New St. David’s Rector Embraces Scholar-Priest Role

New St. David’s Rector As cradle Episcopalians, Fr. Porter and Rebecca are thrilled to be returning “home” to The Episcopal Church.

Embraces Scholar-Priest Role

By Ellen Ceely “O ur worship of God always points and directs us toward Christ and his kingdom.” The Rev. Porter Taylor lives vestry meetings. “It was an invaluable experience for me,” Taylor said. “It gave me real insight into ministry before attending seminary.” From South Carolina, God called Taylor to California, where he in the Diocese of Central Florida, and he was hired as the rector at St. David’s by-the-Sea in Cocoa Beach. by these words as he follows God’s call attended Fuller Theological Seminary “I am so excited on his life to serve Christ wherever he and took courses on liturgical theology to begin work at may lead. Born in Illinois but raised in Virginia, Taylor grew up in The Episcopal Church and felt a call to ministry from a young age. He began to sense a more specific call to the priesthood while attending a small liberal arts college in North Carolina, where he met his wife, Rebecca. One and the Eucharist, which first planted in his mind the idea of pursuing a doctorate. He completed seminary while serving on staff at a church plant and working for the local Anglican diocese. After ordination to the priesthood in 2013, Taylor served for a year as bishop’s deputy, then another Taylor 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.” of Taylor’s professors, a church planter in the year as canon to the ordinary before starting Taylor’s dissertation, now in edits, will be Anglican Church in North America, invited him to his doctoral work in liturgical theology at the completed this fall. He joyfully embraces the be a part of his ministry. Taylor said yes. University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He completed role of rector while remaining connected to a Through this church-planting experience, Taylor joined a Fellows Program in South Carolina after graduating from college. The Fellows Program gave him hands-on ministry training in the areas of pastoral care, family ministries, preaching and his doctoral work while living outside Kansas City, where he served a local Anglican church as theological in residence. “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 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.” ministry rather than Taylor and his family reside in Merritt Island and exclusively pursuing are grateful to rent the rectory from St. Luke’s academic work.” Episcopal Church while they look for a new home. It was during this time that Taylor met The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, who encouraged Taylor to fully embrace the role of scholarHe 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. priest. It was clear Taylor is an avid reader and is currently enjoying Fr. Porter has been married to Rebecca for twelve years, and together they have three sons, to Taylor that it was time to return home to The Episcopal 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 Jet (8), Case (5), and Ellis (4). Church and serve considering taking up golf.