Friday, March 23, 2007
The Carey Wig!
[to Del.icio.us]
Lingamish's latest post from Mozambique regales us with stories of William Carey, including this one that I do not remember hearing before about the consequences of cross-cultural mission!
¶ 4:48 PM While Dorothy was taking leave of her senses, William was bidding farewell to the fashion mores of his day. Carey, who was prematurely bald had for several years worn a truly ugly wig. According to Mr. Riley, one of Carey’s friends, “Good Mr. Wilson of Olney is an excellent Christian, but one of the ugliest wigmakers that ever was born.” At some point on the journey, Carey grabbed the wig off his head and threw it overboard. I’ve always loved that image, imagining the dreadful wig sailing through the air to land with a plop on the water’s surface. I imagine Carey watching with satisfaction as the wig sank below the surface. While he would no longer have to wear a hot, itchy and ugly wig, he would now have to contend with sunburn on his stark white head!
[to Del.icio.us]
In addition to the source mentioned in the post I also read the anecdote in: Faithful Witness: The Life and Mission of William Carey by Timothy George.
What conventions did you throw overboard when you went overseas?
By 
lingamish, at
March 24, 2007 2:41 AM
Hmm, I'm not a very convention-bound person, more likely to try to find ways to challenge them ;-) so I think for me it was more the reverse, I learned a whole new set of conventions, and discovered that there was some point in following them.
By Tim, at
March 24, 2007 6:16 AM
