December 2020 flashed past in a whirl of activities, but when I read last year’s blog post of Advent & Christmas 2019, this year seems so quiet in comparison. December 2019 was jam-packed full! This year things were quieter, partly … Continue reading Advent & Christmas 2020 🎄🕯️🎅🦌🎁⛄🌟⛪🔔🤶🎶👼
#AdventWord #Proclaim “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” This Advent season is a good moment to pause and listen to Mary’s proclamation. Do we sometimes think we are insignificant? Listen to Mary’s affirmation that God is deeply interested in us. Do we wonder what we should be doing with our lives? Listen to Mary’s words as she explains what God wants to do with this world of ours. Then we need to be ready to proclaim this good news to others. Although Christmas can be a moment of joy, many people are missing someone they love, struggling to … Continue reading Advent Word 2020, Day 26 ‘Proclaim’
#AdventWord #Holy My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. Mary sang in praise of God:And holy is his Name.Gracious God, what is our song,Now in this time of weeping?In our night of pain and grief,Faithful voices rise toward starry skies:In you, O Holy One, we put our trust.Can we find once more your promise of mercy?A new light shines in the darkness –Together, we wait and rejoice. The Nativity Scene here at Advent Church, Tamsui, Taipei Continue reading Advent Word 2020, Day 25 ‘Holy’
#AdventWord #Go The seven practices of the Way of Love are often interconnected. To practice go, we add words frequently. Go and preach. Go and serve. Go and listen. Go and praise. Go and pray. In our ways of faith following Jesus, we must find the courage to move beyond our communities and comfortable relationships to unknown places. Doing that work takes practice; I don’t know many people who flourish when pushed into unknown situations…. In the path of my heart this Advent, I’m crossing the barrier that says light and darkness are white and black. When God chose to … Continue reading Advent Word 2020, Day 15 ‘Go’
#AdventWord #Honey The Promised Land flows with milk and honey – how sweet it is. Like Pooh Bear, I love “sweet” and “Sweet Jesus” appeals to me. But as I ponder this, things get sticky very fast. “Sweet Jesus” is not a popular term in many churches. “The sated appetite spurns honey, but to a ravenous appetite even the bitter is sweet”(Prov. 27:7). Want honey? Follow bees. Want Heaven? Follow Beatitudes. Fed-up people have little use for a Sweet Jesus, one who feeds hungry people merely because they are hungry and loved. Child-souls love Pooh and honey – and Jesus … Continue reading Advent Word 2020, Day 14 ❤️ ‘Honey’ ❤️
#AdventWord #Baptize Much like John the Baptist, it seems as if we are currently living in the wilderness waiting and preparing ourselves to be faithfully transformed by Jesus. And although this transformation may be filled with uncertainty and fear, John is calling us to trust, to turn back to the source of life and forgiveness, to renew our commitment to strive for justice and peace. As we journey into this new season out of the wilderness, let us receive Christ’s love and grace in our hearts and strengthen the bonds we share with each other through our baptism. Sleeping peacefully … Continue reading Advent Word 2020, Day 12 ‘Baptize’
Yes, our 10 weeks of community English classes for adults – running on Tuesday evenings for beginners and Thursday afternoons for the more advanced (each class 90 minutes) – are now over for this semester, and last night we brought … Continue reading ‘Happy Ending’ Party-Time 🥳 for Advent Church English Classes!
“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” (Henry James) Yes, think glamourous Victorian ladies enjoying their delicate cucumber sandwiches and creamy fruit scones at Fortnum & Mason or … Continue reading ‘English Tea-Time’ in Taiwan ~ at Xingren Elementary School 新北市淡水區興仁國小!
This year, 2020, is the 50th anniversary of the death of Bishop James Chang-Ling Wong 王長齡主教 (1900–1970), first Chinese Bishop of Taiwan (1965-70) and founder of St. John’s and St. Mary’s Institute of Technology (SJSMIT) in 1967, predecessor of St. … Continue reading 50th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service for Bishop James C. L. Wong (1900-1970) 王長齡主教逝世 50 周年紀念感恩禮拜
Catherine Lee 