Interfaith’s itinerary busy after China tour

Council plans several events around holidays. Group of 166 recently returned from trip to world’s most populous nation. As the holiday season approaches, the Newport-Mesa-Irvine Interfaith Council is keeping a busy calendar.

Hundreds of volunteers are expected to visit Newport Beach’s Mormon temple Saturday as part of the fifth annual Hearts and Hands work day. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., representatives from local congregations will participate in service projects.

On Sunday, families are invited to Newport Harbor Lutheran Church for the ninth annual Interfaith Council Celebration of Thanksgiving. The 7 p.m. event includes the music of two Orange County religious choir groups and a series of spiritual readings and prayers.

The Newport-Mesa-Irvine Interfaith Council’s recently sponsored seven-day trip to China will surely be a topic of discussion at both gatherings.

A record 166 people, including nine clergy, attended this year’s tour of China, according to Jim de Boom, the council’s executive director. Newport-Mesa congregants made up a significant portion of the travelers.

The group visited many of the country’s major cities and tourist sites, including the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen Square.

“It’s a way of introducing people to China and get a realistic view of what life is like,” said de Boom, who writes a column for the Daily Pilot. “It is a chance for those involved to find out what religion is like there.”

An interfaith ceremony was held for participants on the Sunday during the trip, which ended on Nov. 11. Representatives from different faiths added their own touch to the service, de Boom said.

The entire group visited a Catholic cathedral built in 1904 in Shanghai and learned about the history of the Catholic Church in China.

Rev. Dennis Short of Harbor Christian Church in Newport Beach said he enjoyed speaking with the Chinese-native, English-speaking travel guides about religion.

“There was a great interaction on the bus and at the meal table,” Short said.

He said he learned that a generation of Chinese youth are growing up mostly without any religion in their lives.

“We left with our hopes high that the youth in that country will put some type of faith into their life,” Short said.

De Boom said one of the highlights of the trip was having lunch inside the home of a Chinese family during a two-hour visit. He said group members had a chance to ask the residents about the changing face of the country.

“These interactions build bridges of understanding with China and ourselves as we travel,” de Boom said. “People enjoy meeting people of other backgrounds.”

De Boom and Short said they saw firsthand that China is developing rapidly into a superpower. De Boom said the growth in highways and high-rise buildings is noticeable.

Short, who had never before been to China, said he has been able to share his experiences with congregants at Harbor Christian Church since returning.

More than 100 congregations in Orange County were notified about this year’s trip, de Boom said. A fourth tour of China is scheduled for March 1 through 9, 2006.