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08558
August 4, 2008
Protestant pastors to help carry Olympic torch in Beijing
Chaplains, Bibles will also be prominent in Olympic Village
LOUISVILLE — Five Protestant pastors are among the 21,880 persons who will carry the Olympic torch through the streets of Beijing to mark the beginning of the summer Olympic Games next week.
Three of the pastors have been identified by Chinese Gospel News as:
- the Rev. Lin Delai, 37, a graduate of Fujian Seminary and pastor of Huaxiang (Flower Lane) Church in Fuzhou, Fujian Province;
- the Rev. Ding Jianhua, 33, a fourth generation Christian and graduate of Zhongnan (South Central regional) Seminary in Wuhan who has been serving in Shashi/Jingzhou, Hubei Province along the Yangtze River;
- the Rev. Xue Lianxi, 45, a graduate of Nanjing Theological Seminary, who serves as chair of the local and provincial Three-Self organization as well as his congregation in Hefei.
Xue said he feels honored to be a torch carrier, and says that there is a place for Christians in China to bear witness, to participate in nation-building and to contribute to the harmony of society.
Lin said: “I will be raising the torch to heaven. As I run I will be praying for world peace, and for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake.”
50,000 copies of the special Olympic edition of bi-lingual Bibles (Chinese- English, Chinese-Spanish) have been sent from the Amity Press to the Olympic Village in Beijing. They will be gifts to athletes and visitors. Each Bible has a beautiful Olympic emblem on its cover.
According to Xinhua News Agency, a team of 16 Protestant clergy and theological students sent by the China Christian Council will be assigned to the Olympic Village in Beijing to serve as translators and to conduct services of worship in the Protestant chapel and take athletes to visit local churches.
Teams of clergy from other religions are also assigned to serve in their worship centers.
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