Page 45 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

Exchanges with Mainland China
There was a very significant difference between this
Two years ago the Christian Council of Zhejiang Province
Consultation and the one held in the 80’s. As the theme indicates,
invited our Council to send a delegation to visit some re-opened
the churches in Hong Kong have made big strides towards creating a
churches in that region. In May, 1989, the Council was about to send
true spirit of unity. This is not only reflected in the openness of the
a delegation of ten church leaders to make this visit. However, the
attitude of the mainline churches, but also reflects the cooperative
sudden change in the political situation in China meant that the visit
spirit of the leaders of the evangelical and independent churches.
had to be postponed. The trip finally took place towards the end of
The Holy Spirit has been at work improving relationships within the
April this year. It must be said that this visit indeed opened our eyes
body of Christ. Altogether there were 136 participants—43 from
and strengthened our faith. We can only praise God for His abundant
denominational and independent churches, 15 from para-church
grace after seeing the tremendous growth of Christianity in that
organizations and 11 from seminaries, as well as 42 academics and
region. Towards the end of 1979 there was only one re-opened
others. Of concern was the fact that only 21 were women, while
church in the entire Province of Zhejiang. Now, ten years later,
there arc over 1900 churches and meeting points • Many new youth representatives were clearly insufficient. However, the
average age of the participants was lower than that of participants in
church buildings have been built by their own congregations using
previous consultations mainly because quite a number were recent
their own resources. In comparison, we Christians in Hong Kong
graduates of seminaries now serving in local churches.
should feel ashamed of ourselves. We have much to learn from our
Christian brothers and sisters in China, especially in the area of
The Consultation was designed as a three part event. The first
church growth.
part consisted of two evenings of open meetings at the Ward
Memorial Methodist Church. There were four speakers on four
A group of church leaders from Taishan County, Guongdong
different topics dealing with problems faced by the churches in the
Province, visited Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year holidays.
90's. The Rev. Dr. Andrew Hsiao dealt with the problem of
Since all YMCA property in the county had been returned to their
solidarity and unity among churches during the political transitional
church, they came to Hong Kong to study the operation of the
period. The Rev. Timothy Lau spoke on the strategy to be followed
YMCA here so that their church might be able to make a greater
in preaching the gospel under the circumstances of rapid change.
contribution to society through their new YMCA.
The Rev. Li Ping Kwong and Mr. Ng Shui Lai respectively talked
about the work of individual parishes and the mission of the Church
A delegation of the China National Bureau of Religious Affairs
towards society at large during the transitional period. Their talks,
under the leadership of its director, the Rev. Ren Wu Zhi, came to
together with the input from pre-consultation meetings, the results of
Hong Kong to visit religious groups of different faiths. While they
a youth consultation held in February, plus other research
were visiting the Council offices, some Executive Committee
references especially collected for this purpose, constituted the main
members expressed their concern over unconfirmed news reports
resource materials for the Consultation.
regarding the arrest of religious people in China.
The second part of the Consultation consisted of two full days of
discussions by small working groups which took place at the Wanchai
YMCA. The 136 participants were divided into ten groups to discuss
ten different topics suggested by the Preparatory Committee. These
Consultation on the Mission o f the Church ten topics were related to the circumstantial changes brought about
by Hong Kong's reversion to China in 1997. They were:
in Hong Kong in the Nineties
1. The pursuit of solidarity and unity among the churches during
The main emphasis of the work of the Commission on Mission
this time of social change.
during the past year was to organize the once in a decade
Consultation on the Mission of the Church in Hong Kong, which was
2. The stimulation of mutual concern and cooperation with
held from 17th to 23rd April, under the theme "Serving the Millions
overseas churches and churches in China during this crucial
in Unity”.
period.
Participants in this Council sponsored event came from
3. The development of ways in which to spread the Good News
churches of many different denominations. Besides the
among Hong Kong’s populace during this transitional period.
representatives from member churches and organizations, there
were forty five participants from the evangelical and independent
4. The definition of the roles of para-church organizations and
churches.
various other Christian groups in supplementing and enhancing
the work of the Church in this unique era.
Rev. Stephen Chan, representing Bishop John Baptist Wu
Cheng-Chung of the Hong Kong Roman Catholic Church, sent a
5. The strengthening of theological training to face the challenges
good-will message which was read at the opening worship service.
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