WEEKLY TOPICAL

Bunun Presbytery held a mission assembly, entitled as "Mintasa Cis Tamadaza – Standing United for God", on October 29, commemorated for the Reformation. The assembly invited 41 churches to attend from the metropolitan area, Hualien District, and Taitung District, with a total of more than 1,600 PCT members. Gathered in the Yuli High School gymnasium, the participants served each other, via showcasing their passion and determination to stand together, and pledged to carry on proclaiming the gospel.

Entitled as, "Lying Flat? Let’s Talk about Hope amid Vanities!", the 2023 PCT Youth Bible-Reading Camp is held at the Presbyterian Bible College in Hsinchu City from October 20 to 22. This is an event sponsored by the PCT General Assembly’s Campus Ministry Committee, and jointly organized by the Campus Ministry Committee and Youth Ministry Committee of the Taichung Presbytery, and the Youth Ministry Committee of the Hsinchu Presbytery. The book of Ecclesiastes is designated as the major text to study. About 70 youth from across the island participate in this Bible-Reading Camp.

Attracting the PCT members and co-workers from 10 indigenous churches, the Cou District Assembly helds the "Thanksgiving Service for the 75th Anniversary of the Cou District Assembly's Mission and the 40th Anniversary of the Women's Ministry" at Chu-Lu Church on the morning of October 10. This event is to witness how the gospel has been preached to the Cou tribes and communities over the past 75 years.

After typhoon Koinu swept across southern Taiwan, the Hengchun Peninsula and Orchid Island were seriously damaged. The Tao ethnic group on the Orchid island held an emergency meeting in the afternoon of October 8 to support each other, clean up the mess and figure out a plan to restore. The devastated damage is now still under count and check, and the amount of loss is expected to submit to the Church and Society Committee of the PCT General Assembly for financing an emergency relief.

In 2022, Tainan East Gate Barclay Memorial Church and Chang Jung High School were both awarded the “National Register of the Memory of the World ", an honorary title for Taiwan historical legacy accredited by the Bureau Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture.

In order to meet Ukraine’s medical needs in the cities and fields devastated by Russia, a Taiwan shipment with an amount of 48 ambulances, fire trucks and rescue vehicles arrived at the port of Gdansk, Poland on September 19th. A donation ceremony was subsequently held at the port of Gdansk to honor this Taiwanese charity mission. At present, eight vehicles have been sent to the Ukrainian war zones and are immediately involved in rescuing the injured.

To commemorate Prof Albert Lin’s monumental contributions to shape Taiwan’s democracy through his words and deeds, his memorial service was held at the Shuan-Lien Church of Chi-Hsin Presbytery in Taipei on September 16th. A second memorial service was held at the Song-Yin Hall of Tainan Theological Seminary and College in Tainan on Sept 17th.

Co-organized by the Legislative Yuan, ChinaAid, the Secretariat of IRF Summit, and the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT), the "Taiwan International Religious Freedom Summit" (TIRF) was held at the Grand Hotel on September 7th and 8th. In his opening speech, Rev Chen Hsin-liang, general secretary of the PCT, reported the martial law backgrounds of the KMT’s authoritarian rule. The Presbyterian Church was monitored, the weekly newspaper of "Taiwan Church News" was confiscated, and much more PCT pastors were arrested and imprisoned. However, even suppressed by the KMT regime, the PCT still insists to take care of the poor, the exploited and the vulnerable and the future of Taiwan up to date.

Hosted by the National Christian Association for VP Lai Ching-te’s Running for President (NCALCTRP), a thanksgiving service, entitled as "National Christians to Trust, Listen and Team Taiwan" was held at the David Landsborough International Hall of Changhua Christian Hospital (CCH) in the afternoon on September 2.

Dr Albert Lin, nicknamed as Taiwan’s "Godfather of Urban and Rural Mission” (abbreviated as URM), and "Taiwan's nation-building engineer", died of illness on August 22 in Toronto, Canada, at the age of 92. He devoted his life to the Taiwan independence movement and championed the social movement of non-violence resistance in Taiwan society.