An Occasional Newsletter from the General Secretary,
Rev. Lyim Hong-Tiong

Preparations for
150th Anniversary and New Staff Team

Dear Friends and Partners:

I greet you in the name of our common Lord, Jesus Christ. As the new PCT General Secretary, I look forward very much to continuing the excellent partnership that the PCT has enjoyed with you. I am delighted to share this update of our recent activities in the expectation that it will enable you to uphold the PCT in your prayers.

Since many of you attended our General Assembly in April I will concentrate on some of the recent developments. Please do feel free to write to me for additional information. I always welcome receiving communication from our partners.

First, I am delighted that we have now a full complement of the staff at the PCT General Assembly office. We increased the executive staff to 18 in order to carry out the many tasks entrusted us by our General Assembly. The three Associate General Secretaries and fourteen program secretaries were installed by our Moderator Hsu Rung-Fong in a special Thanksgiving Service on July 1. Our total staff is now 85.

Second, all staff are setting priorities for our work in the coming four years. To fulfill the mandate from the General Assembly, the big turn-over of fourteen program and Associate General Secretaries necessitates a time of orientation and collaboration. Please do understand our situation if we have not been as responsive as you have expected. I am convening a second staff retreat in a week’s time after which a more detailed focus of activities between now and 2017 should emerge.

This leads me to draw your special attention to a very significant commemoration of the 150 Anniversary of the PCT in 2015. The Executive Committee has appointed a Preparatory Committee to plan for this big celebration. We shall invite you to join us so that we can give thanks to God together for planting God’s vineyard on our beautiful island.

The next item has to do with the I-Love Taiwan (ILT) movement. We have used this theme in order to conduct mission training of our young people. They spent three weeks from June 26 receiving orientation and visiting various social service activities. We are especially delighted that 166 young people participated among whom were 69 from overseas: Aotearoa (New Zealand), Canada, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA

Many of you are aware of the immense natural disaster that we experienced on August 8, 2009. Our PCT members have been most generous in sustaining our disaster response and reconstruction carried out by five Presbyteries in Southern Taiwan. A Thanksgiving Service in Neipu town, Pintung District, in September will mark a successful end to these efforts.

Finally, we are grateful for the visit of these partners:

• 10 June: United Church of Christ in Japan (Kyodan)
  – Rev. Kimijima Yozaburo, former Asia Secretary
• 20 June: Presbyterian Church (USA) East Asia Regional Liaison
  – Rev. Choon S. Lim
• 24-26 June: Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia & Berlin Mission
  – delegation led by The Right Revd. Dr Markus Dröge, Bishop of EKBO
• 8 July: Jesus Christ Church in Japan
  – Rev. Koichi Nishimoto, Rev. Wada Osamu and Rev. Ninomiya Ichiro