William Lawrence (bishop)

American Episcopal bishop

William Lawrence (May 30, 1850 – November 6, 1941) was elected as the 7th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts (1893–1927). Lawrence was the son of the notable textile industrialist Amos Adams Lawrence and a member of the influential Boston family, founded by his great grandfather and American revolutionary, Samuel Lawrence. His grandfather was the famed philanthropist Amos Lawrence.

Lawrence was born on May 30, 1850, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of Sarah Elizabeth Appleton (1822–1891) and Amos Adams Lawrence (1814–1886), a notable textile industrialist, and a member of the influential Boston family, founded by his great grandfather and American revolutionary, Samuel Lawrence. His grandfather was the famed philanthropist Amos Lawrence. The financier J. P. Morgan, Jr. served as treasurer of the Church Pension Fund from its founding in 1918. While bishop emeritus, Lawrence was involved in an effort to proposition a new Book of Common Prayer to the Church of England. Also, while in retirement, he realized the need for a chapel at Massachusetts General Hospital and in the late 1930s, as the White Building was under construction, convinced of the importance of faith and spirit in healing, he sent letters to friends of the hospital asking for their support "in this bit of pioneer hospital work." Over eight hundred people of all faiths responded. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1899. In 1926, Lawrence published his autobiography, Memories of a Happy Life. Several of his sons, following in his footsteps, also became bishops of the Episcopal Church.

The "banker bishop" is quoted as having said, "In the long run it is only to the man of morality that wealth comes We, like the Psalmists, occasionally see the wicked prosper, but only occasionally. Godliness is in league with riches."