More than 100 people of different cultural groups attended the 50th anniversary of the Chinese Christian Fellowship at the Western Province Chinese Association (WPCA) in Observatory on Sunday July 28.
The Chinese Christian Fellowship(CCF) is one of the three bodies that make up the WPCA. The other two are the Western Province Chinese Sports Association and the Cape Town Chinese School.
The CCF was formed in 1969 as an outreach organisation where interested persons from various churches would meet on a monthly basis to talk about the Christian faith and enjoy one another’s company. Experienced religious leaders would provide their expertise to this organisation, through offering theological and biblical teachings.
They have grown into an organisation that looks to serve the community’s needs where its members belong to their own churches and get to together to discuss how they can help the community.
The celebration provided some entertainment for guests. The women’s Jubilate dance group did spiritual and line dancing, the choir group of the Bread of Life Church in Monte Vista performed hymns in Mandarin and members of the CCF also performed line dancing.
Chairperson of CCF, Valerie Hoy, said the committee had changed over the years. “The main reason people continue to meet together is to pray for the community and help them if they need help and offer services in that way.”
Derek Waterson came all the way from Pretoria to join in the celebration. His late father, Donald Waterson was a former committee member of the CCF. “I love the organisation. They are an amazing group and I think the fact that they’re going for 50 years shows they’re dedicated and committed and love the Lord and the blessings,” he said.
The celebrations also provided an opportunity for CCF members to share their fondest memories and stories.
Committee member Andy Chu said he grew up with CCF. “The people that I have known has been very influential, encouraging and supportive so I am very blessed to be part of the celebration,” he said.
One of the founding members of CCF, Arthur Song, 81, a former pastor of the Chinese Baptist Church in Johannesburg, said he was grateful to see how the organisation had grown to interact with the whole community and not only the Chinese community. “Looking at the people who came today, I saw different races and faces, they’re not all Chinese, they were all welcomed and participated.”
