Christians in Vietnam Hold another Historic Celebration
ICC Note:
Record breaking Christian gathering in Vietnam
By Dan Wooding
12/23/09 Vietnam (ANS) — Compass Direct News has reported that for the second time in 10 days, Protestant history was made in Vietnam yesterday (Sunday, December 20, 2009) when 12,000 people gathered for a Christmas rally in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
The event, which took place in the large square in front of the entrance to My Dinh National Stadium in the heart of Hanoi, was said to be 10 times larger than any prior Protestant gathering in history in northern Vietnam.
On December 11, 2009 in southern Vietnam, an estimated 40,000 people attended a Christmas celebration in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon.
Compass Direct News stated that local sources had said that long-requested written permission for the event, entitled “Praise Jesus Together,” never came in spite of several reminders. But four days before the event was to take place, Hanoi authorities and police told organizers – in words as close as they would get to granting permission – that they would “not interfere.”
Said one long-time Compass source, “One can hardly overestimate the importance of such an event in the lives of northern house church Christians. For many, this will have been the first time to join in a large crowd with other Christians, to feel the growing power of their movement, to hear, see and participate in the high quality, and deeply spiritual mass worship.”
