After Easter, churches and Christian institutions in China conducted tomb-sweeping activities and themed lectures to celebrate the Qingming Festival, which falls on April 4 this year.
According to CCC&TSPM, on April 2, Chairman Xu Xiaohong of TSPM, and President Wu Wei of CCC went to the Fushouyuan Cemetery in Qingpu District, Shanghai, to sweep the graves of late Christian leaders, such as Y.T. Wu (or Wu Yao-tsung), Bishop Zheng Jianye, Bishop Shen Yifan, Elder Fu Xianwei, Mr. Li Shoubao, and Mrs. Shi Ruzhang from YMCA and YWCA in China.
In his speech, Rev. Xu Xiaohong said, "This year marks the 45th death anniversary of Mr. Y.T. Wu, and we come here with great respect to sweep his tomb. Mr. Wu not only initiated the Three-Self Patriotic Movement but also mobilized churches in China to be independent - self-preaching, self-governing, and self-supporting letting Christianity take root in China."
According to Hangzhou CC&TSPM, on April 1, the Hangzhou Religious Studies Institution and Hangzhou CC&TSPM held a collective memorial service for Hangzhou Christians at a Christian cemetery in Yinhuawu, Hangzhou, with a traditional culture lecture on the festival.
Rev. Yu Dechuan from Hangzhou Christian Training Center delivered a sermon titled "Being Towards Death - Seeking Meaning and Value of Life," discussing the relationship between the Qingming Festival and Easter. He pointed out that during these two festivals, referring to two different cultures, people could contemplate death and the value of life. He guided attendees to love the new life more through understanding the meaning and value of life.
On April 1, the Fujian Christian Council held a collective tomb-sweeping activity for believers in the Tianen Garden of Sanshan Cultural Memorial Park, a Christian cemetery in Fuzhou. Rev. Yue Qinghua, chairman and president of Fujian CC&TSPM and president of Fujian Theological Seminary, delivered a sermon titled "He Is the Gospel," encouraging believers to remember God's word to resist the devil and become soldiers of Christ to conquer sin. In the final ceremony, the park superintendent donated 150,000 yuan to Fujian CC&TSPM.
On March 30, pastors, deacons, and believers from the Church of Our Savior in Guangzhou, Guangdong, paid tribute to the founding bishop Mo Shouzeng and Rev. Li Dehui, the church’s first senior pastor after its restoration in 1985, at the Qiji Gang Christian Cemetery. Afterward, they participated in a collective memorial service at the tomb organized by Guangzhou CC&TSPM.
In a Qingming-themed lecture at Qingjian Lake Church on April 2, participants expressed that they recognized that tomb-sweeping was a way of expressing grief and remembering ancestors and it was important to practice biblical truths and honor parents, reported Suzhou CC&TSPM in Jiangsu. Recently, Rev. Kuai Mo from Xiangcheng Church in the city shared a theological reflection on ancestoral worship, which started with the historical origins of the debate over whether Christians could worship their ancestors.
The faith-based Reed’s Home in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, also said that they had paid tribute to volunteers and body donors who contributed to the institution.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
