| Taiwan
Church News # 2856/2857 20 November to 3 December 2006 This Week Taiwan Presbyterians Plan
Ministry to Elderly Religious Olympics in Taipei: See
Those Christians Run!
High Level WCC Delegation Visits Taiwan President of Pacific School of
Religion Delivers Lectures in Tainan
Tainan Theological College Students, Staff & Friends
Plant Trees Taiwan Presbyterians
Plan Ministry to Elderly Taiwan Church News 2856,
20-26 November 2006 Reported by Li Hsin-ren.
Written by David Alexander Taiwan's Ministry of the
Interior recently reported that within a decade this will
be a nation of the elderly. The Senior Citizens' Ministry
department of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT),
preparing to face the phenomenon of aging society with
few youth, has published a set of directions for
community-based ministry to the aging. Rev. Peng
Chi-hong, the programme secretary for ministry to the
elderly at the church's General Assembly, said that the
church must strengthen its focus on the elderly, and at
the same time encourage church members still in their
child-bearing years to reproduce.
According to the Ministry of the Interior report, over
the past one hundred years Taiwan's population has
increased by over 20 million people, but it projects that
by the year 2017 the population will have tipped into the
category of "aged". This means that those
termed "elderly" will outnumber those termed to
be "children".
With this in mind, projections for the total population
in the year 2018 are for 23.8 million people, at which
time deaths will begin to outpace births, and after which
the average age of the population and the death rate will
begin to rise. Further projections envision a population
fall to 18.561 million by 2050.
Population transition and change are challenges to Taiwan
now. So the government is proposing policies to meet this
major problem. The population report calls on government
agencies and NGO's to begin to pay attention. The PCT is
already dealing with the transition through a design for
community based senior citizen concern work. It has held
explanatory meetings, sponsored research projects, and
has called for cooperation between churches and mission
agencies in two stages. The church expects that many
congregations might not only strengthen their outreach to
the aging sectors of the population, but will move in
ways that increase the power of the elderly in their own
neighborhoods and provide opportunities for meaningful
activity and volunteer work, increasing not only services
to the elderly, but participation in social life as well.
Rev. Peng, speaking at a recent public meeting, addressed
the increase in the number of elderly and decrease in the
number of births as a challenge to this nation. Because
the elderly cohort is seeing a rapid increase in numbers,
the church must be careful in designing and planning its
work. It must not merely continue to involve the elderly
in decision making, but must address the young as well,
encouraging families to plan on having at least 3
children, not two or less, as has become the pattern in
recent decades. Three children, he
suggested, are a blessing. This is one way to respond to
God's blessing. Young couples should not fear the
pressures of birth and education, but think of the future
society of this land. For more information: Peng Chi-hong
pang@mail.pct.org.tw Religious Olympics in Taipei: See Those Christians Run!Taiwan Church News 2856 20-26 November 2006 Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong. Written by David Alexander
The 2006 Christian Games were held at a middle school in Taipei on 18th November. It was the fifth year for the event, sponsorship of which fell to the Roman Catholics this time around. The themes were “Promote Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health For All Christians” and “Push for Christian Unity.” Archbishop Joseph Cheng said, “Having these Christians from different denominations all together in one place is a blessing, it is a gift of God”. Under a bright sun, adults, and children joined in fun and exertion, competing for individual and team prizes. Although the competition was fierce, there was not a spirit of wishing to defeat one another. It was a time of fellowship and good exchange among people of faith. Happiness characterized the event. After an opening ceremony, representatives of the member communions in the National Council of Churches of Taiwan (NCCT): The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Wesleyan, Evangelical, YMCA, YWCA, Anglican, teams, along with delegations from Mackay Memorial Hospital and local diocesan teams enjoyed a season of worship during which they were addressed by current NCCT chairman Liao Rong-sin, who said, “The Lord has blessed this event every time it has been held. It is a time of unity, of koinonia. It has become a time during which we give glory to our creator with body, soul, mind and spirit, and in so doing serve all of humanity.
For more information: Joseph Cheng bishconf@catholic.org.tw High Level WCC
Delegation Visits Taiwan Taiwan Church News 2857 27
November–3 December 2006 Reported by Li Hsin-ren . Written by
David Alexander Dr. Samuel R. Kobia, the General
Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) led a
delegation of six in a visit to Taiwan from 23 to 26
November. He said that his visit had given the WCC
secretariat a clearer understanding of the Taiwan
context, and encouraged all member WCC churches to visit
this land. The WCC, he said, views all of its member
communions equally, and that includes the churches of
both Taiwan and China. Dr. Kobia and his companions
participated in a meeting with member church
representatives of the National Council of Churches in
Taiwan on November 23rd. At that meeting he
took note of the membership of the Presbyterian Church in
Taiwan (PCT) in the life of the WCC since its founding in
1951 and of the church’s active role in world
evangelism since that time. He welcomed other church
groups in Taiwan to become WCC members as well, because, “The
ecumenical movement is open to all.” On
the morning of the 24th the delegation went to
Taiwan Theological College in Taipei where they took part
in a seminar on the topic of spiritual formation and
social concern. Moderator Chen Yu-chuan offered his
welcome to the overseas friends. In response, Dr. Kobia
asserted the priority of his organization for the visible
unity of the church in all the world, and expressed a
hope that good relationships between churches might be
based in Christ. He offered his organization as a level
place for discussion between all members. As we face
challenges and changes around the world, churches should
take the role of bridges. The WCC prays that all churches
might be united and meet the challenges through witness
to the gospel. Spiritual formation and holistic mission,
he said, are both important projects, and in the PCT he
has seen the fruit of work done in these directions. He
suggested that the WCC could learn much from the PCT. The seminar was followed by a
luncheon hosted by the ecumenical committee of the PCT’s
General Assembly. Professor Cheng Ming-min pointed out t
an error in the WCC handbook wherein Taiwan is described
as part of China. He offered a protest to this statement,
and asked for an explanation. Former PCT General
Secretaries Yang Si-shou and William J. K. Lo joined
Taiwan Bible Society General Secretary Lai Chun-ming and
others to press the WCC on the truth behind the
assertion. They said that Taiwan and China are separate
nations, but Taiwan was suffering pressure from China,
which prevented this nation’s participation in the
United Nations and UN related agencies such as the World
Health Organization. As an agency founded on Christian
Faith, the WCC should demonstrate concern and
understanding regarding Justice and Peace in Taiwan and
the region, they said, and support Taiwan’s
participation in the world community. The WCC, they
asserted, should not maintain a “One China Policy” under
which Taiwan becomes absorbed into its neighbour. Dr. Kobia admitted that the handbook
was in error regarding Taiwan as part of China, and
offered sincere apologies. He explained that the handbook
had been edited by a staff member who got information
from the internet and did not verify it before going to
press. He assured those present that the error would be
corrected before the next edition sees print. The WCC delegation explained the
origin of the organization’s “One China Policy”.
Dr. Mathews George, from India, who serves as the WCC’s
Asia Regional Secretary, said that in the Church of
Christ of China was invited to participate in the WCC in
the 1980’s, but initially declined. In
discussions held between 1984 and 1991 the Chinese Church
made clear that without a clear One China Policy, it
would not participate. In 1991, at an Assembly held in
Australia, Bishop K. H. Ting persuaded the WCC to accept
such a policy, and the Chinese Church joined. Kobia opined that the problems
between Taiwan and China pertain to international
relations. Because the WCC is a religious and gospel
organization, he said,it does not recognize political
boundaries, but invites churches, not nations, into
membership. Rev. Tyrone Pitts, an American
Baptist, said that in the Washington D.C. region where he
lives, it is well known that Taiwan has a representative
office, not an embassy. He said the situation is one of
alienation, because the WCC members wanting to visit
Taiwan have to take into consideration the relations of
Taiwan internationally. But he promised to take matters
up at the WCC’s next Assembly (an event
which happens once every seven years). Concluding the meeting with the
ecumenical committee, Dr. Kobia said that he took three
issues with him. The first is that the WCC is willing to
serve as a level discussion platform for the churches of
Taiwan and China in the hope that a dialogue might
someday take place between them. The next point was that
the WCC will encourage all of its member churches to
learn about and understand Taiwan’s context. Last of all, he
indicated a willingness to have the Taiwan question
openly discussed in WCC meetings. The visit did not conclude with the
luncheon, but continued for two more days, during which
the WCC delegation visited aboriginal churches in Central
Taiwan to learn about the conditions faced in mountain
areas by the local aboriginal people who dwell there. The
delegation stayed in local hostelries, ate aboriginal
food, and early one morning viewed the sunrise over
Taiwan’s central mountain range. On the 25th
they visited Chang Shan Presbyterian Church in Chang-hwa,
the membership of which is composed of Aboriginal people
from many different tribes who have taken up residence in
that city. On the morning of November 26th the
delegation participated in worship at Chi-nan
Presbyterian Church in Taipei, where Dr. Kobia delivered
the sermon. He commented on Taiwan’s free and democratic
atmosphere, and promised that prayers for Taiwan would be
part of the life of the WCC in the future. In private
comments made to PCT General Secretary Chang Te-chien,
Dr. Kobia said that his visits to China and Taiwan in
quick succession had impressed on him the differences
between the two countries, and that from his visits to
the Aboriginal districts and churches in Taiwan he had
seen the true life of this nation’s church. For more information: Chen Yu-chuan pak.mng@msa.hinet.net Chang Te-chien gs@mail.pct.org.tw http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesen.nsf/index/pu-06-20.html http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesen.nsf?OpenDatabase&Start=1&Count=28&Collapse=1.22 http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesen.nsf/index/Feat-06-07.html President of Pacific
School of Religion Delivers Lectures in Tainan
Taiwan Church News 2854,
6-11 November 2006 Reported by Ui Kao.
Written by David Alexander Contemporary Theology
vs. Traditional Theology: Seeking Truth through
Experience On October 30 and 31 Tainan Theological College and Seminary (TTCS), in conjunction with Sin Lau Christian Hospital, presented the annual Sin-Lau Lectures, an event designed to offer ministers the opportunity to regularly return to a campus environment to hear a prominent theologian. Current students of the theological college were also welcome to attend in order to hear a perspective not necessarily directly from members of the resident faculty. The Sin-lau Lectures take place on campus in the autumn. Two additional lecture series, sponsored by Chang Hwa Christian Hospital and by the college’s alumni association, are held at different times every year. This year, Dr. William McKinney, president of the Pacific School of Religion (PSR) in Berkeley, California, delivered the main addresses. On October 30th he spoke on issues surrounding Christianity and Culture. In a less formal atmosphere, on October 31st, he addressed some basic theological methods and brought these into focus with a recently produced video programme on a pastoral issue. He began this talk with
some simple drawings on a board, through which he showed
how, in the Christian faith, the scriptures and God have
generally been seen as the unshakable “Big
Truths”. He then challenged his hearers
to consider further foundational aspecgts, that
theological concepts and experience place traditional and
contemporary eras over against each other, and that
experience drives the process of re-thinking the nature
and boundaries of “truth”. Dr McKinney said that
traditional theology has proceeded from “top
to bottom” with God on high, representing
absolute truth. Human beings on the earth are seen to
represent sinfulness. Through Jesus Christ people are
offered salvation. Within this scheme, determinations of
correct and incorrect human behaviour are made through
application of the true judgments found in the
scriptures. These require a trained and gifted member of
the clergy for proper interpretation and guidance. This
person is thought to be able to clearly determine the
differences between good and bad. The “top
to bottom” pattern invariably leads to a
relational framework of superior and inferior, which can
be seen in common arrangements such as “men
must direct women,” or “foreign missionaries lead
local Christians.” In
contemporary theology, he suggested, we must rethink the “positions” of
God and human beings. Jesus said that his own religious
arena was not a “top to bottom” scheme
but was one of human and human in relationship. In other
words, Jesus invited humanity to establish a new
relationship with himself, inviting all people into a new
relationship with God. This is an organic vision of
mutual interchange and relationships. Jesus is both “on
high” and “here below.’ Starting
from this base, Dr. McKinney proposed concrete
theological methods. Whereas traditional theologies begin
from God in the highest and unassailable position, and
human action as completely subordinate (there is only
One, there can be no other), contemporary theological
methodology begins from the human experience of God. The
hermeneutic that begins from experience moves in a circle
from description to action. The beginning of an
interpretative exercise is the question, “What
is happening here?” It moves through
interpreting the situation, finding and applying
theological and biblical resources, and in the end
recommending an action. According to Dr.
McKinney, this “from experience to action” hermeneutic
for must also question religious experience, including
that of the clergy doing the interpreting. Dr. Li
Hao-tiong, the college’s professor of Community
Mission, observed, “If we only have
description, then we lack involvement, and what, then, is
the value of the hermeneutic?”
Rev. Ng Tek-cheng, pastor of Mei-nung Presbyterian Church
in Kaohsiung County, questioned the problem of an
experience-driven hermeneutic. He asked whether or not
that would produce a “God of personal needs?” If
that is the result, he wondered, then experience becomes
the basis of everything, and “where does truth go?”
In response, Dr. McKinney said that traditional
theologies confined “truth” to
what could be found in the scriptures alone. Contemporary
theologies begin from experience as they dialogue with
traditional ones. Contemporary theologies are dialogical
in intent. Definition of a question is an act of “participation” at
a particular level of the process, and it is a position
from which one progresses by application of skills
learned and acquired.
After his informal talk and a time of participant
discussion, the morning’s programme proceeded to
the viewing a 23 minute film recently produced by The
Institute for Leadership Development and Study of Pacific
and Asian North American Religion at PSR entitled Asian,
Christian, & Gay or Lesbian? The institute noted
that Asian American lesbians and gays and their parents
and allies have been largely invisible and silent in
Christian churches. Some Asian American churches ignore
and rarely discuss the issue for fear of division and
conflict. Other Asian American church leaders have
condemned homosexuality and publicly protested against
same-sex marriage. But many gay and lesbian Asian
American Christians and their families, quietly and
invisibly, are part of churches across the country. The
film presents something that churches and church members
need to hear, the stories and of Asian American Christian
lesbian and gay people and their families. Dr. McKinney
noted that fear is a common attitude among the Asian
churches in North America when touching on homosexuals
and homosexuality in their contexts. More important than
recognizing the fear is responding to it in truth. In discussion following the film, several local church clergy shared experiences of offering counsel to persons and families in Taiwan who struggle with the same issues as their Asian Christian sisters and brothers in California. Here, too, the responses of fear, disappointment and rejection are familiar. Clergy and church members whose stories were set in California, so far away, seemed so near to what is experienced in the cities, towns and villages of Taiwan.
For More Information: Tainan Theological College and
Seminary chhongchen@yahoo.com.tw Pacific School of Religion www.psr.edu William McKinney http://www.psr.edu/page.cfm?l=132 Information on the video
programme shown on 31st October Film website: http://www.clgs.org/api/ingodshouse.html Tainan Theological
College Students, Staff & Friends Plant Trees Taiwan Church News 2857 27
November-3 December 2006 Reported by Staff. Written by David
Alexander On the afternoon of 24th
November the faculty, staff, students and families of
Tainan Theological College and Seminary repaired to the
school’s undeveloped “sattelite campus” in
the foothills of Kaohsiung County for a season of
recreation, worship, tree-planting and feasting. The
campus, in Yen-chao Township, was given to the college by
the Chuang family, members of Tek-seng Presbyterian
Church in Kaohsiung City, about 3 years ago. It is
comprised of 6 hectares of land, including a spacious
lawn, abundant woods, and a large and stately house. Events included a softball
tournament between three teams composed of students and
faculty. This was followed by outdoor celebration of the
Eucharist and the planting of 300 trees at one end of the
property. The planting was an expression not only of
environmental concern, but of faith that like the trees,
the gospel might truly take root in and be nourished by
the soil of Taiwan. During the worship college president
Huang Po-ho commented on the wonderful course of events
that led to the college’s receiving the donation of
land, and of the great encouragement that the gift was to
the school. He expressed his hopes that the rural
location could become a place of faith nourishment.
Currently it hosts a monthly overnight retreat which is
bracketed between evening and morning prayers conducted
in the style of Taize, in France. Apart from that use, the facilities
and land are available for use by church and other groups
for retreats and spiritual refreshment. As time
passes, and more programs are developed, it is hoped that
the usefulness of the location to Taiwan’s
Christians will grow, and that many will be strengthened
there. For more information: Tainan Theological College and Seminary www.ttcs.org.tw Taiwan Church News is published
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