Programme
Two speakers will present at the seminar: Rev Dr Kenneth Tsang and Rev Dr Erica Meijers. For further information please contact: dnagy@pthu.nl.
"From social service to diakonia: how one Hong Kong social service institution reclaimed its diaconal roots"
In Hong Kong, many Christian social service institutions provide professional social services. However, a phenomenon occurs in which those institutions' operations become secular, and the relationship between the institution and the church grows distant. I would like to share my experience and reflection, over the past 10 years, assisting the Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Services - Hong Kong (Remarks: the social service institution run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong (ELCHK)) in reclaiming its diaconal roots and strengthening the relationship between ELCHK congregations and the institution.
Rev Dr Kenneth Tsang served as a social worker in Hong Kong for nine years before pursuing theological studies. As an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong, he earned his Doctor of Theology in 2018 and subsequently joined the faculty of the Lutheran Theological Seminary. He currently serves as the seminary’s President and Associate Professor of Diakonia and Practical Theology. Additionally, Rev Tsang has served on the Executive Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service since 2014, where he promotes the concepts of Diakonia within the institution and strengthens holistic gospel collaboration among congregations, social service units, and schools.
“Belonging to the city: Alliances between community art and diaconia in a gentrifying neighborhood in Amsterdam”
How can church communities engage with dechurching urban contexts? How can an alliance between community art and diaconia transcend the insider/outsider dichotomy between a congregation and its (urban) context?
First, using a concrete art project as an example, I will explore crucial issues for shrinking congregations in ‘up and coming’ neighborhoods and then focus on two aspects: the question of language (how to deal with different ways to express and interpret experiences) and ownership (who is in control in situations of plurality). Finally, I will propose an urban Christian spirituality which can ground the alliance between community art and diaconia from a theological perspective.
Rev Dr Erica Meijers is associate professor Diaconia at the Protestant Theological University in Utrecht, Netherlands. She is trained as a contextual theologian and a historian. Her fields of interests are the intersection of poverty and racism, Diaconia and the Eucharist and Community Development.
Register
We kindly ask you to register no later than 10 March 2026.
Please note: there is room for 35 participants. So do not wait too long to register. You will receive a message from us once your registration has been confirmed.
