Advent Word 2017, Day 2 ‘journey’

#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’

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!

Taipei 4 Teens!

Always accept a challenge!  And one of my challenges this week was to take 2 very lovely American teens around Taipei for the afternoon.  They were very interested and very keen to see everything!  Their parents were busy at a conference, so I offered to show them a few sights… First stop was the Changing of the Guard at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial, whose days may be numbered, so it’s worth going to see now.  Not for the memorial itself but to see the guards. It’s hot work and they stand there totally not moving for a whole hour while … Continue reading Taipei 4 Teens!

Yes, we love you all in the Diocese of Osaka! Welcome to Taiwan!

The Dioceses of Taiwan and Osaka, Japan have been linked as companion dioceses for the last 12 years ~ and we’ve signed the official agreements to renew the partnership every 3 years.  So this week Bishop David J. H. Lai and the Diocese of Taiwan welcomed a group of 26 from the Diocese of Osaka, led by Bishop Andrew Haruhisa Iso, here to sign the agreement for the 5th time – for another 3 years. YES!  See the smiling faces of Bishop Lai and Bishop Iso just after the grand signing! Actually, our link with Osaka really goes back much … Continue reading Yes, we love you all in the Diocese of Osaka! Welcome to Taiwan!

Yes! Celebrating 10 Exciting Years of Sister-School Partnership: St. James, Taichung and Cambridge-Ellis, Boston!

Really quite amazing!  10 years of partnership!  YES! Y’know, partnerships between schools in different countries are famous for lasting a few years and then dying out.  Sometimes they’ve just run their course. Sometimes they’ve depended too much on one particular person, so when that person leaves, it’s all over.  Or sometimes the money runs out.  Or the enthusiasm.  Or whatever. So it’s really quite amazing that the sister-school partnership between St. James, Taichung and Cambridge-Ellis (CES), Boston is still going strong after 10 years.  Yes, it’s ten whole years this year! During that time, lots of teachers have been to … Continue reading Yes! Celebrating 10 Exciting Years of Sister-School Partnership: St. James, Taichung and Cambridge-Ellis, Boston!

I love CMS! A Great Big Welcome to Taiwan for Raj Patel, CMS Regional Manager for Asia ~ all the way from Oxford ~ YES!

Yes, honest, I love CMS!  And all those associated with CMS ~ the mission partners, CMS staff, UK Link Churches and of course all those who welcome us to serve in their dioceses, churches, organizations and communities! CMS stands for Church Mission Society ~ I joined in September 1989, served in Tanzania for 7 years, and then in January 1999 arrived in Taiwan and I’ve been here ever since, first at St. James’ Church, Taichung for 7 years, and since early 2007 based here at St. John’s University, on Taiwan’s NW coast.  My last formal CMS-UK visitors came in November … Continue reading I love CMS! A Great Big Welcome to Taiwan for Raj Patel, CMS Regional Manager for Asia ~ all the way from Oxford ~ YES!

From Taipei by train along the Pingxi Line 平溪線!

This is definitely my new favourite thing to do in the Greater Taipei area!  Must-go, must-see, must-ride on that train!  Just look at the kind of view you’ll have! Two weeks ago, the day after Typhoon Nepartak, in a mix of drizzle, rain, torrential rain, and overcast skies, with my 2 lovely visitors from the UK and 4 of our wonderful students, I spent the day on the Pingxi Line, and it was fun!  It was cool after the typhoon, but dull and overcast.  On that day we spent all our time at Shifen 十分, and then went to Jiufen 九份.  But … Continue reading From Taipei by train along the Pingxi Line 平溪線!

Round-Taiwan Tour with Nicky and Harriet ~ YES!

Yep, we’ve done a whole circuit of Taiwan this past week ~ ‘n what a beautiful country! Nicky and Harriet, my 2 lovely visitors from one of my CMS Link Churches, St. John’s, Neville’s Cross, Durham, UK, had already been here a week, based in Taipei, and so this was the chance for them to see a little of this beautiful island ~ Ilha Formosa (‘Beautiful Isle’, the name given by Portuguese sailors), otherwise known as….. Taiwan! Last Monday, July 11, when we set off, southern Taiwan was still reeling from Typhoon Nepartak which had wreaked havoc a few days … Continue reading Round-Taiwan Tour with Nicky and Harriet ~ YES!

Welcoming Nicky and Harriet to Taiwan ~ YES!

And not a dull moment since they arrived either ~ the two of them are just so hilarious, it’s non-stop entertainment all day long! Harriet was here in Taiwan with her dad, Mike 2 years ago (see that blog post here) just after finishing her GCSE’s, and now she’s just done her A Levels and waiting for results, so hey, what a great opportunity to come back ‘n visit Taiwan!  And this time she’s come with her mum, Nicky ~ all the way from one of my great CMS link churches, St. John’s, Neville’s Cross, Durham, UK. So we’ve been everywhere … Continue reading Welcoming Nicky and Harriet to Taiwan ~ YES!