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
