On Feb. 13, 2022, The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer presided and preached at the Celebration of New Ministry and Installation of The Rev. Dr. James Taylor as rector of St. George, The Villages, coinciding with the feast day of Absalom Jones.

In his sermon, Brewer quoted The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church: “Absalom Jones didn’t just keep the faith. He activated the faith.” Turning to Taylor, Brewer said, “Jim, when I think about the role of a rector, that for me encapsulates it in a nutshell. It’s not just that you are speaking the truth of faith, but … by your words and actions, God uses you to, in fact, activate the faith of others.”

The Villages, a sprawling retirement community, was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States during the decade between the 2010 and 2020 Census. Over 81% of its population is age 65 or older.

Taylor, reflecting on Brewer’s sermon, spoke about the task of activating the faith of people in this unique community. “They have life skills that they still want to use, and they still want to be useful,” he said, adding that his older parishioners have free time for meaningful ministry and want to be relevant in the lives of others.

“What I watch out for a lot of times is to make sure that people don’t feel lonely or isolated,” he said.

The Rt. Rev. Gregory Brewer and The Rev. Dr. James Taylor during Taylor’s Celebration of New Ministry

Taylor graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1992. He continued his education at VTS and completed his doctor of ministry degree in 2014. During the 30 years since his ordination, Taylor served congregations in North and South Carolina before his call to serve as rector of St. George.

“Numerous factors made me want to pick up and move here,” Taylor explained. “I was excited about the music program,” which he said is an important part of the church’s outreach to the community. “They have a concert series that is going on now, in fact,” he said. “Also, they were looking for someone who would deliver scripture-based sermons, and those are the kind of sermons I like to deliver.” In addition, Taylor’s doctoral thesis focused on stewardship, and he served as treasurer for the Diocese of South Carolina for 10 years—knowledge and experience that were of particular interest to St. George.

“When I came here, we had an $86,000 deficit going into 2022,” he said. Under his leadership, the church has already added approximately 35 new pledges since January. Taylor was delighted to share what he learned at the church’s recent finance meeting, “Guess what our treasurer said? ‘We have closed that deficit already!’ So they’re excited, and I’m excited.”

While his strong executive and pastoral skills are already meeting felt needs at St. George, Taylor knows the church’s future success depends not only on quality leadership but on quality relationships as well. “It’s all about relationship and relationship building,” he said. “Not only building relationships with the clergy, but also building relationship with [other] members of the parish as well.”

“Because The Villages is growing so rapidly, and we have new people visiting every week … newcomers ministry is very important for us,” the rector emphasized.

In his homily, Brewer expounded on how God’s grace to and through his people is the key to forming a welcoming community with an “activated” faith. As he closed his sermon, Brewer encouraged Taylor, “May God use you to speak words of life and mercy to this congregation and beyond, that The Villages might know that in their midst are both a priest and a people who are learning, in the midst of difficulty and disagreement, to actually love one another and to serve generously, sacrificially, in the name of Christ. Because that’s how Christ serves us … beyond anything that we can deserve.”