On the Sunday before the start of the Chinese New Year, a church in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region held a service to celebrate the new year.
Shangsi County Church in Fangchenggang City held a celebration on January 22, the first day of the first lunar month, with the theme "Hearts Are Linked to Each Other Like Pomegranate Seeds." The celebration called for all nations to embrace one another closely, similar to the way pomegranate seeds are clumped together.
Shangsi County is a county in Guangxi, China. It is known as the "Hometown of Chinese Poetry" and the "Hometown of Literature and Art with Guangxi Characteristics." It is also home to a number of ethnic minorities, who together make up 93.48% of the population. The remaining population is of Han nationality.
People who believed in God, people who did not believe in God, and people who were going home for the Spring Festival all participated in the celebration, both in person and online. In addition to the performances given by the church brass band, electro-acoustic band, and choir, members of the congregation also gave their own renditions of choruses, sign language dances, hymns, and dances, as well as an allegro-tempo program.
Following recitations from the Holy Scriptures, prayers, and hymns, Reverend Zeng Bihui delivered a sermon with the title "Return Home for the New Year."
After the sermon, almost 20 people asked for forgiveness and turned to the Lord through prayer. Each person got a cross and a booklet.
At the end of the service, the congregation made their first offerings for the Lunar New Year of 2023.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
