Thursday 25 January marks the 80th anniversary of the ordination of Florence Li Tim-Oi as a priest in the Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong and South China by Bishop R O Hall (in Chinese, Ho Ming Wah). She was the first woman priest in the Anglican Communion. It was not until 1971 that further women were ordained priest in the Anglican Communion and not until 1994 that women were priested in the Church of England. The service took place in the Free China village of Shui Hing during the Sino-Japanese War. It was conducted in order that Anglican Christians in Tim-Oi’s parish of Macao, the Portuguese island colony, could receive the sacrament of Holy Communion properly authorised.
There will be a celebration at St Martin’s at 11am on the day to which all are welcome. The presider will be Bishop Hall’s granddaughter and the preacher will be Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin.
It’s a significant day for St Martin’s for several reasons. Bishop Hall was influential at St Martin’s: the Bishop Ho Ming Wah Community Association bears his name accordingly. We have an icon of Li Tim Oi in the Dick Sheppard Chapel, and a room in the crypt that bears her name. Meanwhile the Li Tim-Oi Foundation, which has organised the celebration service, exists to empower Christian women as agents of change within their own cultures. The Foundation provides grants to women candidates in the Majority World to train for Christian mission and ministry, as well as for many other kinds of work, including as adult literacy advisors, community workers, health workers, finance directors and theological educators.
But perhaps most of all this anniversary calls St Martin’s back to its core identity. If the church lets you down or is slow to catch up, invest in the kingdom of God and you’ll find the church meets you there. Eventually. That’s pretty much been the motto of St Martin’s for 110 years; and the ordination of Li Tim Oi is a perfect example.
A day to celebrate indeed.
Revd Dr Sam Wells
