A letter from Judy Chan in Hong Kong
OCTOBER 2011
Stewards of God’s Creation
Dear Friends,
Charter members of Christians for Eco-concern.
One of the mission areas I’m involved in at the Hong Kong Christian Council (HKCC) is the Christian environment movement. Ever since our small group called "Christians for Eco-concern" started about eight years ago, it has been an uphill battle. There are plenty of problems in Hong Kong’s environment—dirty air, overflowing garbage, lack of green spaces, polluted harbor—but few churches that put this concern as a priority on their agenda. For most Christians in Hong Kong, environmental protection is a social issue for the government to tackle, not something that is integrally related to one’s faith in God.
I had a chance to reflect on the past eight years when a photo of our original group was shown at a recent gathering. Let me tell you about some of the people in that photo:
Per Larsson (center, front row)—Swedish missionary in Hong Kong who pushed HKCC to get involved in Christian environmental advocacy. As he put it: “The church worldwide has been involved in environmental issues for over 20 years. Why isn’t the Christian Council doing anything about it?” Per was a faithful member of Christians for Eco-concerns until his retirement back to Sweden, where he is still active in ecumenical ministry and environmental issues.
Howard Lai (far left, back row)—Hong Kong native who studied under Per Larsson in seminary. Howard left a government job to follow a call to Christian ministry. As one of the first recruits by Per to our committee, Howard then invited his former colleagues in the Environmental Protection Department to join the group. Howard maintains our website/blog (http://christians4ecoconcern.blogspot.com/) as well as contributing to our Christian response to government environmental proposals.
Chris Fung (2nd left, back row)—Hong Kong government worker with a whole other life as a Christian environmental activist. Chris is one of the most enthusiastic promoters of our group and connects with the Christian environmental network internationally as well. He aspires to be a lay theologian and writer and lives a truly simple lifestyle that is an inspiration to many.
Judy Chan (2nd right, back row)—PC(USA) mission co-worker who serves as HKCC liaison for Christians for Eco-concern. She is in charge of preparing materials for the annual Environment Sunday each June as well as arranging radio programs on the topic for public radio (RTHK). She was editor for the group’s Education Package for Youth. She has preached in local churches about creation care and tries with difficulty to live an eco-friendly life in urban Hong Kong.
Water water everywhere.
Today Christians for Eco-concern still has the original core members along with new partners from Christian NGOs, local churches, and green groups and individual Christians. Whenever we gather, we are so encouraged to be with others who share the commitment to care for creation. More important, what can we do to bring awareness and change especially among brothers and sisters in the body of Christ? It is our hope to organize a campaign in the churches in the coming year to galvanize Christians to put their faith into action. One proposal is a campaign focusing on water—specifically to organize against bottled drinking water in churches. Why? Because water—a free gift of God—has been transformed into a money-making, garbage-producing product while millions go thirsty around the world. It’s an everyday but powerful symbol of our failure to love God and to love our neighbor.
Prayer
Living God, all creation declares your glory, and so do we. Yet we so often forget your love for everything you have made—including nature. In your wisdom, you gave us all we need for the planet to flourish: fresh air, clean water, sunshine, wind and waves, land, animals, plants, mountains, and much more. Why do we abuse these precious gifts to our own detriment? We pray for Hong Kong—a bustling Chinese city with 7 million people and 800,000 Christians—where the desire for economic gain and consumer goods has often overtaken responsible stewardship of the environment. Teach us to how to live in harmony with creation because this is your survival plan for the Earth and all who dwell upon it. We pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Judy Chan
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 142
The 2012 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 195
