Joann on Sabbath
Our beloved friend, sister, and colleague, Joann Pittman, ChinaSource Vice-President for China Engagement and Partnerships will be on sabbatical from May 4 through November 4. If you know Joann then you know it’s high time for her to experience this season of rest, refreshment, and renewal.
After thirty years of serving our Lord and his church in China, Joann returned to the US about thirteen years ago and was the primary caregiver for her mother Grace, as she entered her final decade. The final three years of Grace’s life Joann lived with her, in a much more intense caregiving role, while continuing to serve with ChinaSource.
As Joann has said, “though they were difficult years, I would not trade away any of those years for anything; walking alongside her in her final decade was a privilege…At the same time, it was exhausting and even eight months after her death at age 96, I find that I am still quite weary and feeling the need for a break.”
We All Need Sabbath
Of course, we know from God’s call to a variety of sabbaths for his people in the Old Testament (Exodus 20, Leviticus 23, Exodus 23), and from the essential nature of our sabbath rest in Christ (Hebrews 4), that the rhythms he has set in place for us serve a central purpose in keeping us intimately close to our Lord, renewed in mind, body, and spirit. Sabbaticals of various lengths and emphasis are healthy for each of us, and we are rejoicing with Joann for this “away time” from us, and time of nearness to God, his creation, and reconnection with longtime friends and family.
Please join us in praying for Joann who recently wrote, “I covet your prayers as I embark on this sabbatical journey. Pray that God will grant the rest and relaxation that my mind and body need and that I will return with a renewed vision and joy for the work to which he has called me.”
If Joann has been your primary “go to” for communication or interaction with ChinaSource please contact our Senior Administrator, Eunice Choi at: echoi@chinasource.org and she will direct you to a team member who can help.
What about ZGBriefs? Welcome Jon Kuert!
Before beginning her sabbatical, Joann made sure ZGBriefs would be well covered under the able leadership of Jon Kuert, a longtime friend and former colleague of ChinaSource. Thank you, Jon, for providing ZGBriefs each Thursday while Joann is away. We are grateful!
Nihao Minnesota!
Meanwhile we thought you would want to know about the vibrant ministry that Jon and his family began in 2020, so that you could consider being involved in a variety of ways. Following is a summary from Jon about Nihao Minnesota:
Over 3,000 Chinese international students study at the University of Minnesota each year. These undergrad and graduate students are leaders and influencers and 80% of them will eventually return to China and take their international experience back to the places they live and work. Our family realized that there is a tremendous opportunity to journey together with Chinese students in the few years they are here to see lives transformed by the gospel and a nation impacted by the power of God once they return. That’s why back in 2020, we launched Nihao Minnesota, a campus ministry specifically designed to create a community for Chinese international students on campus.
The gospel moves at the speed of relationships, and we are seeing it happen at dinners, on hikes, in conversations, and over coffee. Through the slow and steady development of relationships with our Chinese friends on campus, the gospel is gaining momentum, and our prayer is that as they see more of us, they will see more of Jesus. If you’d like to know more about our work, check out our newsletter archive and join our mailing list at Nihao MN.
Kerry Schottelkorb
President
Ways to Pray
- Praise the Lord with us for the many opportunities the Lord is providing ChinaSource to introduce committed, missional Christ followers in the West to their counterparts in China, for greater collaboration and partnership.
- Thank the Lord that there are still many pathways to service in China for those who are called and equipped to serve.
- Praise the Lord for the missional Chinese church community in Southern California that is engaging both the opportunity and challenge of bringing the light and life of the gospel to migrants from China who have made their way into the US, unaware that God brought them there to find Jesus Christ! Please see ChinaSource Blog, “A Black Hole or a House of Gold?,” by Pastor Michael Wan.
- Please pray for our own Joann Pittman, who began a six month sabbatical on May 4 and will return to us on November 4 of this year. Pray that the Lord will bring rest, prayerful reflection, renewal, and his shalom peace all Joann’s way, after decades of service to Jesus Christ for the sake of the gospel and his glory!
News and Notes
Webinar Recording
On April 5, in the gorgeous Nazareth Chapel at the University of Northwestern-St.Paul, I’Ching Thomas delivered a fascinating lecture titled “Human Flourishing in Chinese Thought: A Christian Response.” Drawing on themes from her book Jesus: the Path to Human Flourishing, I’Ching explored the notion of human flourishing in Chinese thought, focusing especially on Confucius’ teaching on self-cultivation and benevolence as keys to achieving the ideal of the Noble Man. Then, drawing on parallels with the biblical faith, she proposed that the Christian gospel holds relevance to the aspirations of cultural Chinese concerning human flourishing as defined by Confucian ideals.
We are pleased to be able to bring a recording of the lecture to everyone who wasn’t able to attend and to offer it again to those who would like to revisit I’Ching’s thoughtful presentation. Please click here to see the recording!
ChinaSource Team News
- OSCAR, one of our partner organizations, highlighted Brent Fulton’s article, “Just Listen” on their website for the month of April.
In Case You Missed It
A selection of recently published items:
- Chinese Migrants in the Americas, ChinaSource Blog, May 14.
- Taking Confucian Spirituality Seriously, ChinaSource Blog, May 13.
- Christ’s Relevance to ABC Gen Z, ChinaSource Blog, May 10.
- ZGBriefs, May 9.
- Human Flourishing in Chinese Thought: A Christian Response, ChinaSource Blog, May 8.
- A Black Hole or a House of Gold?, ChinaSource Blog, May 7.
- Loving Gen Z with the Truth of the Gospel, ChinaSource Blog, May 6.
- From Andrew Gih to Hudson, ChinaSource Blog, May 3.
- ZGBriefs, May 2.
- American Evangelicalism and China: A Necessary Conversation, ChinaSource Blog, April 30.
- Vision for Tomorrow: Opportunities in China’s New Era, ChinaSource Blog, April 29.
- Sharing the Gospel: Franchise or Indigenization?, ChinaSource Blog, April 26.
- ZGBriefs, April 25.
- Filling the Need to Care for Workers, ChinaSource Blog, April 24.
- Jingjiao—Not Nestorian, ChinaSource Blog, April 23.
- Your Freedom Is Not My Kind of Freedom, ChinaSource Blog, April 22.
- The Earliest Chinese Christianity Brought Back to Life, ChinaSource Blog, April 19.
- ZGBriefs, April 18.
Image credit: Alexander Mills via UnSplash+.
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