Tag: Faith

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Advent Word 2017, Day 8 ‘prepare’

Catherine Lee

#AdventWord #prepare ‘PREPARE for what? How do you PREPARE for the Word of God to come and “take our flesh and grow as a child in Mary’s womb?” PREPARE and “grow as a child.”’ Today we celebrate Rev. Charles C. T. Chen 陳金地牧師 82nd birthday ~ Happy Birthday Charles! He and MaryJo are not in Taiwan to celebrate, instead they are in Italy with Bishop David J. H. Lai and the group from the National Council of Churches of Taiwan (NCCT) visiting many people and places, including the Vatican and Pope Francis (check the report here). This photo is Charles … Continue reading Advent Word 2017, Day 8 ‘prepare’

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Advent Word 2017, Day 7 ‘focus’

Catherine Lee

#AdventWord #focus ‘Imagine the lenses in your glasses get accidentally switched – everything is out of FOCUS; blurry. Today, be still and take time to FOCUS. You will see what you have never seen’. Visit to the Taiwan Episcopal Church 台灣聖公會 of Bishop John A. Pinckney from Taiwan’s Companion Diocese, the Episcopal Diocese of Upper S. Carolina (EDUSC), October 1965. St. Peter’s Church, Chiayi 台灣聖公會嘉義聖彼得堂, through Ms. An-Veng Loh’s ministry, developed an amazing Christian Education program. Continue reading Advent Word 2017, Day 7 ‘focus’

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Advent Word 2017, Day 4 ‘simplify’

Catherine Lee

#AdventWord #simplify ‘SIMPLIFY: travel lightly. Cast off the things and thoughts which are dark and heavy. Put on the “armor of light.” Clean out the closets of your mind and of your house. SIMPLIFY and share the best of your mortal life.’ Visit to the Taiwan Episcopal Church 台灣聖公會 of Bishop John A. Pinckney from Taiwan’s companion diocese, the Episcopal Diocese of Upper S. Carolina (EDUSC), October 1965. St. James’ Episcopal Church, Taichung 台灣聖公會聖雅各堂 at that time met in this rented building. Later, in 1968, a plot of land was acquired, and in 1971, a donation of US$ 30,000 from … Continue reading Advent Word 2017, Day 4 ‘simplify’

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Advent Word 2017, Day 3 ‘gather’

Catherine Lee

#AdventWord #gather ‘We gather together because when “two or three are gathered in my name, there am I (Jesus) among them.” GATHER with others to see the Beloved One, the Christ and your neighbor. GATHER unto yourself the sorrows of this world. That will be an act of true joy.’ St. John’s Cathedral, Taipei, 1965… Visit to the Taiwan Episcopal Church 台灣聖公會 of Bishop John A. Pinckney from Taiwan’s companion diocese, the Episcopal Diocese of Upper S. Carolina (EDUSC),  October 1965. Continue reading Advent Word 2017, Day 3 ‘gather’

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Advent Word 2017, Day 2 ‘journey’

Catherine Lee

#AdventWord #Journey ‘Is the JOURNEY this Advent about our daily routine lives from point A to point B? Or is the JOURNEY about our earthly travels to the “land of heaven” where we will be speechless with gratitude? Our JOURNEY is both/and. The JOURNEY to God is now. Holy paths we travel.’ Arriving at Songshan Airport, Taipei! The Taiwan Episcopal Church welcomes new companion diocese, the Episcopal Diocese of Upper S. Carolina (EDUSC), visit to Taiwan 台灣聖公會, October 1965.  Left to right, back row: Bishop John A. Pinckney (Bishop of EDUSC 1963-72), Bishop James C. L. Wong 王長齡主教 (Bishop of Taiwan … Continue reading Advent Word 2017, Day 2 ‘journey’

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Advent Word 2017, Day 1 ‘awaken’

Catherine Lee

Happy Advent Sunday! #AdventWord #Awaken ‘The Psalmist says: “Wake up, my spirit; awake, lute and harp; I myself will awake the dawn.” In Advent, we prepare for what God will do with our spirits, not what we will do. A certain church website offers the wonderful message, “…walk in the Way; widen the walls; wake up the world.” AWAKEN for others.’ AdventWord Global Advent Calendar 2017 starts today – a project of the Anglican Communion with the Society of Saint John the Evangelist Brothers SSJE and Virginia Theological Seminary VTS. Each day there is a theme word and meditation. My … Continue reading Advent Word 2017, Day 1 ‘awaken’

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Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations, 1917-2017

Catherine Lee

Today is THE day, the climax of 5 days of celebrations, and as I write this, events are ongoing, with firecrackers and drums and trumpets and singing and offerings and all sorts of activity, and being attended by nearly everyone in the whole town. And all in the rain and cold!  It’s been like this all weekend, but hey, when there’s a festival in town, a bit of rain and cold won’t stop anyone. But this was the scene on Thursday, the last time that the sun appeared in Sanzhi! Two weeks ago, I wrote here about the preparations for the … Continue reading Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations, 1917-2017

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Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations ~ Coming Up Soon!

Catherine Lee

Two weeks ago the plot of wasteland opposite where I live suddenly sprang into life.  Trucks full of bamboo poles arrived.  People came.  Cranes and trucks and people and – well, action!  One week later, and this was the view from my front gate last Sunday…. Happening now right outside my house is the ongoing construction of a huge 4-storey structure, the site of a forthcoming 醮 (pronounced ‘jiaò) and loosely translated as meaning a Taoist Ritual.  Copy this character ‘醮’ into Google images and you’ll see plenty of examples of what it might look like in a few weeks … Continue reading Sanzhi 三芝 Matzu Temple Centenary Celebrations ~ Coming Up Soon!

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Cambodia: The Killing Fields & Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Catherine Lee

First a word of warning, this is not for the faint-hearted or those likely to have nightmares for days after.   If that is you, don’t read any further.  But if you can, do.  This is an important part of Cambodia’s tragic history, the legacy of which continues to affect the whole country, the region, even the world.  We need to know.  To learn.  To try to understand.  And to reflect and pray. The Cambodian genocide took place in my lifetime, when I was a teenager.  Most of the young men who joined Pol Pot and became part of the Khmer … Continue reading Cambodia: The Killing Fields & Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum