Last Wednesday and this Monday, Sicheng Church in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, held retirement ceremonies for 14 church coworkers who are over 70 years old.
According to the host church, at the ceremony on February 12, Senior Pastor Huang Mingke reviewed the service of the four staff members in the accounting team who are over 70 years old and commented, "They are models of loyalty, carefulness, hard work, and professionalism."
Afterward, the four retired staff received flowers and gifts and shared their thoughts. One female believer reflected, "The more I serve, the happier I feel." In addition, the meeting also approved a female believer named Xie Lizhen to serve as the new leader of the offering counting team.
At the ceremony on February 17, 10 coworkers of the reception team who had served for decades officially retired from their positions.
Rev. Huang said that although everyone retired from their positions due to age, he hoped that they could continue to contribute their remaining energy. He encouraged them to continue to participate in church service and pray more for the church according to their own inspiration, gifts, and abilities. At the same time, the pastor called on everyone to pay attention to the young people around them and look for new staff members for the church to join the ministry.
Rev. Huang also mentioned that as the "face" of the church, the reception ministry can keep serving and practice the biblical teachings of "loving one another" and "entertaining strangers."
Finally, the 10 retired coworkers received thank-you gifts.
Originally founded by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1864, Sicheng Church is the first largest church building in Hangzhou with a seating capacity of 1,800 and a regular attendance of 5,000. The name was to honor its first Chinese pastor Zhang Chengzhai
- Translated by Livingstone Shi
