Alison Menzies Taylor is a retired

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bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in the

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. She served as an

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan bishop, suffragan) bishops – in ...

of the Diocese of Brisbane (Southern Region) from April 2013 to December 2017 and was the first female bishop in the diocese. Prior to ordination ministry, Taylor worked as an urban planner in the 1980s, during which she led an Australian aid project to restore and categorise European-built heritage buildings in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

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. During this time, she was influenced by seeing church buildings used as factories or warehouses and realising that many locals did not have access to a church. Her work in China was interrupted by the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led Demonstration (people), demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsucces ...

. She returned to Australia, to Melbourne, where she became Senior Lecturer in Urban Studies at

Victoria University of Technology Victoria University (VU or Vic Uni) is an Australian public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It is a dual-sector university, providing courses in both higher education and technical and further education (TAFE). The university h ...

. After giving birth to her daughter, Taylor commenced theological studies in 1993 at

Trinity College Theological School Trinity College Theological School (TCTS) is an educational division of Australia's Trinity College, the oldest residential college of the University of Melbourne. It is also one of the constituent colleges of the University of Divinity. The scho ...

. Following her studies, she served in the Diocese of Melbourne, including as vicar of St John's

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and as

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of Kew. In December 2012, it was announced that Taylor would take up the position as an assistant bishop for the Southern Region of the Diocese of Brisbane, replacing Geoffrey Smith who had become general manager of the diocese. As part of her ministry, she looked after 47 parishes stretching from the south of the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...

down to

Coolangatta Coolangatta is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is the Gold Coast's southernmost suburb and it borders New South Wales. In the , Coolangatta had a population of 6,491 people. History Coolangatta is situat ...

, and she looked after 14 schools run by the Diocese. Taylor was formally farewelled from her ministry on 2 December 2017 and was succeeded by John Roundhill. She returned to Melbourne to take up doctoral studies on the theology related to the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and repo ...

. Taylor was appointed as a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for "significant service to the Anglican Church, and to conservation". Taylor is married to Trevor and has one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Alison People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) 21st-century Anglican bishops in Australia Assistant bishops in the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane Women Anglican bishops Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Order of Australia