RICE IN CHINA: PALM SUNDAY WORSHIP IN BEIJING
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
She’s used to church. Her father is a preacher. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice worshiped with Chinese on Palm Sunday.
Being in church is not out of the ordinary for Ms. Rice. She grew up in a parsonage: worship, prayer meetings, Sunday school, Bible studies and the like. It’s warp and woof.
Therefore, to initiate Holy Week in a Christian sanctuary was what Ms. Rice had uppermost on her mind. But to locate herself within a Chinese church was paramount. Therefore, she walked into the church in Beijing to be warmly welcomed by fellow believers.
According to Reuters’ Saul Hudson reporting from Beijing, Ms. Rice considered that worship to be a highlight of her Asian tour. Further, the visit to God’s House accented Ms. Rice’s "concern for religious freedom in the world’s most populous country."
Singing hymns with fellow Christians, Ms. Rice knew her place in the pew would draw Chinese leadership to her determination to stand alongside those of faith. The church she visited is one of the "largest state-approved churches." It gave the Secretary of State the opportunity to call forth once again for China to halt its long-standing persecution of Christians. She championed the government relaxing its "restrictions on worship."
The Gangwashi Church, near Tiananmen Square, was shined upon this Palm Sunday when Ms. Rice walked through the front doors. "Plastic green plants in pots" lined the sanctuary altar. The several hundred worshipers applauded the American representative as she exited following the benediction.
"China is on a U.S. blacklist of only a handful of countries worldwide considered ‘of particular concern’ for limiting religious freedom. Despite laws meant to protect religious freedom, the Communist government forbids organized worship outside state-backed ‘patriotic’ religious organizations."
Pray for Christians in China.
She’s used to church. Her father is a preacher. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice worshiped with Chinese on Palm Sunday.
Being in church is not out of the ordinary for Ms. Rice. She grew up in a parsonage: worship, prayer meetings, Sunday school, Bible studies and the like. It’s warp and woof.
Therefore, to initiate Holy Week in a Christian sanctuary was what Ms. Rice had uppermost on her mind. But to locate herself within a Chinese church was paramount. Therefore, she walked into the church in Beijing to be warmly welcomed by fellow believers.
According to Reuters’ Saul Hudson reporting from Beijing, Ms. Rice considered that worship to be a highlight of her Asian tour. Further, the visit to God’s House accented Ms. Rice’s "concern for religious freedom in the world’s most populous country."
Singing hymns with fellow Christians, Ms. Rice knew her place in the pew would draw Chinese leadership to her determination to stand alongside those of faith. The church she visited is one of the "largest state-approved churches." It gave the Secretary of State the opportunity to call forth once again for China to halt its long-standing persecution of Christians. She championed the government relaxing its "restrictions on worship."
The Gangwashi Church, near Tiananmen Square, was shined upon this Palm Sunday when Ms. Rice walked through the front doors. "Plastic green plants in pots" lined the sanctuary altar. The several hundred worshipers applauded the American representative as she exited following the benediction.
"China is on a U.S. blacklist of only a handful of countries worldwide considered ‘of particular concern’ for limiting religious freedom. Despite laws meant to protect religious freedom, the Communist government forbids organized worship outside state-backed ‘patriotic’ religious organizations."
Pray for Christians in China.
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