wfn.org | Taiwan's Presbyterians Reconcile with Evangelical Competitors

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

Taiwan Church News 2789 8-14 August 2005

Reported by Li Hsin-ren. Written by David Alexander

The Rev. Liou Fu-li of the Formosan Evangelical Church (FEC) met with the
Rev. Chang Der-chien, General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in
Taiwan (PCT), on 4th August to discuss closer ties between the two
denominations.	More exchanges and dialogue will ease stress between these
rival communions.  Rev. Chang acknowledges that there have been past
strains and grudges between the two sides, but he hopes these can be
consigned to the dustbin when he visits the General Assembly of the FEC
near Los Angeles, USA next month.

When the PCT¡¦s General Assembly met last March suggestions came from
clergy in a discussion group on ecumenical issues that closer ties to the
FEC be explored in the near future.  Some elders and ministers called for
establishment of formal sister church ties with the FEC.  Others said that
the process should be joined with caution, or that formal ties might be
un-necessary.

Under conditions of political uncertainty in the 1970¡¦s many Taiwanese
emigrated to North America. They began to organize local churches. Some PCT
clergy among them put together the FEC as a North American denomination
with no ties to the PCT. In 1989 the FEC established its own theological
seminary in California. For a time it styled itself as the Taiwanese
Fountain of Praise.

Late in that decade certain members and clergy of the FEC in North America,
Australia and New Zealand decided to return to Taiwan as missionaries and
establish overseas congregations of the FEC. The result was conflict
between the PCT and the FEC that resulted in the PCT declaring the FEC to
be a separate denomination with whom the PCT would maintain the same sort
of relationships that it had with other protestant churches in
Taiwan.  This turned into a situation of no dialogue between the churches
at all.  But because several PCT clergy had taken further education at the
FEC¡¦s theological seminary, there was not a total lack of connection. PCT
members in Taiwan were fully supportive of ministers who went to California
for training.

After several years of wrangling the PCT/FEC relationship is still not
clarified, but neither is it one of conflict.  Rev¡¦s. Chang and Liou met
on 4th August as formal representatives of their churches looking for
resolution of the problem.  According to Rev. Chang the clergy and members
of the PCT have deep and long relationships with the FEC. Many FEC clergy
are graduates of the PCT¡¦s seminaries.  ¡§We are one family in
Christ.¡¨  He calls for cooperation to replace competition and hopes that
through exchange and dialogue a relationship of mutual cooperation in
gospel proclamation may be brought into existence.

For more information: Chang Der-chien gs@mail.pct.org.tw

Formosan Evangelical Church [][]9346 Telstar Ave., El Monte, CA 91731
U.S.A. efc@efcga.org

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