wfn.org | NCC, China church leaders meet in Shanghai

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

NCC leaders warmly received by Chinese church leaders;
promise mutual prayers and a 'deeper working relationship'

Shanghai, China, March 5, 2009 -- The president and general secretary of  the National Council of Churches, in a historic first, have traveled to  China to affirm with Chinese Christian leaders a mutual desire to engage  in an "even deeper working relationship that allows us to consult  regularly with one another and to speak and act together in response to  contemporary issues."

H.E. Archbishop Vicken Aykazian and the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon met  here February 26 with leaders of the China Christian Council (CCC) and  the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of  Protestant Churches in China (TSPM). It was the first time an NCC  president and general secretary have traveled together to China.

The trip was supported financially by the Common Global Ministries Board  of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of  Christ. The Rev. Dr. Xiaoling Zhu, the board's area Executive for East  Asia and the Pacific, accompanied Kinnamon and Aykazian on the trip.

The NCC leaders along with the Rev. Gao, Feng, President of the CCC, and  Elder Fu, Xianwei, chair of the TSPM, expressed "thanks for the  distinctive gifts that God has given us in our different settings (a  point which is central to the witness of the Three-Self Movement)" and  rejoicing "that we are related to one another in Christ, and that  through one another we can grow in knowledge and love of God.  Ours is  a relationship of mutual encouragement in order that the body of Christ  might be built up in love (Ephesians 4)."

In their discussions, the American and Chinese leaders celebrated "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 (such as the one this year), and  occasional support for one another's ministries."

Among the contemporary issues on which the leaders plan to "speak and  act together" are the pollutants that the U.S. and China emit daily into  the world's atmosphere.

"We recognize that China and the United States together produce 40  percent of the world's carbon emissions," the leaders said. "For this  reason, political leaders in our two nations have affirmed the need to  work together to reduce such pollution and, thus, to address the urgent  problem of climate change. 

"As churches, we can encourage this process of political collaboration  by joining our voices in defense of God's creation.  We can share  materials on environmental protection and look for ways to provide  education on ecological concerns that draws on the resources of one  another."

The leaders pledged to raise the idea of deeper partnership with our  governing bodies and to continue this conversation on forms of regular  consultation."

The NCC leaders also expressed their anticipation of the  Bible  Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China that, scheduled for display  in Washington and Dallas in the near future. They pledged to help  advertise this event in U.S. churches. 

"This will be a way of calling attention to the reality of the Chinese  Christian community and of emphasizing our shared commitment to biblical  study and translation," they said.

Aykazian and Kinnamon encouraged the CCC "to play an ever more active  role in the global church, including in the World Council of Churches,"  and promised to advocate for this in appropriate settings."

"Our common prayer," the U.S. and Chinese church leaders said, "is that  God's will be done and that God's name be glorified!  May our work and  life together bear witness to the reconciling love of God, Father, Son,  and Holy Spirit, the One who creates, redeems, and sustains us all."

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

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