Approaching the Double Ninth Festival which falls next Tuesday, two Suzhou Churches held special services last Sunday to honor the elderly.
In Dushu Lake Church, Pastor Xu Zhangfu gave blessings to senior believers, exhorting them to pray for the church and their families and to be an example to the young generation, according to the Suzhou CC&TSPM.
After the service, the medical staff of the megachurch took blood measurements of all the elderly believers, giving each of them a gift.
The Double Ninth Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday when elders would climb a high mountain, drink chrysanthemum liquor, and wear the zhuyu plant, according to Wikipedia. Some people also visit the tombs of their ancestors to pay their respects.
On the same day, Christ Church in Wuzhong Development Zone encouraged its elderly members in the sermon titled “Gray Hair Is a Crown of Splendor” to walk in righteousness to receive the crown of splendor. Young believers were also exhorted to honor the elderly.
The church distributed a quilt to each senior above the age of 70.
