同路人語
666 歡欣同路 18 載
Rejoicing for 18 years
「歡喜同心做鹽做光興社會 欣行義路愛人愛主播佳音」
這是已故彭勝強先生在歡欣機構藉創辦《同路人》,發展起社區學習中心及電台後, 在我們8周年慶時創作的對聯。不期然「歡欣.同路人」一起又走過了10年。
這10年來, 我們走過無數困難, 曾經在森林山發展過社區活動中心, 也經過了新冠疫情, 到今天, 我們為著仍能在社區中做鹽做光, 在生命中堅持愛人愛主而感恩。最近三年至今,新冠疫情改變了所有人的生活, 不少人都不知疫情對我們的影響, 早兩天有朋友問我:《同路人》還在出版嗎?你見到這段文字的話, 當然是我們的讀者, 我就要告訴你神如何奇妙的保守《同路人》至今, 更是一個神蹟, 令我們在這三年, 大大開拓了服務社區的空間。
流動智能手機及社交平台改變了商業推廣策略, 六年前開始我們減少了篇幅並在5年前改為雙周刊, 減低了我們的開支。疫情期間《同路人》是唯一得到維州政府撥款資助的中文媒體, 協助我們度過最困難的時候。我們亦成功游說維州政府, 聯合多個族裔, 每天制作多種語言疫情新聞, 在電台及網絡播放至今, 「同聲同路人」負責了普通話及廣東話新聞制作。
今天在《同路人》創刊18周年之際, 本刊與歡欣機構合作, 由9月28日開始, 在31號社區電視台, C31取得播放時段, 每周推出半小時普通話及半小時的廣東話生活資訊節目「歡欣同路」, 進一步協助華人社區認識及融入社會。
是的我們確是「歡喜」更盼望與更多基督徒「同心」「做鹽做光」, 與澳洲華人一起「興社會」,也是帶著信心「欣行」艱難而又窄的「義路」, 盼望能「愛人愛主」藉著服事社區「播佳音」。面對更多服事的機會, 我們需要更多基督徒參與、奉獻及支持, 盼望「歡欣.同路人」的各項工作, 能成為澳洲華人的祝福, 得到社區的支持和認同。
在《同路人》創刊18周年之時, 我仍然只能感恩, 感謝神給我們事奉的機會、能力及勇氣。我亦要感謝多年來我們的支持者, 與我們同行。更感謝社區的你們, 給我們機會與你同行這一條移民路。
周偉文 社長
Rejoicing for 18 years
”We rejoice together serving as salt and light to the society, loving people loving God as we walk our Christian life in spreading the Gospel.”
This was the couplet Mr Edwin Pang Shing-keung created to celebrate the 8th Sameway anniversary where we kicked off the community learning centre and our radio broadcast. Rejoice@Sameway has done another 10 years since then.
We have overcome numerous difficulties in the past 10 years…. we set up the community activity centre in Forest Hill, we went through the Covid pandemic, By now we are still serving as salt and light in the community, and be proud of a life of loving God loving people. The pandemic over the past three years has changed everyone’s life. People are getting disorientated and I just got a query days ago “Is Sameway still on publish?” If you are seeing this passage then you are one of our readers, and I must tell you how amazing God has been blessing us is a miracle, as over the past three years we have been expanding our scope of serving the community.
Smartphone and social media platforms have altered commercial marketing strategy. We condensed our edition six years ago and cut down to bi-weekly publishing five years ago, thus saving considerable expenses. During the very harsh Covid years, Sameway succeeded as the only Chinese media obtaining Victorian government Media Stimulus Grant. We also succeeded in lobbying the Victorian government with other ethnic minority communities in the production of multi-language news on Covid via the radio and the internet till to-date. ‘Rejoice On Air’ covers Cantonese and Mandarin broadcast.
To mark this 18th anniversary of Sameway, from 28/9 onwards we will co-work with Rejoice to produce two weekly half an hour community TV programs ‘Rejoice Together’ both in Cantonese and in Mandarin via Channel 31. The aim is to help Chinese community better integrate with the mainstream society.
Yes we would rejoice in seeing more Christians serving together as salt and light, and walking on a difficult but godly path with more Chinese Australians, in faith and in joy to the benefit of the society by spreading the Gospel as we love God and love people. With more serving opportunities to come, we need more Christians to join in, to offer and to support. We hope all of our Rejoice@Sameway missions could bring more blessings to Chinese Australians and could obtain more support and acknowledgment from them.
On this 18th anniversary occasion, I can only thank God again for giving me this serving opportunity, strength and courage. I thank again all the supporters who have been by my side over the years. I thank everyone in the community who gives us an opportunity as we walk along with you in settling here as a migrant.
Mr. Raymond Chow, Publisher
