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
在复活节之后，中国各教会、基督教机构通过扫墓、清明主题分享迎来4月4日的清明节。
据中国基督教两会，4月2日，清明前夕，中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会主席徐晓鸿牧师、中国基督教协会会长吴巍牧师去上海市青浦区福寿园，为吴耀宗先生、郑建业主教、沈以藩主教、傅先伟长老以及基督教青年会李寿葆施如璋夫妇等中国基督教先辈扫墓。
徐晓鸿牧师致词说：“今年是吴耀宗先生离世归天45周年，我们怀着非常崇敬的心情来此扫墓。吴耀宗先生不仅发起了三自爱国运动，更使中国基督教走上了自治自养自传的道路，标志着基督教成为中国人自己的宗教。”
据浙江省杭州市基督教两会，4月1日，杭州市宗教研究会、杭州市基督教两会在杭州印花坞基督教公墓思亲亭举行坞基督教公墓思亲亭举行杭州市基督教集体追思杭州市基督教集体追思纪念礼拜暨以“清明”为主题的“之江问道”杭州传统文化讲堂。
市基督教培训中心教师余德川牧师以“向死而生 ——生命意义和价值的追寻”为题，畅谈清明节与基督教复活节的关系。指出清明节和复活节，虽代表两种文化，但具有帮助我们思考死亡和生命价值的同等意义。他引导大家明白人生的意义和价值，更加热爱新生活。
4月1日，由福建省基督教两会在福州市基督教专属的三山人文纪念园天恩园举行纪念基督复活暨安息主怀信徒集体扫墓活动。福建省基督教两会主席、会长、福建神学院院长岳清华牧师以《祂就是福音》为题进行了证道，勉励大家记住神的话语，胜过魔鬼，战胜罪恶，成为基督的精兵。在最后的活动仪式上，福州三山陵园纪念园向福建省基督教两会捐款15万元。
3月30日，广东广州救主堂教牧同工，堂委执事，和信徒去基督教琪鸡岗公墓缅怀创始人莫寿增会督和复堂后首任主任牧师李德辉牧师，以及已故亲人。之后，一行人又参加市基督教两会举办的集体省墓崇拜。
据江苏苏州市基督教两会，4月2日，江苏苏州青剑湖教会举行清明主题分享会。参会人员表示，清明扫墓重在寄托哀思、缅怀先人，同时知道了应践行圣经真理，孝敬父母。近日，相城堂主任牧师蒯沫从基督徒祭祖问题的历史渊源讲起，进而剖析了祭祖问题背后的神学本质。
江苏镇江芦苇之家也去缅怀曾为该机构和社会付出的志愿者和遗体捐赠者。
扫墓活动在中国各地举行以迎清明节
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
Tomb-Sweeping Festival Observed Across Churches in China
