A Church Service in China

ECP (English Coaching Paper) premises on the outskirts of Tonghua, Jilin Province, China

The next  chapter of 'Hotpot and Dumplings' up for revision is called  'A Church Service'. I was quite surprised to learn that Tonghua had two Catholic churches and a Protestant one. For a while,  I attended Sunday morning services at the latter, surprised at how much the revival-style preaching reminded me of a church I'd come across as a child in Preston, called 'The Shepherd Street Mission.'  Below is an extract.

The congregation  had no problems staying alert during the sermon, especially those at the front. The vicar expounded in a loud voice, made dramatic pauses, and suddenly barked out a staement, ending with ‘Dui, bu dui? (‘Yes or no?’) to which he expected a shouted ‘Dui!’(Yes) or ‘Bu dui!’(No)  answer. So as not to lose face, I suppose, the congregation bawled the answers en masse, which he either repeated with a smile or slammed the lectern with the bible and thundered the proper answer ‘Bu dui!’

 I think his text was ‘The Good Samaritan’, as I recognized words like ‘clothes’, ‘road-side’ and ‘neighbour’.

 ‘Was the priest right to cross on the other side?’ he bellowed. After a pause came a hesitant, ‘D…ui!’

‘BU DUI!’ the vicar yelled at them, and they shouted back, ‘Bu dui!’ as if that is what they had meant all along and had just pretended not to know.

 

Despite all the shouting, towards the end of the sermon the people around me at the back became restive and one young man in the pew in front was holding his mobile phone to his ear. Someone on my right fell asleep. It’s a good thing we were well hidden from view behind the pillar. Next time, I thought, I must arrive early enough to get a seat in the central part of the church.  I must also buy bible and hymn book.

 After the sermon the vicar stood behind a lectern and began to open envelopes, each of which contained a piece of paper and bank notes. The papers requested prayers or gave thanks for benefits to named individuals and, I suppose, took the place of a collection.  As he read the names the vicar took the paper money from the envelope and waved it before him.

 The service climaxed in a very noisy communal prayer. The congregation stood and at a signal began to mutter and then to shout their  thanks and petitions, which they did with some fervour and speed, the noise of voices rising to a crescendo, until the priest  brought it all to a close by starting to sing, with the aid of  a microphone, drowning out the prayers.

 I was already feeling tearful, as I remembered my family and friends at home in England. When the vicar began to sing the Chinese words to ‘Auld Lang Syne' I searched my bag for tissues.  Then, clapping in time to a communal chorus of ‘Xie-xie, xie-xie, Jesu’ (Thank you, thank you, Jesus’) the priest and sidesmen filed out.