Since Palm Sunday 2018 fell on March 25, the church entered Passion Week. In a liturgical year, Passion Week is the week prior to Easter, also known as Holy Week. The week can be divided into Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
Huaxiang Church in Fuzhou, Fujian offers daily morning prayer meetings during Lent. The century-old church started celebrations themed "Fill up What Lacks in Christ's Afflictions" to mark Passion Week. Special daily morning prayer and meditation meetings will be held from March 25 to April 1. In the meetings, the church's pastors and preachers will preach sermons on events that occurred in the week before Christ's resurrection.
The church's history can be traced back to 1915 when western missionaries appointed by the Methodist Episcopal Church purchased land and gave it as a gift to the church. It was the first Methodist church built within the walled city of Fuzhou. The local pastor was tasked with leading efforts in organizing the church. Eventually, the church was dedicated in the spring of that same year with facilities like a reading room, a library, two kindergartens for boys and girls and the provincial CCC&TSPM branch. In that same year, the first baptism service was held in September.
- Translated by Karen Luo
