IN 1944, a 35-year-old Chinese woman, Florence Li Tim-Oi,
crossed Japanese lines to reach Shui Hing, a village that remained
in Free China. There she met the Bishop of Victoria, Hong Kong, the
Rt Revd Ronald Hall, who ordained her the first woman priest in an
Anglican diocese.
In a letter written shortly after the event to friends in
England, Bishop Hall described how he had made Dr Li Tim-Oi "a
priest in the Church of God". Already in sole charge of a
congregation in Macao, she had demonstrated "remarkable, successful
pastoral work". He concluded: "If you are asked questions, the
answer is that this was necessary in order that my people should
have the sacraments regularly administered."
On Saturday, the 70th anniversary of Dr Li Tim-Oi's priesting
was marked at St Martin-in-the-Fields, which has Chinese-speaking
congregations.
In a foreword to the programme, the Archbishop of Canterbury
gave thanks for her "courage and commitment, and for her concern
that women should be fully valued by the Church and in
society".
The address was given by Canon Edidah-Mary Mujinya, the Mothers'
Union Provincial President of Uganda, and Acting Principal of
Ankole Western Institute of Science and Technology. She described
how the Li Tim-Oi Foundation, which provides grants to train women
for Christian mission and ministry, had enabled her to undertake
theological training.
Later during the service, Christina Rees, vice-chair of the
foundation, described the challenges facing those who received
grants: "Most have experienced poverty, hardship and the death of
one or both of their parents while they were still young
girls."
Even after receiving grants, "they often face prejudice,
discrimination, and hostility from colleagues and other
Christians."
After the eucharist, bowls of perfumed oil were passed around,
and members of the congregation were invited to mark a neighbour's
palm with the sign of the cross. "We look forward to the full
inclusion of women in the episcopate, and remember the sense of
exclusion in those parts of the Communion where the priestly
ordination of women is not yet permitted," the programme read.
Dr Li Tim-Oi surrendered her priest's licence in 1946, but not
her Orders. She resumed the practice of her priesthood in the
Church in China, and in Toronto when she retired in 1981. She died
in 1992. The Foundation has so far helped women from 124 dioceses
in the Communion.
