christianity – Page 3 – The Unlikely Pilgrim

Not Encouraged, Not Forbidden – Religion in China

February 24, 2017February 24, 2017theunlikelypilgrim

I’m left feeling a little confused. I’ve travelled the north and south of China and chatted to anyone who would listen and I’ve found three conflicting arguments.

Yes, of course you can practice religion in China. It’s just not encouraged. And if you are a communist party member you can’t.
No. You are not allowed to practice religion in China unless you have a foreign passport.
You can practice religion but a lot of Chinese people don’t really believe; they just go for luck. Like the temple at New Year. What?

There is a rich history of diverse religion in China. I have explored mosques, churches, temples and synagogues. But if I’m honest most were somewhat lacking in that feeling of closeness to God that I usually find in places of worship. For the most part they were beautiful buildings filled with people. But they were tourists, not faithfuls. Historical buildings to be admired for their architecture, not houses of God. Restored and respected, but not revered. Some of which you can’t even enter. Empty, dormant, just a shell of a past time gone by.

In Harbin the soullessness of a gorgeous historical Russian church broke my heart. The only association with God in this incredible place was an extraordinary last supper painting at the front, where I imagine the altar lay many years ago. Not a pew in sight; a history of Harbin adorned the walls and that’s all. It was filled to the brim with Chinese tourists taking selfies and skimming past the information on the walls. It was a tick in the box sight to see whilst in town for the annual ice festival. At least that’s what it felt like. Also in Harbin I found a spectacular refurbished synagogue which is now a Jewish museum, here at least relics of the faith that should be running through the halls could be found.
Although, the most perplexing church was the fabulous Gothic Cathedral in Shanghai. There was a Christian book store at the side but the building is a not allowed to be entered and the annex is a restaurant and function centre. The ladies in the book store selling bibles said there is no service here… ever. Odd, so no service, but come and buy a bible?
With a population of over 1.4 billion people the 50-odd locals I spoke to in two weeks is hardly an accurate representation, but I get the feeling there is two camps. The faithful who find a way, and the others who see religion as a history lesson or something the west does, not a reality in China. Let’s ignore the fact that it’s a Buddhist nation for now and that temples filled with monks and worshippers are plentiful.

China. It’s a strange place and the mystery of religion continues as I attended Chinese New Year celebrations in the Jina’ng Temple. To be by my side at midnight in the temple you would be rest assured faith is alive and well in this great land. A sea of thousands of heads bowed, hands in prayer, awaiting the New Year to commence. On the other hand if you walked the empty halls of churches in Beijing you’d perhaps find yourself saddened by the gaping hole of faith in such iconic buildings.
To me places of worship of any denomination command a certain respect. They provide a community vibe, one of inclusion, sanctuary and service. It is with dedication and devotion that people invest time, money and effort into these places. They are holy buildings of faith where the people can gather, united and give thanks to the Lord or pray for others, the world, and for peace.

I did find mosques, churches and temples with active services of not only expats but of real locals and was invited to tea by a Daoist leader in Harbin. In saying that, I pray more often than not in my house or my head, or when I’m walking I chat to God. So it begs the question. Is religion really reliant on a building? I know faith is not. Faith is in the heart of everyone. There is definitely faith in the hearts and minds of the Chinese. How many and how true, who knows?

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Yet, I still find myself called to pray for China. Is that arrogant of me? Is it superior to feel sad for people who are restricted in faith? I claim to be all accepting but to be hidden or confused about whether or not you can choose and practice a faith whichever you like, to me is disappointing.
So that was China. Back to the Middle East – Lebanon here I come!
Yours in faith,

The Unlikely Pilgrim

House of God Hopping in Harbin

February 20, 2017February 16, 2017theunlikelypilgrim

Harbin is a town in the Heilongjiang province in China all the way north, bordering Mongolia and Russia. A place I had never heard of until I came to China and the uni girls in Shanghai suggested I check out the annual ice festival. Every year thousands of domestic and international tourists flock to see the spectacular Harbin International Ice & Snow Festival. Where entire roundabouts are converted to ice brick palaces complete with lights and the footpaths in the main square have ice sculptures and snow creations. Even hotel lobbies have incredible creations on display.

There are several venues hosting the festival activities and I decided to head to the biggest and best on offer at Ice and Snow World. As the name suggests, it’s freezing! I had pocket warmers in my shoes, gloves and even on the back of my phone to stop it from shutting down. My fellow ‘single rider’ Da Win Sho wandered the park with me, sipping tea and admiring ballerinas carved from ice, castles, a giant snow rooster on the hill and even ice slides (which I skipped as I already couldn’t feel my legs). This is definitely worth a look if you are in this part of the world in January or February, but rug up as minus 20 is not for the feint hearted and this Aussie certainly was feeling it. In fact the flu set in pretty soon after I arrived and lingered until I hit the moderate temperatures of Hong Kong almost a week later.

Of course, this trip was not about sightseeing and tourist spots so unless there was an interesting religious history it was a no go. Well I don’t think I could have found a more religiously diverse history in all of China. Being so close to Russia the people of Harbin have Jewish and Russian Orthodox history, combined with the Temples for Confucius, Daoism and Buddhism. They also have some of the most beautiful church buildings I’ve seen in China. The food is also worth a mention. Russian sausage on a stick sold next to dumplings and non-alcoholic German beer anyone ?

I set out to explore these places; to talk to the people and discover the religious tapestry. What I found was perplexing and disheartening for a faithful like me. Churches, built with devotion and dedication to the Lord, were empty shells. A magnificent synagogue stood proudly in the city centre which was converted to a museum. There were café lined streets and restaurants with the Star of David in the windows; the only marking reminiscent of the rich Jewish community that used to call this place home. The architecture and grand design of these buildings were there to be appreciated and admired, for a price, with your tourist tickets. Many buildings seemed to be visited to snap a selfie in between trips to the ice displays. I guess a tourist at the Vatican or York Minster is the same. It’s not necessarily a pilgrimage for everyone. Maybe it’s just pretty to see if you’re in town, yet it left me heavy hearted.

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What happened here? Clearly the limitations put in place by the regime affected these organisations, but I was surprised to see the soullessness echoing still today. I did find an operational mosque which was grand and beautiful. I was not able to go in but I was told that the Islamic community is alive and well in Harbin. My hosts and I continued to visit empty temples, boarded up churches and just when I thought all was lost we stumbled across the Harbin Nanang Christian Church and a service was getting ready to begin. Thank the Lord! A church full of locals, who were devoted and practicing their faith. The ladies chatted to us and remined me that Jesus loves me, the only English sentence they knew. Cute!

In this church the service was not due to start for another hour yet the congregation arrived early to interact with each other, read the bible quietly and then out loud in a chorus prior to the service. I noticed it was a very female led congregation with the odd scattering of a husband or son among the pews.

We also dropped into a Daoist temple not on the list but a must see, said my host. This small unassuming local temple housed a small shrine, three prayer stools, a table with information and incense. The Daoshi was happy to chat to me and gave me a gift to remember my time there. He explained to me Ying and Yang, reminding me of the importance of balance in my life and therefore the world.

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Three days in Harbin – seven churches, four temples two mosques and a synagogue. Not to mention the Confucius temples that are supported by the government but not on the list of sanctioned religions. Harbin, rich in history but is it rich in faith? I’m not sure. China continues to confuse me as to whether religion is free or merely present? I’m not an investigative journalist, but what I do know is that people of all faiths have embraced me in China, so that has to stand for something.

http://www.icefestivalharbin.com/

Yours in Faith,

The Unlikely Pilgrim

Pilgrim of the Week #6 – Nikki

February 17, 2017February 16, 2017theunlikelypilgrim

Courageous, determined, faithful and strong. That is Nikki! I met this incredible woman as she led us in prayer at the Abundant Grace International Fellowship (AGIF) women’s fellowship group in Shanghai last month. She was sharing with us her journey of discovering that she had the cursed BRCA gene. She described the torment she experienced with treatment, feelings of isolation, fear and how through her faith she survived a double mastectomy, full hysterectomy, chemotherapy and everything that the medical world could throw at her and this awful genetic mutation. Her words were so sincere and true as a she explained her resolve to see this knowledge as a gift and not a curse. Not only did it test her health, her commitment to God, but it tested her marriage, her womanhood and sometimes what felt like her sanity. The room was full of tearful ladies hanging onto her every word and rightly so. Through adversity we either cling to our faith or feel abandoned by it. I was so thankful to be in this room hearing the testimony flow from Nikki’s heart and soul. Her words were shared to offer hope, encouragement and faith to the sisters in the room, of which I had politely gate crashed. Nikki, you are amazing and I’m so blessed to have met you. God, bless you and your heart.

Shanghai – Where are the Faithful?

February 11, 2017theunlikelypilgrim

I’ve arrived. It was a rather chilly reception when I landed in China. With two degrees flashing on my watch I set off to the AirBnB, with my backpack strapped on. Another warm welcome greeted me and a delicious dinner was prepared by my hosts, Sophia and Haoran. I was so curious about the government restrictions, my hosts happily explained their view on religion in China over dinner. This couple of self-confessed ‘culturally Buddhists’ explained that religion is possible in Shanghai and their mother dutifully attended temple regularly. It’s no problem to attend church, they said. Okay, I thought, this will be easy.

So I set off to explore. I had two agendas in Shanghai. Operation Brazilian Visa (a whole separate post needed for that), and find people of faith in Shanghai, without getting into trouble. My trip was very loosely planned; mostly just to fly by the seat of my pants was the plan. Which was actually how I ended up in Shanghai. My sister-in-law’s Finnish cousin, Emma , who I only met on Christmas Day, is studying there so she offered a bed in her university dorms. Why not?

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So using Sanda University Halls of Residence as a base, and after getting past the very staunch and uncooperative guard that is, I explored that massive metropolis, and in my Googling I discovered an InterNations event. It was there I met Flora. Flora was a gorgeous Chinese woman who had lived in the US for many years. We shared our stories and she told me how she had come to know Jesus through her friends in the US and that through a difficult time in her life she decided to see what all the fuss was about. She candidly relayed the intimate details of her life’s trials and nonchalantly mentioned how kind church people were. A notion I’m pleased to agree with, reminding me of a comment made by one of my mates in Bali who I took to a church event once. “Christians. Always so bloody nice aren’t they.” (Yes Matt, they are!). What was interesting about Flora was that she was desperate to find a church but had been deterred by all the regulations stating as a Chinese passport holder she could not attend. What? So rightfully or not I invited her to the church I had attended earlier in the week. She went and has found home there, one email is all it took. I wondered how long she had been searching for a church family?

I explored temples and churches mainly in Shanghai and attended an incredible ‘women in faith’ fellowship group. Women from all over the world met to discuss God and share their faith. I was welcomed with open arms and the host Carolina from Costa Rica sparked my interest in the turtle program there. (I might just do that, it’s been nagging on my heart for over a decade). About 20 women huddled in and we were led by a wonderful woman whose testimony was inspiring and of course there was cake. I questioned the restrictions on Chinese participation and one lady said, “I heard that if the government came you better have a foreign passport, but I don’t ask questions and there are definitely Chinese locals in the congregation.” Confusing. The women prayed for my journey and gave me encouragement and wisdom. I was so happy to have met these ladies and will be sure to drop in on some more fellowship groups.

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Lastly was Moses, now he never said he was faithful and he may not be. But, his name was why I picked his AirBnB for New Year. What I liked about Moses was his open attitude, we discussed religion and he was in the conservative camp. Maybe if you want to pray you can but it’s not encouraged. He did mention with the beauty of VPN in China now the access to ‘real’ information is easier. I asked him how he got his name and he said in English class in high school they chose English names. He had heard the story of Exodus and thought, “I want to be a leader and with a name like Moses maybe I will be.” A simple idea and maybe it just made sense to a 14 year old boy. Or maybe it is like the story of Abraham – Genesis 17:5. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

Moses certainly had the presence of a leader in my eyes.
I’m yet to discuss the ins and outs of Buddhism with a monk but I’m heading to a town with a famous temple so that might be my chance.

Yours in Faith,

The Unlikely Pilgrim

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