The 56th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) was held on April 26th – 29th, 2011, in the auditorium of MacKay Memorial Hospital in Taipei. At 2 p.m., the opening worship was conducted by the Moderator of the 55th General Assembly, the Rev. Hsien-chang Lai. He preached a sermon, “So, are you ready?” encouraging the commissioners and guests to put on the armors of God and be ready to fight a good fight for God. Then he celebrated the Holy Communion. A round table was set on the stage, with representatives from every tribe in Taiwan, wearing their traditional costumes, gathered around the table. The offering received at the worship was sent to Japan for the relief of the earthquake and tsunami victims. After the worship, the General Secretary, the Rev. Andrew Chang, introduced the visitors from foreign churches and ecumenical organizations. Some of them brought greetings on behalf of their respective organizations.

In the evening, the election of the leaders of the new assembly was held. While the ballots were counted, the directors of 7 social service institutions that were under the auspices of the PCT General Assembly shared their ministries with the commissioners. The leaders of the 56th General Assembly are as follows: Moderator – The Rev. Lyian-syian Chiohh Vice Moderator – The Rev. Dr. Pusin Tali Clerk – The Rev. Rong-feng Hsu Vice Clerk – The Rev. Hsin-lok Song Treasurer – Elder Po-tong Huang. The new leadership team was installed by the Moderator right after they were elected.

The outgoing Moderator, Rev. Lai, thanked the General Secretary and his team for their assistance during his moderatorial year. The new Moderator, Rev. Chiohh, thanked him for his leadership and endeavor in the year past. He also solicited the prayers and support of the whole Church for the new leadership team.

The theme of the 2011 General Assembly is: “Let the cultures flourish, Let God’s justice take roots.”