wfn.org | Taiwan Protestants and Catholics unite in prayer

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>2969-2970 Edition

>January 19~February 1, 2009

Taiwan Protestants and Catholics unite in prayer

Reported by Lin Yi-ying, Chen Yi-shuan, Chen Wei-jien

>Written by Lydia Ma

“The most important thing about this Unity Prayer Meeting is  reconciliation and unity. We don’t need to differentiate between  Catholics and Protestants when we agree to gather together to pray,  spend time with God, and soak in God’s love. This is how people  become one as they enjoy God’s love,” said Presbyterian Church  in Taiwan General Secretary Andrew Chang in a speech during the annual  Christian Unity Prayer Meeting held at Taipei Jung-Shan Presbyterian  Church on January 17th.

Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference and the General Assembly  of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) agreed in 2008 to co-host  Christian Unity Prayer Meeting every year to increase interaction  between believers and leaders of both churches so that they can work  toward reconciliation and unity. Both sides agreed to take turns hosting  the event and it was the PCT’s turn this year. Participants  included leaders from the Methodist church, Anglican church, and  Catholic church. Besides Taipei, this year’s Unity Prayer Meeting  were also held in Hsinchu, Chiayi, Kaohsiung on the 17th or 18th of  January.

Unity prayer meetings began in 1908 at the suggestion of Paul  Wattson and became a global movement later. The aim of the event is to  promote unity among churches through prayer so that God’s message  of hope through Jesus Christ can be declared to the world in an era  filled with war, violence, gender discrimination, economic inequality,  environmental degradation, illness, suffering, religious discrimination,  and animosity.

During the prayer meeting in Taipei, participants opened the  session with the hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus”,  followed by sermons from Protestant pastors and Catholic leaders. This  year’s sermon topics included “God is light”,  “Reconciling with God and “Together in truth”.  Participants read from different versions of the Bible, including  Contemporary Chinese Version, Taiwanese Romanization Version, and the  Catholic Bible.

More than 30 Catholic priests and Protestant pastors from  Taiwan’s central region participated in the Christian Unity Prayer  Meeting held at Touliou Rosary Church, including Anglican, Baptist, and  Presbyterian pastors. According to Chiayi presbytery moderator Chen  Tien-chang, joint prayer meetings in Taiwan between Catholics and  Protestants began in Chiayi. After three years of praying together for  Christian unity, some sensitive topics are finally surfacing. This  year’s sermon emphasized that unity between Catholics and  Protestants should transcend prayer meetings held once a year to  cooperation in church ministries. The passage of Offshore Islands  Development Act, which will make gambling and casinos legal in Taiwan,  is an opportunity for both churches to work together in tackling  important social issues.

About five hundred people attended the Unity Prayer Meeting held  in Kaohsiung, including pastors, priests, and church members. A Catholic  priest began the session by leading everyone in prayer and Protestant  pastors followed by leading everyone in praise and worship. The overall  atmosphere was inspiring. Bishop Peter Liu preached a message entitled  “Serving and cooperating together in Christ” and emphasized  that God wants to use everyone regardless of their denominational  background. He hoped that Catholics and Protestants will cooperate with  each other in other areas of ministry as well. Choirs from both Catholic  churches and Protestant churches performed during the prayer meeting.  Liu concluded the meeting by asking pastors to come to the stage for a  sending ceremony and declared, “Go out in pairs and preach the  gospel!”

>********************

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

You may translate and re-use the articles if you acknowledge the  source as "Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and  writer.

Visit our web site: http://www.pctpress.org (Chinese)

>http://enews.pctpress.org/ (English)

Please direct comments and questions to: enews@pctpress.org

If links are not working or you desire to receive e-news as plain  text attachments, please let us know. Thank you!

>********************

> 
>