We worshipped at St Paul's Nanjing again yesterday -- at their English service. (** below for details) (The above picture was taken after the main Chinese service in the main sanctuary - these are just the stragglers praying, chatting etc. There are more pictures of St Paul's here.) Previous short report here.
This was the third Sunday we have attended ... [see extension below]
... and we look forward to another two before we leave China in later August. (Next week we will report from Xian.) We have enjoyed these occasions very much. Yesterday was a Communion service, and being Anglican we particularly enjoyed a variation on the form of what we do back home in England! The services may be more formal than we do, but the heart is the same, and so who are we to judge what it looks like? Every time we have very much enjoyed talking to people after the service, and last week ate lunch (lasting 2 1/2 hours!) with a large group of them. The Chinese attending the English service are obviously younger and know some English, many students or graduate,so it is not representative of the whole church, but both in worship and sharing our stories we have so much in common with our Chinese brother and sister Christians.
There are also a number of internationals who attend regularly, as well as various ones visiting. The first week we were there a group of volunteers on the Amity summer English language teaching programme were worshipping, and it was good to talk to some Brits! (Amity is the Chinese church's social welfare, relief and development work. More on the Summer English Program for Middle School English Teachers ) What obviously marks out those internationals who attend is a desire to build friendship with, and support and strengthen in whatever way they can, the registered Chinese church.
St Paul's, and many other churches in Nanjing are alive! I am not sure of the numbers at St Paul's, but there are a lot of people when they leave the 9am service, and there was a previous service at 7am. There are apparently 100 registered churches in this city. The largest, Mochou Rd, has getting on between 6-8,000 attending six services on Saturday and Sunday. I have been there once and it buzzes with life. (see ** below for details)
What I write will I know raise questions for many which I must address another time. What is the truth in regard to the registered church ("official church" / TSPM church = 'Three Self Patriotic Movement')? That is the question that many attending the Olympic Games or travelling in China on this auspicious year will be asking, and the media even more so. What is the truth about freedom of religion, persecution and the "underground church"? We met a week ago with one of the faculty at the Nanjing Jinling Seminary (as we have met with others over the years) and talked over some of these things, and I want to reflect some of his words and my own thoughts in another post soon.
Meanwhile as I note in a separate post there are encouraging reports of progress in the relationship between the official Chinese Cathloics and those who we often term as underground catholics: Encouraging Reports on the Catholic Church.
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** The English service at St Paul's is listed as 10.45 on the St Paul's listing on the Church Directory on the Amity News Service site. The Directory is very useful and includes an address in Chinese that you print / put on a cell phone / etc to show a taxi driver. Alternatively the No 1 bus (from Nanjing main station via Gulou, Xinjieku, Zhongshan Donglu, then down Taiping Lu, stops right outside.) It is usually worth being there before 10.30.
There are apparently some 100 registered churches in Nanjing. Jiangsu Road Church and Mochou Road Church are the two others listed in the directory. Mochou Rd is huge with three services Saturday and three Sunday, with the 9.00am on each day having some 2000 attending. Pictures and a google map location of these sometime soon.
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