Taiwan Church News 3851 Edition 15 ~ 21 December, 2025 Weekly Topical Saluting Father of Street Evangelism, CCH Renames its Chapel after Rev Campbell Naismith Moody Reported by Hong Tai-yang from Changhua In the morning on December 11, Changhua Christian Hospital(CCH) held a thanksgiving service of renaming its hospital chapel after “梅監霧” (Chinese name of Campbell Naismith Moody). Rev Bin Cheng-long, chairman of CCH, professor Chen Mu-kuan, superintendent of CCH, Rev Lu Chi-ming, director of Archives of the PCT, and many CCH staffs attended the service of renaming its hospital chapel as “梅監霧禮拜堂” (Campbell Naismith Moody Memorial Chapel). The special renaming ceremony pays tribute to Rev Campbell Naismith Moody, an outstanding English missionary who made an immense contribution on the mission in central Taiwan, and showcases CCH’s missionary inheritance of Rev Moody to treasure church history, Christian faith and cultural engagement. Quoting Isaiah 43:1~7, Rev Lu Chi-ming, moderator of thanksgiving service, expressed that the very ritual of “renaming chapel after Rev Moody symbolizes CCH’s identity, mission and spiritual root in biblical tradition.” “Name, first and foremost, carries memory and meaning, and name also means a reflective gaze into history and faith,” he said, “at the end of 1895, Rev Campbell Naismith Moody came to Taiwan, which was just ceded to Japan with bandits rampant and diseases prevalent.” “In central Taiwan, David Landsborough III engaged in medical mission to save people’s lives, while Rev Campbell Naismith Moody preached to people’s hearts with the gospel, traveled across all regions in central Taiwan, and established more than 20 churches. He is remembered as the “father of Taiwan’s street evangelism” in his dramatic way of preaching. Although he suffered illness for a long period of time during his missionary services and lost his wife in 1915, he still chose to stay in Taiwan as missionary and carried on the mission in God’s calling.” Rev Campbell Naismith Moody had many different Chinese names, according to Rev Lu, but after an in-depth studies, a church historian Elder Ruan Chong-hsing concluded that “梅監霧” was the Chinese name most used for Campbell Naismith Moody and proved compliant to the historical records. The renaming after Campbell Naismith Moody is a scholarly effort, delivered by a detailed comparison between historical files kept in CCH Historical Museum and the Archives of the PCT, citing wide references from the official files of Qing Dynasty, Handbook of the Assembly of Churches at South Formosa in 1896, manuscripts, images, cultural relics and miscellaneous historical materials. Rev Lu therefore affirmed the historical studies, renaming CCH’s chapel after “梅監霧” (Campbell Naismith Moody Memorial Chapel), as historically authentic and culturally meaningful to learn Rev Moody’s life and mission with appreciation and remembrance. Rev Bin Cheng-long gave thanksgiving that all co-workers of CCH could gather together at this very moment to salute two respectable founders, Dr David Landsborough III and Rev Campbell Naismith Moody. Superintendent Dr Chen Mu-kuan remarked “CCH treasures the importance of missionary history and understands the importance of restoring a correct name. Because only by returning to the truth of history can we learn deeper and proclaim harder the gospel that Rev Moody preached fearlessly on streets in Taiwan.” Dr Chen hoped the medical ministry of CCH shall not limited within Changhua area only, but shall act as a critical role to facilitate the mission across and beyond Taiwan. He sincerely called, “Christians shall not indulge in the comfort zones pioneered by our faithful forebears, but shall instead practice Jesus’ order to love each other and reach out to the world.” To commemorate the missionary contribution of Rev Campbell Naismith Moody to Taiwan society, Ms Chen Yah-li, director of CCH Historical Museum, indicated “renaming CCH Chapel after ‘梅監霧‘ is essentially an engineering of memory reconstruction,” through an in-depth study to rectify, research and restore the authentic Chinese name of ‘梅監霧’ for Rev Campbell Naismith Moody. “In future, CCH will continue to root deep in research, collection and education to preserve and promote the Christian history of medical ministries in Taiwan. Therefore, the pioneering footprints of our forebear missionaries can be studied and learned, and CCH’s commitment to ‘serve people with care and care life with faith’ can carry on!” Translated by Peter Wolfe |