“It is my joy and honour to welcome the first large group of member church delegates to the CWM Office post-pandemic,” said Council for World Mission (CWM) General Secretary Rev. Dr Jooseop Keum in his opening remarks during a team visit by 20 delegates from Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) on 6 February 2023. The PCT delegates had gathered in the CWM Singapore office for a time of mutual exchange and sharing, where the event commenced after an opening prayer by CWM Mission Secretary for Mission Programme and Partnership Rev. Julie Sim for those gathered, to “discern God’s desire for us to carry out God’s mission in the world”. During the opening remarks, the CWM General Secretary recounted his participation in a regular youth exchange between PCT and Presbyterian Church in Korea (PCK), supported and facilitated by the CWM Youth Desk. Through this programme, there were stimulating discussions on church mission where he learnt the significance of partnership in mission. This mutual friendship and commitment in mission remained important 30 years on as it enabled the exchange of ideas and growth through challenges in their respective contexts, Dr Keum added. He also lauded PCT’s invaluable contributions such as former Tainan Theological College principal Shoki Coe, a forerunner whose work on contextualisation as a key aim of mission inspired others; former PCT General Secretary Rev. Dr C.M Kao who courageously and humbly played a pivotal role in the democratisation of Taiwan; former CWM Moderator Dr Huang Po-Ho’s remarkable missiological contribution to self-determination, and their work in indigenous theology. Subsequently, CWM Deputy General Secretary – Programmes Dr Sudipta Singh delivered a presentation on the new CWM Programmatic Structure and The Onesimus Project (TOP). This was followed by a time of sharing and responses by PCT delegates, one of whom expressed gratitude for CWM’s faithful accompaniment in PCT’s ministry work in recent years, ranging from youth’s contextual bible study to indigenous ministries to CWM’s Partners-in-Mission (PIM) programme. Heartfelt words of appreciation were received from Executive Committee members from Presbyterian Church in Singapore (PCS), the receiving church of PIM Rev. Dr Li Hau-Tiong (PCT) who had played an integral role in building up social mission work for PCS over the past three years in Singapore’s rapidly evolving context. Dated 8 February 2023 |