Prince Albert Taylor Jr. facts for kids

Prince Albert Taylor Jr. (born January 27, 1907 – died August 15, 2001) was an important American bishop in the Methodist Church. He was chosen as a bishop in 1956. When he passed away, he had served longer than any other living United Methodist Bishop. Bishop Taylor was also one of the few remaining African American bishops chosen by the Central Jurisdiction of the Methodist Church.

Early Life and Family

Prince Albert Taylor Jr. was born in Hennessey, Oklahoma, in 1907. This was the same year Oklahoma became a U.S. State. He was the oldest son and fifth of fourteen children. His parents were Rev. Prince Albert Sr. and Bertha Ann Taylor. His father was also a Methodist clergyman, or minister.

Prince Jr. married Annie Belle Thaxton on July 18, 1929. They had one daughter named Isabella Taylor Jenkins. Mrs. Taylor passed away before her husband, after they had been married for 66 years.

Education and Learning

Prince Taylor Jr. loved learning. He earned his first degree, an A.B., from Samuel Huston College in Austin, Texas, in 1931. He was part of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

He then went on to get a B.D. degree from Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta. Later, he studied at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University in New York City. From there, he earned an M.A. degree in 1939. He continued his studies at New York University in 1940, earning his Ed.D. degree in 1948.

Serving as a Pastor and Teacher

Prince Taylor Jr. became an ordained Elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1931. He worked as a pastor in churches in North Carolina and New York State. He served in places like Kernersville (1931–32) and Greensboro (1932–35). He also pastored in Thomasville (1935–38) and New York City (1938–40).

Besides being a pastor, Rev. Dr. Taylor also taught. He was a Professor and Assistant to the President at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina (1940–43). In 1943, he became the head of the Religious Education Department at Gammon Theological Seminary. He also taught at Clark College from 1943 to 1948.

From 1948 to 1956, Rev. Taylor was the Editor of the Central Christian Advocate. This was a newsmagazine for the Central Jurisdiction of the Methodist Church. He also led the Methodist Press Association.

Becoming a Bishop

Rev. Dr. Prince Albert Taylor Jr. was chosen as a bishop of The Methodist Church on June 16, 1956. He was first sent to lead the church in Monrovia, Liberia, in Africa. He served there for eight years.

In 1964, Bishop Taylor returned to the United States. He was then assigned to the New Jersey Episcopal Area. This area included churches in Northern New Jersey and South Jersey. His home as a bishop was in Princeton, New Jersey.

Bishop Taylor was part of many important church groups. He served on boards for Methodist, United Methodist, and interfaith organizations. For example, he was the leader of the Board of Directors for Religion In American Life. He was also a member of the General Board of the National Council of Churches.

Important "Firsts"

Bishop Taylor was the first Methodist Bishop chosen in 1956. He also made history by becoming the first African American Bishop in Methodist history to lead an area mostly made up of white churches. This happened in New Jersey in 1964. This was a big step as the church began to bring together its different parts. Bishop Taylor served in New Jersey until he retired in 1976.

He was also the first African American Methodist Bishop to be the President of the Church's Council of Bishops (1965–66). While he was a bishop in Liberia, he helped the Liberia Conference become an independent Methodist church in 1964.

Awards and Recognitions

The Government of Liberia honored Bishop Taylor twice for his service. He received "The Venerable Knighthood of the Pioneers," which was a very high award. He was one of only two private citizens to ever receive it at that time. Bishop Taylor also received the St. George's Award Medal in 1964 for his great service to the Methodist Church.

He also received several honorary degrees from colleges. Rust College gave him a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1949. Gammon Seminary and Dickinson College also gave him similar degrees. Philander Smith College and the University of Puget Sound also honored him with degrees.

Other Achievements

During the riots in Newark, New Jersey in 1967, Bishop Taylor was chosen for a special group. Governor Richard J. Hughes appointed him to the Commission on Civil Disorders.

One of Bishop Taylor's last actions was to write a historical document. It was read at the start of the World Methodist Council meeting in Brighton, England, in August 2001. Bishop Taylor had been a key leader in this international group.

Guiding Beliefs

Before he retired, Bishop Taylor shared eight important beliefs that helped him throughout his life:

• God still guides the world.
• Life needs strong values to be stable.
• Power and things you own are not the most important.
• What you feel inside is more important than what happens to you.
• Life needs faith to grow strong.
• Just going along with things can be risky.
• Problems are complex, and many things are connected.
• We are saved by God's kindness. No one is good enough to earn it, and no one is too bad to receive it.

Later Years and Passing

In his retirement, Bishop Taylor loved to read every night. He wanted to learn something new each day. When he moved to Ocean City, New Jersey in 1996, he bought a new computer. He said he wanted to "not allow the 21st century to move off ahead of me."

Bishop Taylor wrote a book about his life called The Life of My Years. It told the story of 75 years of Methodist history. In 1997, when he was 90, he said he had appointments scheduled through 2001. He said, "Death will not catch me sitting in a corner waiting for it." Earlier in life, he enjoyed hunting and playing volleyball.

Bishop Prince Albert Taylor Jr. passed away from cancer on August 15, 2001, at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point, New Jersey. He was 94 years old. His funeral service was held at the Princeton United Methodist Church. Instead of flowers, people were asked to donate to a scholarship fund for higher education.

See also

• List of bishops of the United Methodist Church