NEW YORK – Close to 2000 mourners packed the St. John’s Cathedral in New York City to bid farewell to former Vicar Bishop of New York, and Rector of the Kingston Parish Church on June 4, 2014. The mourners who packed the Cathedral came from all over the USA, Canada, Jamaica and various parts of the Caribbean including 250 bishops and ministers.
Heading the list of mourners was Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency, Stephen Vasciannie; Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United Nations, His Excellency Courtney Rattery; Jamaica’s Consul General to New York, Mr. Herman Lamont; former New York Councilwoman, Mrs. Una Clarke; New York Assembly Representative, Nick Perry; Anglican Lord Bishop of Jamaica and Grand Cayman, the Rt Rev Howard Gregory and Anglican Suffragan Bishop of Kingston, Rt Rev Robert Thompson; retired Lord Bishop of Jamaica, the Rt Rev. Alfred Reid and retired Lord Bishop of Trinidad, the Rt. Rev Calvin Abdulah as well as a large representation from the Kingston College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).
In paying tribute to Bishop Taylor, Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency, Stephen Vasciannie, who is also an Old Boy of Kingston College, described Bishop Taylor as a family man, a cosmopolitan evangelist, an educator, an outstanding man of God and one who contributed tremendously to his country both at home and abroad.
“Through his apostolic mission from Kingston to the world, Bishop Taylor touched the lives of thousands and tens of thousands with his attention to the concerns of the individual, his love of service, and his commitment to spreading the word of God.”
The Ambassador said, “Bishop Taylor was a shepherd of the flock, man of the people, and a man of eloquence. As Principal of Kingston College in the early 1970s, Bishop Taylor was a guide, source of inspiration, and first class leader. Having come under the direct influence of Kingston College’s founding father, Bishop Gibson, and having succeeded the legendary Douglas Forrest as Principal, Bishop Taylor was a brilliant link between the school’s past and its future.”
Ambassador Vasciannie pointed out that during his tenure as Principal, Reverend Taylor maintained his reputation as an outstanding orator and intellectual, and yet always found the time to engage even the most neophyte “College youth” on the niceties of what many Jamaicans identify as the “Fortis spirit”.
In the midst of his public life, Bishop Taylor was also a devoted family man and an outstanding son of Jamaica.
In delivering a moving sermon, the Rev. Canon Bruce D. Griffith of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City, Long Island, described Bishop Taylor as “a good shepherd, modeled on that one who alone is the Good Shepherd.” He said Bishop Taylor worked tirelessly and in so doing spent his life for the sheep.
Rev. Griffith recalled that up the end, Bishop Taylor’s heart was going out to the children, not just those few within the hallowed grounds of KC, but more especially those that crowded the streets around the parish church whose faces were a mirror for his memory. It was to and for the children that he was reaching out most, it was of them that he would speak with the greatest concern. It was with them that he was at his best, and his best was good indeed.
The Chief Celebrant at the Thanksgiving service was the Bishop of New York, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Dietsche. The first lesson was read by Bishop Taylor’s daughter Tara Taylor and the second lesson read by Winnifred Cross.
At the end of the service, in a moving tribute to Bishop Taylor, over 200 priests formed a honor guard while the casket left the cathedral. The remains will be cremated while a memorial service will be held at the Kinston Parish church on June 16.
Bishop Taylor served as Vicar Bishop of New York 1994 – 2009 and died on Saturday, May 24, 2014.
