Without bowing, burning paper money, crying and laying wreaths, only with a bouquet of flowers and a heart of admiration for the deceased pastors and believers, the staff of Beihai Church in Guangxi swept tombs before the Qingming Festival.
More than 20 pastoral staff of the church had a bus ride to public cemeteries, two of them being Christian cemeteries, including the Gongzhuling Cemetery of Hepu County Church, holding a tomb sweeping service themed He Has Risen, on April 2.
With the co-workers gathered together, Rev. Huang Zhengxin prayed solemnly, after Senior Pastor Zhang Yezhong had just led them in singing hymns and praises.
"Then Pastor Zhang told us stories about deceased pastors, inspiring our confidence and love. Non-Christians were moved when seeing us singing songs, telling legends and collectively coloring the gravestones in red", said He Jun, a young pastor.
Every year, the staff of Beihai Church carry out tomb sweeping and listen to stories about deceased pastors during the Qingming Festival, which is a long and historically fine tradition of the church.
Many churches across the country have begun to carry out tomb-sweeping services around Qingming Festival. For example, churches all over Beijing organize their believers around Easter to attend memorial services in the Xibeiwang Christian Cemetery, and at most 5,000 people attended, according to CCC&TSPM.
(The original article is published by Gospel Times and photos are provided by Beihai Church.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
“没有叩拜、没有花圈、没有烧纸钱、没有哭泣，只有一束追思的鲜花，只有带着对传道人和信徒的敬慕之心，抚今追昔，立志福传，坚信“主果然复活了！”这是广西北海基督教堂清明节前的扫墓情形。
2021年4月2日，教会的二十多位教牧同工乘车来到合浦县基督教会公猪岭墓区等两座基督教公墓和其它两座公墓，举行扫墓追思礼拜.
同工们围拢在一起，张业忠主任牧师带领大家唱诗赞美，黄正欣牧师神态庄严的祷告。
“然后张牧师就把这些老一辈的牧师传道的事迹讲给我们，激发我们的信心和爱心。尤其在这种地方特别有见证的，那些不信主的去扫墓，看到我们这群基督徒又唱歌儿，又讲传奇故事、有分享的，然后又集体给那些墓碑掉色字体的去描红，哎呀，特别有感染力的。”年轻传道人贺军教士说道。
北海堂的清明节来扫墓，听牧师讲那过去的老传道人的故事，缅怀那些先哲，也是教会的一个很长、具有历史性的优良传统，他们每年都会过去。
全国好多教会都已经开始在清明前后开展扫墓追思礼拜。比如北京基督教会在西北旺有一处陵园，每年复活节过后都会举行追思礼拜，全北京的教堂都会组织信徒前往，最多的时候有五千人参加。（见《中国基督教网》）
（本文作者为福音时报特约撰稿人。感谢北海堂贺军教士提供的照片。）
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/portal/article/index/id/55942
广西北海堂清明到基督教公墓举办追思礼拜
Without bowing, burning paper money, crying and laying wreaths, only with a bouquet of flowers and a heart of admiration for the deceased pastors and believers, the staff of Beihai Church in Guangxi swept tombs before the Qingming Festival.
More than 20 pastoral staff of the church had a bus ride to public cemeteries, two of them being Christian cemeteries, including the Gongzhuling Cemetery of Hepu County Church, holding a tomb sweeping service themed He Has Risen, on April 2.
With the co-workers gathered together, Rev. Huang Zhengxin prayed solemnly, after Senior Pastor Zhang Yezhong had just led them in singing hymns and praises.
"Then Pastor Zhang told us stories about deceased pastors, inspiring our confidence and love. Non-Christians were moved when seeing us singing songs, telling legends and collectively coloring the gravestones in red", said He Jun, a young pastor.
Every year, the staff of Beihai Church carry out tomb sweeping and listen to stories about deceased pastors during the Qingming Festival, which is a long and historically fine tradition of the church.
Many churches across the country have begun to carry out tomb-sweeping services around Qingming Festival. For example, churches all over Beijing organize their believers around Easter to attend memorial services in the Xibeiwang Christian Cemetery, and at most 5,000 people attended, according to CCC&TSPM.
(The original article is published by Gospel Times and photos are provided by Beihai Church.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Guangxi Church Holds Memorial Service at Cemeteries
