Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pinpoints

Hello all,

First off, let me be forthright in saying this has been a very challenging and frustrating week for both of us. We have had a fair amount of trouble with communication and matching expectations between the Diocese of Taiwan and our own understanding of our work here. So, with this in mind, I would like to talk a little bit about dreams and the possibility of finding pinpoints of light in difficult situations.

There are a few major things at work in the coming two weeks: first of all, Elizabeth and I will be traveling to Hong Kong to get new visas. Our current visas expire on Saturday. Secondly, I will be traveling to the United States immediately after our trip to Hong Kong (I will literally be staying in the Taipei airport overnight to catch my flight to the U.S.) for the Diocese of Colorado Bishop's Advisory Committee on Ministry weekend. This is a weekend where I will be interviewed by the Bishop and others about the status of my call to ordained ministry. In the midst of all of this, we are still trying to get this campus ministry thing off the ground here in Taipei and find a good teaching fit for Elizabeth. Whew!

So, the first pinpoint of light: Before we came to Taiwan, Elizabeth and I engaged in a whirlwind tour of seminaries, including Yale, Virginia, General, and Sewanee (The University of the South). In this process we encountered many people who talked about their experiences applying to seminary. Most people said that they "just knew" or the school "immediately clicked" as they found the right seminary community. After four visits I wasn't quite sure. I think this partly has to do with the fact that I am not even a postulant (yet, God-willing), but it also tells me more about how I experience God's voice and call in my life.

Throughout my discernment process, I have learned to listen for God in a variety of ways. The most comfortable and reliable form being praying and mulling over an idea from many different angles and experiences. As we explored in the Theological Reflection group at CU, while lightning strikes of inspiration do occur, it is also quite possible (and perhaps more probable) for inspiration to come from a variety of sources of experience, including prayer, images, personal experience, and friends.

A few instances of divine inspiration have led me to some interesting ideas: first of all, I am being called (in ordained ministry or not) to a life of humble service. For me, this means humility in the academic world. I must resist the temptation to prove to others that I am smart by going to a school that doesn't fit me but looks really good. This means maybe a school like Yale isn't the best option. In fact, when talking to Elizabeth, opening mail from seminaries, and researching online, I get the most excited (literally, a warm and electric internal feeling) about Sewanee. For those of you (luckily) outside of the seminary world, Sewanee is kind of an odd choice. It is very small, very secluded, and not well-known for academics. It is however a wonderful family community, with a good spousal support network, good financial aid, and a solid history of educating clergy for their priestly ministry.

Now, I'm not ready to commit myself to anything. I'm still praying, listening, imagining, and dreaming. But, I did have a short dream about getting a financial aid letter from Sewanee saying I only owed $900 a year and they would pay for the other $19000. I have no idea where the numbers came from, but this could be a good thing, right?

And who knows, maybe humility will lead me to another school, or even a different vocation. But I have learned that the fit and God's plan for my education and vocation is far more important than the professors and academic programs available at any particular school.

Second pinpoint of light: A few weeks ago we were invited by Daniel, the chaplain's assistant at St. John's University, to give a talk on "Faith and Music." St. John's University is an Episcopal university in the northern tip of Taiwan. Daniel and Fr. Lennon have developed a thriving campus ministry. Each Thursday night fellowship attracts between 30-40 students. The music and programming is almost completely led by students. It was a truly amazing display of student leadership and fellowship.

The night began with a meal together with the students. We then did a 40 minute presentation which included a Nooma video, a short description of Taize, some enthusiastic Taize music singing, and Elizabeth's reflections on the vocation of teaching music fitting into God's "song" of mercy, love, compassion, and justice.

We were welcomed with open arms and enthusiasm by the students and staff and were even presented with St. John's sweatshirts. Just in case it ever gets cold here. . .

I really hope that our connection with St. John's can grow and they can be a source of assistance and guidance in the establishment of our campus ministry. We will see.

In the meantime, please enjoy our pictures of the St. John's fellowship. And just for Dustin (and for others interested in Swedish furniture) we have a picture of one of the four Ikea stores in Taiwan. More on our Ikea adventure later. . .

And please, please pray for our safety in travel. Also, please pray for Elizabeth while I am in the U.S. and for me as I meet with the Bishop and the rest of the commission on ministry.

Our next post will probably not come until November because of the crazy travel schedule.

Blessings,

Seth

Thursday, October 16, 2008

I'm Going Forward

On Wednesday, Elizabeth wrote a wonderful email update titled "I'm Going Forward." It was too good to keep in one format, so I am posting it here on the blog.

Two quick notes: Please check out the links to our fellow missionaries. They are in full swing and doing wonderful work. Secondly, as a little treat, you get some pictures of our favorite lian ge xiao mao (two little cats) and a giant snail found by the cathedral. Enjoy!

Coming next week. . . some thoughts about some visions and dreams I have been having in my prayer (and sleep) time. Stay tuned!

Love, Seth

I'm going forward,
Never, never turning back

While we were in New York this past summer for our two week training, some of the music we heard was from the Itipini Gospel Choir. They are from Mthatha, South Africa and many of them are children. So, a few days ago we contacted a fellow YASC missionary in Mthatha, South Africa who is working at the Itipini Medical Clinic. (To read more about Jesse, visit his blog http://mthathamission.blogspot.com/. He has just committed to a second year in Mthatha and his blog is wonderful!) Anyway, Jesse sent us a few songs through email and one of them is called "I'm Going Forward." The call and response structure as well as the simple and fundamental use of chords common in African song has always warmed my heart. To hear the lyrics 'I'm going forward, never, never turning back' pumped me up!

This past weekend we had visitors from the Episcopal Church, from New York City, Hawai'i, and San Francisco. Peter Ng, from NYC, is the contact person for all relations between Asia and the Pacific. Mimi Wu, from Hawai'i, serves on the board for Province VIII. And Rev. Jack Eastwood (and his wife Judy), from San Francisco, is the President of Province VIII. Our conversations with all were very fruitful! While talking to Peter, we found out that we should have hot water (I am waiting for the repairman as I type), I will increase my teaching hours, and Seth was given some good ideas for the beginnings of the campus ministry. It was wonderful to spend the time to sit down and talk with him. We were also able to talk to the Province VIII representatives. Seth was eager to talk to them about bringing a group of students from Taiwan to the provincial gathering in March. The gathering will be in Tempe, Arizona. We were able to get contacts and ideas for fundraising to make the trip affordable for the students. Again, it was wonderful to talk with them face-to-face. I'm going forward. . .

Just last night, I was able to make a connection I never dreamed of. When Union Carbide signed a deal with Sony about 30 years ago, a Sony team from Japan was sent to Cleveland, Ohio to receive training. My grandfather was the teacher for this training. He and my grandmother made a life-long connection with Hiroshi Abe, who was working for Sony, and his wife, Keiko. After spending 3 months in Cleveland for training, Hiroshi went home to Japan. However, every 5 years, Hiroshi and Keiko go to Cleveland to visit my grandparents. When my grandfather died a few years ago, they planted a tree in their garden in remebrance of him. My grandmother was able to visit Japan two years ago. Hiroshi, who now works for a different company, comes to Taipei on business for one week a month. When Hiroshi and Keiko found out, through my grandmother, that Seth and I were living in Taipei, Keiko planned to come with Hiroshi to Taipei to meet us! Last night, we were able to have dinner with Hiroshi and Keiko. I never thought I would be able to meet them! I've heard stories and seen pictures all of my life! My grandmother's house is full of Japanese art and pottery. It was amazing to make this connection. I can only pray that Seth and I will be able to make life-long friends while we are living in Taipei this year. I'm going forward. . .

A big thank you to our partners in mission this week: Carlen Penfold, Mollie and Nicholas Lee, Bob and Julie Stuenkel, Ron and Janet Fullmer, and Bishop O'Neill. THANK YOU!!!

We love you all, have a great day, and don't forget to send us your love in emails, they make our day.

Many blessings and much love,
Elizabeth

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

May Your Kingdom Advent


Raise your hand if this was a familiar scene in your Sunday school/youth group: Sunday school teacher: "today we are going to personalize the Lord's Prayer. We are going to rewrite the Lord's Prayer in our own words!" If your hand is raised, you know this often results in groans and "really, this again?"

So bear with me while I take this exercise in a different direction. For the last two weeks, Elizabeth and I have been meeting with Rev. Samuel at the cathedral to learn the Lord's Prayer in Mandarin Chinese. We have decided to use these Chinese lessons primarily as a way to learn "liturgical Chinese." We hope this will enable us to better participate in the prayers during Sunday services.

As we were learning the proper way to say the Lord's Prayer (which involves a lot of admonishments to speak with a harder accent), I wrote down a direct translation of the Chinese into English, creating a new version of the personalized Lord's Prayer.

This is how it came out:

Our father in heaven
May your name be honored as holy
May your kingdom advent
May your will be obeyed on earth
like same be done in heaven

Every day we need and use drinking and eating, today give us
also we beg to forgive our sin (crime)
like the same we forgive the offenses we receive from the people.
Do not let us meet and see temptation (don't call us to meet temptation) (don't call temptation on us)

To save us to release from evil
because kingdom, power, and glory
all are yours from now to forever. Amen.

I was most interested in the word used for sin (or trespasses depending on your preference for English translation). In Mandarin, the word used for sin is the same word as crime. Therefore, whereas in English we distinguish between spiritual failings as sin and offenses against the law as crime, there no delineation in Mandarin. For someone to be called a sinner in Taiwan is to accuse them of being a criminal.

Imagine being a seeker and being called a sinner for the first time. It apparently is a common reaction that people will deny being sinful because they have not been adequately taught about the idea of spiritual sin v. governmental crime. No one wants to be called a criminal, right?

This lesson in sin/crime might prove very useful in our English Bible study. Since we are working through studies about the "unexpected Jesus" the idea of forgiveness for sin is quite prevalent. I am not sure what I think about the delineation between spiritual sin and crime. I haven't really thought at all about how we in the U.S. deal much more seriously (in terms of legal and physical punishment) to crime than to sin. Hmmm...

I was also very surprised when Rev. Samuel translated the line "may your kingdom advent." Much of our experience with the cathedral so far has been an introduction to a much more evangelical church than we have previously experienced. The cathedral is very involved in teaching Alpha courses, and has recently begun a campaign modeled after the Purpose Driven paradigm. They are even advertising for and promoting participation in the Franklin Graham festival at the end of October. Since the cathedral's population is largely composed of relatively new Christians whose knowledge of Christianity is largely based in non-denominational evangelical reading and teaching (think Joel Osteen), I was not expecting the word "advent" to pop up. However, this is apparently the best translation from Chinese to English of the phrase "may your kingdom come."

So maybe the church here is more connected into the liturgical tradition than I thought. Instead of having to explain the meaning of the word advent, they pray it every week.

Until next week, still praying for the advent of God's kingdom,

Seth

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Bonus: Lambeth Reflection

Hello all! The following is a reflection from one of the two head stewards from the Lambeth Conference 2008. This was the gathering of all Anglican Bishops that happens every 10 years at Canterbury Cathedral in England. The writer is Erin Rutherford. I originally heard this as a sermon at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church. Erin works at an international school here in Taipei and has lived in Taiwan for 7 years. She was a steward at the 1998 conference and led the stewards this summer. I hope this provides an alternative perspective to the exlusion/schism coverage that seemed to dominate the U.S. media. Enjoy!

"I can probably assume that some of you, particularly those who’ve grown up with clergy in the family, or a parish priest who has aspired to be bishop look forward to a Lambeth Conference like you look forward to the Olympics or an election. They are events that define our communities. And Lambeth defines us as Anglicans. This was my second Lambeth Conference, having served as a steward in 1998. There is no denying that the 1998 Lambeth Conference did resemble the Olympics at times as people felt themselves to be victorious over others and I can assure you that the air was so thick at times that scenes from the Taiwanese legislature weren’t inconceivable. We like to think it’s a time when the church’s wisest, most insightful, and decisively pastoral leaders assemble to celebrate their faith, meet peers with common concerns and then return to assure us that the church universal is united in mission. And that may have been the case a hundred years ago when the church was reasonably homogeneous in terms of colour and cultural expectations but it certainly isn’t now and let’s not forget that the Anglican Church has never been one for uniformity theologically.

The job I had been given was called “Stewards Manager.” There were two of us, and our job was to train and manage the fifty five young people who had volunteered four weeks to serve the needs of the conference. They ranged in age from 18 to 34 and we did our best to train them in intercultural communication, conflict resolution, event security, emergency procedures, dealing with the Press, first aid and the technical equipment they needed like walkie-talkies. Mixed with this was of course worship, visits to the Cathedral and the social activities needed to ensure that the group stayed close and committed to one another for the duration of the conference. When the conference started our job was to do the scheduling for the stewards, to attend various meetings during the day like security briefings, technical planning meetings, production meetings and redistribute stewards when the meetings meant changes to the scheduling.

During the week leading up to the conference, BBC Radio 4 was interviewing a number of divisive and controversial clerics who included Gene Robinson but also included Gregory Venables, the Archbishop of the Southern Cone. While he was clearly invited to give his views on the question of homosexuality in the episcopate but given what my priorities were at the time, what struck me most were his comments on the organization of the conference. He pointed out that ten years previously bishops were sent package after package of study material and the objectives and desired outcomes of the conference were known in advance. However in 2008 he had received no more than three sheets of paper and a few emails and he didn’t even know where he was supposed to go to register. And there was some truth to this. The reason for this was that the tone of the conference was meant to be entirely different from the spectacle, rupture and disagreement of 1998. This Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, had decided early on that underlying the structure of the conference would be a look at the notion of “covenant,” a relationship of promise. To him, covenant meant an understanding as to how we will relate to one another and how tensions will be handled and discernment taken forward. As far as I could tell, he didn’t want to pander to the demands of either side of what was on everyone’s mind.

Almost in anticipation of the lack of opportunity to make a statement, as you surely heard, an event took place in Jordan a few weeks pre-Lambeth in which members of the church with a traditional view on the interpretation of scripture concerning human sexuality, decided to take a public stand against the Archbishop of Canterbury and the so-called liberalism of some western churches. Partly because of the conference in Jordan and partly for other reasons related to it, this year’s Lambeth Conference was without the bishops of Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and, of course, Sydney. Fortunately there were exceptions. The Bible study leader for my bishop at home in Vancouver, Michael Ingham, was a dissident bishop of Kenya who decided to come on his own saying that "I believe we are all children of God and the children of God belong together." We also had a Nigerian steward who, early on, explained that though she took a similar position to her church on matters of sexuality, she realised that it was based on limited experience and she should meet gay people before making a decision. I decided that it wasn’t quite the moment to explain that she surely already had.

Now having said all of that, I don’t want to downplay the dark shadows that had been cast over the Lambeth Conference by what happened in Jordan. But for me personally, in order to get through a very demanding four weeks – the stewards, not politics, needed to be my highest priority. Fortunately their energy and their commitment were infectious. Equally as encouraging when I arrived was that recommendations we had made ten years ago were listened to and implemented and as most young people in the church know, having their voice heard can be rare.

And changes hadn’t only taken place for the stewards. Another striking difference was the equality given to the Spouses Conference. The Spouses workshops were no longer about mitre making or planning the perfect luncheon. Spouses of bishops were delegates also and while their programme was sometimes different they were validated in their centrality to the work and support of the episcopacy. Key to this joint agenda was the joint day in which bishops and their spouses came together to consider the abuse of power in the church. While 1998 may have made headlines for its vote on human sexuality, it could have made much bigger headlines if the press had got wind of the flagrant abuse that took place at the conference itself. The insistence on the part of Jane and Rowan Williams in hosting a different kind of conference was, I believe, a testament to their insightfulness and the relevant tone.

If you’ve done any reading about this Lambeth you know that there were no votes. That whole conference gatherings were few. That bishops met in what they called Indaba groups. Depending on your news sources, you may have read that bishops were frustrated because their Indaba facilitators treated them like they were in Sunday school and they couldn’t talk about what they wanted to – sexuality. Instead they had to talk about the environment, about social justice, about the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, and our relations with other faiths. The resistance from the bishops to engage in meaningful discussion about these issues could be staggering to the young people at the time. While, admittedly, most of the young people took a position one way or the other on the issue of openly gay bishops, it was clear to them that even if it needed to be addressed as an issue of justice, or as an issue of scriptural authority, so did hunger, so did clean water, so did Robert Mugabe and so did climate change. And to remain silent on those issues because it was more productive to hope that the other side would just leave seemed unconscionable.

A steward from Australia just last week referred me to an article on the Sydney Anglican Network website in which the Indaba process was heavily mocked. An unnamed bishop had apparently described it as a joke and rather than discussing their content, the author mocked the cultural origins of Indaba as if they surely had nothing to offer a conference where votes and schism were bound to happen. Considering there was no Australian media present at the conference, church or secular, I found this a very curious judgement.

I got to know a number of the rapporteurs, some of whom had served with me ten years ago, were now ordained or theology professors and whose job it was to sit in on an Indaba group and take careful notes and produce a report for the end of the day about what was said. It could be a frustrating process because the 40 or so bishops in the group then had to agree on whether their report was an accurate reflection of their discussions. They told of how at first the bishops were engaged in their work, that the relevance of the topics was significant and impressive. But as the days passed and we were anxious for the end, people started to push. How could they have come to this event and not yet talked about sexuality? How could the Archbishop’s so called Covenant for the Communion arise from what seemed such an unproductive set of discussions?

At the same time, somehow not surprisingly, the stewards had realised that in functioning as a group, we respected the dignity and integrity of each other, that a covenant had several forms as we shared interests and shared our lives for four short weeks. It wasn’t because we were representing our dioceses or our provinces that we had to get along, we didn’t share a contract, we shared a relationship. As Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi pointed out when he spoke to the conference one evening, where a contract is about interests, a covenant is about identity. It is about you and me coming together to form an 'us'. Covenants are predicated on difference. And that is why contracts benefit, but covenants transform.

As you would assume stewards did, they spent a number of evenings in the college bar. One particular night was especially memorable as somewhere in our second round of Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah, a bishop came over to our table and asked what it was we were so happy about. Someone said near me, is he at the same conference as us? Somehow for us, our identities as Anglicans, our vastly differing cultural backgrounds and our inherent understanding that we shared a fate meant that covenant had already taken shape.
Jonathan Sacks went on to remind us of Jeremiah who, in describing covenant said: “I remember the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothal, how you were willing to follow me into the desert, through an unknown, unsown land.” Covenant is what allows us to face the future without fear, because we know we are not alone. Covenant is the redemption of solitude when the issues we face seem too much to bear alone.
Something else that had been transformed in ten years was the acknowledgement of the contribution of the young people who stewarded the event. Both delegates and conference management treated the stewards as valued members of the conference community. I felt that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the management fully demonstrated the qualities of the landowner in today’s Gospel. It is obvious to us, I hope, that the landowner wasn’t interested in paying for labour so much as he was in ensuring that the labourers didn’t go home hungry. The Archbishop had a vision which allowed the stewards to not go home spiritually empty, but to feel that their membership in the church was as valued and important as any bishop’s.

Of course, this was a reciprocal agreement in a sense. The stewards were quite possibly the most exceptional group of young people I’ve ever worked with. They were insightful, helpful, hard-working, polite, curious, determined and full of initiative. The most remarkable part about the stewards was their humbleness. These were young people who despite an incredible range of professions, life-styles and interests came together for the simple privilege of serving God’s community through the conference. Unlike the labourers in the vineyard in today’s Gospel, they did not assume that there would be extra recompense for their work. Their reward was being part of an incredibly supportive community that put cooperation before difference. They too represented the same theological divide as the bishops, but they put teamwork first. They laboured out of love and joy for the opportunity to work. Equally as incredible to me was the respect with which they were treated by bishops. Whether they were following the lead of the Archbishop or the church has simply got better at choosing its leaders, I don’t know but until this summer’s conference I had never attended a church event, especially not the Lambeth Conference of 1998, in which bishops, often with a tremendous sense of entitlement, weren’t patronising of young people and saw them as equal in God’s eyes.

Of course, I’m not naïve or deluded enough to think that the experiences of 55 young Anglicans in Canterbury this summer will go down as a world wide example of how the conference was a success. If we are lucky, it is a message that will be shared in their 55 parishes. But it was clear to me that some bishops would be returning home uncomfortable because they hadn’t been able to split the church and some would be uncomfortable with the vastness of the mission we have yet to fulfil. All of them, though, must acknowledge that regardless of what happens in the next few years that without the devotion of youth, there will be no church. What Jonathan Sacks described as covenantal goods, that is love and friendship cannot be split to suit our own interests. And that is something for which we should feel not only gratefulness, but hope."

Erin Rutherford

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The Ex-pat Experience


It's wet here!

Yes, we just went through our second typhoon. Fortunately, this one is supposed to be the last of the typhoon season. Meaning the weather should be cooling down (a relative term) and the rainy season is coming to a close.

A couple of weekends ago I was invited to attend the English congregation service at Good Shepherd Episcopal and join them for their monthly fellowship luncheon. Since Elizabeth had youth responsibilities, I went out to Shilin alone.

The priest for the English congregation is also an Episcopal missionary. Rev. Diane Wong is a long-term missionary completing her second year of service in Taiwan. She is from the Diocese of Massachusetts and has been a wonderful source of communication and English speaking over these couple of months. Somehow she thought inviting us to an English service would be appealing. . . and after two months of Chinese only services, she couldn't have been more right!

The service at Good Shepherd was the first time I have had a large scale and direct interaction with the adult ex-pat community in Taiwan. All of the non-Taiwanese I have met previously have been students or short term visitors. When researching the service time for the English service, I found the Sunday bulletin. In addition to the readings for the day, it included two announcements: 1 - the fellowship luncheon 2 - there is a wedding following the service, please stick around.

As it turns out, this is pretty much par for the course in terms of the ex-pat community. The English congregation is largely made up of teachers at international schools. The rest of the members include the South African diplomat (unofficially) and his wife, a college professor who has lived in Taiwan for 20 years but is still married to a woman in the U.S. (they talk every day), a retired U.S. Air Force officer, an engineer, and the second in command of the American Institute in Taiwan (our unofficial version of an embassy in Taiwan). This group was by far the most unlikely collection of people I have ever seen enjoying wedding cake for a couple they had just met an hour ago. . . when they attended their wedding and witnessed their marriage vows.

I also had the joy of meeting one of the two head stewards for the Lambeth Conference this year. The stewards were a group of young people, one of whom was from Taiwan, responsible for playing tour guide, security, running errands, applying first aid, smiling, and making life comfortable for all of the Bishops and Bishop's spouses during the conference. Erin, the head steward I met at Good Shepherd, has been living in Taiwan for the past 7 years teaching French at an international school. She gave the sermon, a reflection on the conference and her experience being a steward. I hope to post the reflection soon. It was wonderful to hear a reflection that did not just revolve around who was there and who was excluded.

Overall, I was incredibly thrilled to attend a service in English. I miss very much saying the prayers in unison instead of saying them in English and guessing how to time it so I finish at the same time as the Chinese. However, I feel somehow especially called to serve within the Chinese congregation. Unlike the last young adult missionaries to Taiwan, we do not have any particular assignments within the English congregation or ex-pat communities. I believe this will continue to bring challenges but also, slowly, enable us to better integrate into the Taiwanese culture and religious customs. We will always still be Americans, white, and really bad at Chinese, but I feel like we will have the opportunity to witness authentic expressions of Christianity as developed by the Taiwanese/Chinese culture.

May you be blessed throughout this new month,

Seth

This is easily one of the world's smallest dogs. Note that I am not the only giant in the picture, the three year old is downright huge in comparison as well.

Picture #2 is tea with the Bishop a few weeks ago. He is a true tea fanatic. He would fit right in on Wednesday morning. No word on his preference for toast or bagels.