Pastor Shirley Ann Caesar Williams is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter, recording artist, author, and Pastor whose career has spanned six decades. A multi-award winning artist, with eleven Grammy Awards, fifteen Dove Awards, and thirteen Stellar Awards, and 1 RIAA Gold Certification to her credit, she is known as "The First Lady of Gospel Music". Pastor Caesar was acknowledged and honored by Oprah Winfrey at The Legends Ball, which honored those who have made significant contribution to the arts and entertainment industries.
Pastor Caesar began singing at the age of 10, and has recorded over forty albums, exploring her gift and spreading messages of faith. At and early age she joined the Caravans; Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, Inez Andrews, Delores Washington and James Cleveland, and sang and recorded with them from 1958 until 1966. She than began pursuing a call to ministry and solo singing career. Over the years, she continued to combine scripture, sermon and contemporary issues with traditional gospel.
Born in Durham, North Carolina, Pastor Caesar has served on the City Council in Durham. For more than 38 years, she has run and Outreach Ministry the bears her name. Her Outreach Ministry serves the neglected and those in need in the community. She often notes, "I cannot sweeten the Atlantic Ocean, but I can take a pitcher out of the ocean and sweeten that". It was Pastor Caesar's humble beginnings and her mother's encouraging words that have influenced her decision to give so selflessly of herself. She says, "Mom often made it very clear to me that the people were depending on me and she said, "I am depending on you and God is depending on you". Don't let us down. Don't you ever go out and sing one thing and live something else". That stayed with me not because Momma said it but because when you get the greater One who is The Lord Jesus in your life then He makes a difference. Just the very fact that Momma would always say that to me made a great impact upon my life".
Pastor Caesar is a Shaw University graduate, with Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. She has honorary doctorates from Shaw University and Southeastern University. And she is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Pastor Caesar has sung for every President since Jimmy Carter. And she has performed with such performers as Patti Labelle, Whitney Houston, Dottie People, Gladys Knight, Kim Burrell, John P. Kee, Tonex, Tramaine Hawkins, Kirk Franklin, Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams, and Andrea Crouch among many others.
Pastor Caesar has been the Pastor of Mt. Calvary Word of Faith Church in Raleigh, NC for more than 20 years, along with her husband and Co-Pastor Bishop Harold I Williams, Sr., to whom she has been married to for 26 years. Pastor Caesar's hope is that her messages will be listened to and people will be encouraged to lead good lives.
Pastor Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams, a true woman of God, the greatest pastor in the world, and adoring wife, a living legend, and a black history maker.