Rev. Dr.

Dawson Taylor to Give Address for Lancaster Seminary's 196th

Commencement

Lancaster, PA, March 22, 2021 --(PR.com)-- The Rev. Dr. Dawson B. Taylor, Senior Pastor of Naples
United Church of Christ, Naples, Fla., will deliver the commencement address to Lancaster Theological
Seminary’s Class of 2021 on Saturday, May 8, at 11:00 a.m. at Church of the Apostles in Lancaster.

Naples United Church of Christ is one of the 10-largest UCC congregations in the United States. Rev.
Taylor is the youngest senior pastor ever to serve the congregation, which attracts more than 1,000
worshippers on Sundays in the winter.

“Many people wonder what the mainline protestant church of the future looks like. One image of hope
can be found every Sunday in the pulpit of Naples United Church of Christ,” said Dr. B. David Rowe,
Interim President of Lancaster Theological Seminary. “This open and affirming congregation is thriving
under Dawson’s progressive leadership. A joyful advocate for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Dawson
preaches the Good News that love and justice are inseparable.”

Rev. Taylor’s journey to the pulpit began in the United Methodist Church, the denomination that his
father served as an ordained minister. After earning a Master of Theological Studies from Perkins School
of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Rev. Taylor left the UMC after coming out as a
gay man. In 2006, he was ordained in the United Church of Christ and served as an associate pastor at the
Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ in Dallas. In 2016, he was called to Naples United Church of
Christ as senior pastor.

Rev. Taylor is a trustee of Chicago Theological Seminary, from which he received a Doctor of Ministry
degree. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Centenary College of Louisiana, where he
received the Bentley Sloane Alumni Award for his service to the church. Rev. Taylor is a participant in
the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, a 10-year leadership development program for younger clergy
in the United Church of Christ. Offered by the Pension Boards of the UCC, the program trains clergy to
become transformational leaders for the church of the future.

On May 8, Lancaster Theological Seminary will award 29 graduate degrees: 19 Master of Divinity
degrees, eight Doctor of Ministry degrees, one Master of Arts in Religion, and one Master of Arts in
Ministry and Leadership. The Seminary also will award two Certificates in Anglican Studies. Because of
the pandemic, the graduate school of theology’s 196th Commencement will be a socially distanced
ceremony for the graduates and their guests held at Church of the Apostles, 1850 Marietta Ave.,
Lancaster, Penn.

Lancaster Theological Seminary, an ecumenical graduate school of theology affiliated with the United
Church of Christ, is known for academic excellence, celebration of differences across Christian traditions,
and creative engagement on issues important to our world.

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Contact Information:
Lancaster Theological Seminary
Meg Graham
717-290-8702
Contact via Email
www.lancasterseminary.edu

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/833136

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