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| St. John's University |
The rhythm of the agenda for this fall House of Bishops is quite different. After a day of ministry site visits, and continued acclimatization to our surroundings, today we stay in the hotel, sit down and begin a series of learnings and conversations with visiting speakers from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Pakistan. We will continue them on Monday as we meet with bishops from Korea, Japan and the Philippines. Each one will deal with the topic of “Theological context and mission challenges.”
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| Founder of St. John's University |
I don’t think I have ever wanted to turn the clock back on my life, but yesterday’s trip to the St John’s University in northern Taipei stirred such a longing. St John’s University was transported from Shanghai after its counterpart was closed in 1952 at the beginning of communist rule. Initially known as St John’s College in Shanghai, founded by one of the most outstanding bishops of our Church—Bishop Joseph Schereschewsky —in 1879, it was reborn in Taipei by the efforts of other Episcopal Bishops, particularly Bishop James Wong in 1965-70—first as an institute for technology, then a college and finally the university (as recently as 2005). It is one of one hundred sixty such institutions of higher learning in the country, which underlines the huge push for education among Taiwan’s population of 23 million. I think it was that eagerness and excitement about the learning experience that registered with me, and made me wish to have encountered such energy for life.
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| Advent Church |
The students greeted us along the steps as we entered the Advent Church,
welcoming us by name from our name tags, and shaking our hands. A group of them led us in singing and proudly
introduced us to their church experience. The chaplain, an Episcopal priest,
had been a student at St John’s forty years ago and had prayed before leaving
that God would bring him back to serve. As the congregation developed in
reaching out to the area, Advent Church became a parish and he is the first
rector. He noted that his pastoral care covers members of the parish plus 6,000
students and 240 faculty and staff at the university. He wept as he presented a
dream mission center being built around the church building, which still needs
assistance to be completed. His tears were about seeing its completion “Now”,
as he said, “I am sixty years of age.”
Of course, you don’t go half way around the world and not
bump into lovers of Iowans! One of the university President’s staff fondly
remembered Ron and Toni Noah and sent her regards together with a photograph just
in case their memories needed to be jogged. Others had studied in Iowa or their
daughter met her future husband in Iowa when both came from Taiwan to study at
different universities. This is a people proud of their education and creative
achievements, and pushing forward to do more. With such a huge nation across
the straits who considers you a renegade province rather than a sovereign
nation, there is a lot of impetus to build up your future prosperity and global
reputation. The Episcopal Church in Taiwan has been, and is, a vital part of
that and achieved a remarkable rebirthing of a historic institution. Maybe it
was that sense of vigor and purpose that caught my attention and stirred my
spirit. Of course, all of this was only in the dreaming stage, when I was of
that age. There is no rolling back of time. At that age I went off to fight the
good fight of faith and human rights in Romania, and found my wife there as we
both came on different study programs from our homes three thousand miles
apart. Expanding apostolic imagination
is about being able to pray with the world before you. It is a privilege to
have faces and places to put into such offerings.
