Tuesday 23 April 2013

SOME BRIEF NOTES ABOUT HONGKONG SCM


By Christine Tsoi ( HKSCM,  intern for ASCM)

I am very happy to share Hong Kong SCM's news with you and there're some brief notes about their structure, programs and strategies.

Structure:
-          Chaplain
-          Consultants
-          Exco
-          1 full time staff
-          Two registered university branches
-          Summer interns

Finance:
-          Monthly auto-pay donation from senior fds
-          CWM/ Nethersole FundàEcumenical Channel
-          Scholarship from the universities club , support us with the summer camp
-          One-off non-monetary donations
-          Annual Walkathon
Publication:
-          Regular Newsletter
-          2-3 Books in recent 2years which are about current social issues       

  •  Writers are activists we met thought demonstrations, students, SCMers, senior fds, other people who are concerned about the issues
  • Very low budget publication as we have volunteers for design, editing etc.
  • Sell books at low prices to attract people and sell when on demonstrations, and in small bookshops
Regular Activities&Strategies:
-          Theology Tutorials

  •   Basic & Advance, during Summer Holidays, hold weekly in June-August
  •    Social Movement Course -- To help participants to clarify what they believe
  •     teach students how to conduct a social movement
  •         may ask participants to initiate a small movement
-          Universities branches activities

  •    regular bible studies
  •   thematic sharing / discussion, invited guest speakers may also attract other students
  •   student-oriented topics
-          Bible Studies

  •  topics are initiated by the participants, focus on Biblical verses / teachings that make them feel confused
  •     feminist bible study method, from Yong Tingjin

-          Demonstrations

  •  send email to invite people to join us, even if we are only two people, we still join the bigger demonstration. Some people may know us from the demonstrations, coz we are with our banner, (advertisement of who we are)
  •    with mobile forums
  •    with prayers/ Taize prayers

-          Ecumenical Asia Pacific Students and Youth Network

  •  With local ecumenical youth organization: YMCA, YWCA, IMCS, IYCS, CCA-Youth, WSCF-AP in order  to connect with youth
  •    EASY-Net Week,
  •  Forum
  •  visit Orthodox Churches
-          Summer Camp
-          Joint Activities

  •     With different NGOS
  •     Civil Human Rights Front,
  •     Joint Civic Education
-          Exploration Programs

  •   Visit Taiwan SCM as we share similar situations and have the same writtenlanguages
  •     Visit different NGOS in TW which our SCMERS are interested in

-          Sexual Christ Forum
-          Different forums about current issues from Christian perspective
-          senior friends meeting

Ecumenical Channel:
-          Essays, Videos of the forums, Reports of the activities
-          Reflections on sexuality, politics, mainstream thinking, etc.
-          Theological reflective journals

Do SWOT analysis
-          to know our standpoint in the society as Christians
-          to develop on what we have

Shares from the staff about movement strategies
- stick to our spirit: significant minorities, Luke 4:18-19
- work hard on social movements, holding events and analyzing current social issues
- work with people with mission & passion& action
-join other groups with the same concerns on an issue

Big social issues in recent years that we took part in and concerned:
-          Urge for the Universal suffrage in 2012
-          5 District Referendum Movement
-          2010Anti the high speed railway, Choi Yuen Village
-          2010 democratic development of HK amendments
-         the developer’s hegemony
-          the doubt about one-country two-systems
-     the corruption of HK Chief Excutive 
-          the control of the Beijing government
-          HK post 80s youth group
-     Occupy Central in HK
-     Dockworkers' strike for improving working condition and salary   

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Demoniac narratives - ASCM Bible study 21 March 2013


21 March, 2013
Bible Study notes
Study led by Rev Dr Sandy Yule
The story about Jesus healing the Gerasene Demoniacs
We compared the similar narratives from Matthew 8:28-8:34, Mark 5:1-20 & Luke 8:26-39

-          It’s likely that Mark’s version inspired both the ones from Matthew and Luke.


Matthew 8:28-8:34
Mark 5:1-20
Luke 8:26-39
Comment




Description of the man
Nil
-          So fierce
-          A man
-          With unclean spirit
-          He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him anymore, even with a chain, for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones.
-          5:3-5:5
-          After healing
-          Clothed and in his right mind


-          A man with demons
-          For a long time he had worn no clothes, did not live in a house but in the tombs 8:26
-          Was driven by the demon(8:29b)
1.      Do we know people like this? Disturbed and different, and unable/refusing to be ‘çontrolled’ by society’s demands [clothing and housing, such basic needs, define his differences from ‘normal’ people]. What is our response to them? Try to change them because we think they are 'wrong', think we know best what's good for them, so refuse to accept their choice of way of life?

2.      Why did the man live in the tombs?
Because the magic that he used to gain power came from the dead? OR Because he’s mentally ill OR He’d been exiled?
Description of the evil spirits
Two demoniacs
Only one; Unclean spirit
-One demoniac again,
-unclean spirits

What are the evil spirits today? Corporate greed? Lust for personal power? Fanaticism? Righteousness in a narrow sense.
Number of Legion
2
Many (refer 5:9) ,
Maybe two thousand, as there were two thousand swine
Plural, many
To name the problem is the beginning and sometimes the most powerful tool in solving that problem. Are we able to name our 'legion'?
Conversation with Jesus
Yes,
Asked two questions; AND Jesus said only one word: “Go”
-          Yes, very detailed, every action /conversation is described. AND most interesting is that Jesus failed the first time he tried to drive the evil spirits out.

Yes
Do words solve problems or sometimes cloud them and confuse us?
Failure is not necessarily a negative thing, sometimes it is what spurs us on, sometimes it points out to us what we're not doing right and gives us time for reflection.
Where the evil spirits are driven to
wine
Swine
Swine
Comment: to be driven into the swine = permanent eradication, no chance of being ‘revived’. Abyss = possibility of re-surfacing from the very deep perhaps subconscious.
Characters
Jesus(he),
2 Demoniacs,
Swineherds,
The whole town
Jesus and his disciples (they)
A man
Unclean spirits
Swineherds

Jesus and his disciples (they),

Why did the Gerasenes ask Jesus to leave ?
The herd of swine rushing down to the lake and drowning – a symbol of total economic loss?

Area the swine herd went to
Town
The city and the country
The city and the country
Relevant? Maybe not, but good for us to think about how to decipher what is important in the Bible and what is not so significant. Not every inspired word is required for our Christian lives.