Page 10 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

3. Committee fo r Co-operation on Church Development & Planning

The Committee was set up during 1963. The Chairman, Vice-
Chairman and Secretary are appointed by the Hong Kong Christian
Council and the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary of the
Chinese Churches Union are members e x -o ffic io . Other members
are appointed, one member fo r each co-operating church. The
co-operating churches do not have to be members of the Hong Kong
Christian Council, but in practice only members of the Hong Kong
Christian Council are represented. Participation in the Committee
does not imply that the fin a l decisions about Church Planning are
withdrawn from the churches concerned.

The aim of the Committee, as defined in its constitntion is
"to assist the churches, as separate denominations, in any way
possible in planning the extension of th eir work, and particu larly
in acquiring new sites and building new churches, and secondly to
strengthen the whole Church, as represented by the denominations
taking part, in planning the work of the Church in Hong Kong so
as to ensure that the work of the Church is as widespread in the
Colony as possible".

Since it s inception the Committee has been occupied with the
following concerns:

A. Arranging consultations between churches when they plan
to develop th eir programmes in newly-developed areas so as to
avoid overlapping and give as wide coverage as possible.

B. Exploring ways and means o f learning about plans fo r
major population moves at as early a stage as possible in order
to be able to plan ahead re a lis tic a lly with the building of new
churches. The Committee is only at the beginning o f it s work,
but given proper and responsible support i t beleives that i t can
be a most useful servant to the Church and the Kingdom.

4. Family L ife Committee

"The old patterns o f society, including that o f the fam ily,
are rapidly being broken down and new ones are slow in emerging".
In th is situation there is a Christian obligation to help to
evaluate changes in our rapidly chaning situation and to suggest
how they may be a creative force in fu lfillin g God's plan fo r
fam ilies in our time in Hong Kong.

In March 1964 a Consultation was planned, its aim to discuss
and think together about the family within the framework o f our
lo ca l situation in Hong Kong and how we can most e ffe c tiv e ly help
in th is situation. Forty four representative leaders from the
churches in Hong Kong spent a day together at Tao Fung Shan discuss-
ing th is common concern.

Before the Consultation, m aterial was prepared fo r possible
use in the churches in conjunction with Christian Family L ife Week
studies and discussion groups. A copy o f this materialowas sent
to a ll delegates to the Consultation, in preparating fo r our think-
ing together. At the Consultation devotions were led by the Rev.
Chiu Teng Kit of Christian Study Centre. A panel o f speakers spoke
on the Family from various points of view:-Miss Rebecca Kan from the
social point of view, Mrs. John Ma, "The Home", Rev. Wong Tsok,
"The Church", and Dr. Ho Chung Chung, "Youth". Rev. Franklin Woo
was the Panel Chairman. L ively and valuable group discussions
followed.

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