Prince Albert Taylor Jr
Encyclopedia
Prince Albert Taylor Jr. (January 27, 1907 – August 15, 2001) was an American
Bishop
of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church
, elected in 1956. When he died he held the distinction of the longest tenure
of all living United Methodist Bishops at that time. Only one other Bishop remained from those elected in 1956: Bishop Ralph Edward Dodge
. And as it happened, Bishop Dodge was but two days older than Bishop Taylor! No other Bishops elected before 1956 were alive in 2001. Bishop Taylor was also one of only three remaining African American
Bishops elected by the Central Jurisdiction of The Methodist Church. The others were James Samuel Thomas
and L. Scott Allen.
the same year Oklahoma
became a U.S. State
. He was the eldest son and fifth of fourteen children born to the Rev. Prince Albert, Sr and Bertha Ann (Little) Taylor. His father was a Methodist clergyman, too.
Prince Jr. married Annie Belle Thaxton 18 July 1929. They had one daughter, Isabella Taylor Jenkins, of Atlanta. Mrs. Taylor preceded her husband in death, after sixty-six years of marriage
.
degree from Samuel Huston College, Austin, Texas
in 1931. He was a member of Phi Beta Sigma
fraternity
. Prince then earned a B.D.
degree from Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta. Then he attended Union Theological Seminary
, earning an M.A.
degree from Union and Columbia University
in New York City
in 1939. He engaged in further graduate study at New York University
in 1940, from which he earned the Ed.D. degree in 1948.
in 1931, the Rev. Taylor, Jr. served as a Pastor
in the North Carolina
Annual Conference
, and in New York
. He was appointed to churches in the following communities: Kernersville
(1931–32), the Northwest Methodist Church in Greensboro
(1932–35), the St. Thomas M.E. Church in Thomasville
(1935–38), and the East Calvary
Methodist Church in New York City
(1938–40). He also served as the summer pastor at St. Mark's Methodist Church in NYC, 1940–42 and 1945-48.
The Rev. Dr. Taylor then served as a Professor
and as the Assistant to the President at Bennett College
, Greensboro, North Carolina
(1940–43). In 1943 he became the Chairman of the Department of Religious Education
at Gammon Theological Seminary. His home while at Gammon was at 9 McDonough Blvd., S.E. in Atlanta. He also was an Exchange Teacher at Clark College
, 1943-48.
From 1948 until 1956 Rev. Taylor was the Editor
of the Central Christian Advocate, the newsmagazine
of the Central Jurisdiction. Rev. Taylor served as President
of the Methodist Press Association, predecessor to the United Methodist Association of Communicators.
The Rev. Dr. Taylor served as a member of the North Carolina Conference Board of Ministerial Training and of the Conference Board of Education
. He also was the Chairman of the Committee on World Peace
.
Episcopal Area
(the Liberia
Annual Conference). After eight years service in Africa
, Bishop Taylor returned to the U.S.A.
In 1964 Bishop Taylor was assigned the New Jersey
Episcopal Area (the Northern New Jersey [formerly the Newark
] and the Southern New Jersey Annual Conferences). His episcopal residence
was in Princeton, New Jersey
.
Bishop Taylor served on numerous Methodist, United Methodist, ecumenical and interfaith
boards and agencies. For example, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors
for Religion In American Lfe. He also was a member of the General Board of the National Council of Churches
.
Bishop in Methodist history assigned an Episcopal Area made up predominantly of white
congregations (the New Jersey
Area). This was at the beginning of the dismantling of the Central Jurisdiction in The Methodist Church (June 1964), integrating its annual conferences, churches and bishops into the five (predominantly white) jurisdictions of The Methodist Church. Bishop Taylor served in New Jersey until his retirement
in 1976.
Bishop Taylor also was the first African American Methodist Bishop to serve as the President of the Church's Council of Bishops (1965–66). While Bishop in Monrovia, he also lead the Liberia Conference to become an autonomous Methodist denomination
, a status granted in 1964.
twice decorated him. At the time he was awarded "The Venerable Knighthood of the Pioneers," he was one of only two private citizens ever to receive this highest decoration
of Liberia. Bishop Taylor also received the St. George's Award Medal (in 1964) for distinguished service to The Methodist Church.
The Rev. Dr. Taylor also received several honorary degrees. Rust College
awarded him the Doctor of Divinity
degree in 1949. Gammon Seminary did as well in 1950, as did Dickinson College
(D.D., 1967). Philander Smith College
awarded the LL.D.. And the University of Puget Sound
awarded the Litt.D.
in 1967, Bishop Taylor was appointed a member of the Commission on Civil Disorders by Governor Richard J. Hughes
.
One of Bishop Taylor's last actions was to prepare an historical document which was read at the opening session of the World Methodist Council
in Brighton, England, 23 August 2001. Taylor had been a leading force in this international organization and had served as President of its Executive Committee.
, Bishop Taylor listed eight guiding principles which have sustained him throughout his life:
in 1996 he bought a new computer
in order to "not allow the 21st century to move off ahead of me."
At the urging of the late Methodist theologian and historian
, Dr. Albert Outler
, Bishop Taylor wrote The Life of My Years, an autobiographical account of three quarters of a century of Methodist history, published by Abingdon Press
. Interviewed in 1997, at the age of ninety, Taylor revealed he had on his calendar
appointments through the year 2001. "I try to exercise each day and do those things which contribute to longevity
" he said. "Death
will not catch me sitting in a corner waiting for it." Earlier in life, his hobbies included hunting. He also enjoyed the sport
of volleyball
.
at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point, New Jersey
, 15 August 2001. He was ninety-four. Services for Bishop Taylor were scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Monday, 20 August at the Princeton
(N.J.) United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, gifts were encouraged to be given to the Office of Loans and Scholarships of the U.M. General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, Tennessee
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
, elected in 1956. When he died he held the distinction of the longest tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
of all living United Methodist Bishops at that time. Only one other Bishop remained from those elected in 1956: Bishop Ralph Edward Dodge
Ralph Edward Dodge
Ralph Edward Dodge was an American Bishop of The Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, elected in 1956. He was the youngest of four children of Ernest and Lizzie Longshore Dodge of Dickinson County, Iowa....
. And as it happened, Bishop Dodge was but two days older than Bishop Taylor! No other Bishops elected before 1956 were alive in 2001. Bishop Taylor was also one of only three remaining African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Bishops elected by the Central Jurisdiction of The Methodist Church. The others were James Samuel Thomas
James Samuel Thomas
James Samuel Thomas was an American bishop in The Methodist Church . When elected in 1964, he was the youngest Methodist Bishop to date....
and L. Scott Allen.
Birth and Family
Prince was born in Hennessey, OklahomaHennessey, Oklahoma
Hennessey is a town in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,058 at the 2000 census.-History:Hennessey is named after Pat Hennessy, an Irish freighter who was killed at the present townsite in April, 1874...
the same year Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
became a U.S. State
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
. He was the eldest son and fifth of fourteen children born to the Rev. Prince Albert, Sr and Bertha Ann (Little) Taylor. His father was a Methodist clergyman, too.
Prince Jr. married Annie Belle Thaxton 18 July 1929. They had one daughter, Isabella Taylor Jenkins, of Atlanta. Mrs. Taylor preceded her husband in death, after sixty-six years of marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
.
Education
Prince earned an A.B.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Samuel Huston College, Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
in 1931. He was a member of Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
. Prince then earned a B.D.
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
degree from Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta. Then he attended Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
, earning an M.A.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
degree from Union and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1939. He engaged in further graduate study at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1940, from which he earned the Ed.D. degree in 1948.
Pastoral, Academic and Editorial Ministries
Ordained an Elder in the Methodist Episcopal ChurchMethodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
in 1931, the Rev. Taylor, Jr. served as a Pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
in the North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
Annual Conference
Annual Conference
An Annual Conference in the United Methodist Church is a regional body that governs much of the life of the "Connectional Church." Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge . Each conference is a geographical division...
, and in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He was appointed to churches in the following communities: Kernersville
Kernersville, North Carolina
Kernersville is a town in Forsyth County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 17,126 at the 2000 census. In 2007 the U.S. Census estimated the town's population at 22,309. Kernersville is located at the heart of the Piedmont Triad metropolitan area, which consists of the cities...
(1931–32), the Northwest Methodist Church in Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
(1932–35), the St. Thomas M.E. Church in Thomasville
Thomasville, North Carolina
Thomasville is a city in Davidson County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,354 at the 2010 census. The city is notable for its furniture industry as are its neighbors of High Point and Lexington. This Piedmont Triad community was established in 1852 and hosts the state's...
(1935–38), and the East Calvary
Calvary
Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...
Methodist Church in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(1938–40). He also served as the summer pastor at St. Mark's Methodist Church in NYC, 1940–42 and 1945-48.
The Rev. Dr. Taylor then served as a Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and as the Assistant to the President at Bennett College
Bennett College
Bennett College is a four-year liberal arts women's college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Founded in 1873, this historically black institution began as a normal school to provide education to newly emancipated slaves. It became a women's college in 1926 and currently serves roughly 780...
, Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
(1940–43). In 1943 he became the Chairman of the Department of Religious Education
Religious Education
Religious Education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a...
at Gammon Theological Seminary. His home while at Gammon was at 9 McDonough Blvd., S.E. in Atlanta. He also was an Exchange Teacher at Clark College
Clark Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University...
, 1943-48.
From 1948 until 1956 Rev. Taylor was the Editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the Central Christian Advocate, the newsmagazine
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
of the Central Jurisdiction. Rev. Taylor served as President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the Methodist Press Association, predecessor to the United Methodist Association of Communicators.
The Rev. Dr. Taylor served as a member of the North Carolina Conference Board of Ministerial Training and of the Conference Board of Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. He also was the Chairman of the Committee on World Peace
World peace
World Peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or people. World peace is an idea of planetary non-violence by which nations willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. The term is sometimes used to...
.
Episcopal Ministry
The Rev. Dr. Prince Albert Taylor, Jr. was elected to the Episcopacy of The Methodist Church on 16 June 1956 by the Central Jurisdictional Conference. He was assigned the MonroviaMonrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
Episcopal Area
Episcopal Area
An Episcopal Area in the United Methodist Church is a basic unit of this denomination. It is a region presided over by a resident bishop that is similar to a diocese in other Christian denominations. Each annual conference in the UMC is within a single episcopal area; some episcopal areas...
(the Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
Annual Conference). After eight years service in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Bishop Taylor returned to the U.S.A.
In 1964 Bishop Taylor was assigned the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Episcopal Area (the Northern New Jersey [formerly the Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
] and the Southern New Jersey Annual Conferences). His episcopal residence
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
was in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
.
Bishop Taylor served on numerous Methodist, United Methodist, ecumenical and interfaith
Interfaith
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
boards and agencies. For example, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
for Religion In American Lfe. He also was a member of the General Board of the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
.
Firsts
Bishop Taylor was the first Methodist Bishop elected in 1956. He also became the first African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Bishop in Methodist history assigned an Episcopal Area made up predominantly of white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
congregations (the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Area). This was at the beginning of the dismantling of the Central Jurisdiction in The Methodist Church (June 1964), integrating its annual conferences, churches and bishops into the five (predominantly white) jurisdictions of The Methodist Church. Bishop Taylor served in New Jersey until his retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
in 1976.
Bishop Taylor also was the first African American Methodist Bishop to serve as the President of the Church's Council of Bishops (1965–66). While Bishop in Monrovia, he also lead the Liberia Conference to become an autonomous Methodist denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
, a status granted in 1964.
Honors
In recognition of his service to Liberia, the GovernmentGovernment
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
twice decorated him. At the time he was awarded "The Venerable Knighthood of the Pioneers," he was one of only two private citizens ever to receive this highest decoration
State decoration
State decorations are orders, medals and other decorations granted by a state. International decorations are similar, but are not granted by a specific nation but rather an international organization....
of Liberia. Bishop Taylor also received the St. George's Award Medal (in 1964) for distinguished service to The Methodist Church.
The Rev. Dr. Taylor also received several honorary degrees. Rust College
Rust College
Rust College is a historically black liberal arts college located in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Located approximately 35 miles southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, it is the second-oldest private college in the state...
awarded him the Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
degree in 1949. Gammon Seminary did as well in 1950, as did Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
(D.D., 1967). Philander Smith College
Philander Smith College
Philander Smith College is a private, historically black college that is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It is located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The student body averages around 850 attendees, with around 30% of that figure attending part time. Although known historically as a school...
awarded the LL.D.. And the University of Puget Sound
University of Puget Sound
The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college located in the North End of Tacoma, Washington, in the United States...
awarded the Litt.D.
Other Accomplishments
During the riots in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
in 1967, Bishop Taylor was appointed a member of the Commission on Civil Disorders by Governor Richard J. Hughes
Richard J. Hughes
Richard Joseph Hughes was an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 45th Governor of New Jersey from 1962 to 1970, and as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1973–1979...
.
One of Bishop Taylor's last actions was to prepare an historical document which was read at the opening session of the World Methodist Council
World Methodist Council
The World Methodist Council, founded in 1881, is an association of churches in the Methodist tradition which comprises most of the world's Wesleyan denominations.- Extension and organization:...
in Brighton, England, 23 August 2001. Taylor had been a leading force in this international organization and had served as President of its Executive Committee.
Guiding principles
Shortly before his retirementRetirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
, Bishop Taylor listed eight guiding principles which have sustained him throughout his life:
- God has not given up His dominion over the world.
- Life without intrinsic values is built on a shaky foundation.
- Positions and possessions are of relative value only.
- What happens in you is far more important than what happens to you.
- Life that is not nurtured by faith withers.
- Mere adjustment to conditions and circumstances is a dangerous venture.
- There are no simple problems nor simple solutions. In every problem there is a web of relationships which must be taken into consideration.
- By the grace of God we are saved. None is so good as to earn it, none so bad as to be denied it.
Later years
In retirement, Bishop Taylor read each evening before going to sleep, trying never to go to sleep, "without knowing a little more than I knew the night before," he said. When he moved to Ocean City, New JerseyOcean City, New Jersey
Ocean City is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is the principal city of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cape May County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 11,701...
in 1996 he bought a new computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
in order to "not allow the 21st century to move off ahead of me."
At the urging of the late Methodist theologian and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, Dr. Albert Outler
Albert Outler
Albert Cook Outler was a 20th century American Methodist theologian and philosopher. Outler is generally considered to be one of the most important Wesley scholars in the history of the Church as well as the first real United Methodist theologian...
, Bishop Taylor wrote The Life of My Years, an autobiographical account of three quarters of a century of Methodist history, published by Abingdon Press
Abingdon Press
Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. Abingdon Press was begun in the early 1900s by The Methodist Church, and is...
. Interviewed in 1997, at the age of ninety, Taylor revealed he had on his calendar
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
appointments through the year 2001. "I try to exercise each day and do those things which contribute to longevity
Longevity
The word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....
" he said. "Death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
will not catch me sitting in a corner waiting for it." Earlier in life, his hobbies included hunting. He also enjoyed the sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
of volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
.
Death and Funeral
Bishop Prince Albert Taylor Jr died of cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point, New Jersey
Somers Point, New Jersey
Somers Point is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 10,795.The City of Somers Point is in the eastern part of Atlantic County, southwest of Atlantic City.-History:...
, 15 August 2001. He was ninety-four. Services for Bishop Taylor were scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Monday, 20 August at the Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
(N.J.) United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, gifts were encouraged to be given to the Office of Loans and Scholarships of the U.M. General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
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