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Dear Director Yip,
On behalf of the World Council of Churches, our member churches around the world, and our ecumenical theological education programme, I join the chorus of congratulations to you, to the Board of Trustees, and to the faculty and students of the Divinity School of Chung Chi College on this, the 60th anniversary of your founding.
As the only Chinese divinity school housed in a public university, educating students for ministerial and scholarly and other professional positions, DSCCC occupies an important, indeed unique position in the academic, professional, and cultural contexts of Hong Kong and Chinese Christianity generally.
Especially gratifying for us at the World Council of Churches is the fully ecumenical and catholic spirit that has animated the divinity school from its beginnings. Ecumenical theological education demands and nurtures a true openness to learning from each other and from the many historical and contemporary religious traditions represented in society. We salute you and your supporting denominations for your commitment to that honest and earnest exploration of faith and faith traditions. Through such critical appropriation of our faith, the Apostle Paul assures us, you will be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2).
Of course, these are uncertain times for Hong Kong and therefore for the university and its divinity school. Yet DSCCC’s eminent clarity of purpose—serving the churches, fellow Christians, and the larger society—firmly anchors your programme. It resides in and contributes simultaneously to the tradition of the academic study of religion, to the centuries-old Christian tradition of disciplined theological reflection, and to the equally longstanding and vital tradition of preparing a learned and caring clergy.
This profile and these traits are well exhibited not only in the faculty appointments and degree programmes of the school but also in the symposium programme that the DSCCC is sponsoring to celebrate its 60th anniversary. They position the school well for the future and for tackling the complex social, cultural, and religious challenges we all face.
So, as you celebrate this important milestone at DSCCC, I send our sincere prayers and fervent hopes: May the creative love of God our Father, the redemptive love of Christ the Son, and the empowering love of the Spirit of Life continue to inspire, bless, and guide the Divinity School as it embarks on its next sixty years!
Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay
General Secretary
World Council of Churches
