The Taiwanese American Presbyterian Church and Westhope Presbyterian Church have signed a space- and time-sharing agreement that will enable both congregations to use the church at 12870 Saratoga Ave.
Previously, the Taiwanese congregation was located at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Clara.
The agreement between the two Presbyterian churches is unique, said Morris Mote, clerk of session at Westhope. "We've had to create our own agreement," he said.
The two congregations will hold separate services, but they will join for special Easter services on March 30 at 6:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., with a breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and an Easter egg hunt at 8:45 a.m.
The Taiwanese American Presbyterian Church, numbering about 100 members, is led by pastor Andrew Tsai, who has a master of divinity degree from Taiwan Theological Seminary and a master of theology degree from Princeton Theological Seminary.
He received an invitation from the Presbytery of San Jose to organize a new Taiwanese Church, Mote said.
Ultimately, the two congregations may join, Mote said, "but, try as best we can, we're never going to speak Chinese." He suggested that when the younger members of the Asian congregation take over, they might be more receptive to having the service in English instead of Chinese.
"There is lots of enthusiasm from our own congregation," Mote said.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, March 26, 1997.
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