A group photo of classmates from a class at Luoding Bible College in 1938. The first one on the left is Mr. Song Beide.
From 1937 to 1951, Pastor Peter Song worked in the Christian South China Elders’ Church*. The author participated in the youth fellowship he organized. For a period of time, I worked under his leadership and benefited a lot from Pastor Song's words and deeds. His voice and appearance are still there, and my memory is profound. Here is the description below:
(1) Studying and Early Service
Around 1936, Mr. Peter Song ( Ordained as a pastor (formerly known as Mr.), he studied at the Guangzhou Bible College organized by the Christian Evangelistic Association (the American Christian Evangelistic Association). On July 7, 1937, " Marco Polo Bridge Incident", Japan fully invaded China and sent planes to bomb Shanghai, Guangzhou and other major cities. The Guangzhou Bible College is located in Jili Village, Henan Province, Guangzhou. Many overseas Chinese houses in the village were bombed indiscriminately by Japanese planes. After the fall of Guangzhou in October 1938, the Guangzhou Bible College moved to Hong Kong. Mr. Song transferred to the Luoding Bible College organized by the South China Presbyterian Church in Luoding. There were not many students at that time, and there were only six students in Mr. Song’s class. A group photo of the classmates is here.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Shanghai's Bethel Theological Seminary moved to Hong Kong. Around 1939, Mr. Song went to Bethel Theological Seminary for further studies. At the end of 1941, the Pacific War broke out. In December, the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong. Bethel Theological Seminary was closed. The South China Presbyterian Church invited Mr. Song to work in Deqing Church.
In the summer of 1942, the South China Presbyterian Church planned to hold a revival meeting in Deqing. Mr. Song recommended to the church that they ask Pastor Bao Hankong, a professor at Bethel Theological Seminary, to lead the revival meeting. The church agreed and asked Pastor Bao to lead the revival meeting. Pastor Bao is from Shanghai and speaks Shanghainese, and Mr. Song serves as translator.
After the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong, the population was evacuated, and a large number of Hong Kong residents returned to the mainland. Zhu Jianji, a student from Bethel Theological Seminary, and He Daozhang, Lao De'an, Lu Meide, and Guo Hanwei, students from Guangzhou Bible College, were also among those evacuated. Mr. Song invited them Went to Deqing to help hold a revival meeting.
In the second half of 1942, Mr. Song Peter and Mr. Zhu Jianji went to work at Yunfu Gospel Hall. They used local materials and made simple things, using local methods to make slide projectors, using gas lamps as light sources (there was no electricity at the time), glass sheets as negatives, mercury red water, purple potion, and iodine as pigments to draw colorful paintings. Slides with themes such as "The Return of the Prodigal Son" and "The Life of Jesus". In the evening, evangelistic meetings were held on the streets. Mr. Peter Song could play the trumpet, and the sound of the trumpet was loud. Many people came after hearing the sound. He first taught and sang gospel songs, and then the preacher preached and showed slides. At that time, slides were a new thing and attracted many people to listen to the sermon. host.
In 1943, Mr. Song went to Deqing Chapel as the missionary director and carried out many reforms, mainly as follows:
Attention was paid to youth work: the Youth League of the Christian Episcopal Church was established, with members including young church members, young children of church members, and righteous people. There are a total of forty or fifty young people in the civilian institute. Mr. Song selected music and lyrics to compose "Regiment Song". Preach to young people every week, cultivate their spiritual life, and teach them to assist in church work.
Carry out family worship gatherings: go to a believer's home every week, believers sign up voluntarily, and Sundays are announced. At that time, the believer invites his family, relatives, neighbors, and friends to participate, and the preacher goes to the believer's home to worship the true God and preach the gospel.
Do a good job in street evangelism: Mr. Song leads the youth group to help recruit pedestrians, distribute gospel tracts, and show gospel slides. Mr. Song plays the trumpet, preaches, and preaches the gospel to attract people to the Lord.
Around 1939, Miss Lin Juejin went to work in Deqing Church, first as a preacher, and then as a medical worker in Huai'ai Hospital. In 1943, Mr. Song married Miss Lin.
(2) Ordered in the face of danger
In the autumn of 1944, the current situation was tense. There were widespread rumors in the society that the Japanese invaders were about to go straight up the Xijiang River and invade Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces. The U.S. Consulate in Kunming, Yunnan specially notified American missionaries in Deqing and Luoding to withdraw to the United States.
During this extraordinary period, the leadership of the South China Presbyterian Church made important decisions and arrangements: (1) American missionaries returned to the United States and ordained Mr. Peter Song as pastor to preside over the work of the Deqing Church diocese; The church's real estate was donated to the Chinese Church; (3) Deqing Diocese's pastoral personnel and materials retreated toward Luoding.
On the matter of ordaining Mr. Song as a pastor, the leadership of the South China Presbyterian Church (including American missionaries such as Pastor Jin Yuliu and Ms. Xie Zhenzhen, and Chinese Pastors Huang Mingyuan, Lu Yunbo, Elder Chen Peihua, etc.) made serious and serious decisions. After discussion and research, I believe that Mr. Song has studied theology, but has only served the Lord for a few years. He has insufficient experience, qualifications, and is young (the exact age is unknown, about twenty-four or five years old). His main shortcoming is pride, and he must pay serious attention to overcoming it. . Ordination as a priest was a special arrangement and an exceptional promotion in the war environment, when American missionaries returned to the United States and no one was in charge of Deqing Diocese. The above information will be announced to Mr. Song and the general public. At the ordination ceremony, in his reply of thanks for the ordination, Pastor Song repeatedly emphasized that he must be humble, humble, and rely on God to do his pastoral work well.
In August, Mr. Peter Song was ordained as pastor and completed the work of donating the American church’s real estate to the Chinese church. In September, American missionaries Pastor Jin Yuliu and his wife, Ms. Xie Zhenzhen, and Dr. Gao Meijie left Deqing to return to the United States. Pastor Peter Song was appointed to take charge of the overall work of Deqing Diocese.
As the situation became more tense, Pastor Song, Mrs. Lin Juejin, the boy, his mother Mrs. Song, and church staff member Ms. Xie Xueqiong carried church supplies and medicines and medical equipment from Hui'ai Hospital and evacuated to Luoding County, and then retreated to rural villages. Finally, he moved to Tanpu, Xinyi County and settled down. Also accompanying him were Pastor Lin Juejin’s brother Lin Shengben, Ms. Xie Xueqiong’s adopted daughter Xie Xiuzhen, and nephew Xie Tianrong.
On September 22, Deqing County was occupied by the Japanese army.
The church's financial resources were cut off and it was in a very difficult situation. During the Anti-Japanese War, Guangdong College of Arts and Sciences moved from Guangzhou to Luoding. Christian Mr. Lai Zhiji (from Luoding) taught at the College of Arts and Sciences. He introduced Mrs. Lin Juejin to work in the college’s infirmary, and introduced Ms. Xie Xueqiong to the college’s students. Teaching in primary school, financial difficulties have been alleviated.
In the difficult environment of wandering and financial difficulties, Pastor Song still did the work of evangelism and evangelism in Tanpu.
(3) Post-war demobilization
On August 15, 1945, the Japanese officially announced their unconditional surrender. The eight-year war of resistance ended victoriously and the country regained its glory. At that time, the floods in the Xijiang River surged, and Deqing County was covered in ocean. Pastor Song took the "electric boat" from Luoding and returned to Deqing from Nanjianghe. The "electric boat" stopped in front of the "foreign house", went ashore and entered the "foreign house", returning to the church's home. (At the beginning of the 20th century, the American church built eight Western-style buildings in Dengyun, Deqing County, as residences, chapels, and Hui'ai Hospital. People and church members called this group of Western-style buildings "Western-style buildings.") In "Foreign-style buildings," The family of parishioners Luo Ji and Liang Zhiqi who lived near the building first saw Pastor Song and the American missionary Pastor Mayesi who came with them. They then went around telling the parishioners, "Pastor Song is back, Pastor Mei is back!" The church members told each other, and soon they knew that the pastor had returned.
Although I returned to my own place, I still can't live in peace. During the fall, the Japanese troops were stationed in the "foreign-style building". When they retreated, it was unknown whether explosives were buried in the hidden places of the house and whether the wells were poisoned. Pastor Song, Pastor Mei, and the enthusiastic church members, each building, Every room was inspected in detail, and water was drawn from every well for inspection. Public security is not good, so beware of thieves stealing at night. Pastor America works in the British rescue team. He has a gun and gives it to Pastor Song. Pastor Song gets up at midnight to patrol the night.
On the eve of the fall of Deqing, Pastor Song took supplies and took refuge in Luoding, while the believers went to the hometown of Deqing to seek relatives and friends everywhere to escape the national disaster. Deqing fell for nearly a year. During this period, the shepherd could not see the sheep, and the sheep could not see the shepherd.Now that the land has regained its glory and the pastor has returned, the believers have gone to the "foreign house" to see the pastor. The pastor also visited the believers, greeted each other, and thanked the true God for his guidance. They passed through the valley of the shadow of death and went to the green grassland and the resting water. side. Everyone saw that the church home, several residential buildings, and the Airi Girls' School were relatively intact, but the Hui'ai Hospital was completely empty, especially the chapel. The doors, windows, tables, and chairs were all gone, with only four walls and a patchwork left. Wa Mian, how to have a party? How to worship the true God? Pastor Song proposed a restoration plan for the church: in order to make the chapel and Huiai Hospital more convenient for people to listen to sermons and seek medical treatment, they should move to residential areas, change the Truth School on Huiji Street into a chapel, and change the chapel at Wuxiangkou into Huiai Hospital. The parishioners all agreed with the plan proposed by Pastor Song. During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, the people were in dire straits and the church members were in very difficult financial circumstances, but they still tried their best to renovate the church.
The Truth School on Huiji Street, now the Shengli East Road Chapel, was built in 1907. It has a brick and wood structure. There are two large classrooms on the first floor, and the entrance is on the left side of the house. Pastor Song planned to open up the two large classrooms to serve as a worship hall, and open a large doorway on the wall facing the street. The decoration was completed quickly, and a gathering was held here shortly after the Restoration. In the 70 years since 1945, the back seat of the chapel has been rebuilt into a two-story building. The front seat is still the old building and has been renovated many times. However, the basic layout remains unchanged as planned by Pastor Song.
The doors and windows of the chapel at the entrance of Wuxiangkou were completely destroyed by the Japanese army. It is now going to be converted into Hui'ai Hospital. However, due to lack of funds, the north residential building that was seriously eaten by termites in the 1930s was demolished and the bricks, wood, doors and windows were moved there. Building materials were used, doors and windows were reinstalled, and the porches on both sides were converted into pharmacies and clinics respectively. Dr. Zhao Zilin was continued to be hired as the director. It reopened in the summer of 1946 and opened an outpatient clinic and a medical department to receive patients. It also set up a medical department to receive women after childbirth.
(4) The gift of God
The six counties where the South China Christian Elders Association is located, including Deqing, Luoding, Yunfu, Yunan, Fengchuan, and Kaijian, are all located in the mountainous areas of western Guangdong, with backward economy, culture, and education, and inconvenient transportation. , the roads between counties and the roads within the county are all dirt roads, rugged, and there are no cars. All travel is by walking on two legs. The distance between Deqing and Luoding is the farthest, 120 miles (60 kilometers). During the Anti-Japanese War, it was even more difficult. At that time, Pastor Peter Song, Miss Song Luqian and other preachers gathered together and often discussed: Preachers working in the Old Church must be able to speak (preach), sing, walk, endure hardship, and not be afraid of eating porridge and sweet potatoes. , Eat taro. During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, they shared the joys and sorrows with the people and believers in these six counties, preached the gospel in urban and rural areas, and led people to believe in the Lord.
There are different gifts given to pastors and preachers. God has blessed Pastor Song with good preaching and pastoral care. He can do youth work. He is also versatile. He can play the trumpet, pull a hacksaw to play music, artistically decorate the venue, and do carpentry. These talents are all helpful in the work of evangelism.
Pastor Song is thin, but he can use his Dantian energy to play the trumpet. During the street sermon, Pastor Song played the trumpet, and the sound of the trumpet resounded through the streets, gathering people to listen to the gospel.
Pastor Song will use a violin bow to pull a hacksaw to play music. The hacksaw makes a unique metallic sound and has a melodious tone. At the Christmas Eve party, a gathering of believers, Pastor Song hacksawed and played a song. The audience applauded warmly and welcomed one more song, and one more song.
Pastor Song has artistic talent and decorates the venue in a unique way during major church festivals.
One Christmas, the background of the podium was the wise men worshiping the Holy Child and offering gold, frankincense and myrrh. Christmas Eve party, the performance is The Journey of the Wise Men to Bethlehem. The hollow five-pointed star is attached to the glass piece of the flashlight, and the staff moves the flashlight behind the canopy. The light is projected onto the canopy, and the star appears, leading the doctor forward.
One year Easter , a background was drawn behind the pulpit: an empty tomb with angels sitting on rolled stones. The title of the sermon is "The Lord is Resurrected!" ", the background complements the sermon and complements each other, allowing believers to have a deeper understanding of the resurrected Lord.
These activities were designed and proposed by Pastor Song, and he mobilized young believers to help complete them.
Pastor Song is also good at carpentry. When the church tables and chairs were damaged, Pastor Song repaired them himself. When Pastor Song was in Deqing, he personally made a set of wooden trays to hold communion cups. Each round hole placed a communion cup, and they were painted with white paint, which was pure and beautiful. The believers praised Pastor Song's craftsmanship, and even the carpenters on the market couldn't do it. The church members made a good-natured joke with Pastor Song: Pastor Song, you are a "pastor" who preaches the gospel, and you are also a "carpenter" who is a carpenter. Pastor Song replied that our church is poor and we do it ourselves. The church saves money and does gospel work.
Pastor Song has research experience in carpentry engineering, cement engineering, and construction engineering. Therefore, he was well aware of the construction of chapels and Hui'ai Hospital in Deqing and the decoration of chapels in Guangzhou. Bargain with the project contractor, fight for the interests of the church, and will not be deceived. He is a good leader of the church.
(5) Open up new areas
In the autumn of 1946, American missionaries Pastor Jin Yuliu, Miss Xie Zhenzhen, and Dr. Gao Meijie came to China from the United States and worked in Deqing. Pastor Song proposed to them the suggestion of opening a chapel in Guangzhou to preach the gospel. Accept Pastor Song’s suggestion, which was also approved by the American Mission Board. Pastor Song plans to build a church in Guangzhou.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War on August 15, 1945, the Guangdong College of Arts and Sciences moved back to Guangzhou from Luoding. Mrs. Lin Juejin, who worked in the infirmary of the hospital, did not follow Pastor Song back to Deqing, but went to Guangzhou with the College of Arts and Sciences. At that time, the College of Arts and Sciences borrowed Guangxiao Temple as its campus, and Mrs. Lin lived in Guangxiao Temple. Pastor Song went to Guangzhou to open a new site and initially lived in Guangxiao Temple, which was inconvenient to get in and out. Pastor Song knew the female director of the Guangzhou Women and Children's Hospital (the hospital is located at Huifu West Road ). She lent her a two-story building, and Pastor Song and his family moved there to start preparations for building a new church.
At the end of 1946, we rented a shop on Huifu West Road and decorated it as a chapel, called "Hui Fook Hall", which was opened before Christmas.
In 1947, he rented a shop on Weixin Road (called Uprising Road after liberation) and decorated it as a chapel, called "Weixin Church". Restoration Road is wide and has many people coming and going, which is more conducive to spreading the gospel.
In 1947, Pastor Song and Mr. Lei Lianqi co-edited "Psalms to the Lord", which was the second collection of hymns compiled by the South China Presbyterian Church and was printed and published in Guangzhou.
In the autumn of 1948, Pastor Bao Yisen came to China again and worked in Guangzhou, and then established the Guangzhou Diocese of the South China Presbyterian Church. The chapel built by Song Luqian in Yayao, Heshan County was also included in the Guangzhou Diocese. Pastor Bao Yisen and Pastor Song jointly preside over the work of the Guangzhou Diocese of the Elders.
At the end of 1948, a three-story building was purchased diagonally opposite the Restoration Church. The first floor was used as a chapel, and the upper two floors were used as Guangzhou Diocese offices and staff dormitories.
Pastor Song went to Guangzhou in 1947 to build a new church. There was no preacher in Deqing Church and no preacher in Capital Church. Pastor Song studied at Guangzhou Bible College and Bethel Theological Seminary, and had many classmates. According to Pastor Song, the preachers hired by the South China Presbyterian Church include: Mr. Bao Juesheng (son of Pastor Bao Hankong), Lei Lianqi Mr. Zhang Minfu, they worked in Deqing Hall successively. Mr. Zhang Minfu worked the longest, from 1947 to 1951. There is also Mr. Xie Daoyi, who works at Capital City Hall.
In April 1949, the Chinese People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River and continued southward. In August, American missionaries Pastor Yisen Pao and Ms. Xie Zhenzhen left the mainland and temporarily stayed in Hong Kong to observe the development of the situation in the mainland and contact domestic pastors. The work of the South China Presbyterian Church is entirely handled by Chinese pastors.
After the liberation of the country in 1949, political movements such as land reform, suppression of counterrevolutionaries, and Resisting U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea were carried out. In these political movements, churches across the country... (56 words deleted)
In 1950, Pastor Song often went to Hong Kong to meet with Bao Pastor Yisen and Miss Xie Zhenzhu discussed church affairs. Pastor Song's sister's family is in the rice business. When Pastor Song goes to Hong Kong, he will naturally visit his sister to discuss the situation on the mainland and prepare for an exit.
On X, month .
Pastor Song is a loyal servant of God, serving the Lord throughout his life. God gave him wisdom, strength and courage. In the dangerous environment of the Anti-Japanese War, he was ordered to save the church property in danger; after the war, he restored the Deqing Church and opened up new areas in Guangzhou; In 1949, mainland China... (12 words deleted); after arriving in Hong Kong, a new situation of evangelism was opened and churches were established. Pastor Song retired from labor and returned to the Lord in 1966, and is deeply missed. God will give him a crown of glory. We should imitate Pastor Song, be loyal, diligent, humble, kind, courageous, do more work for the Lord, spread the gospel widely, glorify God and benefit people, Amen!
Wen Boxun, first draft in early June 2016
*Chen Shiru’s note: South China Presbyterian Church is the abbreviation of the South China Covenantal Reformed Presbyterian Church. At that time, the South China Presbyterian Church was headquartered in Deqing.
** Chen Shiru's note: According to Alice Elizabeth Robb's book "Opening the Door", these American missionaries left Deqing on August 22, 1944. They are: Rev. and Mrs. J. K. Kempf, Dr. Art Scott, Miss Margaret Tuslett, and Miss Jenny Dean.
*** Chen Shiru's note: Pastor Mayesi is Pastor Jesse Mitchell. At that time, he did not return to the United States with other missionaries. He stayed and joined the British Army Rescue Team (see "Jesse Mitchell" The adventures of a priest during the Anti-Japanese War").
