The drawing above is by Toronto artist, John Coburn who I met for the first time on February 24, 2002, when he asked to draw me while at St. Paul’s Chapel. I was on a break from the Temporary Morgue at Ground Zero. John is author of, “Healing Hearts” a book with his drawings, given to the families of loved ones killed on September 11th, 2001.

With over 43 years of pastoral ministry experience and over 18 years as a licensed mental health professional, Pastor Tom Taylor is a 1981 graduate of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia with a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.) He retired from full-time ministry in 2022 and serves part-time as a Transition Pastor at Gilead Lutheran Church, Brunswick, NY. Pr. Taylor previously served congregations in Liberty, Ellenville, North Bellmore, Deer Park, Lindenhurst, and Kingston, NY.  He supervised four consecutive seminary interns from 2016-21, one at St. John’s, Lindenhurst, and three at Redeemer, Kingston.

While in Liberty, he was a chaplain and firefighter with the Liberty Fire Department and, for six years, was a volunteer fire investigator with the Sullivan County Bureau of Fire. Pr. Taylor was also an EMT and served as the chaplain and honorary Deputy Chief for the North Bellmore Fire Department.  In 1987, he was commissioned an officer and served as a chaplain in the United States Naval Reserves. Pr. Taylor served as a peer, clergy member, team leader, and coordinator for the Nassau County Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team and as a mental health consultant for the team. Taylor was also trained by the New York State Department of Mental Health in 2011 as a Disaster Mental Health Team member.

After 9/11, Pastor Taylor worked with Dr. David Grand and other mental health professionals to help many recovery workers and those in the emergency services cope with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.  He volunteered as a Red Cross chaplain at the Temporary Morgue (T-Mort) at Ground Zero, a chaplain at St. Paul’s Chapel Respite Care Center, and a chaplain at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (NYC). He is a Diplomat and Board-Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress (B.C.E.T.S), and is Certified in Acute Traumatic Stress Management (CATSM) by the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. Administratively, Taylor was part of two 9/11 non-profit agencies. He was the Deputy Coordinator for Long Island for Lutheran Disaster Response of New York (LDRNY). He served as the Assistant Director for Faithful Response, a non-profit, faith-based mental health agency serving those in the 9/11 community. Taylor was also a docent for the WTC Tribute Center from 2005-2014.

Tom Taylor graduated from Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work with a Master of Social Work degree (MSW) in 2006. He is a licensed social worker who works with trauma and grief as a pastoral counselor. Taylor was, for 15 years, personally supervised by and has been extensively trained by Dr. Grand, the creator and developer of Brainspotting, a revolutionary process in the treatment of PTSD, grief work, sports trauma, creativity, and performance enhancement. Dr. Grand trained Tom in Brainspotting 1 at the inaugural training in NYC in December of 2005, as well as Brainspotting 2,3 & 4, Brainspotting: The Master Class, and a Brainspotting Intensive. Taylor has also assisted trainers at Brainspotting workshops and follow-up group meetings. Tom is Certified in Brainspotting. He also has training in EMDR, somatic energy therapies, and ego state work and provides coaching for those approaching retirement or newly retired.

Dr. Peter Steinke trained him in 1996 as a Bridgebuilder consultant and Healthy Congregations facilitator for the Metropolitan New York Synod (ELCA), emphasizing mission-focused congregations based on Bowen family systems theory applied to congregational life.

In 2006, Tom was personally trained by Dr. Alan Botkin in Induced After-Death Communication (IADC), a remarkable process for healing grief from death and loss.

Rev. Taylor was named the Bellmore Herald’s 2007 Person of the Year “…for his unrelenting service to those who help others in the community and beyond.” He was also a 2008 recipient of the Lutheran Social Services of New York "Kujenga Jamii" Award for his post 9/11 and community service work. He authored After 9/11: A Chaplain’s Journey with EMDR, which appeared in a 2004 edition of Trauma Response Journal. Taylor is also a Certified Spiritual Director from the Sisters of St. Joseph Spiritual Direction Program in Brentwood, NY in 2015.

Tom enjoys painting watercolors and landscape photography for fun and is developing a podcast with scripture-based homilies called “Passages of Grace.” Tom is married to Sheryl L. Taylor, LCSW, who is in private practice. Her website is www.hudsonvalleybrainspotting.com. They have two adult children and two grandchildren. Tom and Sheryl live in Upstate New York near the Vermont border.