 Williams served as priest of Fernbank, Ohio and Riverside, Ohio from 1884 to 1889; as deacon at St. Paul's in Steubenville, Ohio from 1889 to 1893; and as dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland from 1893 to 1906.In 1906, he was consecrated as bishop of the Michigan Diocese of the Episcopal Church, where he remained until his death in 1923.In his religious and social views, Williams was a liberal clergyman who advocated for the views of Walter Rauschenbush.