wfn.org | NCC leaders warmly received by Chinese church leaders

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.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 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