Hometown Church

My childhood memories of our hometown church would begin with the church bell on Sunday morning. The bell was loud and was heard all over the town. I used to look up at the tower and the bell man with awe. As a small child, I would watch with admiration when the adults were receiving their bread and wine, and I would play and glide on the steps outside the side door. I faintly remember my baptism and stage acting on Christmas night, and thought that Pastor Wu and Pastor Lai was one person. The two letters below from my brother Yanbei, however, have more to say on Pastor Wu and his wife:

12-27-2001

Dear Brother,

In my own childhood recollections, the church was a place of warmth and love, with Christmas flowers (poinsettia) red and tall, with stone steps to glide on, with lion-like stone statues to crouch and gawk, and, of course, with organ and hymnal that touched me even though I did not understand the words. I remember seeing Mrs. Wu taking donation with a blue bag. The bag was made of cloth, with wooden opening shaped like an egg. Solemn but gentle, she would pass around. The congregation would drop their donation into the bag, one dime or two, with all reverence to God.

1-4-2002

Dear Brother,

As I was leaving home just now, Mom left with me to go to her choir practice in the church. It was 7PM, and others had not come yet. I accompanied her on a tour. The stone steps that you mentioned in your letter were still there, so were Christmas flowers. Mom said that the church did not change much in 80 years or so, except that things stay while people move. The two-storey building where Pastor Wu and his family used to reside is still there, but the stairs had been replaced, so was the pastor. I stared at the lettering in the church hall. They were still legible, and Pastor Wu's sermon started to ring in the ear, and voices and images of the past seemed to bounce back. Mom recalled how she climbed up to the bell tower with her young friends to steal a nap. That must have been a joyful moment in her life. You and I were not born at that time, just as we will be gone one day, but this world and this life will go on.

Perhaps, in some distant future, we can go to this church together, hand in hand. I have always hoped that as we grow older, we will feel more attached to it. It is said that the church will undergo a major renovation. It may look very different, and our childhood memories will be lost forever. How sad that will be!

Today is January 4th. In six months you will come back for a visit. Let's go together to the church this time, like 40 years ago. . . . . .

stone lion 石狮

Pastor & Mrs. Wu

Yannan 2016 homeland visit 6：root

To see hometown Buddhist temples, click here.

(old) church photos  |   new church photos (2005) | hometown religion: 2007