Born and raised in Guyana, Canon Young was educated at Queens College and was trained at Codrington College in Barbados. Ordained a Deacon in Barbados (1970), Canon Young returned to Guyana, where he was Priested (1971). He served as a Curate in Berbice for two years at St. Joseph’s Parish Port Mourant, where the foundations of his ministry and stewardship were laid.
In these formative years in Guyana, while as Curate, the construction of one church building was completed, another new construction initiated, and a new congregation was started. He was then transferred to Essequibo where he served as the Rector of Saint John’s Parish, Suddie, and, Saint Bartholomew’s Queenstown. During his tenure in Essequibo, Canon Young served as the Rector of five yoked churches; Chaplain to Suddie Hospital; Chaplain to The Onderneeming Boy’s Reform School; manager of two grammar schools; and the Examining Chaplain for the Fellowship of Vocation. Being quickly immersed in the multiple responsibilities of the day to day operations and management of the Church, Canon Young better understood how the spiritual work was deeply impacted by the stewardship of the Church’s affairs. This influence would have a lasting impact on the totality of his ministry.
In 1975, he migrated to the United States where he first served as Curate to the Rector of St. Phillip’s, Macdonough Street, Brooklyn, for two and a half years. Here, in addition to his priestly duties, he was assigned Christian education and youth ministry. He undertook the task of Cub Scout Master to the troop in the Parish. In 1977, he became Rector of St. Alban the Martyr Episcopal Church in the Borough/Archdeaconry of Queens. Based on his leadership and example as Rector, the Parish satisfied all its debts, renovated the existing church building, and constructed a new wing without mortgaging the property or having to secure any loans. Through his vision for the Parish, the Parish and the Vestry purchased all the property adjacent to the church building, for cash.
In 1986 he was made Dean of the Jamaica Deanery, in the Archdeaconry of Queens. He held this position until June 1995 when he became the Archdeacon of Queens. While serving as Archdeacon, in 2002, he was also named a Canon of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, in his Diocese of Long Island. As one of four Archdeacons in the Diocese, he represented the then Diocesan Bishop, with responsibility for the thirty two (32) churches in Queens – the most ethnically diverse Archdeaconry in the entire Episcopal Church. Canon Young held this position until June 2011 when the new Diocesan Bishop was elected and changed all of the archdeacons, two years into his episcopate. Canon Young retired from active ministry on January 1, 2013. He continues to mentor clergy and to supply in congregations.
For sixteen years he was involved in multicultural ministry, including Igbo ministry, and assisted in the initial Hispanic ministry formation. Canon Young was responsible for Asian American Ministries in the Diocese of Long Island and for six years was the Convenor of Diocesan Representatives for Asian ministry in the United States. In his last years of active service, he was the Coordinator of Asian ministry in the New York Metropolitan area, Haiti, and Europe. He twice served as Dean of the annual Asian American Consultation. He was a member of the Concordat Committee which renewed the Concordat between the Episcopal Church and the Churches of India. He visited India on multiple occasions, where he conducted clergy workshops and mission festivals. He raised funds to build two grammar schools and several vocational schools for abandoned women in India. In 2006, he was invited, and spoke to, approximately one hundred thousand Christians at the Mar Thoma Convention in Maramon, an eight day gathering for worship, prayer, and bible study. On his retirement from full time ministry, he was presented the Cross for service and dedication to the Churches of Asia and people of Asian descent in the United States.
With the confidence and support of his parishioners, Canon Young was enabled to grow his ministry into Africa, where his most significant work was assisting in the building of a grammar school in Korle Gorno, Ghana. He continued to support the school until his retirement. Similarly, throughout his career, he and his Saint Alban the Martyr parish, also supported Codrington College, his alma mater.
Canon Young is a trained Deployment officer of the Episcopal Church. In the Diocese of Long Island he has served on: The Department of Recruitment and Training; The Cathedral Chapter; The Department of Program and Services; The Department of Mission; The Diocesan Council; The Episcopal Health Services Board; The Episcopal Community Services Board; and, The Joint Astor Fund Committee with the Diocese of New York – he was the chair when he retired. In addition, he has taught the Lay Eucharistic Ministers Course for the Mercer School of Theology and was a delegate to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1997. Canon Young has served on the Advisory Board for Black Ministries of the Episcopal Church and represented the Episcopal Church on the National Interdenominational Board for New Church development. Canon Young remains active with many community projects and global initiatives when called upon.
For more than three decades of New York City mayoral administrations, Canon Young was invited to serve on mayoral panels, various committees and boards, to address topics ranging from housing for the elderly, the blind and mentally disabled to drug rehabilitation programs. In 2001, in the solemn days following the terrorist attacks in New York City, he was made an interim Fire Department Chaplain, and was asked, by the Episcopal Bishop responsible for the armed forces in the United States, to minister to the Mortuary Unit, which immediately convened in New York from around the country. Canon Young is the recipient of numerous community awards, including a distinguished citizen of New York award, an award from the historic 369th Veterans Association, and “the Knights of the Blind” award presented by the Lions Club. He is the recipient of the 1999 National Award for Leadership in the Black Community by the Office of Black Ministries. He holds several degrees and has been honored with a Doctorate of Divinity.
Canon Young is married to his wife, Deborah, for thirty five years. He has a son, Carl, a daughter in law, Tina, and three grandchildren, Christian, Sarah and Ava. He and his wife have traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean, Asia, the Mediterranean, Europe, Israel and Egypt. His most memorable global experience was the fellowship at the Mar Thoma Convention. Domestically, Canon Young’s most memorable contribution to the Diocese, and his parishioners, was his ability to stabilize and grow a diverse membership, rehabilitate and expand the physical plant without encumbrances, and establish financial security for his parish. Canon Young’s passion for being a pastor to shepherds and parishioners alike is uniquely balanced by his equal concern with the business of the church.
Summarizing his ministry to date, Canon Young shares, “God called me to ministry as a child, and I have learned that all things happen in God’s time, and in His way; we are on His schedule, not our own.”