Tangkou Church in Fujian held celebrations on July 10 for its 136th anniversary of foundation and 31st anniversary of reconstruction.
One hundred and thirty-six years ago, western missionaries came to Tangkou Town, Pingnan County, Ningde City, Fujian Province, to establish churches, hospitals and schools, providing medical treatment and medicine to the villagers, according to Pingnan CC&TSPM.
Rev. Wang Jinrong, deputy chairman and secretary general of Jinjiang Municipal CC&TSPM, gave a sermon titled "Remember the Lord's Grace, Praise His Love", encouraging believers not to forget their original intentions, but to remember the Lord's grace and to advance with vigor.
Wei Zhongxin, chairman of Pingnan County TSPM, said in his welcome speech that he was very grateful to Rev. Yue Qinghua, chairman of Fujian Provincial TSPM, as he provided 20,000 yuan on July 3 to support the renovation of Tangkou Church and help pastoral staff in difficulties from the very tight working funds of Fujian CC&TSPM.
In 1885, the Church of England sent a missionary whose Chinese name was "Qingzai" to preach the gospel in Tangkou, where he rented a private house as a missionary site. In 1894, the British Missionary Society built a chapel which was called "Chongzheng Church".
In 1990, Chongzheng Church was rebuilt on the original site, and the reconstruction was completed in 1995 with a capacity of more than 500 people.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
