Christmas 1 – December 26, 2021

First Taiwanese has been through a lot. Their pastor of the last four years, Pastor Philip Chang retired. The Council of four people tried unsuccessfully to change the language from Taiwanese to Mandarin, then resigned. Earlier this year they had $63,000 of damage in the February winter freeze.

This Sunday, however, spirits were high. They have come through it all, and things have settled down. They were thankful for the help of Pastor Chris Markert and the synod. Pastor Ele Clay stepped in for the interim. And now, former Pastor Jeremy Shih, also Taiwanese, has retired and recently returned to Houston from his last call in Seattle. He is willing to help them discern the way forward.

This Sunday, I was delighted to preach. The sermon, which I had sent to the translator, Lee Cheng, changed suddenly with the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, but he was good-spirited about it and the people knew Tutu’s name and legacy.

Pastor Philip Chiang his wife. Pastor Chiang served First Taiwanese 2017-2021.
The newly elected church council.
The new Chairperson of First Taiwanese Lutheran Church Council, Kou-Huei Lin (pronounced “Core-Fair Lin”)