wfn.org | China Christian Council To Lead Delegation to UCC Nat’l Office

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

June 22, 2001

United Church of Christ
Proclamation, Identity, and Communication
Ron Buford, PR Manager
Phone number(s) 216-736-2180
bufordr@ucc.org

http://www.ucc.org

01-06-22WCM

For immediate release

Weekend Contact: Ron Buford,
via cell at (216) 407-1470

      CLEVELAND - For a time, the People’s Liberation Army in mainland China
became one of  the largest Bible printers in the world. In 1978, Deng Shao
Ping had established a great working relationship with then-President Jimmy
Carter. In a meeting with Carter, they discussed religion in both
countries. During that discussion Carter suggested that China consider
opening churches, printing Bibles, and inviting missionaries.  Not long
after that meeting, churches were opened and the military printing press
began to churn out millions of Bibles. Missionaries, however, were not
invited. According to the Rev. Xiaoling Zhu, “There is great
misunderstanding in the West not only about Christianity in China but about
Chinese culture and life as a whole.” Zhu is a Chinese native and Area
Executive for East Asia and the Pacific for the Common Global Ministries
Board and Wider Church Ministries at the national United Church of Christ
(UCC) offices in Cleveland.

           At a press conference on Monday, June 25 at 2:00 P.M., at the
United Church of Christ national offices at 700 Prospect Avenue, Salon A in
downtown Cleveland, the UCC will have the rare opportunity to introduce
Americans, the press, and the wider religious community to Christian
leaders and government officials who relate to the religious community in
China. The Chinese leaders will share their first-hand experiences and
answer questions for one hour ­  without restrictions.

           The members of this high level delegation include: Dr. Wenzao Han
Chairman of China Christian Council (CCC); Mr. Xiaofei Qi, Vice deputy of 
the State
Administration of Religious Affairs, China; Mrs. Manhong Lin, Ecumenical
Officer of CCC;  Rev. Baoping Kan, Vice Principal, Yanjing Seminary,
Beijing, China; Mr. Wei Liu, Religious Research Center, Beijing, China.

           The China Christian Council (CCC) is the national body of all
Protestant churches in China. It coordinates all church affairs and
represents the Protestant community in China. There are also councils on
the provincial, municipal and county levels. The CCC wants more Chinese
Christians to receive seminary training in mainland China. There were only
700,000 Christians in China prior to the revolution; Today, there are more
than 15 million ­ with only 18 seminaries to prepare the ministers who
serve them. According to Zhu, “Many of China’s recent cult excesses are the
result of leaders who lack appropriate Christian education.” The CCC  has
recently announced that it will invite three American seminary professors
into China for the first time in more than 50 years.

      The Protestant church in China is organized under the principles called
“Three-self”-- Self-Support, Self-Government, and Self-Propagation. It is
ecumenical and post-denominational. This meeting with the UCC will bring
the Chinese leaders face to face with the descendants of American church
leaders who in 1830 held an early ecumenical vision of an indigenous and
united ecumenical church in China. Such was the dream and vision of the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, a predecessor body of
the Wider Church Ministries of the United Church of Christ. According to
Dale Bishop, Executive Minister for Wider Church Ministries, “It is the UCC
motto to be a united and uniting church. The three self concept was the
early policy of the American Board.  It is ironic that our 1830's
ecumenical vision of an indigenous and united church in China became a
reality in China after the revolution and the departure of American
missionaries.”

      The United Church of Christ (UCC) national offices are in Cleveland.
The UCC is a major Protestant denomination with more than 1.4 million
members and 6,000 congregations nationwide. Its roots go back to the
16th century and its forebears have a history of being early advocates for
justice and mission. Like the Chinese Three-Self Church, each congregation
is self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating.

                                                                  June 2001#