He preached peace during turbulent times. Beloved Rev. Kenneth Major dies in Miami at 87

The Rev. Canon J. Kenneth Major, who served as rector of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation for 35 years until his retirement in 2010, died in his sleep on Feb. 16. He was 87.

Father Major, as he was lovingly called by parishioners and friends, was born in Miami’s Overtown on Jan. 4, 1936, to Joseph Wakefield Major and Alice Rebecca Taylor, who had migrated from the Bahamas to Miami. He was baptized and later confirmed at the now historic St. Agnes Episcopal Church in Overtown.

Father Major attended elementary school at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School and later enrolled in Booker T. Washington Junior/Senior High School, graduating in 1955.

During his high school years, Major was known as a natural leader. His friendly manner endeared him to both teachers and students. During his junior year in high school, he ran for president of the Student Council, and won by a landslide.

Preparing for life’s work

At his high school graduation, Major was awarded a full scholarship from Wometco Enterprises (WTVJ) with the understanding that he would return to Miami to serve the community. He entered St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he began to prepare for his life’s work.

While at St. Augustine’s, Major was inducted into the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later enrolled in Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, where he studied for the priesthood. He left Yale to accept a position as a social caseworker with the New York City Department of Social Services.

In 1960, he married Peggy Currin. Together, they had three children, Allison, Kenneth Jr., and Karen.

“When he went back to school at Mercer Seminary in Garden City, Long Island, New York, to continue his dream of becoming a priest, he was married with three young children,” said his longtime friend Whittington Johnson. “He would leave work, attend classes and at 11 p.m. at night, he would take the subway home. He once told me that he often would be so tired that he would fall asleep on the subway.”

In June 1968, Major was ordained to the diaconate at St. Philip’s Church in Brooklyn. In July of that year, he was assigned as Curate to assist with he pastoral work at the Church of the Incarnation, where he would become rector.

Coming home to Miami

Shortly after coming home to Miami, a racial disturbance broke out during the Republican National Convention, which met at the Miami Beach Convention Hall. In his calming way, Father Major paid a major role in bringing peace to the Liberty City streets where most of the violence took place.

“He spent countless hours monitoring the city jail to ensure the safety of those who had been arrested,” said his daughter Nicole Major. “That’s who he was. He had a calming way about him.”

The priesthood and civic leadership

Father Major was ordained a priest on Jan. 25, 1969, at the Church of the Incarnation. He was elected vicar of the congregation on April 15, 1969, and was instituted as the first rector of the parish on June 2, 1974. His first order of service to the church was to elevate it to become a self-sustaining parish by paying off its outstanding debt.

His community work also involved being elected president and chairman of the Board of Directors of Economic Opportunity Family Health Center (now the Jessie Trice Community Health Center), a position he held for more than 10 years. When he took office, the agency was housed in old, dilapidated trailers. Major convinced the Miami-Dade County power structure to build the first state of the art community health center in the Model City area of Miami. A conference room at the center is named in his honor.

His community and civic work also involved being appointed in 1993 by Miami-Dade County commissioners to serve as a board member of the Jackson Memorial Hospital Public Health Trust. He held the position for two years.

Major married Betty Jean Davis on Feb. 4, 1980, and later they became the parents of Nicole, who remembers her dad for his love and down-to-earth instructions.

“He always had a home-grown saying to cheer me up when I was down,” Nicole said. “When somebody hurt me, he used to tell me, ‘Remember who you are and be true to yourself.’ It is good advice and I still use it to this day,” she said.

Triumphs

When racial disturbances erupted in 1970, and again in May 1980 (the McDuffie riot), Father Major worked again, with other community leaders, to bring calm to the area. His daughter said he was “humbly proud” of rescuing a white man, who was pulled from his car by angry rioters after he mistakenly drove through Overtown during the disturbance.

One of the highlights of his career was In 1988, when he preached at the Canterbury Cathedral in England during Holy Week.

Back home, he formed the Coalition of Episcopal Congregations of Greater Miami and held annual joint Lenten services. The collected offering was given to needy domestic and foreign causes. He was also responsible for transforming his church into a vibrant center of outreach by instituting programs such as the Helping Hands, the Caring Hearts, and the Affirmative Aging Ministry. He saw to it that the church was involved in community affairs. Often, forums and musical programs featured the choirs from universities such as Florida Memorial, Fisk, Xavier, and Bethune-Cookman. He also instituted an annual service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Even after he retired, Father Major never stopped lending his hand at the church he so loved.

“He was among the candidates to become a surrogate bishop of the Diocese of South Florida. When he was not selected, he simply redirected his energies into building a new church,” said Johnson, his friend. “That’s how he handled disappointments and adversities in his life. He simply moved on to be of help somewhere else.”

The new edifice was dedicated in 1995. The former edifice serves as the church’s parish hall and bears his name.

In his lifetime, Father Major served the community in many ways and received many honors including being named a Living Legend by the Booker T. Washington Alumni Association and being featured in the AT&T Miami-Dade County African American History Calendar. In 2012, the vestry bestowed the title of Rector Emeritus upon him, making him the only priest in the parish so honored.

Family, survivors and services

Father Major was preceded in death by his beloved wife Betty Jean, and daughter Karen Renee Major. He is survived by daughters Allison Herald (Vernon), Nicole Elizabeth Major, Yolanda Shalon Davis-Camacho (Christopher), and sons Kenneth Major Jr. and Lacarlos McGee Sr. (Chevelle); grandchildren Antoine Jeffery (Kenicia), Justin O’Ferrall, Zakerra Major, Tatiana Camacho, Alyssa Camacho, Ariel Herald, and Kaelynn Kelly; and many other relatives and friends.

The Liturgy of the Resurrection will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 24, at the Church of the Incarnation, 1835 NW 54th St. in Liberty City.