Lost Voices of Mission...Catherine Hine

Okay here's a new trend for all you pomo; em.ch; salvo types - forget your goatees; forget your piercings; 'aggresive' battle gear - this is the tattoo you want, I'm almost tempted myself being due a mid-life crisis in June next year!

I photocopied it from the original Chinese corps flag that was planted in Limehouse, East London in the early part of 20c. A fantastic story of Catherine Hine fed up with her HQ appointment, who decided to walk down to and eventually live in the Chinese community of Limehouse. If you want to find a story of incarnation try and find Catherine Hine's story. While working at THQ she spent every spare minute she had in the laundry's run by the Chinese community, getting to know the women who worked there, being part of their community; their lives.

She lived out the gospel without speaking a word of Mandarin; communicating through pictures she made the message and life of Jesus known. A corps was established and quickly grew through the authentic and unrelenting presence of Catherine Hine. A flag was presented and the Mandarin to the left was embroidered on it - Blood and Fire...!

I'm beginning to collect Lost Voices of Mission - Catherine Hine is my number 1.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Interesting thought there Gordon - can any voice ever involved in mission be lost?? and yet more proof that mission doesn't need a physical voice.
9:41 PM
Anonymous said…
Being a descendant of a Limehouse girl who met the Army in Canning Town I was really interested in this one!

Like Estelle though I wonder if there is such a thing as a lost voice of mission. Maybe lost heroes of mission would be better! Still looking forward to seeing what other voices you've discovered in this series!
11:45 PM
darrin said…
When I tire of all the debate and politics surrounding church life this is the thing to inspire and revive and motivate

I love people of the past and present who 'just do it'....not looking for plaudits or recognition...but quietly lovingly and sacrificially go about Gods business

Thankyou for bringing this to my Friday morning

(ps If you are going to get the tat done make sure you go to a good preferably mandarin speaking artist...imagine one slip could change the whole meaning making trips to your local takeaway fraught with danger)
8:36 AM
Gordon said…
Perhaps I should call it lost lessons in mission; however I also want to include people who have spoken into a theology of mission that have been quietly ignored, forgotten or conveniently edited out! So I'll stick with lost voices in that I definately think voices that shaped mission can be lost.

Good thoughts though - thanks!
10:18 AM
Gordon said…
Darrin - it did cross my mind - what if the embroiderer had a warped sense of humour!!
10:20 AM
darrin said…
a biography of catherine hine might be available from the wonderful bookworm alley (www.bookwormalley.org.uk)
if anyone is interested in reading further

(i say might be because i've secured a copy but hopefully not the last one)
12:40 PM
Anonymous said…
The story of Catherine Hines is told in one of the chapters of Hugh Redwood's book 'God in the Slums' from around 1930. This wonderful book captures the everyday miracles witnessed by the author in the work of the Salvation Army slum officers in London in the 1920s-30-s.
12:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A bit of sally bashing....

Came across a good bit of Sally bashing over at salvationsoldiers I have to say we try and make sure that everything we raise goes into projects that build local community in Poplar but hopefully if you read this blog you get that sense anyway.
Read more

Lost Voices of Mission...Fred Brown

Image
Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door. ...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church an
Read more

Types of Christian Spirituality...

Image
It is easy to think and to limit ourselves to a single approach to Christian spirituality. A 'if it works for me it should work for you approach' tends to narrow our appreciation of other ways which actually impoverishes our experience of spirituality. Urban T. Holmes has developed a means of exploring spirituality and helps develop an appreciation through discovering links between spirituality, temperament and predisposition. The diagram illustrates his ideas together with potential inherent dangers. The vertical continuum speaks and helps us understand our relational orientation to God. This ranges from engaging with God through understanding and theological process to a more emotive response. Horizontally speaks of a persons preferred means of pursuing the spiritual life. Kataphtic speaks of affirmation and the need of something tangible in an individuals spirituality- this may take the form of worship, art, even imagination with the use of metaphors, symbols and images play
Read more