3112 Edition
October 17-23, 2011
Headline News
Film and thanksgiving service honour Mackay and Oxford County’s legacy
Reported and written by Lydia Ma
The front page headline of Canada’s Woodstock Sentinel Review on October 14, 2011, aptly described celebrations marking the 130th anniversary of Oxford college (now known in Taiwan as Aletheia University) as an occasion to celebrate “a friendship for the ages”. Elaborating on the friendship between Taiwan and Oxford County, the story pointed out that, “for decades, the people of Taiwan and the people of Oxford County have enjoyed a special bond, one forged through the shared memory of an extraordinary man.”
That extraordinary man was, of course, George Leslie Mackay. To celebrate his legacy and the generosity of Oxford County residents 130 years ago, PCT North Synod and PCT Mackay Committee sent delegates to Oxford County from October 14-21. 2011, to mark the 130th anniversary of the college Mackay helped to establish, through financial donations from Oxford county residents at the time.
The schedule of events included the viewing of the movie “The Black-Bearded Barbarian” at Embro Presbyterian Church at 2:30 p.m. and a dinner later in the day between the Taiwanese delegation and church and government officials from Oxford County. The dinner also included an exchange of gifts and bagpipe performances.
To help the delegation from Taiwan, which included Taipei Synod Moderator Lin Hsin-ming, Mackay Memorial Hospital board member Cheng Wei-jou, and others, get acquainted with Mackay’s hometown, Oxford county and church officials arranged a guided visit to Mackay’s family cemetery, Mackay’s old house in Zorra Township, Woodstock Peace Lighthouse, and the soon to be opened Woodstock Hospital.
Commenting on the new facilities and state-of-the-art equipment of Woodstock Hospital, Cheng said he was very impressed by the patient-friendly floor plans. He added that they would be great references for Mackay Memorial Hospital in the future, albeit the scarcity of land and space in Taiwan would make imitating Woodstock Hospital’s floor plan a challenging feat for Mackay Hospital.
Nevertheless, Cheng said he hoped that Mackay Hospital staff and decision-makers would be able to visit and learn from Woodstock Hospital in the future and the two hospitals could consider a partnership.
About 60 people attended a special viewing of the film “The Black-Bearded Barbarian”, which chronicled the life and legacy of Mackay. Though Mackay is virtually a household name in Taiwan, it’s interesting to note that his name and legacy is new for many Oxford County residents. Lin underscored that the two main purposes of the film and the evening service were to introduce Mackay to local residents and thank them for what their ancestors did for Taiwan over a century ago.
The 130th anniversary celebration service in the evening was held at Knox Presbyterian Church and began promptly at 7:30 p.m. The service included the reading of an article that appeared on the Woodstock Sentinel Review on July 16, 1880, which chronicled Mackay’s return to his hometown and his fundraising progress.
The reading was followed by greetings from Mr. Tsai Ye-wei, head of Tamsui District, where Mackay first settled and opened a school while in Taiwan. Greetings from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Toronto, Taiwan Theological Collage, Tamkang Middle School, and Aletheia University were also read. Then, the sermon entitled “Flowing Grace” was given by Rev. Lin Hsin-ming.
After the service, Knox Presbyterian Church pastor Rev. Mark MacLennan said during an interview with Taiwan Church News that he had only recently heard of Mackay as he was also new in town. However, he admired and applauded Mackay’s approach to evangelism. By reintroducing “Holistic Evangelism” to the Presbyterian Church in Canada and becoming its role model, Mackay reminded Canadian churches once again that evangelistic ministries needed to meet people’s spiritual, emotional, and physical needs to be complete.
