wfn.org | TCN: NCCT promotes ecumenism at home and between Taiwan and China

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3008 Edition

>October 19~25, 2009

NCCT promotes ecumenism at home and between Taiwan and China

>Reported by Lin Yi-ying

>Written by Lydia Ma

National Council of Churches Taiwan (NCCT) has confirmed it will  hold a

Christian sports meet on November 7 at a YMCA in Taipei. NCCT  members

include Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal,  and Orthodox

churches. In addition, it will hold a forum on “Modern city  churches and their

ministries” focusing on churches in China and Taiwan in  particular on November

>13~14 at Taipei Methodist Church.

For “Modern city churches and their ministries” forum,  NCCT has invited Chinese

pastors different parts of China, such as Shandong, Fujian,  Shanghai, Tianjin, to

attend, as well as Chinese Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement  leaders.

In Taiwan, leaders from major Christian denominations and  Christian

organizations will also attend. The forum will also delve into  topics such as

“Development of Christianity in Taiwan and China”,  “Theological training and

social change”, “Church organizations and social  outreach, “Reaching out to

golden agers”, “Training church members and church  development”, etc.

According to reports, establishing healthy and functioning church  relations

between China and Taiwan has been challenging recently due to  pressure from

Chinese authorities after Taiwan invited the Dalai Lama for a  visit in September.

To restore mutual understanding, Taiwan Methodist Church Bishop  Enoch C.H.

Kuey even went to China to meet with Three-Self Patriotic Movement  pastors to

discuss recent developments. Event organizers are currently doing  their best to

help Chinese pastors secure visas so that they can come to Taiwan.  In the event

that the forum must be postponed, it will still be held before the  end of this year.

During the recent NCCT meeting, it was suggested the Catholic  Church

nominate three representatives to take the place of NCCT members  attending

next year’s Christian Council of Asia (CCA) annual conference  in Malaysia so

that Taiwan’s Catholic Church can also become part of the CCA  family. PCT,

Taiwan Methodist Church, and Taiwan Episcopal Church are already  CCA

members and will send their own delegates to the conference.

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