China and Hong Kong

The partner of FELM in China is the China Christian Council (CCC) and the development organization Amity Foundation. In Hong Kong FELM partners with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong (ELCHK).

Collaboration with CCC includes:

• Community development projects
• Support for church building
• Support for theological seminaries and small projects of congregations
• Provision of English language teachers

FELM staff participate in the follow activities within ELCHK

• Congregational work and outreach
• Theological training
• Social work particularly among drug addicts

Ministry and Congregational work

FELM supports the CCC in its efforts to provide theological training to pastors and teachers. In the capital of Hunan Province, Changsha, FELM operates a Bible college with approximately one hundred students. Students of the CCC also participate in FELM’s scholarship programme. Presently a Chinese couple is completing their masters and doctoral studies at the Department of Theology of the University of Helsinki.

A Finnish theologian is a visiting professor at the Nanjing seminary. He has also taught religious studies and Christian philosophy in Chinese educational institutions.

In Hong Kong, FELM works together with the Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) that trains staff for Asian churches. The teachers of LTS and the Hong Kong based FELM theologians, are visiting lecturers at Chinese universities.

FELM has also supported many financially strapped churches by providing staff salaries and building and repairing church buildings.

The printing press of Amity Foundation, established by Chinese Christians, produces Bibles and other Christian literature. The building of a new printing press is underway. Over fifty million Bibles had been printed by the end of 2006. FELM has funded the printing press and sent English language teachers to China through Amity.

Community Support and Capacity Building

FELM’s development programmes are implemented in collaboration with Amity Foundation. FELM funds Amity’s community development programmes among the poor village communities of Huanan Province.

The population of the mountainous region is predominately made up of minority groups, whose living conditions are improved for instance, by developing irrigation and biogas systems and the health care services. The project proposals come from the communities and the costs for the projects are divided between community members, the local government and Amity.

Important aspects of the work are to improve the opportunities for education for disabled and orphaned children and to provide immediate and long-term assistance to the victims of natural disasters such as floods.

Child sponsorship in China is carried out with ELCHK. The sponsors can support the education of children in the mountainous regions of North western Kanton province in Southern China and in Hunan.

In Hong Kong FELM supports the Lutheran Church in its work among drug addicts and their families. Negotiations are underway to hand over this work to the Church.

HIV/AIDS

In China the risks of HIV infection is not openly recognized and as a result not reported on publicly. HIV/AIDS is incidence is, however, acute and increasing particularly in the bigger cities.

FELM supports the Amity AIDS programme in Hunan. The objective is to produce a network of AIDS laboratories, train health care professionals and provide HIV/AIDS awareness.