4th Quarter 2010 English Quarterly Newsletter HONG KONG CHRISTIAN COUNCIL 33 Granville Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2368-7123 Fax: (852) 2724-2131 e-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.hkcc.org.hk Editor:Judy Chan Po Kam-cheong From the end of 2010 to the start of 2011 with the release of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize to Mr. Liu Xiaobo, and the death of Mr. Szeto Wah, my heart has experienced feelings of joy and sadness. All three of these persons have been seeking peace and democracy in society and all have paid a heavy price. But still they can persist on unfailingly. What they have done is very precious and they are like a light to humanity. For the democracy movement of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi sacrificed her personal freedom and was separated from her family. She was under house detention for a very long time, but still she did not have any regrets about what she did. She sought peaceful ways to transform the society and nation and has become a model and inspiration to many people. Liu Xiaobo sought the democratization and maturity of China because of love, not hatred. He was put in prison many times and remains imprisoned. But still he did not change his principles. He is also very admirable. Szeto Wah contributed to Hong Kong’s education sector and the whole society. He was very serious about taking up responsibility. People from different political parties in Hong Kong also expressed their deep respect. His contribution to three influential bodies – the Professional Teachers’ Union, the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, and the Democratic Party – was known by all. Even at the end of his life, he still remembered the concerns affecting the public rather than his own personal needs. In the same way, since the road to church unity and seeking the values of the Kingdom of God is still far away, we also require effort and persistence to carry on. For example, from the beginning at the Edinburgh 1910 mission conference, the ecumenical movement has a history of more than 100 years. The establishment of the World Council of Churches also has history of more than 60 years. During this time, 1 (continued on p.2) 4th Quarter 2010 on the one hand, the unity of the church has made some progress. On the other hand, for some church traditions, the differences in theological thinking, church order, and understanding of mission that separate the churches have become bigger, not smaller. How do we overcome these kinds of obstacles? We need to have faith in the unity of the church and unfailing persistence, believing that church unity is the command and desire of our Lord. In November - December 2010, I attended two meetings concerning church unity. One was the Global Christian Forum (Asia Region) in Seoul. The other was in Bangkok – the 5th meeting of the Asian Movement for Christian Unity. These two meetings had delegates from the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, mainline churches, Evangelicals and Pentecostals. Some of the participants expressed their opinions and said they only reflected a minority in their own tradition. Still they are willing to give their time, energy and talents to promote church unity. The church needs more people that are willing to do more for Christian unity. Hong Kong churches often are most concerned about the development of their own church. This is a good thing. But if the local church is too self-centered, then the theological perspective will become very narrow. Then they will not care about things that happen outside the church. Some churches even view other churches as their competitors. Sometimes they will attack other churches, and they will not cooperate with others in their programs. So the spirit of Christian unity cannot be expressed in these churches. Different denominations or members from different churches also cannot build up the integral relationships we have as the one body of Christ. The situation or needs of churches in mainland China and the deaths of Christian worshippers in the church in Alexandria, Egypt also cannot enter into the agenda of this kind of church. In the eyes of the Lord, Christians in different parts of the world are in reality different parts of the same body of Christ. When one Christian suffers, we also suffer. When one local church rejoices, we also rejoice. After 1997, the church in Hong Kong has closer contacts with churches in mainland China. So we should share with each other, build each other up and be more positive in the future. It is easy to travel to Hong Kong as we are in a strategic location and one of the busiest hubs in Asia and the world. We should pick up the responsibility as a bridge so people may come together, share together and pray for each other. The church in Hong Kong has a very special role in the Asian context and world ecumenical movement. Are we willing to take up this role? The road to unity needs our persistence. In the year 2011, I hope that we will make a firm commitment to work for the unity of the church and all the world. Rev. Po Kam-cheong is the General Secretary of the Hong Kong Christian Council. 2 4th Quarter 2010 HKCC News An alternative Christian Halloween celebration was sponsored by the Women’s Ministry Working Group of HKCC. The event was titled “Jesus Win” and took place at The Salvation Army Tin Ka Ping School on October 30, 2010. The program included dance, hymn singing, magic performance, drama, African drums and ‘angel’ catwalk. Rev. Dr. Li Ping-kwong was Angel catwalk the guest speaker. Over 300 students and parents attended the Saturday event, which was designed to give children a proper understanding and attitude about Halloween. Sharing by Rev Dr Li Ping Kwong In order to support the international campaign against the death penalty launched by a Catholic group called The Community of Sant’Egidio, HKCC joined the campaign ‘Cities for Life • Cities without Death Penalty’ on November 30, 2010. That night from 6:00pm to midnight, all participating churches and organizations switched on the light to urge people to reflect on the precious value of life and the cruelty of the death penalty. Over the past four years HKCC along with other Christian NGOs organized an annual Ecumenical Summer Institute in June and July. The purpose is to bridge the gap between Christian social movements and Christian churches and to develop a new generation of leadership who can benefit from the rich tradition and experience of the ecumenical movement. With God’s blessing, the first four Ecumenical Summer Schools were successfully conducted. In order to let others know more about this program, the sponsoring bodies published a book “Sowing the seeds - Reviewing the Experience of the Ecumenical Summer Institute from 2007-2010” to share the experience with churches. The book is written in Chinese and available from HKCC. The 2011 World Day of Prayer will be held on March 5 (Saturday) at 3 p.m. at HKSKH All Saints’ Cathedral, No. 11, Pak Po Street, Mongkok. The speaker will be Rev. Chan Tak-Cheong, Wilson of Kowloon Methodist Church. The liturgy is prepared by the World Day of Prayer Committee of Chile. The service will be conducted in Cantonese with simultaneous interpretation into English. All are welcome! 3 4th Quarter 2010 www.hkcs.org Hong Kong Christian Service A New Counselling Centre for Substance Abusers Due to the complication of drug problems in Hong Kong in the recent decade, different types of drug addicts are emerging. They are confronted by various kinds of temptations, challenges and needs and characterised by distinctive drug-taking patterns and beliefs. In response to this phenomenon, a new counselling centre for substance abusers operating in a novel service delivery model was set up in Shamshuipo by Hong Kong Christian Service on 1 October 2010. This new model is named ‘Anti-drug Stratified Intervention Model’ (SIM). The Spirit of Hong Kong people — Help Each Other, Support One Another In order to lessen negative sentiments in the community and encourage families to do good together, HKCS under the sponsorship of Hong Kong Life Insurance Limited organised a “HKL - HK Heart” scheme. The programme ran from July till December. The aim is to promote a spirit of “Help Each Other, Support One Another” so that Hong Kong people may become “People with Kind Hearts”. Events included a “Hugging Marathon”, a lecture titled “Kind Heart Does Kind Deeds” for students and a “Walkathon for Righteous People”. Five most touching stories were awarded prizes for promoting kind hearts and kind deeds. Make our Children the Angels of Hope To help build children’s character and develop a caring heart for the needy, HKCS has launched the “Angel of Hope Programme”. Any children aged 13 or below are welcome to participate via their schools or organisations that joined the programme. The contents include: volunteer work and a small monthly donation (HK$20 per child), media education workshop, money management workshop and sharing opportunities. On top of the Kid Plan, a Family Plan is also available for children joining together with their parents. The programme is fully supported by the Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited. New Development of Mainland China Social Service Project HKCS Mainland China Social Service Project has launched a training package to meet the high demand for professional social work training. The package consists of three areas: social service agency management; social work professional supervision; and theory and practice in various service fields.