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Called By God
Spirit, and you find a woman called to the ministry. According to her son Hugh, Helen
felt this call early and hoped that marrying a minister might help open doors for her to
use her gifts in ministry. (From a transcribed tape of Hugh Williams’ memories, sent to the
author by Phyllis Vineyard, August 1989. See appendix A, 1.1.)
While she was still a Bible worker, Helen Stanton had become a popular camp
meeting speaker. Mi nisters were in short supply on the frontier; young Helen Williams
was needed as an evangelist.
While Helen and Eugene Williams built their united lives around the ministry, family
was also important to them. In 1891 their first son, Irwin, was born. Not long afterward
the Williamses moved back to Michigan in order to be near Eugene’s father, who was
ill; he lived just a few months longer. A second baby boy, Lewis, arrived in 1893 in the
midst of his parents’ busy ministerial activity.
Two years later the Williamses were asked to move to a community called Bell’s
Corners near Elsie, Michigan, to hold evangelistic meetings. In this small town only one
house was available to rent, a dwelling hardly suitable for a minister’s family with two
children and another expected soon. Fortunately, compassionate women of the community gave the house a good scrubbing; by loving care they made it ready for the young
ministerial family. The third son, Hugh, was born there in 1895.
In 1897 the Williamses moved to Grand Rapids, where Eugene pastored the
Adventist congregation in the city while supervising the construction of a church. Helen
preached intermittently, gave Bible studies, and assisted otherwise in the ministry as
much as she could while bringing up three little boys.
Elder Williams became quite popular as a “marrying parson” throughout the
Michigan Conference, which had a limited pastoral staff in the 1890s. He might be
called away from his post of duty to conduct a wedding or funeral on very short notice.
At such times Mrs. Williams could be counted on to preach for the Sabbath worship
service or any other meeting in the Grand Rapids Church. More and more frequently
this occurred.
On one occasion when Helen Williams was to fill the pulpit, the conference president, Elder J. D. Gowell, decided to come hear her preach. He entered unnoticed after
the service was well under way, sat in the back, and managed to slip out at the end of
the sermon without Helen’s even knowing that he had come.
A day or two later Elder Gowell visited the Williamses in their home. Helen and
Eugene were surprised to learn that the conference president had heard her sermon the
previous Sabbath. To their great relief, he had been pleased.
Elder Gowell recommended that the Williamses hire a competent person to help with
the house work and to look after the little boys, in order to allow Helen to work more
for the conference than she had been able to do with all her home responsibilities. Elder
Gowell promised that he would arrange at the coming conference session for Mrs.
Williams to receive at least enough income to pay for the household help.

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