31.08.2015
Godfrey Day Memorial Lecture 2015 and Visitors from Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui
The annual Godfrey Day Memorial Lecture, which examines contexts for overseas mission, takes place on Tuesday next, September 1, at 6.30 pm in the Trinity Long Room Hub at Trinity College Dublin. This year’s lecture will be given by Dr Matthew Jones, Academic Programme Director of Ming Hua Theological College in Hong Kong, and will address ‘Christian Belief and Context in Melanesia’. Dr Jones is the latest distinguished guest from Hong Kong to deliver the lecture in recent years. Others have included Archbishop Paul Kwong, Revd Peter Koon (provincial secretary) and Professor Gareth Jones (Ming Hua Theological College).
Christianity in Melanesia has evolved in some exciting and challenging ways particularly in relation to the many vibrant and diverse cultures it has encountered along the way. This lecture introduces how Christian belief has developed in the region with particular reference to the Anglican traditions and missions across Solomon Islands and the Melanesian Brotherhood, an indigenous Anglican religious order, well known for their evangelism and mission work across Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
The Christianity that has emerged from these Anglican traditions and missions is rich, vibrant and a unique synthesis of Melanesian and European cultural contexts making it both inter–cultural and inter–contextual. A key focus of the lecture will be discussing how and why such Melanesian Christian belief and context is making a significant contribution to the life of the Anglican Communion and to the life of the wider Church beyond.
For the last number of years Dublin University Far Eastern Mission (DUFEM) has focused on strengthening the relationship between the Church of Ireland and the Hong Kong Province Sheng Kung Hui. One of the fruits of this work has been the exchange of Theological students between the Church of Ireland Theological Institute and Ming Hua Theological College in Hong Kong (pictured).
Coinciding with the Godfrey Day Memorial Lecture, 21 members of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, the Province of Hong Kong and Macau in the Anglican Communion, will be visiting Ireland on a 10 day exploration/study trip. Organised by Ming Hua Theological College and DUFEM, participants are set to enjoy an exciting and imaginative exploration of Dublin, Belfast, Armagh and Enniskillen.
Ming Hua, as the theological college of the Anglican Province of Hong Kong and Macau, prides itself on enhancing the experience of its students and by providing opportunities for members of the Church in Hong Kong to learn more about their faith as Anglicans in both a local and global context. This trip is an opportunity to do exactly that and will give participants the chance to see and experience both the important history and legacy of Irish Christianity and the vibrant modern history of Ireland and its people.
Led by Dr Matthew Jones and co–ordinated on behalf of DUFEM by Dr Kerry Houston (Director of Chapel Music at Trinity College Dublin), participants will discover more about Ireland, its rich and dynamic history and experience the great warmth and legendary hospitality of its people. Highlights of the trip include tours of the Irish Houses of the Oireachtas, Trinity College, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, visits to the Northern Ireland Assembly, Saint Anne’s Cathedral, the Peace Line and Titanic Quarter in Belfast and visits to Armagh Cathedral, Enniskillen Cathedral and the County Fermanagh Lakelands. The organisers are most grateful to the clergy in all of these venues for their assistance and generous hospitality.
The Anglican Church in Hong Kong has a very positive relationship with the Church of Ireland. This trip is another example of the warm friendship that exists between the Church in Hong Kong and Ireland that will further strengthen links with both the Church of Ireland Theological Institute and links at diocesan and parochial level. Participants on the visit include Ming Hua staff, students, members of clergy and members of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui.