Christians in Hualien host first-ever Christmas caroling and carnival

From "Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>
Date Thu, 23 Dec 2010 10:59:47 +0800

3068 Edition
December 13-19, 2010

Church Ministry News



Christians in Hualien host first-ever Christmas caroling and carnival



Reported by Lin Yi-ying

Written by Lydia Ma



"Merry Christmas! Jesus loves you!" On December 11, 2010, more than 
1,000 Christians from 4 Christian organizations in Hualien, came 
together at Hualien's 6th Re-development Region at 4:00 p.m. to host 
a Christmas carnival. 



The carnival began with a Christmas caroling where participants were 
divided into various groups to circle the bustling streets of 
downtown Hualien. After the caroling, a Christmas gala was held in 
the same location later on in the evening. 



During the caroling, participants were divided into two routes. Those 
in the first route included East Coast Presbytery, Bunun Presbytery, 
and Hualien Pastors Prayer Alliance. The second route included a mix 
of Taroko Presbytery, Amis Presbytery, and other Christian 
organizations. They circled Hualien's busiest streets, passing 
greetings to everyone they met. 



According to reports, Hualien County Magistrate Fu Kun-Chi had 
originally wanted a county-wide religious festival to include all 5 
major religious faiths and their organizations. However, Christians 
in Hualien didn’t feel at peace with such an arrangement and 
organized  an inter-denominational Christmas carnival instead.



"There has rarely been any large Christmas activities in Hualien area 
in the past," Hualien Missionary Alliance Chairman, Li Hsin-i, said. 
So, Christians in the area had multiple discussion meetings and 
prayer meetings before this event. Li thanked God for granting them a 
good weather on that day, which contributed greatly to the event’s 
success.



During the parade, our reporters asked Taroko Presbytery General 
Secretary, Rev. Nangan Tadaw, if this was the first time that all of 
Hualien’s Christians had come together for a Christmas caroling and 
carnival. "Yes! Yes! Yes!,” the General Secretary replied. "We’ve had 
Christmas events in schools, senior homes, and even penitentiaries 
and hospitals. But we’ve never had such a huge inter-denominational 
event spearheaded by 4 presbyteries. So, yes, this must be a first 
for Hualien."



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