”

The part of the service that follows the Peace is usually called the Offertory. Members of the congregation bring bread, wine and water to the altar, and also their gifts of money. From early times the offering of money at the Eucharist was for the relief of those in need, at the discretion of the priest. The Book of Common Prayer Communion Service follows this tradition. The rubric immediately preceding the Prayer for the Church Militant refers to the offering of money as “Alms for the Poor”.

 

The priest takes the bread, mixes wine and water in the chalice, and places them on the altar with the prayers “Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation, etc”. These prayers are simple graces based on the Jewish prayers for the blessing of food, and must not be confused with the thanksgiving in the Eucharistic Prayer that follows. When incense is used, first of all the gifts, then the altar, the priest, ministers and people are all incensed as a sign of the hallowing both of the offering and also of those who are offering it.

 

Eucharistic Prayer: “He Gave Thanks”

The Eucharistic Prayer effects the consecration of the bread and wine that has been placed on the corporal – a square linen cloth whose name comes from the Latin corpus meaning a body. It is so called because it holds the body of Christ. The element of thanksgiving is especially evident in the first part of the prayer. A more detailed description of the Eucharistic Prayer follows below.

 

Breaking of the Bread: “He Broke”

The Lord’s Prayer is given a special place of honour immediately following the Eucharistic Prayer. When Christ himself is sacramentally present, his people use the prayer that he taught us. It is also especially appropriate at this point in the Mass because we pray for “our daily bread”, and thus recall that our greatest need is for Jesus the Bread of Life whom we are to receive in Holy Communion.

 

The bread used is generally unleavened, in the form of wafers. Unleavened bread has traditionally been used in the Western Church (following Matthew, Mark and Luke’s account of the Last Supper as a Passover Meal). Leavened bread is used in the Eastern Churches (following John’s account of the Last Supper taking place on the night before the Day of Preparation of the Passover). The Canon Law of the Church of England allows the use of either leavened or unleavened bread. The wine, incidentally, must be “the fermented juice of the grape, good and wholesome” – no reference is made to its colour. I, however, follow the recommendation of our Diocesan Bishop, that white or amber wine is to be preferred to red, in order to avoid misunderstanding of the sacrament as a crude symbol (no one would expect the bread to be made in the shape and colour of human flesh!)

 

For convenience, individual wafers are used for the congregation, but there is an increasing practice of using large wafers broken into pieces, in order to emphasize the symbolism of “sharing in one bread”. Some of the wafers available now are as big as dinner plates – and of course can now be obtained in both ‘white’ and ‘wholemeal’!

 

Communion: “He Gave”

The priest first receives Holy Communion, in order to show that he is ‘in communion’ with the people. Then the sacred elements are distributed to the people. After Communion there is a concluding rite consisting of a prayer of thanksgiving for Communion, and a dismissal of the people by the priest.

 

After a blessing, he sends them out, as Christ sent his disciples out into the world at his Ascension into heaven. The word ‘Mass’ as a name for this service comes from the words of the dismissal in the Latin Mass: Ite, missa est. This name emphasizes the missionary aspect of the Eucharist, the sending out of his disciples by Christ after meeting them in the Blessed Sacrament

Fr Simon

 To be concluded next month

 

May - Fr Simon writes . . . about the Eucharist - parts 1 & 2

 

1. A Service of Two Parts

 

New Testament

The earliest documentary evidence of the celebration of the Eucharist is the New Testament itself. First of all, we have the accounts of the institution of the Eucharist in the Gospels: Matthew 26.26-29, Mark 14.22-25, and Luke 22.15-20. John has his own reasons for not including an explicit account of the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, but the whole of Chapter 6 is a meditation on the meaning of a service, which would be completely familiar to his readers. Then there is an account from Paul in 1 Corinthians 11.23-26. It is largely on this account that the story of the Last Supper in the Eucharistic Prayer is based.

 

Luke has further evidence, both in his Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles. For example, the resurrection appearance at Emmaus (Luke 24.30-35) is the story of a Eucharist, and in Acts 2.42, 46 it is particularly interesting to read:

 

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers... And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts.”

 

Separation of Christianity and Judaism

For the purpose of this first talk, the words in italics above are important because they show that, at the beginning of the Church, the disciples were not aware that their faith in Jesus Christ would separate them from Judaism. The first disciples were Jews after all, and it was perfectly natural for them to continue to worship as Jews, both in the temple and in the synagogue. What was already new and distinctive, however, was their faith that God had shown that Jesus was the Messiah by raising him from the dead, and also their celebration of the Eucharist. This, “The Breaking of Bread” as it was called, was already taking place separately from the formal worship of Judaism - “in their own homes”.

 

The separation of Christianity from Judaism arose through two factors: first, the expulsion from the synagogue of those who preached that Jesus was the Christ, and secondly the admission of Gentiles into the Church without their first having to become ‘Jews’. Much of Acts, and also a great deal of Paul’s writing, bear witness to these two factors, and also to the working out by the early Church of the theology of what had happened as a result.

 

Joining of Word and Sacrament

Once the break with Judaism was complete, there was a need to fill the gap left by the synagogue service, which was a service of the Word consisting mainly of readings from the Law and the Prophets (The Old Testament), sermon, and prayers. The synagogue service and the Breaking of Bread became linked together, and the basic two-fold structure of the Eucharist came about - The Liturgy of the Word and The Liturgy of the Sacrament.

 

Justin Martyr (ca. 150)

The Eucharist is, therefore, a service of two parts. The underlying structure of the Sunday Eucharist as described by Justin Martyr (Rome, Second Century) will be recognised as being identical with the Eucharist as it now celebrated:

 

On the day called Sun-day an assembly is held in one place of all who live in town or country, and the records of the apostles or writings of the prophets are read for as long as time allows. Then, when the reader has finished, the president in a discourse admonishes and exhorts us to imitate these good things. Then we all stand up together and offer prayers; and ... when we have finished praying, bread and wine and water are brought up, and the president likewise offers prayers and thanksgivings to the best of his ability, and the people assent, saying the Amen; and there is a distribution, and everyone participates in the elements over which thanks have been given; and they are sent through the deacons to those who are not present.

 

2. The Liturgy of the Word

 

Exchange

In both of the main constituent parts of the Mass, there is an exchange. In the Liturgy of the Word, there is an exchange of words, a conversation, between God and his people. In the Liturgy of the Sacrament, there is an exchange of gifts. Our gifts to God are the bread and wine, which we present and offer at the altar. These gifts represent ourselves, whom we bring to God to be transformed by him. God’s gift to us is the divine life of his Son - his body and blood, which are received by us under the appearances of bread and wine.

 

Preparation

At the beginning of the Mass, before the actual Liturgy of the Word begins, there is a preparation by the priest and people. A Hymn, or an Entrance Antiphon, is used when the sacred ministers come in. Thus the whole service is set in the context of praising God together. After the Entrance Hymn or Antiphon, the priest greets the people, and they respond. This exchange of greetings by priest and people sets the scene for the exchange that follows.

 

Prayers of Penitence

After the Greeting, the priest and people prepare for the Mass by acknowledging their sins and their need for forgiveness. The whole of the Liturgy of the Word recalls Christ’s public ministry of preaching and teaching, so it appropriate that we should begin, as he did, with a call to repentance. After ‘Lord, have mercy’, and sometimes ‘Gloria in Excelsis’ (based on the song of the angels at Jesus’ birth), there follows the Collect, also called the Opening Prayer.

   

Collect

This prayer is called the Collect because it ‘collects’ together our thoughts and prayers for that day. It sums up the theme of the particular celebration, and therefore of the readings that follow. It is also called the Opening Prayer because it is the main prayer that ‘opens’ the service, but we could think of it also as the prayer that is said when the Scriptures are ‘opened’ for us to hear.

 

Readings

The readings from Scripture follow – usually three on Sundays and two on weekdays. It is important to listen attentively to the readings. In many people’s houses (my own included sometimes!) the radio or television can be on, but no one is actually listening or watching. Sometimes the readings at Mass can be treated like that: just a background noise, something to fill in the gaps between other things that happen. Some people find it helpful to follow the readings from the service sheet, while others find that they can listen better without following from a printed page. The way the reader prepares for the reading, approaches the lectern, and delivers the reading, is very important.

 

The readings are not simply ‘read out’ for us to hear, and then pass on. The Liturgy of the Word is meant to be an exchange, so it is important that we enter into the two-way conversation. God speaks through the words of scripture and, as we listen, we respond. Each reading has responses for the people to say. The first two readings have “This is the word of the Lord”, to which we respond, “Thanks be to God”, and the Gospel has more responses still. At the Gospel we respond still further by standing up, by singing, and by using lights and incense. A priest or deacon generally reads the Gospel, and the Gospel Book is carried in procession from the altar. The readings follow a theme for that day, which links them together. The Old Testament is read first, then the New Testament, including the Gospel. There is a progression of thought, which represents the way in which the New Covenant supersedes the Old, and the way in which God has progressively revealed himself, first through a nation, and then in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

Between the first two readings, a psalm is generally used. The psalm is itself, of course, a reading from Scripture. It is called the ‘Responsorial Psalm’ because it is the people’s response to the first reading. It is also called ‘Responsorial’ because it is arranged so that the reader and the people can join in, as part of their response to God’s word.  It not only represents a response to the first reading, but also carries us forward to the second. Sometimes a hymn is used instead of a psalm. Whatever is used at the ‘Gradual’ (from the Latin ‘gradus’ - a step: so called because his part of the service takes place at the chancel step) it needs to be chosen carefully because it has to form a response to the readings. It needs to reflect the theme of the day, and help the people to listen to the word of God.

 

The sermon or homily is to help us to understand the readings, and apply them to ourselves in our own lives. The sermon leads us on from making a liturgical response to the Scriptures; to responding to them by the way we live. Our final response to what we have heard in the readings and in the sermon is a profession of our baptismal faith (in the Creed, or another form of affirmation of faith) and prayer together for the Church and for the world. Justin Martyr wrote about this part of the Mass: ‘we all stand up together and offer prayers’. Standing together emphasizes first of all that these are prayers offered by the assembled people of God (not just a collection of individuals saying their own prayers). Secondly, standing together to pray shows that here the people is exercising that part of the priestly ministry that belongs to them: of offering prayer on behalf of the world.   

To be continued next month

Fr Simon

 

                                        

 

THE FIRST PRIEST IN-CHARGE OF ST BARNABAS  

This is an abbreviated version of part of an account of the early years of St Barnabas Oakhill written by Fr Peter Marr. May we remember the causes for which St Barnabas Beckenham stood for from the beginning.  

 

The idea of a church district in the south of Beckenham was associated with the appointment of a Chaplain to members of the Hoare family living at Kelsey Manor in the 1870s. The moving force was Peter Richard Hoare. A chapel had been built there by Sir George Gilbert Scott and the Revd Robert Linklater served as Chaplain from 1869 until 1872. He subsequently went as a curate at St Peter's London Docks and was succeeded by the Revd Edward Pote Williams.

 

Edward Pote Williams was born on 23rd November 1838. He was born at Eton College where his family had been booksellers and publishers. He was a descendent of Joseph Pote (1703-1787) bookseller at Eton, whose daughter had married into the Williams family, also publishers. E.P.Williams senior, published sixty or so books, classical literature, history, theology and the Eton School Lists. In 1869 he also published a History of Boating at Eton.

 

The young Edward Pote Williams was educated at Christ's Hospital (then in London) and Christ's  College, Cambridge. He was ordained Deacon in 1861 and Priest the following year. He served a number of' curacies, at Calbourn, Isle of Wight (1861-63) Fawley, Hants (1863-64), and Chislehurst (1864-69/. During this time, in 1865, he joined the Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) subsequently becoming the longest serving member of the Society.

 

In 1869 he served as a missioner at St Peters London Docks together with the Revd R.A.J.Suckling. He was Rector of the rural parish of Barsham in Suffolk (to which Fr E.P.Williams subsequently was appointed), and then Vicar of St Peter's London Docks, and of St Albans Holborn.

 

It would have been here if not before that Fr Williams would have come into direct contact with Robert Linklater and thus with the Beckenham connection. However, he left Chislehurst and served an curacy at St Augustine's Kilburn (1869-72), before coming to Beckenham that year.

 

He married Julia (Ellis), by whom he had five sons and three daughters. Their eldest child Katherine Mary was born in Chislehurst about 1865. The next child, Leonard, was born about two years later at St Leonards-on-Sea, whilst Fr Williams was still at Chislehurst. A third child Bernard Francis, was born about a year later, again at Chislehurst. During his time at Kilburn (1869-72) Mary and Margaret Irene were born. Margaret died on 20th November 1882 and is buried at Barsham. Then whilst at Beckenham Cyril and Mildred were born in the late 1870s.

 

The Revd E.P.Williams set to work to establish on Oakhill a church that was sympathetic to the Catholic tradition within the Church of England. This was finally achieved in 1877 a few months before Peter Hoare died. News of his appointment as the first Incumbent was certainly made known by April 1877. Keble College Oxford, then recently founded in memory of John Keble became the Patron. The College was chosen to ensure a succession of Catholic-minded priests for the parish. A capital sum of London, Tilbury and Southend Railway stock provided the stipend, apparently given by a now unknown benefactress.

 

The religious atmosphere in Beckenham at the time was not a happy one. In particular it was the year that the feelings over the book 'The Priest in Absolution', a manual for priests concerning sacramental confession, were at their height. The Church Association had a number of meetings locally expressing concern about ritualism and about auricular confession. On the other hand in 1877 the Beckenham and Bromley Branch of the English Church Union the other end of the churchmanship spectrum expressed its hearty sympathy with the Rev. Arthur Tooth in prison for conscience sake (i.e. ritualism) and its deep sense of thankfulness to him for his loyal stand in defence of the rights of the Church. Fr Tooth, then Vicar of St James Hatcham, is buried at Elmers End Cemetery where on 5th March each year we hold a service at his grave.

 

The establishment of St Barnabas nevertheless went on apace. But in July we read in the local press concerning St Barnabas, Oak Hill:

Within the past month, with signatures attached to it representing 304 persons, has been presented to the Rev. EP. Williams, in which the memorialists state that the gentleman in question, who has just been nominated as first incumbent of this Church, is a member of the Society of the Holy Cross and of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament and likewise one of those who signed a petition to Convocation in favour of the appointment of legalized confessors in the Church of England, they cannot in any way receive or recognise him as their minister or pastor, and therefore trust he will abstain from intruding into their homes in that capacity. Accompanying this memorial is a list of names of parties who decline to sign the same (representing 68 souls) with their reasons attached. A copy of the document was sent on the 12th. to His Grace the Archbishop, together with a strongly-worded memorial...

 

We have already noticed that he had joined SSC in 1865. The month following the petition, August 1877, there were further problems. The Revd Charles Stebbing Wallace SSC had been refused a licence by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Tait, "because he would not leave SSC." However, the members of the SSC were "unanimous in thanking Bro.Wallace for his courageous conduct". Clearly the matter was somehow resolved as he appeared listed as "curate" at St Barnabas the following year at the Stone-laying ceremony for the new St Barnabas Church. He is described as the "embodiment of priestly chivalry and fraternal charity" and later became Vicar of the Ascension, Lavender Hill.

 

When St Barnabas District was made into a parish in 1880 it seems that the Revd Edward Pote Williams was not acceptable as the first Vicar. It is not clear why. He left Beckenham in 1880 and became Rector of Barsham, Suffolk, succeeding the Revd R.A.J.Suckling. At Barsham Rectory he had two domestic staff of which one, Mary Seels, probably came with the family from Beckenham. Her own family lived at Clayhill Cottages in the Bromley Road. Suffering from indifferent health, Fr Williams left Barsham and became curate at St Mary Magdalene, Paddington, a Keble College living (1889-91), then Chaplain to the Sisters of St Mary and St John in Chiswick (1891-1902) and finally curate of St Matthias Earls Court (1900-16).

 

He had joined the SSC in 1865 and by 1909 had become the senior member by length of membership of the Society. He had been a founder-member of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament and its Secretary-General. He became the oldest member of The Church Union. Much is revealed in the words of Ninian Comper, the architect, who was staying with the Williams' at Barsham on Good Friday 1883: Mr. Williams, rector, is what I call a regular thorough priest and not a rector or clergyman...... " Fr Williams returned to St Barnabas to preach on a number of occasions up to 1919 and a local writer observed in 1895 that FY Edward Pote Williams had "never lost his first love for the church and parish he inaugurated".

 

He died aged 84, and after 62 years as a priest, at Earls Court on 14th November 1922 and was buried at Brookwood Cemetery on 17th November. His obituarist wrote in The Church Times that Fr. Williams was closely associated with Fr Lowder and also Fr Mackonochie "the defendant in various ritual suits...and [Fr Williams] was in full sympathy with their ecclesiastical positions".