Page 199 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

H ong K ong C hristian C ouncil
33 G ranville R oad
K ow loon
H ong K ong

D ear B rothers and Sisters in C hrist,

It is a pleasure to send this greeting to the H ong K ong C hristian Council on its 40th A nniversary. M y w ife
Frances and I have spent 23 years o f our m inistry serving firstly in India and then H ong K ong so our A sian
experience is a very big part o f us.

In recent years w e have been fascinated by all that is exciting about life in the high-rise culture o f H ong K ong
but at the sam e tim e w e have been very aw are o f the underlying uncertainties that are a cause o f deep anxiety for
m any o f H ong K ong's people especially in relation to 1997 and the years beyond.

W e have adm ired the w ay in w hich H ong K ong people are responding to the challenge o f changing tim es and w e
have learnt the im portance o f the w ord 'C onfidence' to all that goes on. It is clearly at this level o f life for
individual and city alike that a C hristian presence and w itness can be an im portant contribution.

In practice it has often been the activities o f the H K CC that have helped tow ards a fuller appreciation o f the
contem porary situation. C ontacts w ith other C hristians from H ong K ong and beyond are alw ays w elcom e.
Especially valued have been the grow ing links w ith the C hurch in C hina, through visits m ade and in receiving
C hinese representatives visiting H ong K ong. It is also im portant to know that through the C ouncil, special
concerns can be represented to the G overnm ent o f the T erritory. In these and m any other w ays it has been good
to be part o f the added dim ension w hich the Council brings to our C hristian aw areness.

M y m inistry has been w ith the M ethodist C hurch (E nglish speaking) in W anchai, and here it has been good to
m eet w ith people from so m any nations. T he international character o f H ong K ong is easily taken for granted
but in the context o f today's w orld it surely has a new significance. Sadly w e hear o f inter-com m unity conflicts
in m any lands and learning to live together m ust now take on a new priority for everyone.

H ong K ong is also w ell know n for its reputation o f being a m aterialistic city, but experience reveals that in the
m idst o f individual self-seeking on the one hand and the decline o f authoritarian C om m unism on the other, there
is also a real searching for spiritual values and identity. In term s o f local m inistry this spiritual quest is evident
in w ell-attended congregations, som etim es needing yet m ore room to be found, and in the w itness of those w ho
com e forw ard in B aptism and other Services o f C hristian dedication. Jesus encouraged his disciples to 'w ork
w hile it day' and clearly these are days w hen the C hristian contribution is a relevant w ord to H ong K ong and its
people. A t such a tim e C hristians can w ell afford to be strengthened in com m itm ent and outreach by the G ood
N ew s the G ospel has to offer to all people.

In 1993 our C hurch at W anchai celebrated its C entenary. M uch research and preparation w ent into this event.
From this em erged the im portant part played by lay people in founding the first congregation. Indeed the
C hurch w as not planned by a com m ittee in som e distant place but w as pioneered by lay people already on the
scene and only after persistent pleading by the group did m ission headquarters respond by sending a M inister to
help them . T hese early beginnings are very m uch a tribute to the role o f our lay people.

T hose w ho pioneered that first congregation w ere m ainly soldiers and sailors and w ith changing tim es their
num bers have very m uch declined. H ow ever in recent years w e have seen another influx in the m any Filipinos
com ing to be dom estic helpers in the city. O ur church is one to w hich they conic and once again w e have seen

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