TAY, Stephen, Rev. (1944-2003)
Memorial minute Presbytery of Melb East 2003
Rev. Stephen Tayscame to Australia from Singapore in May 1986 with his wife Ai Ling and
16 year old daughter Rebecca. They commenced missionary training at W.E.C. Missionary
Training College near Launceston. The family worshipped at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian
Church Launceston. During that year, Stephen received a specific call from the Lord to
pastoral ministry. On the advice of the then minister of St. Andrew’s, Rev. Murray Ramage,the family came to Victoria and Stephen commenced studies at the Presbyterian Theological College. He completed the course in November 1990.
In April 1991, the Presbytery appointed him as assistant to Rev. John Sweet who was
minister of the Caulfield/St. Kilda/Elwood charge. Following the resignation of Rev. John Sweet, the Presbytery created a new charge, Caulfield/Elwood. Stephen was ordained and inducted into the charge on July 1st 1993.
By the grace of God, during the 10 years Stephen served there, the charge became one in
which prayer, outreach and giving were the keynotes. With the support of his elders, regular prayer meetings were established. Both congregations tithed their income to missions. Not surprisingly they grew spiritually and numerically. Stephen had a burden for the work of Sunday Schools. As Presbytery Christian Education Convenor, he conscientiously provided oversight for the Melbourne East Sunday School Teachers Task Force.
During 2002 Stephen continued to serve the Lord faithfully in spite of failing health. He died on April 17th 2003. The funeral was held at the Elwood church on April 22 . The family appropriately called it a ‘Graduation Service’. A few weeks before he died Stephen echoed the words of the apostle Paul when he said to some friends, “It is good to go to be with Christ, but there’s more work to be done here”. He was an evangelist who longed for more and more people to come into the Kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ. It was the Lord’s choice that Stephen’s ‘graduation’ be sooner rather than later.
The Presbytery mourns the loss of a brother and extends its deepest sympathy to his wife, AiLing, daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca and Sam Lim, and granddaughter Eunice.
Gender
- Male