wfn.org | Christian churches try to calm terrified Hemei Township

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3011 Edition

>November 9~15, 2009

Christian churches try to calm terrified Hemei Township

>Reported by Chen Wei-jian

>Written by Lydia Ma

In recent days, six reported cases of suicide by hanging rocked  Changhua County’s Hemei

Township. Beside the fact that these suicides took place in quick  succession, the ceremonies

mandated by traditional folk religion for the dead have terrified  and created an uproar among

>villagers living in Hemei.

According to religious customs in Hemei, whenever a person commits  suicide by hanging,

tools used by the deceased to bring about death (such as a rope or  a chair) must be taken to

the sea to be burned on the same day as the deceased’s  funeral. Because of their fear of

death and ghosts and their belief that the deceased must find a  human scapegoat to die in his

place before he can be reincarnated, many villagers loathe having  a funeral procession pass

near their homes and usually try to stay far away during such  occasions. Advance notices

detailing the procession’s route are usually given ahead of  time so that villagers and business

owners have time to clear the area or close their shops.

When Christian churches in Hemei sensed the prevailing fear and  restlessness that gripped

the entire town because of these suicides and processions, they  decided to hold a peace

service along a route usually taken during recent funeral  processions. A peace service took

place on October 31 and November 7 respectively and 13 churches  from different

denominations participated in the event in addition to nearly 500  villagers.

Changhua Bread of Life Church pastor Rev. Jiang Hong-kuang said  the more local authorities

tried to conceal actual suicide numbers, the more quickly rumors  flew from neighborhood to

neighborhood, causing the whole town was engulfed by a sense of  fear and dread. When

churches sensed this, they immediately decided to host a peace  service to calm people’s

hearts. Church administrators got to work quickly and began  passing out flyers informing

villagers of two peace services to be held and everyone in town  soon got hold of the news.

One Presbyterian pastor from Hemei emphasized that a lot of  attention was paid in designing

this inter-denominational and outreach service. Church bells began  ringing just before 10:00

a.m., inviting villagers to come, but prayer services had begun  much earlier at 8:30 a.m.

Church members gave choir presentations and performed religious  ceremonies during the

service before dismissing the crowd with a prayer for blessings. A  lot of gospel tracts were

distributed to local villagers as well. Many villagers were so  touched by the presentations that

>tears filled their eyes.

According to Taiwan Department of Health statistics, suicide is  one of the top ten causes of

death in Taiwan in the past 11 years. Approximately 11 people  commit suicide in Taiwan

>every day.

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