Taiwan Church News. 3786 edition Sep 16th~ 22nd, 2024 Weekly Topical Taiwan Christian Youth Share the Ecumenical and Witness Communion in Christ Reported by Lin Yi-ying from Taipei To attain unity in Christ, a group of Christian youth, from the Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT), Taiwan Episcopal Church and etc, gathered in the “Magis Youth Center”, a warm venue at the third floor of the Cardinal Tien Cultural Center to share their ecumenical experiences in the afternoon on September 14th. The assembly, entitled as “Taiwan Christian Youth to Share the Ecumenical and Witness Communion”, sponsored by the National Council of Churches of Taiwan (NCCT) and co-organized by the Catholic Church, was delivered by an opening speech by Rev Lee Hsin-ren, both a director of NCCT and a secretary of the PCT Youth Ministry Committee. Reminding 2025 is the 160th anniversary of the PCT mission to Taiwan, Rev Lee remarked in a direct and terse style, that without the spirit of the ecumenical mission, there would be no medical-mission of Dr James Laidlaw Maxwell, a missionary doctor born in Scotland and sent by English Presbyterian Mission to Taiwan to proclaiming the gospel in 1865. In the same vein, if there is no ecumenical mission witnessed in our Christian forebears, especially in Scotland and England, it is impossible for the PCT to dig-in deep and develop in Taiwan. Rev Lee expressed that the PCT did take the ministry seriously to cooperate with various denominations and even the dialogues across-religions. Especially the PCT youth ministry actively devote themselves to the ecumenical ministries, he said, so that the island of Taiwan can be recognized by the ecumenical churches and international communities as a trustworthy and indispensable partner in Asia-Pacific region. He pointed out that the original meaning of the ecumenical in the Greek, οἰκουμένη, refers to “home”, as all people are created by God and like brothers and sisters in a family. Ms Wang Chun-ling, a female youth of the PCT, shared her experiences of participating in the PCT’s missionary activities, including I Love Taiwan Mission (ILT), the Ecumenical Youth Exchange Project (EYEP), the MAKINO Evangelical Japanese Institute (MEJI), the Asian Christian Youth Conference (ACYC) and etc. Ms Chen Hsiao-chi, a Catholic youth, shared what she learned during her participation of the World Youth Day (WYD) at Lisbon, Portugal in 2023, from which she learned to understand the conflicts and confrontations between faith and human nature. Ms Tao Chen-hsuan, secretary of the Layman, Family and Youth Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Taiwan, shared what she learned at Rome participating the International Youth Ministry Congress (IYMC) in May this year, and delivered an official plea to Pope Francis for his prayer and blessing for Taiwan. Ms Wu Yong-ai, sister of St. John’s Cathedral of the Taiwan Episcopal Church, shared her eye-opening journey visiting the United States to attend the 23rdEpiscopal Youth Event (EYE). So, they were very appreciated for being able to participate in this assembly of “Taiwan Christian Youth to Share the Ecumenical and Witness Communion”. Remarkably, they wished to give thanksgiving to God for such wonderful blessings to share and witness the communion. “The China Communist Party has relentlessly oppressed the religion for decades, more severely in recent years,” according to these two Catholic sisters, “but we strongly believe, no matter how the Chinese Christians are terribly persecuted, the resolute Christian faith in China would never go away.” “When we see so many young people from all denominations in Taiwan being able to assemble and share so freely,” praised these two Catholic sisters, “This is communion! The Holy Spirit is truly among us!” Translated by Peter Wolfe |