Fen Xiang is an expression marked by its missionary flavor. The two Chinese characters forming the word, which means “sharing,” are frequently used in church as well as in public circles. Going a bit deeper into the meaning of the two characters, we can say that “Fen” means to divide, to part or to share and it always implies two sides. “Xiang,” on the other hand, is the character for joy, a good experience and feeling. Joined together, they indicate sharing of feelings and experiences, as well as things, properties, material goods, money, etc. It can also refer to both, joys and sufferings, happy as well as painful events. Finally, sharing can be giving and receiving of whatever is at stake.
Fen Xiang stands for a structure or office whose main purpose is to collaborate with the Church in China by backing initiatives and projects that have to do with the formation of Church personnel, on one hand, and it assists and supports projects in the field of human promotion, taking into account, especially the most vulnerable, namely: the poorest and children in special circumstances such as those living in orphanages, victims of AIDS or indigent students.
Fen Xiang was initiated in 1998, as there was a felt need for the “presence” of Comboni charism on Chinese soil, specifically by collaborating with the local Church or, putting it in other words, by “Saving China with Chinese people.” This is the spirit that guides and inspires the origin of Fen Xiang from its beginnings to the present.
FORMATION AND INFORMATION
A look at the Church in China will inevitably bring to the reader the complexity of the situation, in particular, the Catholic Church and the work being done by a missionary congregation whose desire is to step, in its own ways, into the world of formation and collaboration with the local Church, considering that for political and social reasons, it was deprived of the implementation of the Vatican II directives. From whatever angle one looks at the Church in China, one must admit that formation is a pivotal issue in which a lot more efforts and resources have to be invested so that the Church in China can cope with the fast-changing Chinese society.
Fen Xiang works in a double direction. On one hand, it collaborates with the local Church in the field of formation and, on the other, it brings the situation of the Church in China to the knowledge of the universal Church. It is doubtless true that in this flow and interchange, there is mutual enrichment, not only as it brings to the knowledge of the universal Church experiences of faithfulness and unshakable faith but also to believers in other areas whose faith is fading away. It also sides with the local Church in China, in times of adversity and control − by the mere fact of being present and exchanging ways of mutual knowledge and understanding during the past years. Thus, Fen Xiang also aims at bridging ties with the universal Church, bringing to the knowledge of many the situation, the ups and downs of the local Church in China.
A CHURCH FOR THE POOR
As it refers to the marginalized in society, Fen Xiang’s mission statement points to the periphery and to the excluded of society. In the midst of growing development in big cities and towns, the gap between the rich and the poor is still widening by the day. As a result, the masses of people left in the countryside lag behind as victims of a capitalist system within a Communist country. It also aims at bringing into a fast-changing society, concerned mainly with money and materialistic objectives, the value of concern and care for those who do not have. The local Church, by having its presence among the needy, will inevitably bring the values of the Gospel and the fact that another kind of society is possible. Fen Xiang (FX) is also involved in this endeavor. It supports local diocesan structures, already spread in several dioceses and with whom FX collaborates as partners in pursuing and imagining a Church that cares for the poor and most abandoned. FX believes that a missionary congregation cannot miss the chance to be outside the pilgrimage of the Chinese Church in this time. FX’s approach is that of humility and of doing things low key. Protagonism is left to the local Church, and it is through its structures that collaboration is implemented.
SHARING THE GOSPEL’S SPIRIT
Formation, being its main goal, requires also a changing type of Christianity, namely from a rural and traditional type to an urban one, with its own transformations and crisis, due to great migrations of people booming around big cities. The Church starts showing her Samaritan side in main areas of society, taking the challenge to venture and enter into the arena of society. Thus, in the field of formation, FX supports courses for the laity, fosters scholarships to church personnel, implements retreats and missionary courses. As regards human promotion, FX grants scholarships to children from poor rural areas, supports orphanages in various ways and is sensitive to children affected, in one way or another, by AIDS. It also grants scholarships to Church personnel for medical and human promotion training.
FX, thus, views itself as a creative structure with a low-key presence that collaborates with the local Church. As partners, and as brothers and sisters, FX and its collaborators share the spirit of the Gospel and create links that bring along the values of the Kingdom. n
