Noteworthy Events

Former Senior Pastor Dennis Brown and his wife, Kay.

• IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ: In 1989, Friendship Presbyterian Church’s building was rebuilt. 30 years have passed since then and we are thankful to the Lord for continually adding to our numbers. Now, in order to comply with new building regulations requiring both interior and exterior renovations to strengthen the building structure, the leadership of the church has decided to temporarily relocate our offices and worship services. In January, 2020, we will move our staff offices to the old China Evangelical Seminary building at 101 Tingzhou Road, Sec. 3 (about a 5-minute walk from the current building). Sunday services will begin there starting on February 16th. We ask that all our brothers and sisters face this challenging time together, working as one to support the renovation of the building, and praying for the Lord’s protection and guidance through it all.

• FPC Line News Group: Be sure to join our FPC LINE news group, where you can get all the latest information about FPC. You will only receive messages from FPC. You can also send questions and prayer requests which will be received by the church leaders. To join, search for "@osv3181q" or scan this QR code:

• For Your Calendar – Coming Events for January:

1. Informational Budget Meeting, Today, 1:00–2:00pm: We will have a budget informational meeting and Q&A in room 402.

2. Annual Congregational Meeting, January 19, 1:15–2:30pm: All members and regular attendees are encouraged to attend. However, only active members are able to vote. Please take this opportunity to gather together as a church family. Our gathering will include prayer and worship. Meet in room 702 of 261 Roosevelt Rd.

• Communion Sunday – Jan. 12: We will hold our monthly celebration of the Lord’s Supper during the service on Jan. 12th. Please prepare your hearts to participate in this intimate act of recognition of our dependence on our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Monthly Prayer Group – Jan. 14, 7:30-9:00pm: FPC’s monthly prayer group, “The Engine Room,” meets regularly on the second Tuesday of each month. Join us for an evening of kingdom-centered prayer. We gather at 7:30pm on the 4th floor of the church building and go into prayer from 7:45 to 9:00. All are welcome.

• Spotlight on Service: In 2019, there were over 1,700 individual acts of service performed by our members and regular attendees during Sunday Service and special events. We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the 145 individuals who served FPC in 2019. If you would like to join our team of volunteers, please email deacons@friendshiptaipei.com.

• FPC Sanchong Church Plant (“New Blessings”): Support our Mandarin-language church plant in Sanchong by “Liking” their Facebook page. Search this phrase: 三重祝福教會 or scan this QR code:

From the Desk of Pastor Kim

by Pastor Peter Kim

New Beginnings

At the beginning of every year, the theme of "New Beginnings" is prominent in many spheres of life. It is a time to start anew with your New Year's resolutions (mostly about diets or exercising). Perhaps it is a new school year (in some parts of the world) or a new start to a career. It is a new beginning for businesses with a new fiscal year. There may be new goals and new objectives whether personal or professional. Or, generally speaking, it may be a new beginning in a person's attitude or mindset about life. This year is particularly new and special for our church, not because it is also a new decade, but because there are new things happening that we can be excited about.

What are these new things? Our church offices and Sunday worship service will be temporarily moving to a new location just about a 5-minute walk from our current location. Beginning Sunday,February 16th, our services will be held on the 6th floor of the old China Evangelical Seminary building at No. 101, Section 3, Tingzhou Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City (click here for a map). This is happening because our current church building will be undergoing some renovations according to new government regulations. This is something that sets up a new situation for us, and it is something that we can be excited about. But, of course, with the idea of newness, there comes an implication that there will be change.

Change can be difficult. It will require us to make adjustments. It will require us to get out of our routine. And it will take some getting used to. There may be things that no longer seem intuitive, and there may be things that will require much patience from every person in our church. This will be possible when we look to the Lord together and remember that we are all sinners saved by grace, and that He is moving to grow our hearts and our church for His purposes. Growth, by definition, involves change.

Through the redeeming work of His Son, Jesus Christ, God has shown His love to us and to our church through many decades, and I believe that He will continue to use this church for His glory as long as we continue to look to Him and depend on Him. Let us pray together that the Lord will be glorified through our church and that He will protect and guide us through this time of transition as we look ahead to an exciting new year of depending on Him and watching how He will move through it all.

5 Questions With...Hao-Han Chen

1. How did you first get involved with Friendship Presbyterian?  I first started to attend Friendship Presbyterian Church back in 2008 when I returned to Taiwan after having completed my studies overseas. In 2012, I moved out of Taiwan for work and only relocated back again for good at the beginning of 2019, now married and with an almost 4-year old daughter (and second baby on the way). The whole family enjoys coming to Friendship and my wife goes to one of the ladies' gatherings every once in a while, but hopefully in the new year we will get plugged into a community group more regularly.

2. What do you do Monday through Saturday?  Monday through Friday is pretty much all work, so on Saturday I like to keep it to the family. Lately, on the weekends, we have been doing a fair bit of house-cleaning and shopping to get ready for the newborn. Work is now in the leather craft supplies business (my family business of 40 years) with lots going on, trying to grow sales, develop new products, expand the warehouse, and everything in between.

3. What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?  When I was in university one summer, I took a theology class inside a medieval castle in Austria. There I made friends with a group of students and we decided to go to Rome together after our studies to see the Colosseum and Vatican City, and for some reason that I cannot remember, we were invited to the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Rome and spent the night. The residence was built with bullet-proof glass and I remember staying in the guest basement where there was a mini-bar and we were served fresh, chilled watermelon and it tasted amazing!

4. What do you find most challenging about being a Christian today?  Finding time between work, family, and church. I feel like I have a hard time letting faith permeate my life, in the sense that church feels compartmentalized to something I do on Sunday, with the rest of the week focused on work and family. Living in a pluralistic society where people have different beliefs is also quite challenging, as I feel that imposing what I believe on people, and even family, is arrogant and insensitive. However, I also cannot imagine how my life would be like without God, as He has shaped me as a person, changed my life for the better, and blessed me in so many ways. 

5. What is one of your favorite books of the Bible?  I must confess, I have never read the Bible cover to cover. But I generally find the books of the New Testament easier to understand, as whenever there is too much history involved, I tend to miss the point. However, I quite like the book of Psalms as I think it is a special book in the Bible in that it shows you how to pray and how to have a deep conversation with the Lord. You also learn about people's emotional struggles and how they praise God for His goodness and promises. It was definitely one of my go-to books in the early days when I was exploring the Christian faith.