Title: Assuaging the Pain of Aboriginal Churches
Taiwan Church News 2837, 10-16 July 2006
Reported by Li Hsin-ren. Written by David Alexander
What pains do Aboriginal churches suffer? Ministers from the Aboriginal Presbyteries and districts of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) have said things like: there is no solidarity of ministers; some ministers have fragile marriages and little integrity; people are poor; there are language problems; there are financial problems; strange ideas get blended into our worship and produce divisions; the church's relationship to the community is one of mistrust; and villages are damaged by landslides.
The Aboriginal Mission Committee of the PCT hosted a three-day series of consultations on the condition of ministry in Aboriginal villages and communities from June 27-29. Participants sought to give definition to the concept of "Aboriginal Pain" and to suggest avenues of solution. PCT General Secretary Chang De-chien affirmed the courageous spirit of Aboriginal church leaders and, reflecting on his own understanding of matters, said, "This is the first time for leaders at your level to speak out so clearly."
Rev. Chang asserted, "If pain is not expressed, then there is no medicine to heal it. When Aboriginal people themselves speak forth the pain of their villages and churches, then healing and growth begin." Knowing the location of pain, he said, is the beginning of therapy and rehabilitation.
The consultations brought together presbytery executives and district secretaries and asked them to give voice to their visions for village ministry and to enumerate the things that put barriers between their churches and the fulfillment of those visions.
Participants directly and frankly described the pain in the areas of collegiality, ministerial integrity, living environment, finances, church influences from outside culture and many other things.
Taroko Presbytery reported a need for relationship-building events. Coworkers are not united. Each stands on "his or her own mountaintop" self-confident, so crises grow to breaking points. The presbytery also cited a need for church leader integrity conferences because some ministers had fragile marriage relationships and were not particularly good examples of faithfulness. This included cases of adultery, family breakups, and conflicts between family and church priorities among ministers. One presbytery noted that several clergy stand accused of taking too little care of their parishes. Reasons for the lack of care ranged from the need for outside employment, poverty, or an avid interest in political activities in the community.
Taroko, Eastern Paiwan and Central Bunun Presbyteries said that there were cases of ministerial financial malfeasance that had hindered church development. Some of this was traced to ministerial poverty, but there were also charges of ministers violating church policy, acting selfishly, and appropriating church resources for personal use. Central Bunun Presbytery has addressed the issue through recall of clergy, education on church management, and tighter regulations on ministerial compensation and benefit packages.
Since many Aboriginal congregations are located in areas where the population is poor, people's attention on making a living has turned them to secular pursuits and valuations based on secular standards. Financial expectations cannot be satisfied in a poor village environment. Some people cannot effectively manage what little money they may have, and church leaders themselves get into trouble.
The Aboriginal Mission Committee assured all participants of the concern its members held for the pain of presbyteries and districts, and the General Assembly Programme Secretary for Aboriginal Mission, Sudu Tata, said, "The first thing is to have clergy and laity re-educated. The General Assembly has engaged Yushan Theological College to create and conduct various courses which can be offered at local levels to strengthen cooperation." He added, "Beyond the pain that has been addressed here, local church organizations and members must engage themselves in mission activities. At the Assembly our function is to coordinate things and set directions, and be as helpful to localities as we can. We hope that local churches will be able to provide the energy in their own localities to move things along." He asserted, "Understanding the nature and source of our pain is the first step towards solution." He hopes that there can be a new beginning of effort in Aboriginal churches as they learn and heal.
For more information: Sudu Tata sudu@mail.pct.org.tw
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