It was a special Pentecost Sunday in the Suzhou Apostle Church in the Lima Liturgy as six deacons were ordained in the service.
The Lima Liturgy was first used at the Faith and Order Plenary Commission meeting in Lima, Peru on January 15, 1982 and it is usually a part of the Eucharistic (Holy Communion) service for world ecumenical gatherings. The liturgy has featured several abundant theological resources from both the ancient Western and Eastern churches and enabled the church to combine old worship practices of early Christians with the modern ecumenical theology. The liturgy has also made a remarkable influence in the renewal of liturgical practices from the 1980s to the 1990s.
The church's female, youth and Sunday choirs served and sang the responding hymns in all three services on Pentecost and the worship team led the responding hymns in the prayers.
A church staff said, "The ordination adds the flesh and blood to the church's elders and deacons and enlarges the church staff, providing qualified successors for the mission of Apostle Church."
The ordination of the six deacons occured in the second morning service after they passed the recommendation, public notification and approval phases. Each one of these deacons received a Bible as a gift.
