wfn.org | Municipal Council Christian Fellowship Meets in Taiwan

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

Taiwan Church News 2773 18-24 April 2005

Reported by Li Hsin-ren. Written by David Alexander

Ministers from the Kaohsiung and Longevity Mountain Presbyteries of the
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) met with members of the Kaohsiung
Municipal Council on April 15th for a time of fellowship, prayer and
respite from the busy political pressure of a council member¡¦s life.
During the meeting, fellowship group members shared briefly some of the
matters on their agenda that might be of particular interest to churches
and Christians, such as renaming a municipal hospital for the British
missionary who established the original clinic there.

The Christian Council Members¡¦ Fellowship group was established in the
wake of a special election held in July of 2004 to fill vacancies created
by a 2002 scandal and subsequent expulsions of corrupt council
members.  That election put 6 Christians onto the council. They were soon
joined by newly baptized council member. Apart from holding a monthly
get-together, the members engage in mutual encouragement towards doing
their jobs with a gospel ethic.

The group has no set plan or format for their meetings. Leadership rotates,
and the responsible convener is free to design a programme or invite a
speaker. On the 15th the Rev. Wang Kuen-yi, a member of the Church and
Society committee of the PCT¡¦s General Assembly, was invited to speak and
members of the Church and Society Committees of the two local presbyteries
were welcomed as observers.

The Rev. Mr. Tan Seng-cheng, pastor of Tai-sun Presbyterian Church in
Kaohsiung, said, ¡§Christians are a minority in Taiwan¡¦s society. So are
politicians. So Christian politicians are a minority within a minority.¡¨

Last year this council group was instrumental in engineering a cooperative
Christmas celebration between Kaohsiung Presbytery and the Municipal
government. This year, when the PCT will celebrate its 140th anniversary,
they have helped guide the city¡¦s cultural bureau in its preparations to
cooperate with the church in suitable ways. Since those 140 years began on
a beach within the city limits it is seen as an event worthy of celebration
by all the people of Kaohsiung, not just for the Christians.

For more information: Kaohsiung Presbytery tkkkk@ms48.hinet.net

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.

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