My dear ACWC Gen. Co. members:
Some of you already received the current ACWC Newsletter (January –March 2010). I hope that you could enjoy this issue.
The ACWC Secretariat Office would like to invite you to contribute your ideas for the coming Newsletter (April-June 2010). The topic is for the Mother’s Day.
My Wish before and after being a mother.
The favor could be something or habits. We know that most women’s life styles are different before and after marriage, especially having children. So let us create a special issue for our Newsletter. Please share the change of your favor before and after marriage/ having children. Some of us are single or have no child. You are welcome to share the stories about your mother, grandmothers or sisters’ stories with us.
The deadline will be 20 May. If you could send some photos to me with your articles, it will be perfect.
Thank you very much for your cooperation.
Blessings,Shu-Wen
My dear ACWC sisters:
Here is a good new about the scholarship application.
Our Australia member: Australia Church Women Inc. opens the 2011 Winifred Kiek Scholarship application to the Asian countries. The details and form are ate\ached with this mail. Please distribute the information to your people and encourage them to apply it. Please be aware that the deadline will be 31 May 2010.
May thanks to our Australian sisters and praise to our Lord.
Circle of Prayer is a meditation booklet published every two years by the International Committee for the Fellowship of the Least Coin (ICFLC) to “reaffirm prayer as the vital element of the FLC.” It was started in 1962 as a meditation guide by the women of Hong Kong for use as prayer is offered and the least coin is set aside. Since then Circle of Prayer has been an important part of FLC focused on different themes approved by the ICFLC.
The Circle of Prayer Vol. XX’s suggested theme is drawn from the theme of the 29th ICFLC Annual Meeting held at Nairobi on October 17-25, 2009, which was “Jesus Amongst Us: pray and act for change.” Jesus with us empowers us and enables us to pray and act for justice, peace and reconciliation.
a. Suggested theme of the Circle of Prayer Vol. XX is: “Pray and Act for Change”
b. Introduction to the theme to be written by Rev. Dr. ‘Asinate Samate
c. Suggested Texts:
O.T. 1 Samuel 25:4-44 & Numbers 27: 1-7
N.T. John 20: 1-23 & John 4: 7-26
d. Suggested Guidelines:
1. The typewritten meditation is around 300-400 words.
2. Deadline for sending the meditation to ICFLC office icflcph@gmail.com> is May 30, 2010.
3. Please send by email a scanned copy of the writer’s ID picture, 2-3 sentences about the writer, her email and postal addresses along with the article.
4. That the meditation material shares women’s story/experience, biblical reflection and prayer from the respective country/region.
5. Each ICFLC member may facilitate at least 2-4 contributions coming from different countries of her region.
6. Suggested Format:
Title
Biblical Text
Meditation
Prayer
PS: Elisabeth Delmonte of Uruguay wrote saying, “As I listen to the universal concerns about the climate change, I would suggest that the prayers and meditations should center on our environmental responsibility.”
My dear ACWc’s friends:
Greetings in grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a God-blessed 2010.
For me, 2009 seems to pass faster than any other year. This is not just a greetings for Christmas but also a kind of update and prayer request for the ministry of the ACWC:
We are preparing for the 14th ACWC Assembly. It will be special because we will have the Young Women’s Forum before the Assembly meeting. This new program is for the continuation of ACWC from generation to generation. We are to produce a history book for the celebration of the ACWC Anniversary History. Time is limited but we don’t seem to have enough material for work on. We hope that we can present a good history book for the ACWC. Please remember us in your prayers.
Some member countries had civil war and/or hit by natural disasters in this year. We helped them with ACWC Emergency Fund. We are moved to know that other ACWC groups showed support and prayers for them.
By the way, I will finish my second term by the end of 2010. The ACWC is in the process of looking for a new Executive Secretary. It is important for the ACWC and women ministry in Asia. Please pray that our Lord will provide a proper person for this position.
Finally, I would like to ask you join me in prayer:
Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Child of God. Please come into my life and heart and be my Lord and Savior. I want to serve you always.
Amen.
Shu-Wen Chiang,
Executive Secretary, ACWC
The ACWC service was held on Oct. 24 in Singapore to promote the ACWC. During the Service, the ministry and endeavors of the ACWC and the ACWC quarterly publication was introduced to as many women as possible, in particular the younger ones in Singapore.
Sri Lanka will be having their service on 20 November.
Mongolia and Indonesia also will have the service on 15 November.
Thailand is also preparing it.
Bangladesh did not observed the ACWC Day in November, 2008 for their political situation. This is only happened in Dhaka. So Bangladesh observed that day on 20 February, 2009 and other sisters from different part of Bangladesh observed ACWC Day 2008 at November, 2008. This year Bangladesh could observe ACWC Day 2009 in November.
The KCC- Women's Desk in Cambodia informed the ACWC Office that Cambodia will have 50 participants to observe the ACWC Day on 21 November 21, 2009 in Kampot Province.
Japan had the ACWC Day service in two places this year as usual. The one was in Tokyo on 30 October and the other was on 11 November in Kansai. Both places were expected over 400 participants.
In New Zealand, the ACWC and the FLC Ingathering Service was held on at 10:00 AM, 06 November 2009, Knox Presbyterian Church. It was prepared by the National Executive of Church Women Australia. The Revd. Joohong Kim was the speaker. A warm welcome is extended to attend this Service and morning tea to follow, from the members of the National Committee Church Women United Aotearoa-New Zealand.
The ACWC President, Nareeboon Rachkeeree/ Vice President & Honor Treasurer, Ms. Pauline Yates/ Ex. Sec. Ms. Shu-Wen Chiang will attend the 29th Annual Meeting of the International Committee for the Fellowship of Least Coin (ICFLC) on October 17-24, 2009, Nairobi, Kenya. All of us will leave for Kenya on 16 October and arrive in our own country on 25 October.
Here is an announcement from the ACWC President: We don’t know the situation of communication in Kenya. During the meeting session, if our members have any emergency matter, the President requests the Assembly Secretary, Capt. Donna Bryan to take care of the matter.
My dear ACWC Gen. Co. members:
Greetings from the ACWC Secretariat Office.
ACWC July-September 2009 Newsletter is ready which will be sent out to all of next Thursday.
To the people, English is not their first language so it is difficult to identify the difference of various prepositions and how to use them properly. For example, sometimes I am confused about “between” and “among”. When I mentioned the member countries, my proofreader always suggests that I use “between”.
I like the term of “between”--God is our bridge to link us together; sometimes I or other members are our channel to link the ACWC as a big family, so we can share and support each other in different situations. From the column of “Our Concerns”, the Christians’ situation in Pakistan is worse who are attacked by others. For Taiwan, the unexpected disasters, which were caused by Morakot Typhoon on 08 August were strongly and deeply struck eastern and southern Taiwan. Our sisters' and brothers’ sufferings were already confirmed by your prayers and support.
From the session of “Mission, Program and Project” you can read many reports about the ACWC’s work during these months. In Cambodia, we strengthen the structure of the Women-Desk of the KCC to promote the programs for women, youth and children. In Mongolia, the ACWC, the ICFLC and the ACWC-Japan worked together to accompany our Mongolian members to develop the ACWC and promote the FLC prayer movement in Mongolia. In East Timor, the ACWC was invited by the CCA to evaluate the gender issue in this new country. The National Federation of Kyodan Women’s Societies (NFKWS ) shared their celebration of their 40th Anniversary National Assembly in Japan with us.
Here is another reminder: it is time for ACWC Day. Basically, the ACWC Day is on the third Sunday of November, but member countries could modify the date to fit the different situations in your country. The Liturgy for 2009 is presented in the Newsletter. Please say thank you to our Australian sisters for their hard work to design it.
May our Lord lead us to be a sisterhood and be tied together for missions.
Shu-Wen Chiang
The National Federation of Kyodan Women’s Societies (NFKWS) Chairperson Michiko Narimatsu and member Kimiko Ibaraki were invited by the Women’s Ministry of the PCT to visit Taiwan on 11-14 August 2009. The ACWC Executive Secretary Shu-Wen Chiang hosted a day long trip and dinner with Rev. and Mrs. C.S. Yang at the Sheraton, Taipei on 13 August.
From left to right: Rev. Hu Hong-Chi (Program Secretary of the Research and Development Center, Ecumenical & International Committee, Information Center of PCT), Saw Shwe Lin, Rev. K D Tu Lum, Shu-Wen and Yu-Wen (the ACWC part-time staff)
For supporting Cambodia, the ACWC Executive Secretary/ Ms. Shu-Wen Chiang can meet the General Assembly Secretary of the Kampuchea Christian Council and the Kampuchea Christian Council Women Desk on 09-31 July 2009 in Cambodia.
The National Federation of Kyodan Women’s Societies held the 40th Anniversary National Assembly on 02-03 June 2009 in Chi-Ba City, Japan. The ACWC Ex. Sec., Shu-Wen was invited to attend. After the Assembly, Shu-Wen also had a lunch meeting with the ACWC-Japan members on 04 June. All details about the Assembly and the lunch meeting will be presented in the July-September 2009 ACWC Newsletter.
For promoting the ACWC-Mongolia, the ACWC Office, the ACWC-Japan and the ICFLC worked together to hold the ACWC/ FLC seminar in Mongolia on 06-12 July 2009. The details will be reported later.
The ACWC Ex. Co. member--Rev. Ni-ling Lin finished her terms (1998-2009) for the Program Secretary of the Women’s Ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) in June 2009. Rev. Hsing-Ling Lee will be her successor after June 2009.
From the Mongolian updates I can tell what our ACWC- Mongolia has taken towards its development. On 12 and 19 January 2009, the ACWC-Mongolia held board meetings. As a result, the Board agreed to select Ms. Munkhtuul Sodnomtseren as the new Chair Person. She automatically became the National Representative.
Munkhtuul was born in 1975. She is married and has two children (a son 8 years old and a daughter 6 years old). She accepted Christ as her Saviour in 1995 and has been attending the "Bright Future" church since then. She is a leader of the Women's Ministry team of her own church. She is also one of the four leaders of the Mongolian National Intercessory Network under the Mongolian Evangelical Alliance.
From 1997 to 2003, she taught at the Primary and Secondary School as an ESL teacher of the International School of Ulaanbaatar. From 2003 to 2007, she was the Executive Assistant of the World Vision International Mongolia. Meanwhile she worked part time as the country manager of the Australian Youth Ambassadors for the Development Program (AYAD). Since 2007, she has been full time for “the In-country manager of the AYAD program”.
Let us welcome the new member from Mongolia. We also appreciate Muno’s hard work for the ACWC in 2006-2008.
My dear ACWC Gen. CO. members:
Happy 2009 Lunar New Year to all of you.
All Taiwanese, HK people and Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year Holiday from this weekend. The Eve is 25 January and the New Year Day is 26 January. To us, it is the most important holiday in the whole year. Every Taiwanese/Chinese will go back to her/his hometown for a family gathering. This year, in Taiwan, we will have a 9-day holiday from 24 January (Saturday) to 01 February (Sunday).
I will spend the holiday with my family and church members. Therefore the ACWC Taipei Office will be closed during the holiday. See you on 02 February (Monday).
Blessings,
Shu-Wen Chiang
2008/12/11
My dear ACWC members and friends:
The ACWC Secretariat Office sends warm greetings to you for Christmas and New Year's from Taiwan. The ACWC October-December 2008 Newsletter will be sent out to you on 26 December 2008.
Some of you have already shared your bountiful life in this year with us by different ways at the end of 2008. From the updates, we can read the messages about how the members celebrated the ACWC Day. The ACWC has presented the 50 ACWC Anniversary Celebration and Seminar to all of you this year. It is a kind of blessing to us that we can celebrate the FLC Jubilee in 2006 and the ACWC Anniversary in 2008.The ACWC Scholars sent their greetings to us. From the letters of thanks from those scholars, we can see the young women have been educated well through the support of the ACWC.
When we look back on this year, we remember how Nepal has become more democratic than before and the Christians there can open the doors of churches to join the communities' activities. We are happy to announce that the ACWC-Nepal has been formed. We still have a lot of worries and concerns about the world--the terrible attack which happened in November 2008 in Mumbai, India/ the political crisis in Thailand/ the Hindu attacks on the Christians in Orissa, India. Our life and the lives of the world was woven together in the lines of sorrow and joy. When we enjoy the happy times, we praise our Lord for His blessings. When we face the plight of hard times, don’t forget that we still have the promises of hope from our Lord.
May God Bless us and lead us to face a new year.
Your sister in Christ,
Shu-Wen Chiang,
ACWC, Ex. Sec.
Circle of Prayer is a meditation booklet published every two years by the International Committee for the Fellowship of the Least Coin (ICFLC) to “reaffirm prayer as the vital element of the FLC.” It was started in 1962 as a meditation guide by the women of Hong Kong for use as prayer is offered and the least coin is set aside. Since then Circle of Prayer has been an important part of FLC focused on different themes approved by the ICFLC.
The theme of the Circle of Prayer 2009 Vol. XIX is “Joining Our Hearts in Prayer”.
Introduction to the theme:
We are part of God’s community of believers. We are sisters created in a beautiful diversity and tapestry of skin tones, hair and eye colors, size and shapes. But within each of us there is a heart beating, giving life to our bodies.
Community comes as we reach out in love---as we extend ourselves through caring and embracing one another in a common bond of love and acceptance, hope and bearing each others burdens, giving and receiving emotional and spiritual support. This special community connected through the Circle of Prayer brings us together and provides a sense of belonging despite the individual circumstances or the many miles that may separate us.
Jesus calls us into reconciling ministries through his examples of blessing young children. He celebrated their giftedness and upheld their worth. As the child gave the loaves and fishes the gift was acceptable and more than enough. No gift is too small in God’s community. The woman at the well was treated with respect and Jesus recognized her as one capable of giving. He did not require proof of righteousness or worth, he served and he prayed.
We join our hearts in prayer for each other and for all our sisters and brothers around the world. Our circle invites everyone in and no one is excluded. May God bless our loving outreach.
By Gail Mengel
National President, Church Women United-USA 2004 - 2008
Possible Texts: a) Jeremiah 29: 11-13 NRSV
“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray for me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.”
b) Philippians 4: 5-7 NRSV
* 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
c. Philippians 1: 3-6 NRSV
3I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
d. Matthew 12: 34b
. . . For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Suggested Guidelines for Writers of Meditations:
The typewritten meditation is around 500-700 words.
Deadline for sending the meditation to ICFLC office <icflcph@gmail.com> is November 30, 2008
Please send a scanned copy of photo and a brief profile of the writer along with the article by email
That the meditation materials share women’s stories and biblical reflections from the respective regions
Each ICFLC member may facilitate at least 3-5 contributions coming from different countries.
Suggested Format:
Title
Biblical Text
Meditation
Prayer