Li Tim-Oi
[The Episcopal News] In 1944, with the world at war, Bishop Ronald Hall of Hong Kong, desperately needing Church of England sacraments to be administered in Macau, ordained Li Florence Tim-Oi, a deaconess, as the first woman priest in the Anglican Communion.
The Li Tim-Oi Center and Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel, will mark the 80th anniversary of that historic ordination with a series of events, beginning with a fundraising dinner on Jan. 6, 2024 and culminating in a Lunar New Year celebration the weekend of February 10 – 11 with special guests, including the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, first woman presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Bishop John Harvey Taylor and former Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori pose for a photo in 2022. Jefferts Schori will join the panel discussion of women’s ordination at the Li Tim-Oi celebration in February.
The February celebration will include a panel discussion on women’s ordination on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 3:30 p.m. and an exhibit of art depicting women in the Bible by He Qi, renowned artist and member of the parish. The next day, Feb. 11, Church of Our Saviour will host the annual diocesan Lunar New Year Celebration with a 4 p.m. service of Holy Communion celebrating Li Tim-Oi. More information about these events can be found here.
The fundraising dinner, which will feature a silent auction and a special ribbon dance performance by the parish’s SPARK! Kids children’s ministry, will be held on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $75; eight-person tables are $1,000 (table purchase includes a Li Tim-Oi t-shirt). Proceeds will go toward the celebration of women’s ordination, Chinese ministry, and the Li Tim-Oi Center.
Hannah Riley of Church of Our Saviour rocks a Li Tim-Oi t-shirt at Diocesan Convention. Photo: Janet Kawamoto
For more information and to purchase dinner tickets or register for the Feb. 10 – 11 event, click here, or email to info@cosepiscopal.org. Church of Our Saviour is located at 535 West Roses Road, San Gabriel 91775.
The Li Tim Oi Center was established in 2014 to foster a culturally and linguistically appropriate program to meet the disparate needs of Chinese ministry within the Episcopal Church. The Center’s church-based program is now at the forefront of providing sacramental and pastoral resources to support the fastest-growing population in the United States. Housed at Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel, the center is affiliated with Bloy House (Episcopal Theological School Los Angeles).