認識高俊明牧師

 高俊明牧師略歷

高俊明牧師1929年6月6日生於台南，高俊明祖父高長為第一代臺灣人基督徒，在馬雅各來臺宣教時，高長即成為馬雅各醫師管家並受洗。高俊明牧師的父親高再得醫師則是高長的三子，母親侯青蓮曾任長榮女中董事長；高再得與侯青蓮共育有13名子女，高俊明排行12。

畢業於臺南神學院，於英國Selly Oak College進修10個月。他在台南神學院畢業前夕，因得知原住民地區缺乏傳道人，於是他立志成為山地巡迴傳道；按立為牧師後，於1957年受邀擔任玉山神學院教師，並在同年成為玉神院長；30歲時經人介紹與高李麗珍結婚，育有一男兩女，長子高慕源、長女高黎香、次女高黎理。

高俊明牧師曾任台灣基督長老教會總會第17屆議長，1970年當選為臺灣基督長老教會總幹事；在擔任總會總幹事期間，長老教會發表三個宣言：〈台灣基督長老教會對國是的聲明與建議〉（1971年）、〈我們的呼籲〉（1975年）與〈台灣基督長老教會人權宣言〉（1977年），在台灣民主發展歷程中佔有重要地位。

1979年美麗島事件後，高俊明牧師因協助施明德逃亡，1980年4月24日於自宅被捕，後遭國民黨政府以「共同藏匿叛徒」被判刑7年、褫奪公權5年。因引起國際關注與救援，在被關押4年3個月又21天後被釋放。

由於高的牧師身分，他被捕曾引起梵諦岡關注，教宗若望保祿二世更曾派駐臺特使探監。在獄中所寫的詩詞《莿帕互火燒》在2006年獲得第17屆金曲獎傳統暨藝術音樂作品類最佳作詞人。1984年8月出獄。

2000年，時任總統陳水扁曾聘請高俊明牧師擔任總統府國策顧問，而現任總統蔡英文當選後，高俊明因年事已高而婉辭一切公職。2012年12月20日，高俊明獲臺南市政府頒與「卓越市民」榮譽，市長賴清德親自前往家中頒發，稱其為「臺灣的人格者」。晚年高俊明與牧師娘高李麗珍長期居住在台南與台東女兒家，在2019年過年前搬回台南，落腳德輝苑。

2019年2月14日傍晚5點25分，高俊明牧師在睡夢中於台南市基督教青年會（YMCA）德輝苑臨安老人養護中心辭世，享壽90歲，而這天也是他與牧師娘高李麗珍結婚紀念日。

告別追思禮拜訂於2019年2月22日禮拜五下午2:30假高雄中會海埔教會舉行。

 榮譽

 獲加拿大Mc Gill大學與Presbyterian神學院的榮譽神學博士D.D（1973）學位

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 獲加拿大 Knox 神學院的榮譽神學博士 D.D.（1984）

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 獲臺美基金會社服獎（1986），獎金一萬美金（N.T40 萬元）全額捐給原住民宣教事工

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 獲臺南神學院榮譽博士學位

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 獲美國 Union 神學院最高榮譽獎 Union Medal（2001）

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 獲臺灣第十七屆金曲獎「傳統暨藝術音樂作品類最佳作詞人獎」（2006）

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 榮獲青山學院榮譽博士（2016）

 著作

	獄中書簡 臺南市：人光出版社，1983年。
	瞑想的森林—高俊明詩集 臺南市：人光出版社，1989年。
	サボテンと毛蟲 高俊明詩集 東京都：教文館，1995年。 ISBN 978-476-4299-17-7
	冥想的森林 臺南市：人光出版社，2001年。 ISBN 978-957-0358-73-4
	十字架之路：高俊明牧師回憶錄 臺北市：望春風文化，2001年。 ISBN 978-957-3045-70-0
	熱愛臺灣行義路：高俊明牧師訪談錄 台北市：台灣基督長老教會總會，2012年。 ISBN 978-986-81354-6-8
	高俊明回憶錄：磨難苦杯下的信仰與實踐 臺北市：前衛出版社，2017年。 ISBN 978-957-80181-2-9

 聲明及宣言

 台灣基督長老教會對國是的聲明與建議

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 我們的呼籲

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 台灣基督長老教會人權宣言

About Rev. Dr. C. M Kao

Rev. Dr. C. M Kao was born on June 6, 1929 in Tainan, Taiwan. His grandfather, Kao Chang（高長）after hearing the gospel preached by the pioneer missionaries from England received Christ and was baptized. Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell the first missionary (1865) employed Kao Chang as his butler and shortly after Kao became the first Taiwanese Evangelist! Rev. Kao’s father was Dr. Kao Tsai-Te（高再得）, the third son of Kao Chang, and his mother was Hou Ching-Lien（侯青蓮）, and was a former Chairman of the Board of Chang Jung Girl’s High School. In all Rev. C. M. Kao’s parents had thirteen children, and he was the twelfth born!

A graduate of Tainan Theological College and Seminary, Rev. Kao later went to study at Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham, England. When he was about to finish Tainan Theological College and Seminary, he was aware of the shortage of preachers in indigenous communities and felt called and determined to be an Itinerant Preacher. Following his ordination to the Christian ministry, he was appointed as teacher and Principal of Yushan Theological College and Seminary in 1957. When he was 30, he married Ms Li Le-Tin 李麗珍 (Mrs. Ruth Kao). They were blessed with two daughters and one son - elder son, Kao Mu-Yuan (高慕源), elder daughter, Kao Li-Hsiang (高黎香), second daughter, Kao Li-Li (高黎理).

Rev. Kao served as 17th Moderator of PCT and was elected as PCT General Secretary in 1970. Throughout his term as PCT General Secretary, the PCT issued its three critical and prophetic statements: Statement on Our National Fate (1971), Our Appeal (1975) and A Declaration on Human Rights (1977), which became important milestones of Taiwan democracy.

After the Kaohsiung Incident of 1979, Rev. Kao was accused of harboring and assisting Mr. Shih Ming-The, and on April 24, 1980 he was arrested at home. The KMT government later charged him with “harboring traitors” and sentenced him to 7 years in prison and deprived him of his civil right for 5 years. However, the verdict ignited international attention and protest form churches and NGOs and consequently after serving four years, three months and twenty-one days of his sentence Rev. Kao was granted early release in August of 1984.

As a church leader and preacher, Rev. Kao’s imprisonment caught the Vatican’s attention and the then Pope, John Paul II sent a special envoy to visit Rev. Kao in prison. Among other poems and compositions Rev. Kao wrote the lyric Watch the bush of thorns when he was in prison. Many years later, in 2006, he won Best Lyrics of Traditional Arts and Music award by the 17th Golden Melody Awards.

After Chen Shui-bian was elected President of Taiwan in 2000, Rev. Kao was appointed as Senior Advisor to the Office of the President. Because of advanced years, he resigned from civil services in 2016 the same year Dr. Tsai Ing-Wen was elected President. On December 20, 2012, Rev. Kao was honored with Tainan City Excellent Citizen Award; then then Tainan Mayor, Dr. Lai Ching-Te paid a visit to Rev. Kao’s home and presented the award in person. Lai Ching-Te called Rev. Kao “the paragon of Taiwanese people”. Most recently Rev. Kao and Mrs. Ruth Kao lived with their daughters in Tainan and Taitung respectively only moving to the De Huei Yuan Conservation Care Center in Tainan, Taiwan shortly before 2019 Lunar New Year.

On (Thursday) 14 February 2019, the day of their 61st wedding anniversary, Rev. C. M. Kao, aged 90, went home to the Lord peacefully at 17:25 at the YA Declaration on Human RightsMCA De Huei Yuan Conservation Care Center in Tainan, Taiwan.

The funeral service will be held Friday, February 22nd at 14:30 p.m. at Hai-Po (海埔) Presbyterian Church (Kaohsiung Presbytery).

 Honors

 Honorary degrees of D.D from McGill University and Presbyterian Theology College in Canada (1973)

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 Honorary degree of D.D from Knox College in Canada (1984)

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 Social Welfare Award of Taiwanese American Foundation (1986). Reward prize, four hundred fifty thousand New Taiwan dollars, was donated to Indigenous Ministry mission

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 Honorary degree of Tainan Theological College and Seminary (1997)

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 Union Medal of Union Theological Seminary in America (2001)

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 Best Lyrics of Traditional Arts and Music of 17th Golden Melody Awards (2006).

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 Honorary degree Japan Aoyama Gakuin University (2016)

 Publications

	Letters from Prison, Tainan City: Jen Kuang Publishing, 1983.
	Forest meditation - Rev. Dr. C. M Kao’s Poetry, Tainan City: Jen Kuang Publishing, 1989.
	Cactus and Caterpillar - Rev. Dr. C. M Kao’s Poetry, Tokyo: Kyo Bun Kwan, 1995, ISBN 978-476-4299-17-7.
	Forest meditation - Rev. Dr. C. M Kao’s Poetry, Tainan City: Jen Kuang Publishing, 2001, ISBN 978-957-0358-73-4.
	The Path to the Cross: Memoirs of Rev. Dr. C. M Kao, Taipei City, Taiwan Publishing Co., Ltd., 2001, ISBN 978-957-3045-70-0.
	To Love Taiwan, To Do Justice: Interviewing Rev. Dr. C. M Kao, Taipei City, Presbyterian Church in Taiwan General Assembly, 2012, ISBN 978-986-81354-6-8.
	Memoirs of Rev. Dr. C. M Kao: Faith and Practice in the Cup of Suffering, Taipei City, Avanguard Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-957-80181-2-9.

 Public Statements

 Statement on Our National Fate

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 Our Appeal

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 A Declaration on Human Rights