Page 24 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

unanimously called for opposition to a proposed China, we invited an 8-person Christian delegation
100% increase in bus fare and mandated the staff to to Hong Kong in March 1981. While here, they met
take appropriate action. Since November 1980 till with many church leaders and participated in a
March, our involvement consisted largely of consultation with the Christian Conference of Asia.
facilitating churches to get involved in anti-fare The delegates also preached in our local churches.
increase action and of coordinating and staffing a As a result, a strong basis of friendship and trust has
300 organization-strong Coalition to press home the been established.
people's point of view.
This visit is the first in 32 years, a milestone in the
As a result of these efforts, the fare increase was history of the church. The climax of tiie visit was a
postponed and the rate of increase reduced. But joint thanksgiving service at Ward Memorial Church,
more importantly, the city-wide opposition has officiated by Chinese and Hong Kong church
resulted in a thorough review of bus operations and leaders, with a choir from Chung Qii Theological
hastening the re-structuring of governmental super­ Seminary. 500 invited guests participated, re­
vision. Because of this involvement, the Christian presenting nearly all the churches. It was an
church has made an impact in the mind of low- extremely moving and memorable occasion.
income people in the creation of a more positive
and concern image. In the business of influencing Three types of followup action has been agreed
policy decisions, the Christian Church can be said to upon. First, systematic exchange of literature.
have secured an important place. Second, the publication of ten thousand copies of
the delegates’ sermons and presentations,

In order to make this ongoing committment, we collectively named “God Loves Us To The Very
have appointed a Commission on Public Policy. End55. Third, official visit by us in September to
During the year, the Commission made representa­ China to further strengthen ties.
tion to the UMELCO on the matter of tax
allowance, and planned a whole series of action on Finally, I would add that our related organization —
the District Administration and the Local Church. the Tao Fong Shan Ecumenical Centre has played
In all of these attempts, the mobilization of the an important auxiliary role in the forging of the
local church is a central concern. above effort at new directions in mission and
evangelism.
In relation to forging strong ties with the Church in

( The Support of Local M issional and
Evangelistic E fforts

“Message”bulletin

“Message”is a regular periodical of the Council. ‘‘M e s s a g e ’’ is intended to explore ways of being a
Nine issues came out last year, with a circulation of Christian and being a church in the concrete
four thousand copies each. With five years behind it, situation of present day Hong Kong, with an
it has gradually won serious attention from many emphasis on mission and theological trends and the
churches, including non-member churches. c h u rc h ’s role in the Hong Kong community.