June 7, 2006
Dear Friends,
We gathered in a circle in the chancel of our seminary chapel.
The chapel is a wonderful blend of Eastern and Western architecture.
There are clear windows along the nave that look out onto lush,
tropical greenery. On one side you can see the graves of a missionary
couple who spent their lives serving in Taiwan.
 John McCall presents a lantern to a student and charges him to be Christ's light in the world.
Our third-year master of divinity students gathered for the last
time before graduation to receive a charge and benediction. Each
year I have the privilege of serving with another faculty colleague
as the advisor to our third-year students. We try to use the third
year as time to help them prepare to enter the parish as servant-leaders.
Each week last semester I invited three local pastors of different
ages to come and share with our students the challenges and potential
of parish ministry. The academic dean and I also met with them
to help them apply their theology to the practice of ministry.
As I looked around the circle, I saw several students who will
continue to study. Two of the women will travel to the United
States to study pastoral counseling and Christian education. I
looked at the faces of two students who plan to enter university
ministry to work with campus groups in the areas of evangelism,
fellowship, and service. Most of the graduates will be serving
small churches. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has a unique
plan for recent seminary graduates. At the end of June, all the
graduates of the three seminaries will meet for three days of
training. At the end of the training each graduate will choose
a slip of paper out of a bowl. That slip of paper will tell the
graduate in which presbytery he or she will be sent to serve.
Then the presbytery will assign them to a church. After three
years of service in this church, they can be ordained as ministers
of the Word and Sacrament.
 John McCall is joined by the seminary's academic dean and students as they pray that God will use this student as she graduates.
Many of these small churches are challenging places to serve.
Often, those with the least experience are sent to some of the
most difficult churches. Their road ahead will not be easy. But
as I look at the faces gathered around this circle, I see students
whom I have grown to love and respect. They have worked diligently
over the past three years. They have prepared academically, spiritually,
emotionally, and as members of a community to leave our seminary
and be Christ’s light on this island, where just 3 percent
of the population is Christian.
Yesterday, two of the students preached their last sermons in
the preaching class I teach. I have seen their growth. I have
seen their desire to preach God’s word with energy, intelligence,
imagination, and love.
Please pray for them as they begin to serve in Christ’s
church. Pray that they will be leaders with vision, with love,
and with creativity. Pray that God will use them to change Taiwan
and the world.
Please also pray for our PC(USA) General Assembly. There have
been severe budget cuts and many people have been let go. There
is a need for support of our mission personnel, as there is a
danger that because of insufficient funds missionary positions
will also be reduced. Only when a church is giving itself away
does it mirror the model of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for
your faithful support which helps these students be God’s
servants.
Faithfully,
John McCall
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
256 |
