Global Ministries

Virginia Ware Stowe, 95, a resident of Tenafly, New Jersey, from 1963 until 2005, and church historian in the 1980s and 1990s, died July 20, 2018 in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

Global Ministries is looking for individuals interested in participating in the Amity Summer English Program (SEP) to train Chinese teachers of English in less-developed parts of China. The SEP is a wonderful opportunity to spend a month in China, helping primary and secondary school Chinese teachers, many from rural areas, to develop their English language skills. The program runs from July 9–August 6. Scholarships for travel are available. Interested?  Please contact Catherine Nichols. Applications are due by April 30.

China

Sterling Hegnauer Whitener
June 27, 1921 – January 28, 2017

The Committee for Week of Compassion sends their greetings from China. Thanks to an anonymous gift, the committee has been able to make this journey of relationship for the same cost as their typical meeting in Indianapolis. Alongside the regular business of the committee, they are visiting a number of communities who have received support from Week of Compassion. We are grateful for the opportunity to build relationships and equip the committee members to share the stories of the impact of Week of Compassion. The trip is being led by Rev. Xiaoling Zhu, Global Ministries Executive for East Asia and the Pacific.

The China Christian Council (CCC) and the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of Protestant Churches in China (TSPM) delegation, led by Rev. Dr. Feng Gao, President of the China Christian Council, visited Global Ministries at the United Church of Christ's office in Cleveland Sept. 22-24, 2016. Both sides shared their fruitful and joyful mission works as well as past challenges.  The CCC has more than 40 million church members with 400,000- 500,000 people baptized every year. However, there are only about 3,000 pastors, 6,000 elders, and 190,000 church volunteers to serve the church in China. The number of graduates from the 22 seminaries in China is far below the needs of the church. Together we are looking forward to a closer ecumenical partnership in the future.

Amity Foundation is an independent Chinese organization founded in 1985 on the initiative of Chinese Christians.  Celebrating their 30th anniversary, the 2015 Amity Outlook report shares how Amity responded to the Nepal earthquake and hosted a delegation of Denmark youth through its international student exchange program. 

In this 2015 Annual Report of China Christian Council's Social Service Ministry, CCC shares recent news of an expansion in providing medical tests and treatments throughout rural areas, providing water purifiers to areas without access to clean water, and a volunteer project of local residents to clean out a polluted river. 

Bajie Health Center
China Christian Council
Guizhou Province, China

In late 1931, Japan created what would become known as "The September 18 Incident" as a pretext for occupying three provinces in Northeast China, thus igniting the fire of a world war in Asia. On July 7, 1937, the Japanese army concocted the "Marco Polo Bridge Incident" on the outskirts of Beijing, which was a staged attack on Japanese troops, signaling the beginning of an all-out invasion of China. From August 13 to November 12 of that year, Japanese troops attacked and occupied Shanghai. From there, the Japanese troops marched westward to Nanjing (then the capitol of China), surrounded the city, and attacked from three directions.