November 7-13, 2011
Church Ministry News
Indigenous church remodels building in consideration for elderly members
Reported by Lin Yi-ying
Written by Lydia Ma
To make life easier for the many elderly at Chinlun Presbyterian Church who need to climb a flight of stairs every Sunday morning to attend worship service, the church recently decided to move its sanctuary on the second floor of the building to the first floor. What was originally on the ground floor, including staff offices and a parsonage, will be moved to the second floor.
Upon making this decision, this small church located in Taimali, Taitung also announced that restructuring the church building would cost NT$1.4 million – an astronomical amount for a small indigenous church belonging to East Paiwan Presbytery.
After calling a church board meeting and securing approval from church elders, Rev. Wang Chung-hsin wrote a letter to all PCT churches explaining Chinlun Church’s needs and said his staff would be grateful for opportunities to preach or offer a report to local churches as means to fundraise if the latter would welcome such a visit.
“We previously considered adding a ramp or even an elevator, but both options cost too much,” said Wang. He explained that half of his church members are seniors with some mobility problems and it pained him a great deal to see them struggle up a flight of stairs every Sunday. Some elderly members, unable to climb stairs, gave up attending Sunday services in the end.
Though Wang himself suffers from polio and has difficulty getting around, he said he was more than willing to make this sacrifice on behalf of his congregation and move the parsonage to the second floor to ensure that climbing stairs wouldn’t be an issue preventing his flock from being fed spiritually. He added that his congregation had really provided for him and loved him and he was more than willing to go the extra mile to help the elderly hear the gospel.
As for fundraising efforts, Wang admitted that the cost of renovating the church was beyond the church’s financial ability. The church’s internal fundraising drive had so far yielded NT$700,000 – or half of the funds required. He hoped other churches would lend a hand in providing the remaining half and that God would make all things work together for the good of those who love God.
