On the afternoon of August 1, Yaodu District Church in Linfen, China's western Shaanxi Province announced that it would prepare for the establishment of "Boya Tea Club", an office dedicated to the integration of Chinese culture with Chinese faith.
Over a dozen senior pastors and church leaders from the district participated in the meeting.
The meeting began with the reading of two articles, "The Sinicization of Christianity by Chinese Christians from the Perspective of Zen Tea" by Jiang Nuan, a pastor from Shandong Province, and "The Connection between Chinese Tea Culture and Theology" issued by the district church.
Rev. Huang Hailin explained that the two articles were good examples of how Christianity can be contextualized within Chinese culture. The churches of Shandong Province and Yunnan Province took the lead in exploring how tea culture can be integrated with Christian faith. They explored the ways in which Chinese Christians can adopt practices from the Chinese tea ceremony with Christian virtues like "clarity, sincerity, peace, and truth."
Clarity refers to being incorrupt, gentility, transparency, clarity by nature, purity and holiness; sincerity is associated with honesty, faithfulness, trustworthiness, and earnestness, i.e., a fear of God, a respect of people and self-discipline; peace refers to atonement, peacefulness, unity, and harmony, i.e., the atonement with God and man; truth means truthfulness, abiding in the truth, true knowledge, and genuineness, i.e., the truthfulness of the truth, the truthfulness of true knowledge, and the genuineness of a true man.
Tea culture and theology intersect because everything is created by God so tea is God’s gift to mankind. In terms of Christianity, “the Word became flesh” provides important theoretical support for tea ministry. As far as man is concerned, God helps people find contentment. Tea is one of God’s beautiful gifts which is good for physical and mental health. Concerning the Holy Spirit, human spirituality can be enhanced through tea meditation. In the case of redemption theory, the eight styles of tea ceremony can be associated with the eight beatitudes. This method may promote more innovative pastoral care and better fellowship.
In recent years, Linyiyaodu District Church has been committed to the acculturation of Christianity with Chinese thought. This year enthusiastic believers donated facilities to build a Boya tea room in the basement and library, and an office dedicated to the Sinicization of Christianity. They have compiled recent research results and in due course will hold an unveiling ceremony.
In addition, we plan to organize regular tea mediation practices to enhance the cultural and spiritual level of the clergy.
- Translated by Charlie Li
山西临汾尧都区教会计划成立“基督教中国化研讨室暨博雅茶社”
8月1日下午，山西省临汾市尧都区教会宣布教会将筹备成立以推进基督教中国化的“基督教中国化研讨室暨博雅茶社”。
在教牧工作会议，区基督教两会主要负责同工陈丽、杨森林、邰金宝等牧长及牧养骨干传道人十余人参加会议。
首先由神学生郭灵全、张利利分别宣读了转发的山东牧者姜暖所著《从禅茶一味看以中国基督徒为主题的基督教中国化实践》及本堂发布《茶文化与神学思想的互通性》。
黄海林牧师介绍说，这两篇文章所探讨的观点正是基督教中国化的体现。山东省和云南省教会率先创新探讨了将茶文化融入基督教中国化，探寻基督教可以藉着茶事灵修，引申基督教的茶道精神，即“清、诚、和、真”。
清是清廉、清雅、清澈，清乃自然，纯净圣洁；诚是诚实、信实、诚信、诚恳，诚乃敬畏上帝，尊重他人，克己谨慎；和是和好、合好、合一、和谐，和乃与神和好，与人和好；真是求真、归真、真理、真人，真是真理之真，真知之真，真人之真。
在茶文化与神学思想的互通性方面，上帝是创造之主，万物为上帝所造，茶是上帝赐予人类的美物，就基督教而论，道成肉身为开展茶事工提供了重要理论支持。就人而论，上帝以美物使人知足，茶即美物之一，喝茶有益于身心健康；就圣灵而论，藉茶灵修可以提升人的灵性；就救赎论而言，可以把茶道八式与福音八式结合，推进对教会的创新性牧养，建立美好团契。
本教会近几年一直致力于基督教中国化的神学思想建设。今年有热心信徒奉献物资设施，在地下室图书室筹建博雅茶室，建立“基督教中国化研讨室”，编撰近年来研究成果，适时将举行揭牌仪式。
并计划定期举办品茗灵修，提升教职人员修养，升华属灵生命。
On the afternoon of August 1, Yaodu District Church in Linfen, China's western Shaanxi Province announced that it would prepare for the establishment of "Boya Tea Club", an office dedicated to the integration of Chinese culture with Chinese faith.
Over a dozen senior pastors and church leaders from the district participated in the meeting.
The meeting began with the reading of two articles, "The Sinicization of Christianity by Chinese Christians from the Perspective of Zen Tea" by Jiang Nuan, a pastor from Shandong Province, and "The Connection between Chinese Tea Culture and Theology" issued by the district church.
Rev. Huang Hailin explained that the two articles were good examples of how Christianity can be contextualized within Chinese culture. The churches of Shandong Province and Yunnan Province took the lead in exploring how tea culture can be integrated with Christian faith. They explored the ways in which Chinese Christians can adopt practices from the Chinese tea ceremony with Christian virtues like "clarity, sincerity, peace, and truth."
Clarity refers to being incorrupt, gentility, transparency, clarity by nature, purity and holiness; sincerity is associated with honesty, faithfulness, trustworthiness, and earnestness, i.e., a fear of God, a respect of people and self-discipline; peace refers to atonement, peacefulness, unity, and harmony, i.e., the atonement with God and man; truth means truthfulness, abiding in the truth, true knowledge, and genuineness, i.e., the truthfulness of the truth, the truthfulness of true knowledge, and the genuineness of a true man.
Tea culture and theology intersect because everything is created by God so tea is God’s gift to mankind. In terms of Christianity, “the Word became flesh” provides important theoretical support for tea ministry. As far as man is concerned, God helps people find contentment. Tea is one of God’s beautiful gifts which is good for physical and mental health. Concerning the Holy Spirit, human spirituality can be enhanced through tea meditation. In the case of redemption theory, the eight styles of tea ceremony can be associated with the eight beatitudes. This method may promote more innovative pastoral care and better fellowship.
In recent years, Linyiyaodu District Church has been committed to the acculturation of Christianity with Chinese thought. This year enthusiastic believers donated facilities to build a Boya tea room in the basement and library, and an office dedicated to the Sinicization of Christianity. They have compiled recent research results and in due course will hold an unveiling ceremony.
In addition, we plan to organize regular tea mediation practices to enhance the cultural and spiritual level of the clergy.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Shanxi Church Plans to Open Tea Club
