
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 7, 1992                   TAG: 9203070065
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PRAYER VIGIL ORGANIZED FOR MAYOR

A 24-hour prayer vigil will be held Wednesday for Roanoke Mayor Noel Taylor at High Street Baptist Church, where he is minister.

The church's deacons have arranged the vigil to pray for Taylor's health and strength, said A. Byron Smith, chairman of the board of deacons.

Taylor, who has a form of cancer, will leave the mayor's post in June partly for health reasons. He is taking medication for his illness.

Taylor is in "good spirits, with plenty of energy, highly inspirational and he makes people feel good," Smith said. "But we want to let the community know that we need their prayers for his health and strength."

The vigil will begin at midnight Tuesday and last until midnight Wednesday.

Smith said the High Street Church at 2302 Florida Ave. N.W. will be open during the 24-hour period and deacons will be on duty.

"Everybody is invited to come in their own fashion, as the spirit moves them," Smith said.

Roanoke City Council also has approved a proclamation designating Wednesday as a citywide day of prayer for Taylor. The proclamation asks all churches to remember Taylor in prayer.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Bowles said council has approved a proclamation because it wants other churches to be aware of the vigil and join if they wish.

"I've always been a great believer in prayer and we want other people to know about it," Bowles said.

by CNB