It has been nearly 27 years since Bishop Shen Yifan was called to heaven. Every time I think about this, I feel sorrow and even cry. His amiable voice and face often appear before my eyes, and his teachings often echo in my ears.
His poems "The Eternal Song of Christ" and "Pray for The Lord to Help Me" are among the most popular new hymns frequently sung by our church members. At a time when the church is short of talent, such a versatile man as Bishop Shen is rare. Regrettably, when the church was in need of him, he passed away prematurely.
My contact with Bishop Shen began in 1987. When I started to compile the books Introduction to The Chinese New Hymnal and Brief Interpretation of The Chinese New Hymnal, I gave my first draft to several members of the Hymnal Committee at that time, including Bishop Shen. Despite his busy schedule, he reviewed the first draft and sent me a warm letter encouraging me to keep writing. He also said to me: “Thank you for spending a lot of time and energy over the past few years to collect and compile all the information of ‘Hymns (The Chinese New Hymnal)’, as well as a brief interpretation of the words and phrases, which is an important contribution to the Church in China”.
I was flattered, passionately completed the first draft of the two books, and then revised the drafts five times before they were finished. The great thing is that my book Introduction to The Chinese New Hymnal was partly adopted by Bishop Wang Shenyin in his book History of The Chinese New Hymnal. My book on the interpretation of The Chinese New Hymnal has been published by the China Christian Holy Music Committee.
On July 28 and 29, 1992, when I attended the first meeting of the new Sacred Music Committee held in Shanghai, I had the honor to meet Bishop Shen. His humble and approachable manner was something that I could learn from for the rest of my life. He cast a look of trust and approval, and deliberately stopped in front of me, holding my hand tightly. He once again thanked me for the contribution I made to "The Hymns (The Chinese New Hymnal)" and said that it was not easy for me to work hard these years in collecting and sorting out all the materials of the "The Hymns (The Chinese New Hymnal)".
Bishop Shen was a good steward of God's church. His death made me feel sad, but he inspired me to serve God better, love the Lord and others.
Note: Bishop Shen Yifan (1928.3.1-1994.8.7) was born on March 1, 1928 in Wujiang, Jiangsu province in a family of three generations of devout Christians. His father, Bishop Shen Zigao (1895-1982), had studied in the United Kingdom and received a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Theology, and Doctor of Theology from Shanghai St. John’s University. In 1982, he was invited to serve as a consultant to the Chinese Christian Hymns Committee, and he made many good suggestions on promoting the nationalization of Chinese hymns.
- Translated by Sophia Chen
纪念沈以藩主教逝世27周年
沈以藩主教蒙召归天已近27周年了。每念及此，我心中就有说不出来的难受，及至流泪。他和蔼可亲、忠诚事主的音容笑貌，时常浮现在我的眼前；他的教诲，时常在我耳中回响。
他的诗作《基督永长久歌》、《求主助我祷告歌》脍炙人口，是我堂信徒经常唱颂、最令人喜欢的新创作圣诗之一。在当前教会人才奇缺的今天，像沈主教这样多才多艺的人实属不多。当教会正需要他的时候，他竟过早地离开了我们。
我与沈主教的交往，始于1987年间。当我开始编写《赞美诗（新编）简介》及《赞美诗（新编）词句浅释》之时，曾将初稿分赠给当时的圣诗委员会几位委员。其中就有一份达沈主教手中斧正。他百忙之中审阅了初稿，并寄来了热情洋溢的信鼓励我继续写下去，并称：感谢我这几年花了大量的时间精力，收集并编写了关于《赞美诗（新编）》所有资料，以及词句浅释，这是对中国教会一项重要的贡献。
我这位后生受宠若惊。促使我将此二书初稿完成，进而五易其稿才停工。可喜的是，拙作《赞美诗（新编）简介》被王神荫主教编著的《赞美诗（新编）史话》部分采用。而《赞美诗（新编）词句浅释》一书已由中国基督教圣乐委员会出版。
1992年7月28-29日，我参加在沪召开的新一届圣乐委员会第一次会议时，有幸见到了沈主教。他的谦逊、平易近人的态度是我学习不完的功课。他投来了信任、赞许的目光，并特意在我面前停步，紧紧地握住我的手，再次感谢我为《赞美诗（新编）》所作的一些贡献，并说我这几年为搜集整理《赞美诗（新编）》的一切资料努力地工作实属不易。
沈主教是神的教会中的一位好管家，他的去世，我心中感到悲痛，但他将激励我更好地事奉神，爱主爱人。
注：沈以藩（1928.3.1-1994.8.7）主教是江苏吴江人，1928年3月1日生于一个三代虔诚的基督徒家庭。其父沈子高（1895-1982）主教曾留学英国，是上海圣约翰大学文学士、神学士、神学博士，1982年他被邀担任中国基督教圣诗委员会顾问，对于推进中国圣诗民族化提出过不少的好建议。
It has been nearly 27 years since Bishop Shen Yifan was called to heaven. Every time I think about this, I feel sorrow and even cry. His amiable voice and face often appear before my eyes, and his teachings often echo in my ears.
His poems "The Eternal Song of Christ" and "Pray for The Lord to Help Me" are among the most popular new hymns frequently sung by our church members. At a time when the church is short of talent, such a versatile man as Bishop Shen is rare. Regrettably, when the church was in need of him, he passed away prematurely.
My contact with Bishop Shen began in 1987. When I started to compile the books Introduction to The Chinese New Hymnal and Brief Interpretation of The Chinese New Hymnal, I gave my first draft to several members of the Hymnal Committee at that time, including Bishop Shen. Despite his busy schedule, he reviewed the first draft and sent me a warm letter encouraging me to keep writing. He also said to me: “Thank you for spending a lot of time and energy over the past few years to collect and compile all the information of ‘Hymns (The Chinese New Hymnal)’, as well as a brief interpretation of the words and phrases, which is an important contribution to the Church in China”.
I was flattered, passionately completed the first draft of the two books, and then revised the drafts five times before they were finished. The great thing is that my book Introduction to The Chinese New Hymnal was partly adopted by Bishop Wang Shenyin in his book History of The Chinese New Hymnal. My book on the interpretation of The Chinese New Hymnal has been published by the China Christian Holy Music Committee.
On July 28 and 29, 1992, when I attended the first meeting of the new Sacred Music Committee held in Shanghai, I had the honor to meet Bishop Shen. His humble and approachable manner was something that I could learn from for the rest of my life. He cast a look of trust and approval, and deliberately stopped in front of me, holding my hand tightly. He once again thanked me for the contribution I made to "The Hymns (The Chinese New Hymnal)" and said that it was not easy for me to work hard these years in collecting and sorting out all the materials of the "The Hymns (The Chinese New Hymnal)".
Bishop Shen was a good steward of God's church. His death made me feel sad, but he inspired me to serve God better, love the Lord and others.
Note: Bishop Shen Yifan (1928.3.1-1994.8.7) was born on March 1, 1928 in Wujiang, Jiangsu province in a family of three generations of devout Christians. His father, Bishop Shen Zigao (1895-1982), had studied in the United Kingdom and received a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Theology, and Doctor of Theology from Shanghai St. John’s University. In 1982, he was invited to serve as a consultant to the Chinese Christian Hymns Committee, and he made many good suggestions on promoting the nationalization of Chinese hymns.
- Translated by Sophia Chen
To Mark the 27th Anniv. of Bishop Shen Yifan's Death
