The Episcopal Church House of Bishops, meeting in Taiwan, hears about mission in three different contexts
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
editor/reporter for Episcopal News Service
[Episcopal News Service – Taipei, Taiwan] God is calling the church in Asia to be an agent of reconciliation and a prophetic witness, three Asian Anglican archbishops told the House of Bishops, and they said the church across the world also must respond to the same call.
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Seoul Archbishop Paul Kim, who is also the primate of the Anglican Church in Korea, tells the Episcopal Church House of Bishops Sept. 22 that “reconciliation should be the core message of the church not just on the Korean peninsula but in the world.”
The Rev. Aidan Koh, of St. James in the City in Los Angeles, translated for Kim. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service
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“Reconciliation should be the core message of the church not just on the Korean peninsula but in the world,” said Seoul Archbishop Paul Kim, primate of the Anglican Church of Korea.
Kim, Archbishop Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu, primate of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (the Anglican Church in Japan) and Episcopal Church in the Philippines Prime Bishop Edward Malecdan all spoke to the house Sept. 22, describing the theological context and mission challenges of their provinces. Each spoke of how paying attention to the poor in their countries has strengthened the faith and witness of their churches.
The threat of war across the world has led to increased nationalism and militarization, in northeast Asia and elsewhere, which has at times lead to threats against those who “proclaim Christ’s gospel message of reconciliation and peace [and they are] treated as traitors in the nations to which they belong,” Kim said through translator the Rev. Aidan Koh of St. James in the City in Los Angeles.
Even within churches there can be differences of opinions about how to work for reconciliation, Kim said. Rather than being able to use those disagreements to find “new creative possibilities,” discord can develop and such discord can easily make Christ’s gospel of reconciliation “a laughing stock.”
Kim said it is time to unite the worldwide church “as a prophetic witness to reconciliation” against the violence of domination.
“We as Anglicans are chosen by God to be the servants and witnesses of forgiveness and reconciliation,” he said.
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Archbishop Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu, the primate of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (the Anglican Church in Japan), says the Japanese church is trying to be an agent of reconciliation in that country. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service
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Both Kim and Uematsu of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai spoke of the reconciliation that has happened between their two churches. Uematsu said that Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910 was the start of a militaristic period in his country’s history that only ended with its defeat in World War II. The church did not protest as Japan began to occupy and colonize other Asian countries, he said.
It wasn’t until the late 1990s that the church began to look critically at its past and its role in the nation’s history. “We especially felt called to repent and seek reconciliation and a deeper engagement with our neighbors” who had suffered under Japanese occupation and colonization, Uematsu said.
In 1996, the church’s General Synod pass a Statement of War Responsibility in which the NSKK “confessed to God as a church” and apologized to God and to its neighbors. Since then, Uematsu said, the statement has been the basis of NSKK’s sense that it is called to serve the marginalized in Japanese society.
The NSKK has sought reconciliation and “restoration under our bond in the same Lord” with Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and other countries that suffered from wartime Japanese occupation.
“We are especially blessed by our fellow Anglicans in the Anglican Church in Korea who opened their hearts to our people even before Japan had come to terms with and apologized for its role in the colonization of the Korean peninsula,” Uematsu said. Nearly 30 years ago the Koreans “opened the door” to exchanges between the two provinces at all levels, he noted.
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The Most Rev. Edward P. Malecdan, prime bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, describes for the House of Bishops how his church worked to become self-supporting and how it tries to be a prophetic witness in the country. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service
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Meanwhile, Philippines Prime Bishop Malecdan told how Islamic unrest in Mindanao and a continuing communist insurgency means there is a “never-ending absence of peace in some parts of the country.” And the church is aware of the lack of peace elsewhere in the word. For instance, it will soon host a forum at its St. Andrew’s Seminary chapel on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“In other words, the doors of ECP churches and other institutions are open for peacemaking gatherings,” he said.
The biblical mandate to give voice to the voiceless at both the local and global level, Malecdan said, “is about contributing positively to the establishment of just peace and the commitment to social action for the transformation of unjust society and structures.”
“We are only a minority church often neglected and overlooked by bigger sister provinces in the Anglican Communion, but for the ECP we are aware that what we are doing is like a little drop of water in the vast Pacific ocean and the turbulent China Sea,” he said, adding that that “little drop” is better than being “part of the problems by silence and inaction.”
Three examples that Malecdan gave seemed to be much more than little drops. One involved buying land and reselling it to landless people whose makeshift homes were swept away by Super Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.
Another example concerned three kidnapped young people who were killed and buried in a shallow grave beneath concrete and dirt. Their people were afraid to go and exhume the bodies for fear they would be killed, but they were “emboldened” when Northern Luzon Bishop Renato Abibico and two priests came to the graves and began digging.
Thirdly, Malecdan said, the ECP’s relationship with the Church of the Province of Myanmar as that country transitions to democracy is a way for each church to learn from the other.
“Our relationship and concern for one another is a clear testimony to a conflict-laden world,” the prime bishop said.
Malecdan also outlined how the ECP became a self-supporting province after making a “heart-rending decision” to stop receiving money from the U.S.-based Episcopal Church.
The church was receiving a subsidy from the Episcopal Church that was due to end in 2007. The ECP decided in mid-2004 to ask that it be stopped. Because the money was already budgeted, Malecdan said, the Episcopal Church decided to continue sending the payments while the ECP decided to stop using the subsidy as operating revenue. It put the money into an endowment with the aim of becoming self-sufficient.
The church built many churches after that decision, had budget surpluses and saw both lay and ordained vocations increase, according to the prime bishop.
“We have dug deeper into what we have – all our assets as a church – and started maximizing them for doing mission,” Malecdan said. “And we realized that even a struggling church can have something to share with others.”
After the meeting ends a number of bishops are heading to Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines or Korea to continue learning about mission and ministry of the Anglican Church in those contexts.
The meeting is taking place at the Grand Hotel in Taipei. Some bishops are blogging from the meeting about their visit to Taiwan, including ...
Newark Bishop Mark Beckwith
Los Angeles Bishop Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce
Nevada Bishop Dan Edwards
Western Massachusetts Bishop Douglas Fisher
North Dakota Assisting Bishop Carol Gallagher
Bishop Doug Hahn
Rhode Island Bishop Nicholas Knisely
Bishop Suffragan for Armed Services & Federal Ministries Jay Magness
Bishop Greg Rickel
Delaware Bishop Wayne Wright
Others are tweeting during the meeting using #HOBFall14.
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Office of Public Affairs
Episcopal Church House of Bishops Fall 2014 meeting:
Statements following the conclusion of the gathering
The House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church met in the Diocese of Taiwan from September 17 to September 23.The following are statements concerning the meeting.
The theme for the fall meeting of the Episcopal Church House of Bishops is Expanding the Apostolic Imagination.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori:
This meeting has offered abundant opportunities to expand our vision of what is possible as we engage God’s mission. Our chaplain the Rev. Simon Bautista reminded us this morning that we are all bound for home, that we’re meant to travel light – and that home” is the Reign of God. Our chaplain the Rev. Stephanie Spellers challenged us yesterday to take the journey to unexpected places and communities. The bishops of this Church will return to their dioceses with renewed energy and increased willingness to risk more for the gospel and travel a bit lighter. We have built new relationships with our partners in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and with our brother and sisters in Taiwan. We’ve discovered new readings of the old, old stories and new theological perspectives rooted in different parts of God’s creation. With hearts and minds expanded, we know ourselves part of a body larger and with deeper bonds than we imagined. And we give thanks for knowing what it is to be received as Christ himself. The hospitality of the Diocese of Taiwan has been full measure, pressed down, and overflowing. May God continue to richly bless this part of The Episcopal Church.
Bishop Dean E. Wolfe of Kansas, vice president of HOB and co-chair of the HOB Planning Committee:
The 2014 meeting of the House of Bishops has been an extraordinary and historic gathering.
The first meeting of the House of Bishops in Asia, this meeting has turned our attention to the vibrant ministries of The Episcopal Church taking place in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. The Bishop of Pakistan, Samuel Azariah, challenged us with reports of Christian persecution in the Middle East and the heroic witness being made by Christians in that region. We have been inspired by visits from the Primates of this region and their forthright descriptions of their context for ministry. We have been encouraged by our visits to the faithful congregations of Taipei, motivated by fresh models for theological education, and touched by the overwhelming generosity and hospitality exhibited by our hosts.
All of us who have congregants from Asia have gained a deeper understanding of the context from which our brothers and sisters have come and a greater appreciation for the Christian witness along the Pacific Rim. We traveled a very long way and at no small expense to come to Taiwan to reinforce a principal which is dear to us; that every diocese is an essential member of our family of faith and no diocese is too small or too far away. We are present here as an outward and visible sign of our commitment to our brothers and sisters in Asia and we have been richly blessed by our time together during this meeting in Taiwan.
Bishop Todd Ousley of Eastern Michigan, co-chair of the HOB Planning Committee:
This gathering of the House of Bishops in the Diocese of Taiwan has been the perfect crucible for engaging our theme, “Expanding our Apostolic Imagination.” Removed from the familiarity and comfort of our own dioceses and cultures, we have been challenged by stories of Christian witness not only in Taiwan but also in other Asian contexts such as Hong Kong, Pakistan, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. My own imagination continues to expand as I consider the vision of the future shape of the Church as shared by Archbishop Nathaniel Uematsu of Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Anglican Church in Japan): the Church as a Community of the People of God who are gathered, nourished, and sent to proclaim peace and reconciliation, grounded in repentance. I leave this meeting reminded that to be an apostle, one who is sent, and to invite others to be people sent to proclaim God’s message of peace and reconciliation, we must not rush headlong into action with programs and events. Rather, we must begin with self-examination and spiritual acts of repentance that ground our message and lend it integrity. Only then will our message of peace and reconciliation be received as the Good News that it indeed is.
We are immensely grateful for Bishop Lai and the gracious hospitality of the people of the Diocese of Taiwan for their tireless efforts to provide this experience and space for creative reflection. On behalf of the Planning Committee and the entire House of Bishops, we give thanks for Lori Ionnitiu of the General Convention Office who has coordinated all onsite arrangements. Finally, the Rev. Canon Charles Robertson and Ednice Baerga of the Presiding Bishop’s staff have once again worked tirelessly behind the scenes to afford us this opportunity to expand our apostolic imaginations.
Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce of Los Angeles, assistant secretary of HOB:
There were 112 bishops and many spouses in attendance at the meeting, with the Bishop Bob G. Jones, retired from the Diocese of Wyoming, being the senior bishop present. This has been an extremely worthwhile and valuable trip as a member of The Episcopal Church and especially Province VIII. With the growing Asian community in the United States, especially on the West Coast including my home diocese of Los Angeles, having firsthand knowledge and witness of the context and content of ministry and mission, we are able to more directly address our mutual needs. I am grateful to Bishop Lai and his clergy and laity and the people of the Diocese of Taiwan for their radical hospitality and their ability to do mission and ministry in the name of Jesus Christ in diverse locations. We have much to learn and share
Bishop David Lai of Taiwan, host of the HOB meeting:
Dreams come true not just for me, but also for all the bishops and their spouses – everyone of us. I believe the trip may have taken a loong time – 16 hours – to get here, but the things we experperienced are full of experiences to remember, to share and to learn about and to tell their church members. The memories will remain longer than 16 hours. All praise the Lord.
For more info contact:
Neva Rae Fox
Public Affairs Officer
The Episcopal Church
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