Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 12, 1992 TAG: 9203120289
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY BISHOP STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
For 24 hours, they gather in a church chapel, come and go all day and all night. Guys in service uniforms. Teen-agers in stovepipe haircuts. City officials in trench coats. Elderly women in hats. Gray-suited church deacons.
Black. White. Republican. Democrat. Rich. Poor.
They say prayers out loud, or in silence. Read scripture. Sing hymns. Weep for you. Tell stories about you. Laugh.
Even a Muslim brings his prayer rug and, asking the Christians which way is East, offers his supplication to Allah.
All that - and so much more than can be mentioned in one newspaper story - was done Wednesday for Roanoke Mayor Noel Taylor.
"Rev," as his church members call him, has cancer. At age 67, he is stepping down after 16 years as mayor.
One of his members at High Street Baptist - the church Taylor has pastored for 31 years - imagined an around-the-clock prayer vigil for Rev's health.
Insisting on anonymity, she passed the idea on to A. Byron Smith, chairman of the board of deacons. And so it was done - from midnight Tuesday to midnight Wednesday.
Twenty or so deacons took turns watching over it.
It was a spectacle of love. As the rain poured and the wind howled and then the sun came out again, scores of Roanokers streamed to a back door of the big, modern Northwest Roanoke church.
They took a seat in its tiny chapel and, as the spirit moved them, expressed their affection for Rev. For one woman, it was in a poem. For others, it was the calling out of a page number in the hymnal and the singing of a favorite hymn.
"We should never be discouraged," the first gathering of a dozen people sang just after midnight Tuesday. "Take it to the Lord in prayer . . . in His arms He'll take and shield thee: Thou wilt find a solace there."
Though there were tears and the sounds of sniffling throughout, the prayer marathon was not solemn or sorrowful. It was often joyful, as people uplifted each other in their shared love of one man.
Hundreds of things were said about him. Here are just a few.
"We come praying for our mayor, my friend. . . . Heal and take care of him." - City Council member Elizabeth Bowles, her voice breaking.
"I remember when he first came here. He said, `No one can beat me loving. If you've got a problem loving me, that's your problem. I'm going to love you anyway.' " - Howard Hopkins, first vice chairman of the board of deacons.
"We need to keep B.J. in our prayers. She's the woman behind the man" - a woman praying for the mayor's wife.
And others:
"I wake up praying: `Rev gonna be all right.' "
"Lord Jesus, he is sick. . . . Let him stay here a little longer. We need him."
"Dear Lord, he has served this valley for a long time. Help him, Lord, and be with him."
"We have faith that Dr. Taylor can be healed. Lord, he has meant so much to so many people. We don't know who will come along who will carry on as he has carried on."
"If you talk with Rev. Taylor right now, there is nothing on his mind about sickness. He's more like a young person. He's a feisty little person."
"He has learned to disagree without being disagreeable. If there were more of that, it would be a better place."
"Rev has gone into his pocket. He has bought food. He has paid bills. Rev has did so much."
"Sometimes we get so important, we don't know each other on the street. He hasn't gotten like that. If you're sick, call him. He will come. He is a compassionate, loving, gentle man. A good man, good man, good man."
"Prop him, Lord. Hold on to his hand."
by CNB