Page 12 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

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5. Christian Education Committee
The Committee also recommended that the Hong Kong Christian
Council become a m ember of the World Council of Christian Education and
Sunday School Association.

There was some discussion of the work of this Committee, and possible
projects which might be undertaken. Among the suggestions were:

1) A display of Sunday School material s available in Hongkong.
2) Leadership training on an interdonominational basis;
. demonstration teaching.
3) A larger fellowship for Sunday School Workers.
4) Training of writers of Sunday School curriculum.

. We hope to put these projects into execution one by one.

6. Church Unity Committee
The Church is the whole family of God in heaven and on earth.- -
The Community of the Holy Spirit is not confined to those who are
members of a certain church.

No Church can claim to be the only true church, for we are all
only members of the Body of Christ. But since according to St. Paul,
we are all indispensable to the efficient activity of the whole body.
Church Unity is our urgent problem.

. Here in Hongkong with its small area of 60 habitable square miles
are concentrated the representatives of almost all the major churches
of the world. Most of these are within the 12 square miles of urban
territory. All the national groups of Europe and American are represented.
The Chinese church, also, is represented from all the provinces of China
and from all the racial and language groups as well. Never in the history
of the church has there been so numerous varied and representative a
group of Christian churches, all working in so small an area. Also,
in no other place in the world today is such diversity and concentration
combined!

In view of all this, a Committee on Church Unity was set up. On
Saturday, April 15, 1961, a group of about 50 people, pastors of local
churches, teachers, missionaries and seminarians, representing most of
the major churches in Hong Kong met together in the Methodist College
for lunch to discuss steps towards a greater unity among the Churches.
The occasion was the visit of Dr. Keith Bridston, Faith & Order Secretary
of the World Council of Churches, who was on a fact-finding tour to dis-
cover both the steps being taken towards unity and the chief obstacle
to unity in differ ait places. A small committee had been appointed by
the Hong Kong Christian Council to prepare a report for Dr. Bridston,
and to arrange for him to meet with some local Christian leaders. The
Committee could not escape the conviction that this was an opportunity,
not only to present a report but perhaps also help to start a movement
towards unity, which might have important results for the furtherance
of the Kingdom of God in Hong Kong.

It was felt that the theological issues between the churches in
Hong Kong, while of the utmost importance, were not radically different
from other places; and that the special factor in the Hong Kong
situation was the concentration of so many and various church and racial
and language groups. It seemed best to focus on immediate-practical.
s t e p s w h i c h might lead to action, rather than plunge at once into
the deep theological issues.