Liaison Desk East Asia
Like all other EMS Liaison Desks, we too serve as connecting link between overseas partners, EMS member churches, nationwide bodies and the ecumenical public. The Desk works together with three partner churches, the China Christian Council (CCC) and many other organisations. The majority of these relations originate from the work of the German East Asia Mission (DOAM).
The work of the East Asia Liaison Desk comprises:
- Managing the German East Asia Mission (DOAM).
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Organising and coordinating ecumenical staff exchanges with partners.
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Sending young adults to parishes and institutions of the partners as part of the EMS Volunteer Programme.
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Promoting exchanges of churches, superintendent districts and parishes of the EMS member churches through their partnerships with East Asian church districts and parishes.
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Implementing general PR work.
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Conducting partnership seminars and conferences such as the annual DOAM Study Conference on East Asia, a Korean-German Encounter Conference every two years or an East Asian-German Encounter Conference.
German East Asia Mission (DOAM)
This association was founded in 1884. The founders placed great emphasis on understanding Asian religions and sent missionaries to China and Japan. Today, the DOAM is integrated in the EMS and the Berlin Missionary Society. The EMS is responsible for the management. However, some tasks remained with the DOAM: keeping contact with the Tomisaka Christian Center in Tokio, looking after circles of friends, investigating the history of the DOAM as well as preparing an annual study conference. The “DOAM Archive” is housed in the central archive of the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate in Speyer. It also contains an extensive collection of historical glass slides from China and Japan, which have since been digitised and are now awaiting scientific analysis.
