The Rev’d Taylor Devine

EDITOR’S NOTE: A church community is created when people gather together for the love of God. At the same time, Saint Philip’s is comprised of many people who represent different ages, life experiences, and world views.

The “In conversation…” series is one attempt to create possibilities for connection between the different people in our community. As varied as we all are, there are also similarities and mutual interests waiting to be discovered. And there is one thing we all share: a desire to know God and be in relationship with him.

In anticipation of the Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 28, interviews over the next three weeks will feature staff clergy. This week’s conversation is with Mtr Taylor.

When did you begin working at Saint Philip’s?
I started in August 2017.

Where did you attend seminary?
Virginia Theological Seminary

Were you raised in a faith tradition?
I was…by choice. When I was in 5th grade, my younger sister and I asked to go to church so we could be with our friends. We heard them talking about church and my sister and I felt we were missing something.

My father grew up in the Episcopal church, so our parents decided we could attend St. Paul’s Church in Salem, Virginia.

What was your experience?
St. Paul’s is a small church on Main Street with a gorgeous interior from the train boom era. The liturgy was very reverent and friendly people made up the community. I served as an acolyte but what really kept me involved for so long was getting involved at the diocesan level.

What was compelling for you about that?
Being involved with the diocese offered opportunities beyond my immediate community. As a tween, I worked as a junior counselor at a diocesan event, and when I was older, I joined the Youth Ministry team for the Diocese of SW Virginia.

I attended mission trips to different cities. That was exciting for several reasons. I visited New Orleans and learned a lot about Christian community across different generations. I met lots of peers but was also lucky to connect with middle aged adults who took an interest in me and my formation.

When did you decide to become a priest?
About when I was 12 years old but I didn’t say it out loud until college. Before then, I felt it would be weird if I told people I wanted to be a priest so I used code. I said I wanted to pursue leadership in a nonprofit.

What about Saint Philip’s attracted you?
The appeal was twofold. The position offered the opportunity to be of service, work with people, and participate in reverent liturgy. The other attraction was that my husband Charlie was accepted into graduate school at the University of Arizona. We received our respective offers within 20 minutes of each other!

How are you involved in the parish?
Since October 2021, I have served as the Associate for Intergenerational Ministries. About half my time is spent supporting Christian formation for children, youth, and their adults.

That involves recruiting and supporting formation leaders and Sunday School teachers, and getting to know and being in relationship with parents and grandparents. It means listening for the spiritual yearnings and witnessing the spiritual depth of the very youngest in our community to the very oldest.

The other half of my time is focused on more general work that helps weave different generations together. That involves listening for the experience of people ages 1 to 100 and looking at how their relationships can be strengthened. I try to support them learning from each other to love and follow Jesus through Kitchen on a Mission, Mosaic, and Christian Formation opportunities. Depending on the project, I like to work with others to seek grant monies or other relational supports for creative ministries.

Does your own experience inform your work?
I grew up in an intergenerational family. My parents are from different generations and the siblings’ ages span 35 years—which is pretty biblical in proportion. Geographically, our home in Southwest Virginia was in a community on the edge of rural and suburban areas.

A lot of my childhood was spent finding a way to communicate and be in relationship with people who had very different experiences because of age, geography, or resources. I learned how to speak across social, racial, and economic divides, and to listen across those differences.

What have you learned from working at Saint Philip’s?
So much! Church decisions are made slowly and one has to be flexible and open-minded. When I first arrived, I was routinely surprised about how generous, open, and forward thinking people can be. Now I’m no longer surprised. I think much of that has to do with trust—as well as the Holy Spirit which is alive and well!

A great deal of my work has been with committees. I’ve leaned into that role and find great joy in helping support individuals take ownership of projects.

In a parish this size, I’m also able to perform all the pastoral offices: baptisms, weddings, reconciliations, last rites, and funerals. Being involved in people’s spiritual lives means I’m privy to lots of joy and lots of heartbreak.

What’s something about Saint Philip’s that you are grateful for?
The way that people have loved our daughter Hannah is amazing. Her book collection is incredible and is comprised mostly from gifts. When I read to her, I often remember the person who gave her the book. I wish all children had as much love and attention from trusted adults as she does.

What’s something you’re proud of?
My sense of self. The core message I received as a youth in the church was that I am loved and called just as I am. I don’t need to wish I were different. I don’t need to be different to be deeply loved by the Creator. That’s how I feel on my good days. Acting from that place allows me to be more generous, open, faithful, and, hopefully, kind.

How does that inform your vocation?
It invites me to serve in ways that respect the dignity of every human person and aren’t destructive, unwise, or inappropriate. I’m asked to honor the other person or other group with the same level of humility and dignity that I do myself.

Would you share a part of your faith story?
When my family began attending St. Paul’s Church, it was only six months later that my father received his first of three cancer diagnoses. He was sick on and off throughout my childhood. He’s doing well now but that was a significant and challenging time not only for him but for our entire family.

I learned how to pray out of desperation. That’s how I developed a relationship with God. I was a naturally religious kid—it made sense and clicked—but I learned the path by walking it.

What helps you through challenges now as an adult?
Right around the time of my father’s first illness, two of my close friends’ parents died. Of the six girls at my lunch table, one father had cancer, one mother died suddenly, and another girl’s father died suddenly. We didn’t know the words to say but we were with each other during times of keenest sorrow. That—and witnessing how strong people can be—informed me profoundly.

I carry that experience with me through today. And it’s relationships—practicing forgiveness and caring for one another—that help make challenges more manageable for me.

Do you have a favorite prayer?
I like the Venite from the office of Morning Prayer. “Come let us sing unto the Lord.” It’s a prayer that was sung almost every day in seminary. It worked its way into my heart. 

Generally, I like short prayers. I do a lot of “Thank you, God; Help me out, God; Stick with me, God.” And I love our Eucharistic prayers that we pray on Sundays.

What’s one of your guiding principles?
I’ve learned from my mother’s optimism that it’s good to have a long view of what positive or transformative consequence can come from difficult situations. It’s important for me to believe that people—including me—can change. Trusting that the Holy Spirit is at work gives me a lot of peace.

What’s one of your super powers?
I think I’m good at noticing people’s gifts and asking them to share them.

Would you say more about that?
I’ll tell you a story from my early 20s.

My work in Baltimore was with a community where people’s backgrounds were very diverse. There were a few retired professors but also people on the edge of homelessness, significant poverty, and folks who hadn’t completed the 8th grade.

I had a wonderful mentor Glenna who coached me well. Her guiding principle was to look for the Holy Spirit where one might assume it doesn’t exist—or where one might not have even bothered to look.

Glenna introduced me to the concept of asset-based community development. For example, if someone in the community knows how to drive and someone else needs to learn, then our job was to try to match the asset with the need.

What’s one of your core values?
Deep relationship.

I didn’t learn how to be a friend until college. Prior to that I was a good companion. I had to learn to be open—to be vulnerable.

What have I not asked that you would like people to know?
I love working at Saint Philip’s. The formality and reverence in the liturgies blended with relationships that deal with real life—that combination makes for a beautiful congregation. And I love my colleagues.

What do you do for fun?
I love hiking with my family. I like making friends. A fun part of motherhood is finding connections with other people who have children Hannah’s age.

I also enjoy nesting. We have a simple adobe home from 1936 and I find joy in bringing light and comfort into it.

What’s something you’re grateful for?
My family and invitations to keep growing.

What’s a fun fact about you?
My husband Charlie says he was charmed by my 18-wheeler songs playlist when we met in college.

What’s a guilty pleasure?
I can’t turn down nachos—especially when I can eat them while on the sofa watching Call the Midwife.

Missed an interview? All previous interviews can be found on Saint Philip’s website under the “About Us” tab. Click here to visit that page.