The days around Memorial Day weekend 2006 will long be remembered as the visit to Virginia by a delegation of some 25 Chinese from the China Christian Council, who were hosted by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board.
For several years Virginia Baptists have been engaged in a prayer ministry with Chinese Christians as coordinated by Lynn Yarbrough, an ambassador of the Baptist General Association of Virginia who is stationed in China. Numerous individual Virginia Baptists have visited China, especially as English language teachers and for cultural awareness. Along the way, a relationship developed which is only the more recent link in a long friendship.
Fred Anderson
The delegation was in Virginia en route to New York City, the final leg in a three-city tour of a large and impressive exhibit on the Bible in China. Entitled “A Lamp to My Feet, A Light to My Path,” the exhibit originally premiered in Hong Kong in 2004; and the enthusiasm over the exhibit was so great that an American tour was planned. In April, the exhibit was mounted at the Crystal Cathedral in Los Angeles and some 7,000 persons viewed the it. The second stop was Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta (where a former Virginia Baptist minister, David Sapp, is pastor) and some 4,000 visited. President Jimmy Carter opened the Atlanta exhibit. The third and final stop was at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York where the exhibit closed June 12. The Richmond visit was for friendship's sake.
When Jerry Jones, group leader of the glocal missions team at the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, telephoned this columnist and inquired about a possible restaurant for the guests, it was suggested that a church serve as host for the distinguished visitors. River Road Church, Baptist, currently shares its facilities with a Chinese Baptist congregation, Grace Church, and together the two churches hosted a banquet. The visiting Chinese brought musicians with them and it was a moving experience to observe the local Chinese as they heard the sounds from the Motherland. The banquet was a high moment in friendship building.
Cao Sheng-jie visits Richmond
On the next day, this columnist gave the visitors a Richmond tour, assisted by Emily King, a professional tour guide. The first stop was the Virginia Baptist Historical Society where on view were artifacts explaining the long friendship. One of the items was a period oil portrait of Yong, the Chinese language teacher who was the first convert made by Henrietta Hall Shuck and Lewis Shuck, pioneer missionaries from Virginia to China in 1835. The portrait was made in Richmond in 1846 when Yong accompanied Shuck for an American tour and immediately became something of a celebrity. The Southern Baptist Convention met in Richmond and Yong preached to the delegates while Shuck translated. The Chinese teacher also began a friendship with the Baptist women of Richmond; and for years afterwards, there was correspondence between Yong and the Baptist women. When he died, the Richmond women paid for this tombstone. One of Yong's letters was in the exhibit at the Historical Society. Imagine the scene as 160 years later, an entire delegation of Chinese Christians visited Richmond and learned about the relationship from across the decades.
Rev. Cao Sheng-jie, president of the China Christian Council, led the delegation and she told her fellow Chinese about Mrs. F.Y.O. Ling, who was her teacher when she attended a Baptist high school as a young girl. On view in the Historical Society was a photograph of Mrs. Ling taken in 1936 when she was the guest of Virginia WMU for the centennial of the Shucks' missionary work in China. At the time, Mrs. Ling was president of All-China WMU. On that visit 70 years ago, Mrs. Ling spoke in churches across Virginia.
Another exhibit told about the Chinese students who have studied at Virginia Baptist schools. In the 1920s at the University of Richmond, the largest number of students—second only to the Virginians—were the Chinese.
On Sunday, the Chinese scattered among five Virginia Baptist churches: Walnut Grove; First, Richmond; River Road; Derbyshire; and Louisa. One of the Chinese ministers also spoke at Grace Chinese. At River Road Church, the Chinese met several persons with China connections, including Linda Harmon, a niece of missionary Lottie Moon, and Ed Pruden Jr., whose parents were sent in 1935 to Shanghai as Virginia WMU's “Shuck Centennial Missionaries.”
With time out for Memorial Day, on Tuesday the Mission Board hosted a visit. Rev. Cao made presentations of gifts and Chinese music filled the air. The visit came to a close as the group began their trip northward.
On Monday, June 5, this columnist and his wife, Nancy, represented Virginia Baptists at the opening of the exhibit in New York City. The exhibit filled the chancel and chapels of the massive cathedral. Beautifully displayed were Christian art treasures, historical Bibles and examples of contemporary Bible printing. Display panels told the story of the printing and distribution in China of some 40 million copies of the Bible.
There are those who challenge the CCC and champion the so-called “underground churches” in China. It is safe to champion from afar, but those who live in China bear the consequences of opposition. It is true that the Chinese do not enjoy Mr. Jefferson's style of religious liberty or the American standard of separation of church and state. Yet there is a remarkable degree of religious expression free from the rancor of denominationalism. Anyone who has visited Chinese Protestant churches and observed packed worship services can testify to the survival and growth of Christianity. Anyone who shared in the Memorial Day visit of the Chinese to Richmond can rejoice in the long friendship which continues.
Fred Anderson may be contacted at P.O. Box 34, University of Richmond, VA 23173.