And what a great day it was!

Rev. Chen Ming-You 陳銘佑 was ordained priest by the Rt. Rev. Lennon Yuan-Rung Chang, Bishop of Taiwan, at St. John’s Cathedral, Taipei on Friday August 6, 2021, the day the church celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration. Thanks be to Almighty God!

Ming-You was ordained deacon by the Rt. Rev. David J. H. Lai, then Bishop of Taiwan, at St. John’s Cathedral, Taipei on Saturday January 18, 2020, just a few weeks before Bishop Lai retired (for that report and photos see here. As you will see, it was definitely winter and we were all in our warm clothes!) Ming-You’s ministry is as a Non-Stipendiary priest, serving at weekends for the last 4 years at St. Stephen’s Church, Keelung, under Rev. Julia Shu-Hua Lin, who preached very powerfully at yesterday’s ordination service.

The ordination service was originally scheduled for Friday June 11, St. Barnabas Day, but due to Taiwan’s Level 3 pandemic restrictions, which came into force on May 15, all religious events and gatherings of more than 4 people were prohibited, so the service was postponed. Bishop Chang stressed the importance of all the clergy in the diocese being able to participate in-person at the ordination service, and so they decided to delay the service until that was possible, however long it might take. On July 27, Taiwan lowered the alert level from 3 to 2, and under level 2 restrictions, indoor gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed, as long as there is social distancing, with compulsory facemasks, temperature checks, name registration and hand sanitizer in use for all. With only 50 people allowed to attend, so a list was drawn up, and everyone else was invited to watch the livestream on YouTube….

Thanks to the wonderful Livestreaming Team, working behind the scenes! This is Linda on the left, wife of St. John’s Cathedral Dean, Philip Lin, and Pin-Huei, on the right, daughter of Rev. C. C. Cheng…

Due to there still being community transmission of Covid-19, Bishop Chang requested that all clergy coming from the south and east of Taiwan should preferably drive to Taipei, rather than use high-speed rail or train, and he offered to provide accommodation for those needing overnight stays. Actually most of our clergy have relatives in Taipei, so they were pleased to visit them, others did the round-trip in one day, and a few did take the high-speed rail, which they said was virtually empty because of the pandemic – and the rain. ☔

Back in May, we were still praying for an end to Taiwan’s drought, the most serious in over 50 years. Now in August, we have had so much rain in the last 2-3 weeks that there’s serious flooding and landslides in some areas, including a rockslide that has cut off the high-speed rail line in Miaoli, reservoirs are having to release water, and southern Taiwan has closed schools and offices today due to the torrential rain alerts. The rains started with Typhoon In-Fa the weekend before last, then the typhoon gave way to more continuous rains, and now we have a tropical storm working its way north up Taiwan’s west coast, bringing flooding to the mountains and coastal areas. Our in-person church services only just restarted again last Sunday, but some had to be canceled due to the rains, and it’s likely some will have to cancel again tomorrow as well. Fortunately the ordination service could go ahead, though it was certainly very wet outside. The other precaution, advised due to the pandemic, was that it was not possible to serve wine during the Holy Communion, nor any kind of meal after the service. Instead, the cathedral kindly provided us with boxes of breads, cakes and desserts for us to take home. Thanks to St. John’s Cathedral for all their hard work to make us so welcome!

Ming-You tells me that he comes from a very traditional Taiwanese family, and as the only son (with 2 older sisters), so he grew up well-aware that it would be his responsibility to take care of his parents as they grew older. In fact, he and his wife, their 2 sons (aged 12 and 15) and his parents all live together in Longtan, Taoyuan, just south of Taipei. His parents are retired, and Ming-You and his wife run a computer business during the week, which leaves them free at weekends to serve at St. Stephen’s Church, about an hour’s drive on the other side of Taipei. His wife says that even before they were married, he would talk about his calling to be a priest, though it took many years of part-time study and training for his calling to become a reality.

By serving as a non-stipendiary priest, he is able to fulfill his traditional duties of ‘filial piety’ towards his parents, while also fulfilling his calling to serve in the Taiwan Episcopal Church. He talks about the freedom to be able to do both, and the joy of serving God both in his family and in the church. Others might feel weighed down by taking on so many responsibilities, but instead, Ming-You thrives on the freedom and joy of being the person God has called him to be. Fortunately, a few years after Ming-You and his wife were married, his parents became Christians themselves, and belong to a local church near their home; praise God that they are fully supportive of Ming-You’s calling and ministry.

Ming-You was born in 1975, and became a Christian through the witness of the student fellowship and chaplaincy at St. John’s and St. Mary’s Institute of Technology (SJSMIT), Taipei, (predecessor to St. John’s University SJU), while studying on the 5-year program in electronic engineering. Towards the end of his time at SJSMIT, he was baptized in Advent Church by the then chaplain, Rev. Samuel Ying-Chiu Lin, who later became dean of St. John’s Cathedral, and where many of the students later worshiped after graduation, including Ming-You.

Quite a few SJSMIT student fellowship members from that era have since gone on to be ordained, and many others serve in the church in lay ministry. In yesterday’s service, one of their student fellowship, Regina Chang (張沁杏), member of Christ Church, Chungli and also on the diocesan Standing Committee, sang a beautiful solo, titled ‘Beloved Lord, Please send me’. Ming-You was visibly moved, and later recounted how he was reminded, as she sang, of how Regina and other older fellowship members had shared the Gospel with him as a younger student, and how far he has traveled since then, particularly these last 10 years as he followed God’s call towards ordination. He said that God has been so faithful to him, and he found it hard to contain his tears. It was really moving!

Since Bishop Chang’s consecration in February 2020, Ming-You and his wife have been busy helping the diocesan office putting in a whole new computer system, video-conferencing and meeting room, plus setting up our new email addresses for the Taiwan Episcopal Church clergy and churches, plus our new website at https://episcopalchurch.org.tw/ Having a professional computer person always on hand is very wonderful for us all! Every weekend, Ming-You, his wife and sons spend much time at St. Stephen’s Church, where they help run outreach programs in the local community with Rev. Julia Shu-Hua Lin, who is already well past usual retirement age and looking to step back a little from all her many church responsibilities.

Julia has really built up the ministry at St. Stephen’s over these last 10+ years, and is widely respected in the local community. The church is in a largely disadvantaged area with many problems of poverty, family breakdown, addiction, suicide, unemployment, domestic abuse and more. The people are struggling even at the best of times, and much more so in this pandemic, plus the spiritual oppression from the local temples and shrines is much in evidence in people’s lives. Ming-You clearly loves the people there, and fits right in; he says that many similarities with his own family background have helped in developing relationships.

The ordination service – getting ready….

The service started at 3:00 pm….

Part 2 of the service starts with Ming-You introducing his family…

The blessing….

And then photo-time!

The service all went so smoothly, and Ming-You celebrated his first Holy Communion so professionally that it looked like he had been doing it for years! The readings, as set for the Feast of the Transfiguration, were read by Mrs. Marjorie Kuo from the cathedral, Ms. Huang Min from St. Stephen’s Church, and our deacon, Rev. Stoney Chia-Kuei Wu read the Gospel.

After the service, Rev. Lily Chang, as chair of the diocesan standing committee, officially welcomed everyone and thanked the cathedral for hosting the service, she was followed by Mr. Gary Tseng, cathedral senior warden who also gave us a warm welcome on behalf of them all…

We give thanks to Almighty God for Ming-You and his family, and we pray for him as he settles into his ministry as priest, serving at St. Stephen’s Church, and as he tries to balance his time between his business, family and church ministry. He joins a great group of clergy, all pictured here at the ordination service. Thanks be to God for them all!