NCC welcomes Christian delegation from China

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

>National Council of Churches 
>welcomes Christian delegation from China

New York, February 9, 2011 -- The National Council of Churches on Monday
welcomed a delegation from the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), a
Christian group from China.

The delegation included Elder Fu Xianwei, chair of the TSPM, who was
among the church leaders who welcomed the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC
general secretary, and then NCC President Archbishop Vicken Aykazian on
their trip to China in 2009.

Kinnamon welcomed the delegation warmly and hosted them for lunch
February 7 in The Interchurch Center. Kinnamon presented Elder Fu with
an inscribed copy of a calligraphed edition of the New Revised Standard
Version of the bible, and Fu gave Kinnamon a framed painting of Chinese
pandas. Kinnamon also presented Elder Fu with a silver ecumenical cross
identical to the one worn by the general secretary and president of the
NCC.

Last May, five representatives of the China Christian Council joined NCC
and World Council of Churches staff to exchange greetings and to affirm
memorandum of understanding between the Chinese and American church
groups that was forged in February 2009 when the NCC General Secretary
and President visited China.

The delegation of pastors and religious leaders who visited The
Interchurch Center this week is on a 12-day visit to North America. An
earlier stop in Washington included President Obama's national prayer
breakfast on February 4.

In a brief meeting after lunch, Kinnamon and the delegation reaffirmed
the memorandum of understanding that had been exchanged between the NCC
and Chinese church leaders to assert their determination to work
together on ministries and concerns they share in common. A copy of that
memorandum can be found at http://www.ncccusa.org/pdfs/cccmemo.pdf

Kinnamon also accepted an invitation to join a summit of Chinese and
U.S. leaders September 27 to discuss further cooperation between the two
groups.

In February 2009, the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC General Secretary,
and Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, then NCC President, visited China and
affirmed warm ties of fellowship that have continued since 1981 when an
NCC delegation visited the People's Republic of China after a 30 year
hiatus in communication.

In their discussions in 2009, Kinnamon and Aykazian joined with their
Chinese hosts in celebrating "the strong bonds that have developed over
the years between our organizations and between the churches in our
countries.  Signs of this relationship include praying for each other
(as during the 2008 earthquake in China), periodic visits, and
occasional support for one another's ministries."

The delegation from China visiting this week included: Elder Fu Xianwei,
Chairman of the National Committee of the TSPM; the Rev. Zhang Keyun,
President of Jiangsu Provincial Christian Council, and the Rev. Dr. Lin
Manhong, Interim Dean of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary. Also, Xiao
Hong, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Department, SARA, and Xu
Wenzhen, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Department, SARA. The group was
accompanied by the Rev. Peter Koon, General Secretary, Anglican Province
of Hong Kong.

In addition to Kinnamon, NCC staff meeting with the delegation were: the
Rev. Garland F. Pierce, NCC associate general secretary, Education and
Leadership Ministries; and the Rev. Deborah DeWinter, NCC director of
Donor Relations. Karen Wang, senior director, NCC Administration and
Finance, provided translation support for the group.

The delegation also met Monday with the United Methodist General Board
of Global Ministries and Church World Service, both in The Interchurch
Center, and with New York Theological Seminary (NYTS). They met with New
York's Episcopal Bishop Mark S. Sisk at the Cathedral of St. John the
Divine Cathedral on Amsterdam Avenue. 

See also: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/100520chinachristiancouncil.html
http://www.ncccusa.org/news/090305chinameeting.html

>---

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the USA has been the leading force for shared ecumenical witness
among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 37 member communions --
from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical,
historic African American and Living Peace Churches -- include 45
million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities
across the nation.

NCC News contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 646-853-4212
(cell, pjenks@ncccusa.org