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Middletown, Del. —
When Friday’s Ordination ceremony at Saint Anne’s Episcopal School ended, Father Gary Taylor’s son approached him and asked for a blessing.
In the Episcopal Church, it is tradition to ask a new priest for a blessing after they are ordained into Priesthood.
“To bless him with the weight of the church behind me – to do that for him – I wanted to do that all of his life as his father,” Taylor said.
The father and son shared an embrace as family, friends and other clergy members lined up outside of the school’s gymnasium to congratulate Taylor on his ordination into the Episcopal Church Priesthood.
As the ceremony began, Taylor wore all white. His family sat besides him.
Students lined the bleachers and members of the Episcopal Church priesthood sat behind the altar.
The Examination came and the Bishop asked Taylor, “Will you preserve in prayer, both in public and private, asking God’s grace, both for yourself and for others, offering all your labors to God, through the mediation of Jesus Christ and in the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.”
The Ordinand responded, “I will.”
Taylor knelt down facing the Bishop and the presbyters.
Men and women clad in church robes began to surround them, reaching their hands over Taylor’s bowed head.
Prayer followed and after a loud “Amen,” Taylor is presented with his priest robes, entering him into the order of the priests.
The Bishop presented him with a Bible, saying, “Do not forget the trust committed to you as a priest of the Church of God.”
Head of St. Anne’s School Peter Thayer then approached the newly ordained gifting him with a Prayer Book on behalf of the school.
“Receive this Prayer Book as a sign of the responsibility given you to lead in worship and to minister the spiritual life of this community of seekers,” he said before embracing the new priest.
Then when it came time for Communion, Taylor stood alongside other Priests to give the body and blood of Christ for the first time.
“Today was uplifting,” he said Friday. “I felt held up by the community.”
Taylor became the Chaplain at Saint Anne’s in August and has been working with the private Middletown school’s community service and religion programs since then.
“He’s been great here,” said Carey Koppenhaver, the school’s director of development. “He has a lot of energy and is relating well to the kids and parents.”
When Friday’s Ordination ceremony at Saint Anne’s Episcopal School ended, Father Gary Taylor’s son approached him and asked for a blessing.
In the Episcopal Church, it is tradition to ask a new priest for a blessing after they are ordained into Priesthood.
“To bless him with the weight of the church behind me – to do that for him – I wanted to do that all of his life as his father,” Taylor said.
The father and son shared an embrace as family, friends and other clergy members lined up outside of the school’s gymnasium to congratulate Taylor on his ordination into the Episcopal Church Priesthood.
As the ceremony began, Taylor wore all white. His family sat besides him.
Students lined the bleachers and members of the Episcopal Church priesthood sat behind the altar.
The Examination came and the Bishop asked Taylor, “Will you preserve in prayer, both in public and private, asking God’s grace, both for yourself and for others, offering all your labors to God, through the mediation of Jesus Christ and in the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.”
The Ordinand responded, “I will.”
Taylor knelt down facing the Bishop and the presbyters.
Men and women clad in church robes began to surround them, reaching their hands over Taylor’s bowed head.
Prayer followed and after a loud “Amen,” Taylor is presented with his priest robes, entering him into the order of the priests.
The Bishop presented him with a Bible, saying, “Do not forget the trust committed to you as a priest of the Church of God.”
Head of St. Anne’s School Peter Thayer then approached the newly ordained gifting him with a Prayer Book on behalf of the school.
“Receive this Prayer Book as a sign of the responsibility given you to lead in worship and to minister the spiritual life of this community of seekers,” he said before embracing the new priest.
Then when it came time for Communion, Taylor stood alongside other Priests to give the body and blood of Christ for the first time.
“Today was uplifting,” he said Friday. “I felt held up by the community.”
Taylor became the Chaplain at Saint Anne’s in August and has been working with the private Middletown school’s community service and religion programs since then.
“He’s been great here,” said Carey Koppenhaver, the school’s director of development. “He has a lot of energy and is relating well to the kids and parents.”
Before relocating to Middletown this past summer, Taylor’s family moved from Connecticut to Virginia so that he could earn his Master’s in Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary. To become a Priest in the Episcopal Church, one must earn this degree.
“It’s more than academic,” Taylor said. “It’s worship, prayer and spiritual direction.”
His wife and three children 100 percent supported the move, he said. Now his youngest two attend Saint Anne’s while his oldest son is a sophomore at Saint Andrew’s School just down the road.
“He had decided that God called him to become a priest,” his wife Karen said. “We’ve been looking forward to this day for five years. We’re all so proud of him.”
She knew before marrying her husband 20 years ago that he would one day be an Episcopal minister.
Faith is very important in their family, she said.
In 2005, Taylor made the decision to go into the priesthood.
At the time, he was working in Connecticut at the Wooster School where he was a Chaplain.
After going through the first part of the process, Taylor entered seminary in 2008 where he studied for three years before beginning his job at St. Anne’s.
“I’m making a good difference,” he said. “It’s a powerful thing to be a part of.”
