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)：

1)  Our Final Sunday Worship at St. Luke's     (2026)

2)  生活點滴：A Joyful Return to St. James'     (2026)

3)  A Full Sunday at St. James'     (2026)

4)  I Miss You, Friends!     (2026)

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)：

1)  值得紀念的 Sunday (主日)     (2026)

2)  十個職場人的故事 (A Personal Note)     (2026)

3)  Our Final Sunday Worship at St. Luke's     (2026)

4)  A Full Sunday at St. James'     (2026)

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)

4)  生活點滴：A Joyful Return to St. James'     (2026)

生活點滴：A Joyful Return to St. James'

#2026-0727

Jean and I finished our ten-day stay in Dajia and returned to Wufeng on Thursday, July 23. I spent the following two days resting and doing some chores. Then, yesterday, we were delighted to attend the Sunday service at St. James' Episcopal Church in Taichung once again.

During our year-long stay in Hualien, it was impossible for us to attend Sunday worship at St. James'. Instead, we attended services at St. Luke's whenever possible. (See #2026-0628 for our final worship there.) It was especially convenient because we only had to walk downstairs from our room on the fourth floor to the chapel on the first floor.

Yesterday, however, we had to leave home much earlier because the English service at St. James' begins at 9:30 a.m., and it takes us about twenty-five minutes to drive there.

How glad and excited we were to be back at St. James' and to see so many familiar friends again after a whole year!

Just as we had expected, our rector, Rev. Lily Chang, together with many brothers and sisters in Christ, welcomed us warmly.

"Welcome back, Jerry and Jean!" they said.

Some of them also asked about our grandson, James.

"Is your grandson coming too?"

"No," I replied. "James met a former classmate and the boy's parents in Houli (后里), where the boy's maternal grandmother lives. They planned to visit her together before taking James back to Taipei for a short vacation of three or four days. In a few weeks, James' former classmate will be leaving for the United States, either on a study tour or for a longer period of study abroad."

After lunch, Jean and I stayed in the Coffee Hour room on the first floor, chatting with several of our close friends. We stayed there for quite some time, enjoying what turned out to be one of the longest and happiest conversations we have ever had after a Sunday service.

By the way, today I gave Rev. Ben Simmons two copies of my Mandarin conversation textbook, Yong Pinyin Xue Shuo Huayu (用拼音學說華語), which I published in Hualien last February. I wanted to encourage him, knowing that he plans to devote more time to learning Mandarin this year and next. I also presented a copy to Rev. Lily Chang as a souvenir because one of her photographs appears as an illustration in the book.

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相關文章 (See also)：

1)  Palm Sunday, 2023     (2023)

2)  I Love My Church     (2025)

3)  Mandarin for Faith and Life     (2026)

4)  十個職場人的故事 (A Personal Note)     (2026)

5)  Our Final Sunday Worship at St. Luke's     (2026)