Sept. 2, 2006

Huzhou church During two of the Sundays that we were in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, for the Amity teacher orientation, we were able to attend the local Chinese church. As with most churches here in China a hymn practice began half an hour before the service. First the tune is taught according to the “do, re, mi’s.” The leader sings a phrase and then everyone repeats it. After the tune has been mastered, the words are added. Once again everyone repeats the singing of each phrase after the leader. Then pretty soon everyone is singing the whole song through, including all the verses.

The first Sunday, Rev Cheng, a young female pastor preached about following Jesus example, talking about how Jesus humbled and emptied himself and about how he became a servant in the washing of the disciples’ feet. She reminded everyone we need to empty ourselves and serve others as well and that this is only possible with the love that comes from God.

The second Sunday, Rev. Xu, the older pastor, preached about what it means to have the heart and mind of Christ. He reminded the congregation that it means loving one another, it means having the same heart and mind in order to work together and it means forgiving one another.

choir sanctuary and Amity teacher group Several of the hymns sung each week were written by Chinese Christians over the years, while others were Western hymns like “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart” that had been translated into Chinese.Each service began with the choir singing “The Lord Is In His Holy Temple” as the introit. This is one of the two most common introits used in China. The other is “Tread Softly.”

The first Sunday, the service included Communion. The elements were served in much the same way we do in many of our churches. However, in this church you stand to receive the elements in your hands and then sit in prayer until everyone has received them. At that point, everyone stands together to partake.

In Huzhou, as in many other places in China, the services closed with a hymn, followed by the Lord’s Prayer, the benediction taken from 2 Corinthians 13:14, and the three-fold amen. A video of the choir singing is available in the Resources section.

Church bookstore Each Sunday after the service, the church bookstore is open and anyone can go in to buy a Bible or hymnal or any of a variety of other religions books and materials. The church magazine, Tian Feng (or Heavenly Wind), is also available there.

After the service on the second Sunday, Rev. Xu (photo to the left; Ms. Liu Ruhong, head of the Amity Education division is translating for him) shared a little informally with the new Amity teacher group and then Rev. Cheng gave an introduction to the church and its ministries. We learned that the church is active everyday, with prayer gatherings, Bible study, a young peoples gathering, a time for the sharing of testimonies, and choir practice. We learned that the church is growing and that over a hundred new believers would be baptized the following Sunday. In fact, the church has outgrown its current facilities and is working on plans to build a new building within the next year and a half. They already have the land and the goal is to be in the new facility by Christmas 2007.