Advent Church & St. John’s University Charity Fundraising 2020 @ 天主教福利會 ‘Cathwel Service’, Shenkeng 深坑, Taipei

Cathwel Service (Cath-wel is short for Catholic Welfare) 財團法人天主教福利會, is the Taiwan branch of the US Catholic Relief Services, founded in 1949, originally to help unmarried mothers and their children. It continues its ministry helping disadvantaged women and children; many … Continue reading Advent Church & St. John’s University Charity Fundraising 2020 @ 天主教福利會 ‘Cathwel Service’, Shenkeng 深坑, Taipei

Happy Chinese New Year’s Eve 2018!

What a beautiful dawn and sunrise this morning, viewed from the 8th floor of St. James’ Church, Taichung!  The start of a day of gorgeous weather! One of the great traditions of Chinese New Year is catching up with old friends, often those not seen for a whole year or even longer.  I’ve been riding around Taichung on a u-bike all week doing this – and today was special, because I visited Fr. Toon Maes, CICM, at St. Paul’s RC Church, Taichung, where he is enjoying the sun after all those cold, wet and windy years up near us on … Continue reading Happy Chinese New Year’s Eve 2018!

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!

Angkor Wat 吳哥窟 and Siem Reap 暹粒市, Cambodia ~ oh, and nice crunchy spider for dinner!

Think of all those historic buildings in the UK: Durham, Norwich and Exeter Cathedrals; Rochester, Windsor and Warwick Castles and even my lovely CMS link church at St. Andrew’s Church, Haughton, Darlington.  And what do they all have in common?  Well, they were all being built at roughly the same time as the Angkor Wat Temple Complex in Cambodia.  Now, how’s that for Interesting Fact Of The Day, eh? Angkor Wat has become such a symbol of Cambodia, that it appears on its national flag. How about this? Angkor Wat is considered to be the largest religious monument in the … Continue reading Angkor Wat 吳哥窟 and Siem Reap 暹粒市, Cambodia ~ oh, and nice crunchy spider for dinner!

聖雅各愛心園遊會 St. James’ Preschool, Taichung, Charity Bazaar 2017!

And what an amazing event it always is!  After weeks and weeks of preparation, it all came together on the day, and Saturday was THE day, YES! Always held on the Saturday morning of the weekend before Mother’s Day, and always held in aid of charity, and always fun!  (This is last year’s report here – that was an amazing event too). This year’s event seemed even busier – and maybe even more fun! Well, all except for the poor pig who was on the spit soon after 6:00 am ~ but hey, it was delicious! This year’s 2 charities are … Continue reading 聖雅各愛心園遊會 St. James’ Preschool, Taichung, Charity Bazaar 2017!

Happy Chinese New Year from Beautiful Bangalore, South India!

Rarely, possibly once in a lifetime, does such a wonderful opportunity come along ~ a chance to take 2 of my very good friends from Taiwan along with me to visit my many very good friends in South India ~ YES!   The opportunity came at Chinese New Year, and with the blessing of the bishop of Taiwan, Bishop David J. H. Lai and the rector of Advent Church, Rev. Lennon Y. R. Chang and all our friends and church members, off we went! God has blessed me with many good friends in Taiwan, and my 2 traveling companions were … Continue reading Happy Chinese New Year from Beautiful Bangalore, South India!

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017 @ Taipei

Every year, Taipei has a weekend of activities, organised by the National Council of Churches of Taiwan, to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, starting with a Taizé Service on the Friday night. Last night the service was held in the R. C. Church of Christ the King in Shilin – located on about the busiest crossroads in the city.  Ah yes, a Friday night rush hour oasis of peace and calm! The 2017 theme is ‘Reconciliation ~ The Love of Christ Compels Us’ (2 Cor. 5: 14-20), marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and prepared by … Continue reading Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017 @ Taipei

YES! NT$ 325,000 (US$ 10,000) raised for the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross ministry in Taitung 財團法人台東縣私立天主教聖十字架瑪利德蘭社會福利基金會!

Thanks be to Almighty God, and to everyone who contributed their time, energy, money, enthusiasm and dedication!  During this past December, St. John’s University (SJU) and Advent Church have raised a grand total of NT$ 325,000 (US$ 10,000 / £ 8,200) for the social welfare ministry of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross 聖十字架慈愛修女會 (known as the Maria Theresia Social Welfare Foundation 財團法人台東縣私立天主教聖十字架瑪利德蘭社會福利基金會) in Shangwu Village 尚武村, located in Dawu Township 大武鄉, Taitung, on Taiwan’s beautiful S. E. coast.  Last Friday, we went to visit the sisters in Shangwu ~ and here we all are outside their church, and … Continue reading YES! NT$ 325,000 (US$ 10,000) raised for the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross ministry in Taitung 財團法人台東縣私立天主教聖十字架瑪利德蘭社會福利基金會!