It has been two years since a National Catholic China Conference was last held. This summer, from June 24-June 26, the U.S. Catholic China Bureau (USCCB) will host its 21st conference in the West Coast: Seattle University, Washington, USA. The theme is “Growth of Christianity in China: Reality, Challenges, and Opportunities”.
As China continues to grow as an influence to today’s world affairs, evangelism on the other hand has been flourishing as well. For this reason, a deeper understanding of Christianity in China is required.
The conference is designed to educate believers the facts and indications of this growth and the meaning behind it. It will examine the role of churches in modern China and study the opportunities available for missions.
In this three-day conference, three main presentations will be given. Dr. Lamin Senneh, Professor of World Christianity at Yale Divinity School and author of “Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel Beyond the West,” is the first keynote speaker. He will then be followed by Jeroom Heyndrickx, Director of Verbiest Foundation in Belgium, and a “foremost authority on the Catholic Church in China today.” Lastly, a group of young church leaders from China will share their experiences in churches and schools related to the topic.
On top of reports and presentations, there are social activities such as workshops, liturgy and prayer, small group interaction, and a resource/book exhibition and sale. “Bishop Ignatius Wang, Auxiliary Bishop of the San Francisco Archdiocese, will be the celebrant at the Sunday Eucharistic Liturgy.”
In the year 2003, the 20th National Catholic China Conference was held in November at Maryknoll, New York. (see picture) It was also a three-day conference with the theme “The Role of Religion in China’s Emerging Civil Society.”
More information is available at www.usccb.net
