Memorial Mass – A Tribute to Bishop Don Taylor’s Service
The life of service to God, the Church and the community demonstrated through the ministry of the Rt. Rev. E. Don Taylor, late Rector of the Kingston Parish Church and retired Vicar Bishop for New York City during his 52 years as a priest will be celebrated in a Memorial Mass of Thanksgiving to be held at the Kingston Parish Church tomorrow, June 16 at 2.00 p.m.
The Bishop of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands, the Rt. Rev. Howard Gregory will preside; and Concelebrants will include the Rt. Rev. Dr. Robert Thompson, Suffragan Bishop of Kingston; the Rt. Rev. Leon Golding, Suffragan Bishop of Montego Bay; the Rt. Rev. & Hon. Alfred Reid, retired Bishop of Jamaica & The Cayman Islands; and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Harold Daniel, retired Suffragan Bishop of Mandeville. The Homily will be delivered by Bishop Reid.
The congregation headed by Bishop Taylor’s daughter, Tara Elizabeth and other family members, will include clergy; members of the Ecumenical fraternity; students of the Central Branch Infant and All Age Schools, for which Bishop Taylor was Chairman; other Diocesan Schools and members of the Downtown Kingston communities for which he worked tirelessly.
The music at the Service will be led by four choirs under the direction of Messrs. Michael Sutherland and Audley Davidson, all representing institutions with which the late Bishop was associated.
These include the choirs from KingstonParishChurch and the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which Bishop Taylor served as Rector; KingstonCollege where he was both a former student and Headmaster; and the Diocesan Festival Choir, which operates under the umbrella of the Anglican Church. Two well-known soloists in the classical music fraternity, Professor Winston Davidson and Mrs. June Thompson-Lawson, will also deliver musical tributes. Professor Davidson is a Kingston College Old Boy while Mrs. Thompson-Lawson is a member of St. Mary the Virgin.
The Musical Apostles Steel Band from the KingstonParishChurch, which comprises mostly youngsters nurtured by Bishop Taylor, will offer special renditions. Organists will be Messrs. Donald Hossack, Dwight McBean and Audley Davidson.
A Notice from the Kingston Parish Church has advised that owing to the limited parking available in the City Centre, a shuttle bus service to the Church will be available from the Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Avenue, starting at 12 Noon and continuing in both directions until 6.00 p.m. Persons attending the Service are requested to be seated by 1.15 p.m.
In a tribute to their late Rector, members of the KingstonParishChurch described him as one who “exemplified the finest qualities that make for an exceptional Priest.” They said his passing was a great loss, not only to the Church, but to the City of Kingston and Jamaicans at home and abroad.
Bishop Taylor died in New York on May 24, after ailing for several months.