Session One:
BEYOND OPTIMISM & PESSIMISM: A BIBLICAL LOOK AT THE "CITY"

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How does the Bible view the city? The Hebrew Bible seems to display immense suspicion regarding the city, from portraying the murderous Cain as its first founder, to the persistent reminders of the dire destruction of Jerusalem among the prophets. Yet paradoxically, the city also enjoys divine presence, and receives divine reassurance of restoration amidst judgment. What does this paradox teach us about the dichotomy of optimism vs. pessimism with regard to our own city?

 

•  Dr. Celine YEUNG
  (Assistant Professor in Theological Studies, China Graduate School of Theology)

• Date: Oct 4, 2025 09:30-11:30 am

• Venue: China Graduate School of Theology​​​

 

Session Two:
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: FROM HYBRIDITY TO MEDIATOR

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Western dominance of the global economy for the past two hundred years is balanced with the rise of the Global South. Cultural diversity is expanding with anticipated tensions and
conflicts initiated by the incumbent West and the rising East.
Hong Kong, as a hybrid of Chinese culture and Western colonization, resulted in a blending between the East and the West. Is she suffering as the Clash of the Titans, or can she serve
as a mediator of global conflicts?
Jesus Christ, as deemed by the Council of Chalcedon, is fully human and divine at the same time. Will this theological notion shed some light on the future role of Hong Kong as fully Chinese, Hong Kong, and Western? Can HK folks share the suffering heritage of the Chinese and the West and serve as mediators for a new world of unity and diversity?

 

• Dr. Wing Tai LEUNG
  (President of Lumina College)

• Date: Nov 8, 2025 09:30-11:30 am

• Venue: Lumina College

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Session Three:
HISTORICAL LESSONS AND PRINCIPLES: A CITY’S DYING AND REBIRTH

 

This session will start by exploring the use of biological metaphors, such as organisms, metabolism, and life cycles, in sociology and urban studies for understanding cities, their
development and historical processes. It will then provide a couple of case studies on the decline and regeneration of cities from different regions of the globe in the historical and
contemporary world before it focuses on Hong Kong and the ups and downs it has gone through in its urban history. It seeks to explore what roles faith and religious traditions
have played and could play in urban sustainability and resilience.

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• Dr. Mee Kam NG
  (Emerita Professor, Department of Geography and Resources Management, Chinese University of Hong Kong)
  & Dr. Yi Samuel CHEN
  (Associate Professor of Practice (Urban Heritage and Sustainability), University of Hong Kong)

• Date: Dec 6, 2025 09:30-11:30 am

• Venue: University of Hong Kong

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Session Four:

COMMUNITY OF LOVE 

 

A polis is more than a collection of people. The people of a polis are bound together by
common objects of love, as Augustine. How are these common objects formed? What is the role of religion, traditional or civic, in bonding the polis together? How can a polis maintain a
balance between stability and vitality? We'll take some theoretical and theological explorations into these questions.

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• Rev. Dr. Kin Yip LOUIE
  (Heavenly Blessings Professor in Theological Studies, China
  Graduate School of Theology)

• Date: Jan 3, 2026 09:30-11:30 am

• Venue: China Graduate School of Theology

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