Page 19 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS

The Bible says, that Jesus Christ came into the world to gather his scattered
people together, and to unite all believers in a loving, harmonious fellowship.
In the early church, there were conflicts and diversities in the Christian fellowship.
These things hurt the collective spiritual life of the church.That is why the Apostle
Paul requested the disciples to live in peace and try their best to preserve the unity
of mind found in the Holy Spirit.
The churches in Hong Kong today should not neglect this idea of unity, this
need to be one. In this Annual General Meeting, I would like to point out a simple
way to unity, that is to unite and to serve.
Firstly, when we say the word "unity” in Chinese, the first character means "to
come together’’， ,for example the common gathering. But the second character shows

that there is a close bond among people, that is, a being tied together as with a rope.
Usually when we talk about unity, we only mention gathering together, but without
any sense of tying or banding together. This is the reason why we cannot show the
real power of unity. If we want to show the great power of unity, we have to make a
community which includes both the ideas of gathering together and banding together.
Jesus Christ said, "\ am the true vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me
and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me." These
words speak about a relationship which includes the idea of gathering and banding
together among people, a relationship which helps them to be a closely united
community of believers.
Secondly, for nearly 2000 years the Christian faith has proclaimed the message
of service to others. When the Lord Jesus Christ first began his public ministry, he
spoke openly that the Son of Man had come not to be served, but to serve. The
author of I Peter emphasized the idea that everybody should serve each other according
to his special gift. The author of the letter of James also pointed out that faith
without works is dead. So, Christianity is a religion of serving. And to serve is a
powerful witness.
To serve is not to stand outside of the people like one who superficially serves
the people by almsgiving. Service is also not seen to be like a taskmaster with a
heavy burden. We should consider ourselves as part of the people and take their
concerns and needs as our own. T he purpose of service is not to build one's own
kingdom, but to help people have a fruitful life.
Today, the Hong Kong Christian Council, motivated by the Spirit of Unity, is
leading the churches in Hong Kong in the way we should act. For the purpose of
facing the needs of the present day and the changes in the future, this kind of leader­
ship should be strengthened and supported. Let us serve in one spirit and be co­
operative with each other, not only to consolidate the success of our serving in
recent years, but also to strengthen the close cooperation among churches and
organizations in order to better serve God's entire creation.

Rev. Dr. Peter Wong