An influx of up to 300,000 Hong Kong citizens is expected to be arriving over the next five years in the UK. This will be an opportunity for parishes to make newcomers welcome It also offers the great gain of fresh blood and the go-getting spirit that has put a stamp on Hong Kong’s prosperity in recent years. Not all newcomers will automatically gravitate to Church of England churches. There are free-standing churches in London with doors open for new arrivals.
Christian Churches in London (cciL) came into being in 1950. This January it has been celebrating its 70th anniversary. Its Hammersmith branch was opened in 2004 and, like its branch in New Soho, it has Sunday services for three congregations – Cantonese, Mandarin and English. It conducts Alpha courses via Zoom. At present ccL has 1,300 regular worshippers.
‘Is your church Hong Kong ready?’ is the question being put by the Baptist Union. Baptists Together Mission Forum is discussing possible welcome plans. Tomorrow a Zoom conference is taking place. One practical element in any welcome plan is the planting of Cantonese-speaking congregations.
The last word in Mark 13 is ‘Watch’ or ‘Keep awake.’ The Scout equivalent is ‘Be prepared.’ In its original context – and with good reason this chapter has been called a little apocalypse – this was the instruction for a door-keeper. He had to be wide awake – for a welcome visitor, not for a burglar as in Matthew 24.43. We can take it that the word is not without its significance for us in our generation. We cannot afford to be complacent, to be taken unawares. We must be ready for a welcome visitor. That means, amongst other things, we have to keep alert on all fronts – to opportunities, to innovation, to possibilities as well as the Second Coming we aver in the creed. Those on the look-out would have done well in their day to notice John Wycliffe and William Carey, harbingers of big movements in the Church. We must be watchful in our day.
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