Church Divinity School of the Pacific
The Episcopal Seminary of the West
HOLY EUCHARIST
11 October, 2007
Alumni/ae Convocation
GORDON KWONG-SUM LAU
Gordon Lau was born in China and came to California to attend college. He is twice a graduate of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, first with a Master of Divinity (1976) and then with a Doctor of Ministry (2000). He began his ordained ministry in Hong Kong, was then vicar of St. James of Jerusalem in Seattle, and finally coming to be the rector of the Church of Our Saviour in Oakland, where he has served since 1984.
Throughout his long ministry, Gordon Lau has sought to remain faithful to his Chinese heritage and culture while having a ministry most of the time on the West coast of the United States. Gordon may be best known as the chair of the team that produced a Chinese translation of the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church. While this accomplishment alone is worthy of the honorary degree he receives this day, it really represents the tip of an iceberg. In a very real sense, Gordon Lau�s entire ministry can be characterized as that of a translator writ large.
The Chinese Book of Common Prayer surely reflects an important dimension of Gordon�s role as translator, as he has lived in communities that have cried out for his bilingual skills. But these skills and languages pointed to deeper cultural realities he has bridged with his ministry to church and society. In many ways he has brought the needs of his parishes in Oakland or Seattle or Hong Kong into dialogue with the life of the wider community contexts in which they were found. Through his preaching and teaching he has made his congregations more aware and sensitive to the society in which they live. In all of this Gordon has been a translator of cultures par excellence. His work with CDSP seminary students, helping them understand the character of multicultural ministry in the Bay Area, has been another clear and valuable demonstration of this role.
In a very different way, Gordon helped his Oakland parish through a very difficult physical transition from a beautiful church building made for worship to a storefront church originally made for a very different purpose. Again, Gordon�s skills as translator shone brightly, going from language to language, culture to culture, and space to space in helpful and felicitous ways. Finally, Gordon has been a translator of country to country. As we sit on the edge of Pacific Rim, our knowledge of China has been enhanced by Gordon�s ministry, as has China�s knowledge of our country and our church.
In a long and distinguished ministry as a parish priest, as a translator to church and society in service of the gospel, and as a CDSP alumnus, Gordon Lau has been faithful and steadfast. We honor ourselves as we honor him, by granting him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa.
