The Rt. Rev. E. Don Taylor

A boundless energy and passion in proclaiming the Gospel and promoting community development have been the hallmarks of the ministry of The Rt. Rev. E. Don Taylor, who has given outstanding service to the Anglican Church in Jamaica and the United States. Bishop Don holds the distinction of being the first West Indian to become a Bishop in the Episcopal (American) Church which he served for 36 years.

Bishop Don’s preparation for the Priesthood began in his early childhood and was intensified when, as a student at Kingston College (KC), he came under the direct influence of the School’s founder and headmaster, the Rt. Rev. P.W. Gibson, who became his mentor and role model.

In 1960, four years after graduating from KC, he was ordained Deacon and he took his priestly vows one year later in 1961. His first assignment was at St. Mary the Virgin, then a small mission at Molynes Road and Washington Boulevard; and he also assisted with the Western Kingston missions in Tower Hill and the then Majesty Pen. He left a flourishing congregation at St. Mary the Virgin in 1970 to take up his next appointment as Headmaster of KC.

He migrated to the USA in 1973, and served communities in Buffalo and Atlanta for some 14 years, until 1987 when he was elected Bishop of the Virgin Islands where his strong pastoral ministry contributed to significant growth in the Church. The experience he gained as an announcer at Radio Jamaica and Rediffusion (RJR) after he left High School, served him well, as he established a Diocesan Radio Studio from which he proclaimed the “Good News” in weekly broadcasts. 
  
Bishop Taylor returned to the American mainland in 1994 to assume duties in the newly-created position of Vicar Bishop for New York City, an area covering Staten Island, Manhattan and the Bronx, and including 81 churches and church organizations.

On his retirement as Vicar Bishop, he answered the call to serve, once again, in his homeland and in 2009, he was appointed Rector of the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle – Kingston Parish Church. An Evangelist, who has led missions in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean, Bishop Don is applying his tremendous skills and experience in his ministry to the inner-city communities of Downtown Kingston.

Bishop Taylor is a graduate of St. Peter’s College which trained Anglican clergy in Jamaica prior to the establishment of the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI) in which the Anglican Church is an ecumenical partner. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of the West Indies, and a post-graduate Degree from Trinity College, University of Toronto, which also awarded him the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Divinity. He and his late wife, Rosalie, were married for 20 years, and they have one daughter – Tara-Elizabeth Angela.