Fuller Honors Bishop K. H. Ting at Memorial Service

Fuller Seminary's Al Dueck and Fred Messick paid their respects at the December 8 memorial service :: 12/11/12

Approximately 750 people gathered at Mochoulu Church in Nanjing, China on December 8 to attend the memorial service for Bishop K. H. Ting, who passed away late November at the age of 98.

After six decades of leadership of the Protestant Christian Church in China, Bishop Ting, an Anglican bishop and leader of China's official Protestant Church, leaves behind a lasting legacy for the Chinese church.

Fuller Seminary’s Dr. Alvin Dueck of the School of Psychology and Fred Messick, associate vice president of Public Affairs, represented President Richard J. Mouw at the service. Bishop Ting had a nearly three-decades-long friendship with Fuller Seminary, beginning with President David Allan Hubbard and continuing with Dr. Mouw.

At Saturday’s memorial service, Dr. Dueck and Messick were asked to share greetings from Fuller and describe the school’s long friendship with Bishop Ting.

The service was led by Rev. Gao Feng, president of the China Christian Council. Elder Fu Xianwei, chair of China’s Three-Self Patriotic Movement, presented the life story of Bishop Ting. The sermon, titled “Love Never Ends,” was delivered by Reverend Matthew Deng.

The memorial was followed by an evening banquet hosted by the China Christian Council, which included friendly conversations and tributes to Bishop Ting, who was remembered as an important figure in the Chinese church.

Fuller first made connections with Bishop Ting in 1983, when Dr. Hubbard traveled to China with a delegation of Fuller trustees. At this time, following the difficult days of the Cultural Revolution, churches, seminaries, and Bible schools were reopening. Bishop Ting asked for Fuller's assistance in providing books for the library of Nanjing Union Theological Library, the leading seminary in China.         

A decade later, in 1993, new-Fuller President Mouw invited Bishop Ting to speak at his inauguration service. In the years since, Bishop Ting and Dr. Mouw developed a strong friendship and visited each other often to discuss theological issues, seminary education, and their personal perspectives on Christian leadership. 

In 2003, Bishop Ting shared with Dr. Mouw about the need among Chinese churches for learning exchanges in the area of pastoral counseling. Fuller has since participated in exchanges both in China and at the Fuller campus in Pasadena.