Seventieth Birthday Thanksgiving Service

Definition and Meaning

Chilsun (七旬) means the age of seventy. Traditionally it refers to the birthday on which a person turns seventy under the traditional Korean method of reckoning age, though some families now use international (Western) age instead. The synonymous term gohui (古稀), meaning "rare since ancient times," comes from a line by the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu: "Since ancient times, few have lived to seventy" (人生七十古來稀). The seventieth birthday thanksgiving service is a worship service in which the long life and past years of the person reaching this milestone are acknowledged as the grace of God and celebrated with thanksgiving.

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture regards long life as a blessing from God. The following passages are frequently used as sermon texts for seventieth birthday services:

• Psalm 90:10, which begins, "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years"
• Proverbs 16:31, which describes the hoary head as a crown of glory
• Leviticus 19:32, which commands honor for the aged
• The Fifth Commandment of the Ten Commandments, which commands honor for parents (Exodus 20:12)

In Korea, following Confucian tradition, children have held feasts on a parent's sixtieth (hwangap) and seventieth birthdays to celebrate the parent's long life. Korean Protestants did not abandon this custom. Instead, they removed the drinking and ritual bowing and continued it in the form of a worship service. This is understood as a development parallel to the replacement of ancestral rites with memorial services (see Ancestral Rites and Memorial Services and The Korean Church and Confucianism).

Practice in Korean Churches

The seventieth birthday thanksgiving service is not an official rite prescribed by church constitutions. It is a family rite held at the family's request, and in character it is close to family worship or a pastoral visitation. It may take place at home, in a church dining hall, or in a banquet hall. It is usually led by the senior pastor or the pastor responsible for the parish district, though depending on the circumstances of the church and family, an elder or a family member may lead it.

The order of service generally runs as follows:

1. Hymn
2. Representative prayer
3. Scripture reading
4. Sermon
5. Words of thanks from the family and a biographical sketch
6. Presentation of flowers or gifts
7. Closing prayer

In many denominations, including the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Holiness churches, the service concludes with a benediction when a pastor presides. When no pastor is present, it commonly concludes with the Lord's Prayer. There are no major differences among denominations; variations appear mainly in the customs of individual churches and families.

Families sometimes give a thanksgiving offering or devote part of the cost of the celebration to missions or relief for the needy. As average life expectancy has increased, many families have also come to keep the seventieth birthday celebration itself simple. In such cases, they may instead hold a larger eightieth birthday thanksgiving service or a sixtieth wedding anniversary celebration.