Above:  My Grandmother, Nell Barrett Taylor, with My Father, 1943

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EULOGY FOR JOHN DODSON TAYLOR, III (NOVEMBER 21, 1943-OCTOBER 30, 2014)

MARTHA MCDONALD MOORE CHAPEL, MAGNOLIA MANOR, AMERICUS, GEORGIA

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Before I departed Athens last Thursday, I posted a notice of Dad’s impending death in the Facebook group of my parish, St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church.  Many of my fellow parishioners expressed sympathy and informed me of their prayers not only for me but for my family also.  One person commented on my Facebook page that I am a “living tribute” to Dad.  That thought had not occurred to me, but may the sentiment be accurate.

Each of us carries the legacies of other people, extending back into generations immemorial.  Much of Dad’s influence is evident in me, from my bookish ways to my preference for classical music.  Most important, though, are lessons in faith and mere decency, which he taught primarily via a pattern of mundane deeds.  Among my earliest memories is one, from the late 1970s, of him preaching and mentioning the “presence of God.”  I, being a concrete thinker at the time, was confused, for I saw no wrapped packages with tags reading “To Ken from God.”  I see clearly, with the benefit of hindsight, how many presents (even some in wrapped boxes) God gave me via Dad.  The best such gifts, however, are intangible.  And they are for the benefit of others, not just myself.  Dad taught me that also.

Now he belongs to the Church Triumphant.  This being All Saints’ Sunday, a verse from “For All the Saints” is doubly appropriate:

O blest communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.

Alleluia.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 1, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS

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These were my prepared comments.  I remained close to them as I extended them.–KRT

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/the-long-goodbye/

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Above:  George W. Barrett Documents I Retrieved Recently

Photograph Dated December 31, 2013

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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This month, during a visit to Americus, Georgia, I retrieved a number of documents and photographs, many of which I will use to update this weblog.  There were more George W. Barrett sermon outlines, most of which I can date to 1938-1942 because of a certain document.

Photograph Dated December 31, 2013

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

I can even name the congregation–Underwood Memorial Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia (now Tenth Street Underwood Memorial United Methodist Church)–from which my great-grandfather retired from active ministry in November 1945.  There are some other sermon outlines on pages which someone removed from a journal back in the  mists of time.  Unfortunately, most of those other journal pages are almost certainly lost, and I have some partial outlines.

I do not have page 188.

Photograph Dated December 31, 2013

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

I also have some old photographs, many of which are in excellent condition.  Others, however, have faded, unfortunately.  But I will do my best to take care of them.  And I will, of course, share images of them here.

This journey through family history is really quite interesting!

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 31, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  The Second Draft of the Poem

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Birds alight

in the light and in shadows

to gather in a backyard

to dine on a mass

of birdseed on Christmas Eve.

I watch them through glass

and enjoy the sight

of avian grazing

so close yet

at a proper distance.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 24, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  Part of the Second Draft of the Poem

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A tree in Americus woods grows upward

then back to the ground, forming an arch

of wood and bark unbroken–not severed–

through which one might even march.

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Why did the tree grow this way?

It is a good question, I propose.

Pondering such things, I do say,

regarding how Mother Nature goes,

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is a helpful spiritual exercise,

for to look around and pay attention–

really to open one’s eyes–

is to notice what God has done.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 29, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  The Second Draft of the Poem

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Bird seed and deer corn–

quite a feast for neighborhood wildlife–

birds, squirrels, and deer–

who gather in a backyard in the morn

and the afternoon with hunger rife.

Yet of humans they have a fear

proper for creatures wild born;

it probably preserves their life

elsewhere and just continues here.

Their presence I will not scorn,

for it proves soothing amid strife

caused by someone near.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 28, 2013 COMMON ERA

Early morning rain

pelts the roof

during a thunderstorm,

creating a nocturnal rhythm–

a music of sorts–

to which to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, the thirsty earth

drinks the water the clouds supply

from up in the sky

as occasional bolts of lightning

illumine the overcast sky.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 26, 2012

Above:  A Nativity Play

Image Source = First Presbyterian Church, Edmond, Oklahoma

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Childrens_Nativity_Play_2007.jpg)

At a Christmas pageant,

Young girls playing angels

Surround boys playing shepherds.

The narrator says of the shepherds,

“They were terrified.”

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Adorable–not terrifying–angels,

Christmas carols,

Episcopal pomp and circumstance,

A plethora of incense–

Christmas is here.

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Visiting in Americus,

Singing with a church choir not my own,

Attending a church I have come to like

Yet which is distant from my home–

Feeling comfortable there–

Christmas is here.

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For all the darkness,

Fears, and

Uncertainties

Of our lives,

We have reasons to rejoice–

God is with us–

Christmas is here.

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For all our pain and sorrow,

We have reasons to rejoice–

A child is born for us–

Christmas is here.

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Despite all that we have lost,

We have reasons to rejoice–

A son is born to us–

Christmas is here.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 27, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST, APOSTLE AND MARTYR

Above:  A Television Set

Image Source = Ma8thew

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hd_tv_samsung_LE26R41BD.jpg)

I seek

Peace

And

Quiet

Yet

The television is on

In the other room,

So I sequester myself

Or

Take a walk.

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Off,

Damned television!

Come hither,

Silence!

Be gone,

Vacuous programming!

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Reading,

Writing,

Contemplating–

These I want more and more,

So that I may listen for–

And perhaps hear–

A voice of God.

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But first the heartwarming Hallmark Channel

Christmas movie,

Which will give me spiritual diabetes

If I watch it,

Must go;

It gets in the way

Of silence.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 23, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF KANTY, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT CHARBEL, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MONK

THE FEAST OF GERALD R. FORD, UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE, VICE PRESIDENT, AND PRESIDENT

THE FEAST OF PERCY SUTTON, CIVIL RIGHTS PIONEER

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A Related Post:

http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/liberation-from-television/

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Above:  Autumn Leaves,by John Everett Millais

Raking seems futile sometimes,

especially on windy Autumn days.

The wind blows,

leaves fall

carpeting formerly raked ground,

rendering yard work moot.

The wind blows,

leaves fall,

spilling onto a carport,

causing one to wonder

about the point of sweeping it.

At least the leaves are

beautiful and colorful.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 23, 2011 COMMON ERA