2026年8月9日 星期日

The Sunday Right After Our Father's Day

#2026-0809

In Taiwan, Father's Day, also known as "Baba Jie," falls on the eighth day of the eighth month, that is, August 8th.

Why is it so?

In Mandarin, the pronunciation of "Baba" (meaning "father") is similar to that of "double eight" — "ba ba."

Our Sunday service at St. James' Church this morning marked two special things. First, Father's Day, or Baba Jie, which fell yesterday, was celebrated at church this morning by giving a well-designed umbrella to each father among those who attended the worship service. Second, since our priest, Rev. Lily Chang, was out of town helping at another church, this morning's service was led by Rev. Ben Simmons, one of the two deacons at St. James'. On the bulletin, he was referred to as the "Officiant" rather than the "Celebrant" — something that surprised me a little.

I remember being an "officiant" myself in the past. When I was expected to lead Morning Prayer (rather than Holy Eucharist) on a Sunday, I was called the "officiant," even though I was — and still am — a layperson. When a deacon conducts a Communion service from the reserved sacrament, would they also be called an "officiant" rather than a "celebrant"?

In addition to these two special things, I was especially delighted to have Ms. Xiuling Liang (梁秀玲), her husband, Weikang Cen (岑偉康), and their son, Chongzhe Cen (岑崇哲), visit St. James' today. They came from Hong Kong for a one-week vacation in Taiwan. Xiuling told me that she knew my son, Rev. Antony Liang, quite well. Antony currently serves at St. Timothy Church in Kaohsiung. In fact, they have been good friends in Christ for several years!

Xiuling took a picture of the two of us and sent it to Antony immediately via LINE, telling him that she was celebrating Father's Day on his behalf at St. James' this Sunday. 😁😄

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相關文章 (See also)：
3)  A Full Sunday at St. James'     (2026)
4)  I Miss You, Friends!     (2026)
















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2026年8月7日 星期五

Jian's Art Exhibition at Dadun Culture Center

#2026-0807

人生啟航 繪夢璀璨
🐎~🌵~🐓~🍃~🍂
簡錦清 膠彩畫 個展

展期：2026 年 8 月 1 日至 8 月 19 日
地點：台中市大墩文化中心 大墩藝廊 (一)

畫冊序文摘錄：

(一) 摘錄自台中市政府文化局長陳佳君所寫序文《七十揚航 繪夢璀璨 簡錦清膠彩藝術的歲月詩篇》：
  • 膠彩畫以天然礦物、泥土、金屬箔等自然顏料，調和動物膠層層疊加，歷經繁複工序方能於基底材上顯色。這種獨特的媒材在溫潤細膩的肌理中，映照出自然與時間的流轉。它不僅繼承了東方繪畫的氣韻精神，更在當代創作者的實踐中，開展出多元的美學風貌。
  • 長年耕耘畫坦的簡老師，曾任國小教師、主任、大學兼任講師及台灣膠彩畫協會理事長。
  • 憑藉沉穩堅定的藝術信念，簡老師在點、線、面之間構築出極具辨識度的繪畫語彙。在他的創作世界裡，「點」不僅是形式上的構成元素，更是時間、心念與生命經驗的凝結。透過「以點成面，化點為線」的獨特手法，他將無數細微筆觸匯聚成豐富的層次與流動的氣韻。
(二)  摘錄自藝術家簡錦清所寫自序《七十始航：在點線面之間，繪就璀璨的藝術之夢》：
  • 對我而言，七十歲不是創作生涯靠岸的終點，像是一場更為壯麗、更具自覺性的航行之始。
  • 在長期的創作實踐裡，我逐漸摸索出一條貼合自身心性的道路⸺「以點成面，化點為線」。它有別於大面積的礦岩鋪陳，我選擇將心神投注於每一個微小的「點」之上。無數個凝聚了心神與時間，所構成的「點」在畫布上交織、碰撞、蔓延，逐漸聚沙成塔化為細緻的「面」；再透過色彩的濃淡與疏密，自然引領出流暢的「線」。
  • 這種近乎修行的點畫技法，需要時間的沉澱，卻也賦予了作品溫潤且豐富的層次感。正如許多前輩與同好所言，這種獨特的視覺語言，讓作品擁有了極高的「辨識度」，觀眾一眼便能認出：這，就是我的符號。
  • 感性地說，展名中的「繪夢璀璨」，是我對自己繪畫生命的一場深情告白。期許這份堅持的繪畫方式，能夠在台灣膠彩畫的歷史脈絡中，建立一個專屬於我的美學座標。
Mookoo's Note:

This morning, Jean, Xiuzhen (Jean's former classmate), and I went together to Dadun Culture Center in Taichung City, where their former schoolmate Jinqing Jian is holding an art exhibition from August 1 through 19.

When we arrived, several of Jean and Xiuzhen's other former classmates were already there, along with the artist himself. He then showed us around the exhibition hall, introducing his works one by one in a friendly and easy-to-understand way. It was obvious that he and his former schoolmates are quite familiar with one another.

As far as I know, Jinqing, Jean, and Xiuzhen all attended the same Teachers' College (台中師專) and graduated in the same year, although Jinqing was in a different class from Jean and Xiuzhen. Since then, he has joined them at their class reunions several times, just as I have.

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2026年8月4日 星期二

I Miss You, Friends!

#20260804

On the St. Luke’s Facebook page, I came across some impressive pictures shared today. They are cartoonized versions of photos taken at the Episcopal Church in Hualien this past Sunday (see photos).

The pictures include the ministers participating in the service, some boys and girls singing with their hands held high, and the whole “family” of clergy and congregation gathered together in front of the altar. There is also one showing everyone praying—saying grace—before lunch in the room behind the chapel.

Although the photos have been cartoonized to some extent, I can still recognize most of the people in them. Look! There are our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Lennon Yuan-rung Chang; the Rev. Minglong Wu; the senior warden, Mr. Jie Yang; and many other good friends of mine—brothers and sisters at St. Luke’s Church.

Oh, Lord, seeing these pictures makes me miss them all so much. Even though I am far away, I feel as if I were there with them, sharing those precious moments together. May the Lord continue to bless them and keep them in His loving care forever!

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相關文章 (See also)：
4)  A Full Sunday at St. James'     (2026)










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2026年8月2日 星期日

A Full Sunday at St. James'

#2026-0802

Today, I attended the English service at St. James' at 9:30 a.m. and served as Lay Eucharistic Minister (LEM). This was my first time serving in that role since I left for Hualien in July last year for a one-year extended stay. It was a real joy to return to where I truly feel I belong.

Ms. Kseniia Dubinina led the Children's Sermon this morning. As far as I can remember, this was her first time doing so, and she did an outstanding job.

After the English service, I ran into a group of young people who had been camping at St. James' over the weekend, including my grandson James. To my surprise and delight, he had volunteered to serve as an assistant teacher (xiao laoshi) at the Exploring Camp for Sunday School students. The group was about to attend the Chinese service, which marked the conclusion of the camp.

During the coffee hour after the English service, Lillian, her husband, and I had a long and meaningful conversation in one of the classrooms downstairs. She teaches at Lizen High School, where my grandson will be studying for the next three years. We talked at length about language teaching and the current educational environment in Taiwan.

Later, I drove to Dajia to bring Jean home after she had once again spent some time with her elderly mother. Finally, we picked up our grandson from St. James' at about 8:10 p.m. It was truly a full and wonderful Sunday.

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相關文章 (See also)：
1)  A Quiet Day to Myself     (2026)
2)  A Cute Pet: 大甲的歐巴     (2026)
3)  Mandarin for Faith and Life     (2026)








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