Husband and wife pastors divorce. Now their Alliance church is going up for auction

• Pastors and founders of downtown Alliance church are divorcing after 32 years.
• The couple had founded the church and owned the property.
• Church and six other marital properties, including former Shaffer's Diner, will be auctioned in July.

ALLIANCE ‒ A downtown church will be offered for sale this month, because its husband and wife pastors are getting divorced.

For two decades, Bobby and Joyce Williams nurtured and grew Feed My Sheep Ministries, an outreach mission, from the building at 114 E. Main St. Then, in 2009, they added New Beginnings House of God, a non-denominational church at the same location.

Not only was it a house of worship, the church hosted Black History Month events, flu shot clinics, free meals, holiday gatherings and a host of community outreach programs for seniors. And the Williamses themselves were regularly lauded and honored with awards within their church and throughout the city for their work.

Now, the site's future is unclear.

In May of last year, Joyce Williams filed for divorce in Stark County Family Court from her husband of 32 years.

A 90-day reconcilation effort failed earlier this year, according to court records. So, the case is moving forward again. Last month, the court approved Joyce Williams' request to sell all the couple's properties — not uncommon in divorce cases, because it makes splitting assets simpler.

What is unusual, though, is the Williamses owned the church building.

Many churches are owned by the congregations, a trust, or religious order. But because the Williamses bought the former First Christian Church themselves in 2004, it's a marital asset.

And it's going to be sold by Kiko Auctions at noon July 15. Also on the block at the same time are six other properties owned by the couple: three duplexes, two vacant lots and the former Shaffer's Diner on North Park Street, across the street from the church.

Attorneys for the Williamses both declined comment for this story, and neither Bobby nor Joyce Williams responded to or could be reached for requests for comment.

The Williamses had a mission

Although phone calls to the church were not answered, it appears to be open and operating.

Joyce Williams, a retired Canton City and Alliance City schools educator, has posted replays or live services from the church on her Facebook page on several recent Sundays.

In 2004, when the Williamses bought the building at an auction for $125,000, she told The Alliance Review the Lord had provided her a vision that the site was the place for their ministry.

First Christian Church had sold it because they'd built a new facility outside of downtown.

At the time of the purchase, the Williamses said Feed My Sheep Ministries would eventually offer everythinig from child and senior care to Bible study sessions and concerts.

"This will be a Bible preaching church led by the Holy Spirit, all in unity," she said in 2004.

Bobby Williams said the couple's ministry would try to turn negatives within the community into positives.

"It will bring back the identity of what Alliance really means," he'd said.

Prior to founding Feed My Sheep and New Beginnings, Bobby Williams was a pastor at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. A U.S. Marines veteran, he not only preached at the couple's church, but also provided worship services at the Alliance Community Care Center and Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Massillon.

Sales details include iconic Shaffer's Diner

The auctions will be held in the parking lot behind the church, with online bidding also available. Each of the seven properties will be offered individually.

The 23,000-square-foot brick and stone church facility was built in 1957. It includes a fellowship hall, indoor basketball court, kitchen and banquet room, chapel, sanctuary and several classrooms.

The long-vacant Shaffer's Diner once was a local icon.

The business, which dated to the early 1940s, had moved to North Park Street in 1962. It enjoyed a loyal following for its breakfasts and plethora of home-cooked, stick-to-your-belly roast beef, turkey and Swiss steak with mashed potato dinners.

Longtime owner Kay Ray — whose parents founded the business — retired in 2004. Another operator ran the diner for the next dozen years, until a lender foreclosed on the property.

The Williamses purchased Shaffer's at an auction in 2016 — but it's sat vacant since.

The other five auctions are for: a vacant lot on South Liberty Avenue, two duplexes on Jersey Street, a duplex on North Liberty Avenue and a vacant lot on North Liberty Avenue.

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP