Today we celebrate the feast day of Florence Li Tim Oi, the first woman ordained priest in the Anglican Communion. She was born in the early 1900's in China and became a deacon on the church in 1947. Soon afterward, with the onset of WWWII, there were no male priests to lead her church, so her Bishop ordained her a priest and gave her the responsibility of the church.
When the war was over there was much controversy about her ordination, but the Bishop continued to use her in an ordained capacity until the communists took over China and closed the churches. During this time Florence was forced to work on farms and do hard labor. She was finally allowed to retire from hard labor in the 1970's. Soon afterward she traveled to Canada to visit family. There she was licensed to practice as a priest and she served the church until her death in 1992.
An amazing story of a woman ordained long before our "out of order" ordinations in the 1970's. An incredible woman and her forward thinking bishop who responded to the needs of the community by following the call of the Holy Spirit.
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