SPOTLIGHT
New St. David’s Rector Embraces Scholar-Priest Role
As cradle Episcopalians, Fr. Porter and Rebecca are thrilled to be returning “home” to The Episcopal Church.
“O By Ellen Ceely
vestry meetings. “It was an invaluable experience for me,” Taylor said. “It gave me real insight into ministry before attending seminary.”
ur worship of God always points and directs us toward Christ and his kingdom.” The Rev. Porter Taylor lives by these words as he follows God’s call on his life to serve Christ wherever he may lead.
From South Carolina, God called Taylor to California, where he attended Fuller Theological Seminary and took courses on liturgical theology and the Eucharist, which first planted Taylor in his mind the idea of pursuing a Born in Illinois but raised in Virginia, doctorate. He completed seminary while serving Taylor grew up in The Episcopal Church and felt on staff at a church plant and working for the local a call to ministry from a young age. He began to Anglican diocese. sense a more specific call to the priesthood while After ordination to the priesthood in 2013, Taylor attending a small liberal arts college in North served for a year as bishop’s deputy, then another Carolina, where he met his wife, Rebecca. One year as canon to the ordinary before starting of Taylor’s professors, a church planter in the his doctoral work in liturgical theology at the Anglican Church in North America, invited him to University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He completed be a part of his ministry. Taylor said yes. his doctoral work while living outside Kansas Through this church-planting experience, Taylor City, where he served a local Anglican church as joined a Fellows Program in South Carolina after theological in residence. graduating from college. The Fellows Program gave him hands-on ministry training in the areas of pastoral care, family ministries, preaching and
“Throughout my studies, two important things began to stir in me,” Taylor said. “The first was a call back into The Episcopal Church. The second was to pursue parish ministry rather than exclusively pursuing academic work.”
Fr. Porter has been married to Rebecca for twelve years, and together they have three sons, Jet (8), Case (5), and Ellis (4).
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Central Florida EPISCOPALIAN
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It was during this time that Taylor met The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, who encouraged Taylor to fully embrace the role of scholarpriest. It was clear to Taylor that it was time to return home to The Episcopal Church and serve
in the Diocese of Central Florida, and he was hired as the rector at St. David’s by-the-Sea in Cocoa Beach. “I am so excited to begin work at St. David’s bythe-Sea,” Taylor said. “The work that has been done there over the last decade is incredible and shows their commitment to kingdom mission and ministry. St. David’s is poised to grow from strength to strength, and I’m humbled to be part of this new season in their life.” Taylor’s dissertation, now in edits, will be completed this fall. He joyfully embraces the role of rector while remaining connected to a few academic projects. He is the editor of We Give Thanks Unto Thee (Pickwick, 2019) and the forthcoming Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Liturgical Theology (2021). He said, “Without the work of the local church, my research on liturgy and liturgical theology would be insufficient. Liturgy must be embodied and enacted in order to be made manifest in our lives in a real and tangible way.” Taylor and his family reside in Merritt Island and are grateful to rent the rectory from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church while they look for a new home. He and Rebecca have been married for 12 years and have three sons who love all things nature and exploration: Jet (8), Case (6) and Ellis (4). They are thrilled to have Rebecca’s parents, The Rev. Ellis Brust and The Rev. Cynthia Brust, in the same diocese. They like to bribe the Brusts with grandson time for a chance to swim in their pool. Taylor is an avid reader and is currently enjoying the third book, Ultimate Prizes, in his favorite series, Starbridge by Susan Howatch. However, now that he’s living in Florida, he says he’s considering taking up golf. www.cfdiocese.org
