Inspired by the Gospel, the mission of the US-China Catholic Association is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue between the people of China and the United States by offering educational, service, and cultural programs in support of the Church and the larger society.
USCCA 2024 CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
29th Biennial Conference and 35th Anniversary of the USCCA
August 2 to 4, 2024
DePaul University, Chicago, USA
Conference theme:
“Our Hope is in Christ.”
“May the God of Hope bring you such joy and peace in your faith that the power of the Holy Spirit will remove all bounds to hope.”
(Romans 15:13)
For Saint Paul hope was not the same as optimism. He wrote when many Christians were suffering martyrdom, the church was suffering serious divisions, and he was in prison awaiting execution. Hope is a theological virtue enabling us to face foreboding realities with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the 35 years since its founding, USCCA has remained faithful to the spirit of St. Paul, and has remained strong in the hope for friendship and peace between the people of China and the United States.
Hope is enabled by humble dialogue among persons in hard times, and dialogue is made possible through building channels of communication. Our 29th conference in 2024 will explore how to build these channels between American and Chinese Christians and the people of all faith in our challenging world. We will be especially eager to listen prayerfully to our Chinese brothers and sisters and learn from their witness to the faith.
Keynote speakers will discuss the signs of the times, wars and rumors of wars and the tensions between the US and China that endanger global peace. On the first evening, we will provide historical perspective for how Chinese Christianity has responded to such situations; on the second day we will focus on Christian responses to their current situation; on the third day we will offer perspectives of hope for the future. On each day we will strive to learn, receive mutual inspiration and understanding for the flourishing of the Church in China.
Our panelists will discuss the building of mutual understanding and interpersonal encounter that will forge channels of communication within which blessed hope can arise. Panelists will discuss their perspectives, experiences, expertise, as well as share hopeful signs of the future on three main topics: (a) theology and faith formation in the Chinese context, (b) clergy and church life in China, and (c) social services in China by both religious and lay people in both rural and urban communities. We will encourage dialogue and interaction between speakers and all participants.
The USCCA has been dedicated to building such channels for the past 35 years and we earnestly hope that this conference will discover new ways to fulfill this mission for the future years. We hope you will join us in the celebration of 35 years of USCCA and together to develop a vision and path for the future 35 years.
Call for Submissions
Submission Deadline: March 1, 2024
We are calling for you to share your work on promoting friendship, dialogue, and peace between people in China and the USA in your role as intellectuals, as community leaders, members of religious organizations, and of nonprofit agencies dedicated to promoting US-China friendship and dialogue. The work can be broad or fall into anyone of the three main panel topics of:
(a) theology and faith formation in the Chinese context,
(b) clergy leadership and church life in China, and
(c) social services in China by both religious and lay people in both rural and urban communities.
The work also can be about interfaith dialogue or collaboration on any of the above topics. We are particularly interested in projects or programs or research that focus on the Chinese youth.
Submission guidelines:
Please send a 3-page document (in English) describing the program including the activities, the desired and anticipated accompaniment and friendship outcomes as well as the overall impact on Chinese and American Friendship. The document should include the following information:
Page 1: Your first, middle, and last name; Your affiliation or institution (with website link to your institution); Your professional role and position in your institution; the title of your project/work/presentation; Your mailing address, email address, cell phone number, and personal webpage if any.
Page 2-3: No more than 1000-word description, single spaced, 12-pitch font size, approximate 500 words per page. Please describe both the content of your presentation, and format. We encourage interaction with participants for a more lively and engaging exchange and learning.
We may consider a panel submission if you would like to propose two to three speakers dedicated to the same topic or program. Please submit as a ‘package’ with a 3-page document for each speaker. Put all speakers’ documents together into one single file with a cover page indicating that this is a panel submission and the contact information for the corresponding person for this submission. We assume this person also would serve as the “chair” of the panel being proposed.
Submission Procedure:
Please send your individual or panel submission file labeled as “USCCA 2024 Conference Submission – your full name” to Anne S. Tsui, the Secretary of USCCA Board at this email address: board@uscatholicchina.org. Please use “2024 conference submission” in the Subject heading of your email.
Submission deadline is March 1, 2024. You will be informed of decision by April 1, 2024.
Authors whose work is accepted must register for the conference and present the work in person. Co-authors are acceptable but no substitute by non-authors of the submissions.
Submission Inquiries:
Please send any submission-related inquiries to Dr. Richard Madsen, Program Chair, and other inquiries to Fr. Francis Li, Conference chair, at this email address: board@uscatholicchina.org. Please use “2024 Conference inquiry” in the subject heading of the email message.
Information about the program schedule, keynote speakers and registration process will be forthcoming soon. Please stay tuned.
We look forward to your enthusiastic participation in the USCCA’s 29th conference and 35th year celebration by submitting your work to share with conference participants and your participation at the conference in Chicago on August 2-4, 2024.
USCCA Board 2024 Conference Committee
Fr. Francis Li, 29th Conference Committee Chair, Director USCCA Board
Fr. Rob Carbonneau, CP, Emeritus Director USCCA Board
Dr. Richard Madsen, Director and Vice Chair USCCA Board
Mr. Tom McGuire, Emeritus Director USCCA Board
Mr. Herb Quinde, Director USCCA Board
Ms. Mary Sluka, Director USCCA Board
Fr. Hugh O’Donnell, CM, Director USCCA Board
Dr. Anne S. Tsui, Secretary and Director USCCA Board