Welcoming old friends from afar…. from St. Paul’s RC Church, Daya Rd, Taichung!

Welcoming Rev. Toon Maes 馬世光神父 CICM and church members from St. Paul’s RC Church, Daya Rd, Taichung 台中市大雅路聖保祿天主堂 to visit Advent Church today! CICM, the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scheut Mission) was started in Belgium just over 150 years ago, and has quite a group of priests in Taiwan from Belgium, Congo, Cameroon, Philippines and other countries.  Fr. Toon Maes is with CICM from Belgium…. and he is AMAZING – he just has so much energy! Fr. Maes was born in 1932, came to Taiwan with CICM in 1959 and has been here ever since!   He used to … Continue reading Welcoming old friends from afar…. from St. Paul’s RC Church, Daya Rd, Taichung!

Advent Church Summer Camp 2017 降臨堂兒童喜樂營 ‘YES! You’re Extra-Special!’

And what a camp it was!  Two whole days of fun, laughter, games, water fights, action songs, drama, handicrafts, prayers and much more! The theme was ‘You’re Extra-Special’ – the initials of which happen to spell ‘YES!’… and that logo was on our dark blue T-shirts too, the YES is written into the shape of Advent Church… here’s some of us in the T-shirts! The summer camp happens every year at this time, with a large group of lovely students from our SJU Student Fellowship group who spend 2-3 days in training and preparation, followed by the actual camp, open … Continue reading Advent Church Summer Camp 2017 降臨堂兒童喜樂營 ‘YES! You’re Extra-Special!’

Happy Wedding Day Mr. You Bo-Min 游博閔弟兄 and Ms. Hsu Ying-Ping 徐穎蘋姊妹!

A beautifully sunny day at Advent Church for the wedding of our former student, Mr. You Bo-Min 游博閔 and his lovely wife, Ms. Hsu Ying-Ping 徐穎蘋 ~ congratulations to them both ~ and their families!  Here they for the group photo, titled ‘The Kiss’! Actually, Bo-Min has always been known to us as A-Bu-La 阿不辣, a good nickname for a fun guy, who loves to act and dress up and do imitations of people and pull faces and make everyone laugh – all the time, that how I remember him!  He’s now 28, and for the 4 years that he was a … Continue reading Happy Wedding Day Mr. You Bo-Min 游博閔弟兄 and Ms. Hsu Ying-Ping 徐穎蘋姊妹!

Easter 2017 @ Advent Church!

Christ is risen, Alleluia! Our Easter celebrations started with the Easter Vigil last night, Easter Eve at 8:00 pm, and the lighting of the Easter fire outside in front of Advent Church. The service started in candlelight…. And then all the candles were lit, and the Gospel reading was accompanied by 3 of our tallest students and church members as servers and carrying the cross… The flowers were looking beautiful! We were delighted to have 4 baptisms, 8-year-old Bo-Chang, whose aunt is a member of our church ~ he himself comes every day after school to do his homework, accompanied … Continue reading Easter 2017 @ Advent Church!

Holy Week 2017

Maundy Thursday started at Advent Church with a special meal in the new church center. After the meal we had the service of Holy Communion, including the washing of feet. Advent Church Rector, Rev. Lennon Y. R. Chang washed the feet of 2 of those preparing for baptism on Easter Eve, including 8-year-old Bo-Chang. Rev. Wu Hsing-Hsiang celebrated Holy Communion, the Last Supper. Good Friday 12 noon – a service of prayer and readings with a dramatic presentation of the Crucifixion Story…. ‘It is finished’. Today is Easter Eve – and we await with anticipation for Christ’s resurrection. Tonight we … Continue reading Holy Week 2017

鄭陳愛美姊妹追思感恩聖餐禮拜 R.I.P Mrs. Cheng Chen Ai-Mei

Our beloved church member, Mrs. Cheng Chen Ai-Mei 鄭陳愛美姊妹 (known to us as Cheng Mama 鄭媽媽) died on March 14, and this past Saturday was her Memorial Service in Advent Church. Her cremation and burial of ashes took place a week after her death and this Memorial Service was for the church community and her wide circle of friends and colleagues to say goodbye.  It was also a Holy Communion Service, as is fitting for a family where all are Christians.  And what a service it was!  Advent Church was so full of people that we had to bring in … Continue reading 鄭陳愛美姊妹追思感恩聖餐禮拜 R.I.P Mrs. Cheng Chen Ai-Mei

Happy Birthday Tan Baba ~ 97 or 98 or even 99?

Yes, big celebrations last night for Tan Baba’s birthday and I was invited too, yippee!  All the Tan family were there, plus lots of friends from far and wide.  The Tan family are members of Advent Church, ah, we all love them so much ~ and unlike other elderly people who go to bed early, Tan Mama and Tan Baba live life more like teenagers, often going to bed after midnight, so an evening birthday party just suited them fine! And so we had a wonderful meal, cooked by all the different family members – and then the important question … Continue reading Happy Birthday Tan Baba ~ 97 or 98 or even 99?

Off to the Mission Field! Big Farewell to our beloved Yu-lin 喻璘!

Yes, Yu-lin has finally said goodbye!  This is what sending someone off to the mission field looks like in Taiwan ~ here’s everyone at the airport last night saying goodbye! I wasn’t there, I had to be in Taichung last night – if not, I would have gone to the airport too.  Fortunately our rector, Rev. Lennon Y. R. Chang had hosted a dinner for us all just after Christmas at which we got to say goodbye to Yu-lin, and here we are ~ Yu-lin is the one in the middle… For the last 6+ years at St. John’s University … Continue reading Off to the Mission Field! Big Farewell to our beloved Yu-lin 喻璘!

Happy Wedding Day 林家亨弟兄 Mr. Lin Jia-Heng and 李嘉芬小姐 Ms. Lee Jia-Fen!

And yes, their names, Jia-Heng and Jia-Fen, are very alike, though actually the ‘Jia’ is a different Chinese character in both – but still!  Today we are celebrating their wedding day at Advent Church! Jia-Heng and Jia-Fen were 2 of our students in our student fellowship for all the 4 years that they studied in the same Electronic Engineering Class here at St. John’s University. Jia-Heng is from Taipei and Jia-Fen is from Jinshan, so not too far away, and they’ve kept in touch with us since graduation and come back to visit often.  A few months ago, Jia-Heng was … Continue reading Happy Wedding Day 林家亨弟兄 Mr. Lin Jia-Heng and 李嘉芬小姐 Ms. Lee Jia-Fen!