Archive for the ‘Tift County Georgia’ Category
Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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I have, to the best of my knowledge, added all extant and complete sermon outlines by my great-grandfather, George Washington Barrett (1873-1956), to this weblog. Many others did exist; this I know beyond a shadow of a doubt. The ravages of time and human carelessness have denied many of these documents to me, one interested in family history.
Barrett, an active Minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, then the reunited Methodist Church from 1899 to 1945, was a man of his time, as I am a man of my time. A century separated my birth from his. One hundred years made a great deal of difference. He was well-acclimated to old-style Southern Methodism with a Pietistic streak. I, in contrast, seemed born to become an Episcopalian, given my penchant for ritual formality and my spiritual need for frequent Holy Eucharist. These differences have led me to occasional fits of frustration with my great-grandfather Barrett, especially when I have typed one of his denunciations of “externals” (a frequent topic of consternation among Pietists) or playing cards, and I have not been shy about expressing myself in writing regarding such issues.
I make no excuses for such criticism. If the fact that I have expressed an opinion different from his offends someone, so be it. Such a person, offended by the reality of subjective differences, will experience life as a series of tizzies, I suppose. That is not my responsibility.
I do thank my great-grandfather Barrett for doing his part in maintaining the Christian faith in my family. This faith became part of my inheritance. It nurtured me until I claimed it for myself. The rituals marking that faith journey include baptism (by the hand of my father, John D. Taylor, III, at North Newington Baptist Church, Newington, Georgia, in 1979), confirmation into The Episcopal Church (at St. Anne’s, Tifton, Georgia) by Bishop Harry Shipps in 1991, reaffirmation of faith (at Trinity, Statesboro) in the presence of Bishop Henry Louttit, Jr., in 2003, and reaffirmation again (at the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia) in the presence of Bishop J. Neil Alexander in 2008. Although my spiritual path differs from that of my great-grandfather Barrett, it exists in large part due to him. So he, warts and all, was a positive (even if indirect) influence on me.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 27, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTONY AND THEODOSIUS OF KIEV, FOUNDERS OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MONASTICISM; SAINT BARLAAM OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT; AND SAINT STEPHEN OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF THE EARLY ABBOTS OF CLUNY
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH WARRILOW, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
Above: A Clip from The Atlanta Constitution, September 29, 1915, Page 3
Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Clip Obtained Via newspapers.com
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I live in a world quite different from that of my great-grandfather, John Dodson Taylor, Sr. (1860-1936). If one seeks evidence of that fact germane to the news report above, I offer the following image, scanned from Ralph S. Tarr and Frank M. McMurry, World Geographies–Second Book (New York, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1920), Georgia Supplement page 19:
I imagine that the “good roads” in Chattooga County were similar to those in Tift County.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
Dusk at Porto Covo, Portugal
Image Source = Alvesgaspar
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PortoCovo_February_2008-4.jpg)
As the pall of night casts its
Gradually encroaching shadows
Upon the day,
A peace descends upon the observer.
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As I am surrounded by darkness,
I find myself clothed with quiet and welcome inactivity.
Legions of crickets hum in the distance,
And my ear listens attentively.
===
One score minus five years ago,
When my sister, her friends and I
Would sit upon a north Georgia hill,
I imagined fireflies to be passenger airplanes.
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Evenings are magical times of day,
Opportunities to relax, fantasize and do nothing.
===
As the pall of night casts its
Gradually encroaching shadows
Upon the day,
A peace descends upon the observer.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
May 15, 1993
Full Moon
Image Source = Arun.blue
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Full_moon_night.JPG)
Diana the Moon
Shines down
Upon the Earth,
Enlightening it and us
With her gentle, silver light.
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Diana the Moon
Shines upon us,
Filling the sky sumptously
As if only she matters.
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Diana the Moon
Shines upon the Earth,
Cascading subtle light
Upon terrestrial objects.
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Diana the Moon
Shines upon us,
Gently breaking through
The Darkness.
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Diana the Moon
Shines down
Upon the Earth,
Enlightening it and us
With her gentle, silver light.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
February 3, 1992
September 13, 1992
February 22, 1994
Dusk
Evenings
Are
That twilight time of day–
After and before mornings and afternoons.
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Evenings
Are
That dark time of day–
Splendidly devoid of sunlight.
===
Evenings
Are
That relaxed time of day–
Free and open for me.
===
Evenings
Are
That relaxing time of day–
At the end of various tasks.
===
Evenings
Are
That divine time of day–
A quiet period for reflection.
===
Evenings
Are
That creative time of day–
After the day’s tasks are no more.
===
Evenings
Are.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
February 3, 1992
Dusk at Porto Covo, Portugal
Image Source = Alvesgaspar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PortoCovo_February_2008-4.jpg()
Evenings
Are
Quiet conclusions
To splendid new beginnings.
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Evenings
Are
Relaxed twilights
Of sometimes harried days.
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Evenings
Are
Wonderfully beautiful
Times of Day
Which uplift the soul.
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Evenings
Are
Splendidly lovely
Continuations of promise,
Of hope and blessing.
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Evenings
Are.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
October 30, 1991
November 1, 1991
Yosemite Valley in the Morning
Mornings
Are
Splendid new beginnings,
Indications that life goes on,
That hope is not dead.
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Mornings
Are
Continuations of life,
Renewed promises of favor
Of God in people.
===
Mornings
Are
Wonderfully beautiful
Times of Day
Which uplift the soul.
===
Mornings
Are
Splendidly lovely
Daybreaks of promise,
Daily rebirths of hope and promise.
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Mornings
Are.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
October 30, 1991
November 1, 1991
