Page 67 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

categorized in to 5 areas: Synod. This proved th a t the developm ent of
church u n ity in Hong Kong is expanding
I . E c u m e n ic a l M o v e m e n t continuously.

“They m ay all be one” . This was the prayer our A lso, the W o rld Day o f Prayer Service th a t has
Lord Jesus C h rist prayed to the Father before he been held annually in March was another
left th is w o rld (John I 7:2 I), and th is is also one of ecum enical event am ong C hristians.
the C o uncil's objectives. As seen in the M ission
C o n su lta tio n o f the Hong Kong Churches in the 2 . R e la tio n a m o n g o t h e r r e lig io n s
2 1 st C e ntury and in the M illennium Prayer
M eeting th a t was held at the end o f December last Asia is a m u lti-re lig io u s region. In Hong Kong,
year, no m atter w h eth er participants or organizers, no one religion co n stitu te s a m ajority. Besides,
all could gather as C hristians from different due to the m utual respect th a t exists am ong
denom inatio ns and backgrounds. This reflected religious leaders, the C olloquium o f Six Religious
the spirit o f u n ity th a t made us a part o f the Leaders o f Hong Kong has m aintained a good
fam ily o f God. relationship th ro u g h o u t the past 20 years. They
also make co n trib u tio n s to social issues and
A t the jo in t Ecumenical C om m union Service and concerns on ethical issues.
Breakfast Fellowship o f the W eek o f Prayer for
C hristian U n ity in 2000, participants were n o t By the end o f 1999, the C olloquium o f Six
o n ly from m em ber churches and organizations. Religious Leaders sent an open letter to the
There were participants from the Roman C atholic G overnm ent, expressing th e ir concern about the
Church, Chinese Evangelical Zion Church, W orld trend o f gam bling in the society. In addition,
V ision , Church o f Livingstones, Hong Kong and they also encouraged the public thro u gh a jo in t
Macau Lutheran Church, C o m m u n ity Church, declaration o f the 2000 Lunar N ew Year Message
C hristian Conference o f Asia and A m ity to give a tte n tio n to Chinese tra d itio n a l values
Foundation. In addition, am ong the C hristian including ethical values and fam ily responsibility.
u n ity activities, the General Secretary and the
Chairperson o f Church U n ity and Relations A n o th e r good example o f cooperation am ong the
D epartm ent were invited by the Focolare Six Religions was in the m anagem ent o f the Hong
M ovem ent to attend tw o activities. One was Kong International A irp o rt Prayer Room. In
the “ C hristian U n ity M eeting” w h ich took place at response to the request made from Fr. Paul
St. M argaret's C hurch on January 23. G innivan O .M .I., the Chaplain o f the Prayer Room,
Participants were not only from the Roman each religion agreed to appo in t volunteers for
C atholic Church, but also from the Anglican counseling under the A irp o rt Care Team w hen
Church and the Church o f the Assem blies o f God. emergencies occur. It proved th a t if religious
The other a c tiv ity was the 30th anniversary o f the groups w o u ld respect each o ther and jo in
Focolare M ovem ent w h ich took place on July 29. together to serve, the society w o u ld defin itely
Such activities for C hristians can tru ly help to become better.
build a harm onious sp irit o f u n ity in the m idst of
our daily life. 3 . F e llo w s h ip

Early this year, the C atholic Church invited the "For ju s t as the body is one and has m any
church leaders o f the C o u n cil’s m ember members, and all the members o f the body,
denom inatio ns to be observers at th e ir Diocesan th o u g h many, are one body, so it is w ith C h rist.”

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