I am xiaolin lee. I feel very sorry that I have not written to you for a long time. Time goes so fast. It is almost one year since we got back to China. I always miss the life when I was in Boston, especially at St. James. A lot of people left a very nice and deep impression on me.
Over the past year, there are two important things which I have to mention in my email. Firstly , I have finished Master Degree thesis based on the research which I did at the St. James church in the year of 2004. The other thing is that I have found a job. Now I am working for the China Population Welfare Foundation.
On May 23 2005, I had defended my thesis. I will got my Master Degree on June. Our five professors and assistant professors praised it highly. All of them thought it is valuable, because my research provide an opportunity for them to know the actual life ,thoughts and attitude towards religion of the people in an other country. They asked me a lot of questions about my thesis.
For example, They asked “Have you been influenced greatly after your research was over. And how did other people influence your life? ” My answer is definitely yes. All the people at the St. James church had a great impact on me. Their patience, kindness, hospitality and friendliness has helped me to overcome the obstacles caused by the language problem between us. Without their patience, I wouldn’t finished my questionnaire and interviews. I wouldn’t have had a chance to know more about the church history and activities. There were so innumerable things to be remembered. There are so many familiar names and faces kept in my mind. Thank you for all your helpfulness. For those people who encouraged me when I was frustrated, thanks for those people who spent time to fill out answer my questions, thanks for those people who entertained me at their houses and were willing to be interviewed and let me know about their religious beliefs. Thanks for Annette , although we didn’t talk much. It was she who gave me a book about the church history when she heard that I was collecting the materials about the St. James.
The Second question they asked was how did other people at the church regard you because you were not a Christian. My answer was that they regarded me as a close friend because we trusted each other. Although I am not a Christian, it didn’t hinder our conversation. I believe the majority of people long for truthfulness and virtues whether you believe in religion or not. The most significant thing is that when different culture collide with other, the best results is that you can absorb the good qualities.
The Third question was “Was St James a typical church in America”. I once visited 3 or 4 churches at Someville and Cambridge. I found it was not a typical one, but it is the most popular church as I knew.
The Forth question was “ In China, many people believe in Chritianity or an other religion just because of illness and mental problems. Of course, this is not a general idea,” but it reflect the options of some people concerning religion . They asked me if the same things happened at St. James.
The fifth question was to advise me to do a comparative study between the church in China and America. I can’t outline all the questions of my supervisors.
Now let me tell you about my new job .I would like to tell you about the China Population Welfare Foundation (CPWF) with which I am now working. The aim of CPWF is to help poor mothers in the rural areas and enhance their economic situations and change their lives. This work is very meaningful. We are carrying out a lot of programs cooperating with other international organizations. Our main project is the “Happiness Project ---- to help the impoverished mothers by means of development assistance”. I still remember many activities of service and outreach at St. James which are relevant to this . So I am very proud that we have the same goals although we are in different places on the earth.
Thanks for our Priest Michael Povery who allowed me to do research at St. James church and made some good suggestions while I was doing my research. Thanks for my Bible study group which taught me a lot of basic knowledge of religion and let me join in their discussion. Thanks to all the members of the hospitality committee and the vestry members. Thanks for Judy Gay , John Gay, Anne Shumway, Tom Tufts and his wife(sorry I forgot her name) , George Van Hazinga , James Anglin, Nancy, Amanda, Sylvia Weston, Cynthia Owen, Tracy Wells, Harriet Wong, Edward Wu, Kathy Bozzuti, Marian King, Barbara Butler, Janet Hobbs, Aletha Cole, John Hixon , Patrick G. Michaels, Susan Harris , the Youth groups, the Choir groups, Property committee and so on. There are so many people that I need to express my appreciation.
I hope you will have a chance to visit China, I am your friend. I will welcome you as you have treated me. Thanks.
Xiaolin lee & Youchun Zhang