Congratulations to Rev. Claire Chia-Lin Wang, ordained priest by Bishop Lennon Yuan-Rung Chang at St. John’s Cathedral, Taipei on Monday June 30, 2025, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul (transferred) at 7:00 pm. It was a great occasion, thanks be to God!

Claire grew up in Taichung originally in the Presbyterian Church; later, the family joined St. James’ Episcopal Church, under rector, Rev. Lily Chang. There, Claire served as a youth leader while working as a junior-high school English teacher. It was partly through her experiences on a mission trip to Myanmar, led by then-rector of Advent Church, Rev. Lennon Yuan-Rung Chang (now bishop), that she started to seriously consider whether God was calling her to serve Him as a priest. With the encouragement and support of Rev. Lily Chang, St. James’ Church and her family, Claire applied to become a diocesan intern for a year, then a seminarian. She studied for a year at Ming-Hua Theological College, Hong Kong, but her studies were interrupted by the pandemic, and with the classes being online, so she returned to Taiwan. Then she went to the USA for 3 years, studying at Virginia Theological Seminary VTS, and graduated MDiv from VTS in the summer of 2024. After graduation, Claire returned to Taiwan, where she was ordained deacon on July 22, 2024 (see that post here). She was assigned by Bishop Chang to serve her curacy here at St. John’s Cathedral, with responsibility for the English congregation and youth ministry, which continues. This is a busy place, and Claire works really hard; she is so patient, persevering, and pleasant with everyone. So far, so good, everyone at St. John’s Cathedral loves her so much!

Here is everyone waiting for the ordination service to start…

Over 160 people attended the ordination service, which was a lovely surprise, mainly because it was Monday evening, June 30, the last day of the school year before the summer holidays started on July 1 – and many people sent their apologies for being away traveling, or preparing for summer camps that started the next day. It was especially wonderful to see so many of Claire’s family members, including Mrs. Wang, Claire’s aunt, who is a member of Advent Church….

A special group of Claire’s parents, friends and supporters from St. James’ Church, Taichung, led by Rev. Lily Chang, came to the service, plus all our Taiwan Episcopal Church clergy and many friends and supporters from all over Taiwan, and even a few from Hong Kong.

The Old Testament reading (Ezekiel 34:11-16) was given in Taiwanese by Claire’s former Presbyterian minister in Taichung, Rev. Kino Lafin, the Epistle (2 Timothy 4:1-8) was in English, read by our English Congregation member, Jane Ju, and the Gospel (John 21:15-19) was in Mandarin Chinese, read by Deacon Rev. Christina Hsiao-Yen Hai. The St. Joseph Fellowship Choir from St. John’s Cathedral, which included Claire’s sister, Sandy, sang an anthem in English, Lead Me, Guide Me, after the Nicene Creed, and Mr. Yi-An Chen sang a solo during the Holy Communion, accompanied by Joanna Fu, organist. It was a moving and beautiful service!

Rev. Dr. John Yieh (standing far right in the above photo), Clare’s New Testament Professor at VTS was the guest preacher. Claire shared the following: “I am especially thankful for Dr. Yieh’s sermon, in which he drew on the wisdom of former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. He encouraged me to consider the priestly vocation through the imagery of the shepherd as a watchman, an interpreter, and a weaver—each reflecting essential aspects of faithful pastoral ministry. These insights continue to shape how I reflect on the responsibilities entrusted to me as a priest.”

And at the end of the service, there is a tradition that people come up for a blessing from the new priest…

Please do pray for Claire, starting out as a new priest in the Taiwan Episcopal Church, as she officially leads her first big Holy Communion service this coming Sunday ~ the 9:00 am English service at St. John’s Cathedral. Please come along and show your support! It also happens that the next day, Monday, is a big day too – both Claire and Dean Philip Lin share the same birthday, July 7, so we’ve already started the celebrations! 🥳🎉🎂🎊 Happy Birthday to them both!