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John Taylor, a faithful member and servant of the sanctuary at Saint Faith's for many years, died earlier this year. In his memory, and funded by his generosity, his many friends came together in St Faith's Church Hall on the night of Saturday, April 9th, 2005 to celebrate his life and his memory. John was a great lover of all things Scottish, so it was appropriate that the evening should be part Burns Supper, part Ceilidh, part dance - and 100% rejoicing. There was a piper, several sporrans, an Address to the Haggis, a meal of haggis (or shepherd's pie for the faint-hearted majority!), a liberal supply of beverages and music from The Poachers, to which those who were brave enough were guided through a sequence of Scottish folk dances.
Below are some images of the evening, which packed out our hall with over a hundred people. There are no pictures of the haggis, possibly because it made its escape while your photographer wasn't concentrating.
An appreciation of John's life by Fr Dennis Smith, his great friend
and supporter, who organised the evening, may be read at the foot of this
page.
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Story, pictures - which are quite big enough as they are - and Address to the Haggis: Chris Price
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JOHN TAYLOR (1930 - 2004) John Taylor will be remembered with much fondness and affection by many whose privilege it was to know him as a neighbour, colleague and friend. The son of an Anglican priest, John spent his early years in the Midlands, moving to Birmingham with his mother and sister upon the death of his father in 1939. At the church of St Alban the Martyr he found a spiritual home and was delighted to serve at the Altar of one of the great Anglo-Catholic churches of the Diocese. In 1958 the Taylors moved to Crosby and John began work as a shipping clerk in Liverpool. Being the only 'high church' parish in the area, St Faith's became the family's place of worship and, for the next forty-six years, John immersed himself in the liturgical and social life of the church which he loved and served with great devotion. Throughout his time in Crosby, John continued to pursue his life-long interest in transport, particularly trains and buses. He enjoyed cycling and youth hostelling and, upon joining the Crosby Caledonian Society, became very fond of Scottish country dancing. With his sister, Rosemary, he celebrated his mother's one hundredth birthday in 1996 and, in subsequent years, gave selfless care and attention to Rosemary, as her dementia got worse, and she eventually took up residence in a local nursing home. On leaving the family house in College Road North, John enjoyed less than three months at an Abbeyfield Home in Blundellsands, before being admitted to Fazakerley Hospital; where he died on December 19th, 2004. The numbers of people who attended his beautiful funeral requiem mass on Christmas Eeve bore eloquent testimony to the great respect and esteem in which he was held, both in the local community and amongst the worshipping family of Saint Faith's. He was, indeed, a Christian gentleman of 'the old school', a devout and committed churchman and as good and faithful a friend as one could ever wish to have. Dennis Smith
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