wfn.org | US Presbytery Visits Taiwan Aboriginal Presbytery to Share Ministry Experiences

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>Taiwan Church News

>2959 Edition

>November 10~16, 2008

US Presbytery Visits Taiwan Aboriginal Presbytery to Share Ministry  Experiences

>Reported by: Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by: Lydia Ma

Aboriginal presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan (PCT) such  as the Amis Presbytery have sister presbyteries abroad and Tayal  presbytery is looking forward to following that tradition soon.  According to Tayal presbytery, it will soon welcome Presbyterian Church  USA Yukon presbytery as its sister presbytery. Yukon presbytery leaders  visited PCT headquarters on November 10th and met with Tayal presbytery  leaders. They discussed the challenges they faced and the lessons they  had learned when it came to doing missions. Visiting leaders will issue  a report to Yukon presbytery on everything they have learned while in  Taiwan upon their return and the two presbyteries will begin  preparations to sign a formal partnership agreement.

Yukon presbytery’s mission field is in Alaska, where over half of  the churches are surrounded by a thick layer of ice and snow. There are  ten aboriginal churches among the twenty or so churches belonging to  Yukon presbytery. Aboriginal churches are declining because there are  scarcely any youths and the churches’ locations are in remote areas  usually accessible only by small jets. The geographical location of  these churches makes communication with the Yukon presbytery  challenging. Add to these difficulties the clash between aboriginal  culture and the message of the gospel, and it is not difficult to  imagine the challenges that Yukon presbytery faces in reaching out to  the aboriginal people living in the area.

According to Rev. Curt, General Secretary of Yukon presbytery, the  purpose of this trip is to learn from Tayal presbytery’s ministry  and missions experience. The two presbyteries have similar challenges as  both must deal with the clash between cultures. However, Tayal  presbytery’s mission outreach programs are flourishing and Tayal  culture is still vibrant. Its success inspired Yukon presbytery leaders  to embark on this long journey to learn how aboriginal presbyteries do  ministry in Taiwan. Yukon presbytery leaders hope that the information  they have gathered in Taiwan will be useful to their presbytery in  encouraging and raising a new generation of native church leaders.

One delegate from Yukon presbytery shared his surprise and excitement  upon seeing so many youths in Tayal churches when the delegation visited  the Tayal tribe in the mountainous regions of Taiwan. Another delegate  shared that some of the difficulties facing Yukon presbytery include  severe emigration and high incarceration rates among those who are of  working age. As a result, many tribes are mostly left with seniors.

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