Taiwan Church News
3818 Edition
April 28 ~ May 4, 2025
Weekly Topical
Following Apostle Paul and Rev Ritchie’s Evangelical Passion, Pingtung Presbytery Celebrates its 60th Anniversary of Mission
Reported by Lin Wan-ting from Pingtung
The thanksgiving service for the 60th anniversary of the PCT Pingtung presbytery’s mission is held at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in the morning on April 27.
Led by flags of the PCT General Assembly, Pingtung presbytery and its 60th anniversary of mission, Rev Chen Hsin-liang, general secretary of the PCT General Assembly, Rev Chen Chia-chia, moderator of Pinging presbytery, and Rev Wu Chi-ren, general secretary of Pingtung presbytery, enter into the thanksgiving service in sequence.
Meanwhile, when 41 church representatives stand in front of the altar and hold the candles following the chronicle history the church was established, the audience are invited to commemorate in silence the 60-years-long missionary history of Pingtung presbytery, the contributions made by so many pious predecessors, and the amazing grace that God had granted and still lives among us.
Both Lin Hsin-en, a youth representative, and Chang Chu-leh, a child representative are invited to read the biblical verses of Philippians 1:20~21 in their mother tongues of Hakka and Taiwanese respectively. Rev Chen Chia-chia reminds the audience in her sermon that Apostle Paul was imprisoned for the sake of the gospel, though, he was obedient to God’s calling and decided to respond the salvational grace from Jesus Christ and preach the good news to the world.
She also praises the evangelical missions of Rev Hugh Ritchie, whose ministries might had attracted less attention as protagonists in Taiwan’s missionary history, but his evangelical footsteps are still full of inspiring enthusiasms. She sincerely hopes that by remembering the pioneering services of our predecessors in faith, brothers and sisters can think about how to work together as a communion in the pluralistic post-modern era. In the mission of building the kingdom of God, “the youth can learn the what their predecessors had done for the church, and then audaciously carry on the mission,” she concludes.
Reviewing the genesis of Pingtung presbytery’s missionary ministry, Rev Wu Chi-ren expresses the story began when the 27-year-old Rev Hugh Ritchie arrived in Taiwan by ship with his wife Eliza shortly after their wedding in 1867. He is also the first missionary sent by England Presbyterian Church to Taiwan, Rev Wu says. “Through his letters to friends, we can see Rev Ritchie’s evangelical contributions to Taiwanese peoples, including the indigenous, both plains and mountain, and Hakka people. And most remarkably, he established many churches in southern Taiwan,” he indicates.
He also points out that Rev Ritchie took it seriously to preach the gospel spoken in the mother tongues of those early Christian converts. Rev Ritchie once expressed his strong desire to learn the indigenous languages and his joy of learning Hakka language in his correspondence. Rev Ritchie died in 1879 at the age of 39. His wife Eliza continued his husband’s calling and became the first female missionary in Taiwan.
Rev Wu calls the audience, “when Pingtung presbytery enters its 60th anniversary of mission, it’s not unusual that new church will be planted and old church to close down, but we shall remember there is not yet a church ever established at Fangshan Township up to date. And it is an urgent mission for us to act in Pingtung presbytery!”
In his speech, Rev Chen Hsin-liang pays his tribute to Pingtung presbytery’s 60-years-long missionary achievement. He reminds the audience that 2025 is also an annum the PCT enters its 160th anniversary of mission. “Whether it is the 60th anniversary or the 160th anniversary, God has sent His loyal missionaries to proclaim the gospel to Taiwan at different times,” Rev Chen stresses “the gospel is not only eternal but also sustainable to everyone of us.”
He remarks that when we can see the goal, we should carry on and work hard to win the prize, as God gives different gifts to us to proclaim the good news. “The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan is like a table with four feet: general assembly, presbytery/ethnic district assembly, churches and institution. We shall work together to care each other and sail stable for the next 60 years of mission,” Rev Chen urges.
The thanksgiving service also grants thanksgiving awards to retired pastors, veteran moderators, and current elders or deacons who have served over 20 years, and awards prizes to the winner of logo design for the 60th anniversary of mission for Pingtung presbytery.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
