Farewell Chris & Lydia

On Sunday 28th February, the community bid farewell to two Emmanuel stalwarts, Chris and Lydia Erving.

As tokens of our love and gratitude for their distinguished service to Emmanuel for over 10-years, Fr Nigel presented Chris (a former churchwarden and treasurer) and Lydia with a farewell card signed by parishioners and a beautifully engraved wooden cross.

Chris and Lydia – you will be greatly missed at Emmanuel, but all of us offer you our very best wishes and blessings for your future happiness in Melbourne, Australia.  Fr Nigel

Happy Birthday!

Emmanuel's oldest and longest serving parishioner, May Large, cutting her birthday cake after church on Sunday 31st January.  At the end of the Sung Eucharist the entire congregation wished her well by singing Happy Birthday   led by Bryan Carter on the organ.  We love you loads May!!!!
Emmanuel’s oldest and longest-serving parishioner, May Large, cutting her birthday cake after church on Sunday 31st January. At the end of the Sung Eucharist the entire congregation wished her well by singing Happy Birthday led by Bryan Carter on the organ. We love you loads, May!!!!

Emmanuel Church packed for Candlemas Service

Walkers from the St John's Cathedral outreach ministry, Helpers for Domestic Helpers (HDH) joined the Eucharist at Emmanuel on Sunday 31st January.  HDH walkers have visited Emmanuel once a year for many years and the day is important annual fundraising event for HDH. Always warmly greeted by the Emmanuel community, HDH walkers stayed on after the service for lunch before the next stage of their journey to Stanley.
Walkers from the St John’s Cathedral outreach ministry, Helpers for Domestic Helpers (HDH), joined the Eucharist at Emmanuel on Sunday 31st January. HDH walkers have visited Emmanuel once a year for many years and their annual walk across Hong Kong Island is a key fundraising event. Always warmly greeted by the Emmanuel community, the walkers stayed on after the service for lunch before the next stage of their journey to our sister church, St Stephen’s, Stanley.

Standing room only for 2015 Christmas Services

Emmanuel’s Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve as well as the Sung Eucharist for the Nativity on Christmas Day attracted the largest congregations at Emmanuel for years. Perhaps it was down to better promotion this year, or possibly because less ex-pats left Hong Kong for Christmas, Béthanie Chapel was packed to capacity for both services. The community’s pre-Christmas Nine Lessons and Carols Service led by Die Konzertisen Choir also packed out the chapel. All together, a fabulous 2015 Advent and Christmas season. Thanks be to God!

Christmas Day 2015 in Béthanie Chapel, the home of Emmanuel Church, Pokfulam.
Christmas Day 2015 in Béthanie Chapel, the home of Emmanuel Church, Pokfulam.

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A warm welcome for delegates from the Diocese of Davao, Mindanao, Philippines

Delegates from the Diocese of Davao with retreat master, Fr Nigel, at the Mariners' Club, Hong Kong. The broad theme of the 5 day retreat was Rekindling Faith in the 21st Century and the Media's Role in Today's Social Media.
Delegates from the Diocese of Davao with retreat master, Fr Nigel, at the Mariners’ Club, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The general broad theme of the five day retreat was ‘Rekindling Ministry in the 21st Century and the Media’s Role in today’s Social Media’.
Six delegates from the retreat were special guests at the Sung Eucharist at Emmanuel on Sunday 26 October 2015
Six delegates from the retreat were guests at the Sung Eucharist at Emmanuel on Sunday 23 October 2015

Fabulous Parish Family Day Out at the Seaside

Many thanks to everyone for such a fun-filled day on Park Island Beach on Saturday 24th October 2015. Thanks loads for all the great photos, many of which are included below. Enjoy!  Fr Nigel

 

 

Branna’s Special Day at Emmanuel

Packed Church for Ethan, Jonathan and Caitlin’s Baptism in Emmanuel

Alice’s Special Day at St John’s

Alice Poon  (3rd from left) with Fr Robert and Emmanuel Parishioners after being Confirmed by Archbishop Paul Kwong in St John's Cathedral on Saturday 29th November.  Congratulations Alice!
Alice Poon (3rd from left) with Fr Robert and Emmanuel Parishioners after being Confirmed by Archbishop Paul Kwong in   St John’s Cathedral on Saturday 29th November. Congratulations Alice!

Emmanuel’s Autumn Dinner

Forty parishioners, some very new to the community, enjoyed a delightful evening of fun, fellowship and fine food in the Hong Kong Country Club, Deep Water Bay on Saturday. 8th November. As one parishioner said later, “We both really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know everyone better, we had a great table and very funny moments.”  Says it all!

Harvest Brunch on the Terrace

Harvest

A delightful Brunch-on-the-Terrace followed this year’s Harvest Thanksgiving Service on Sunday 5th October was enjoyed by many Emmanuel Church parishioners. Thanks to everyone who contributed in any way that helped make the day such a success.  A collection of non-perishable food was collected during the Sung Eucharist which will be donated to Bethune House, a rescue centre for domestic workers in Hong Kong.

 

 

The Emmanuel Rap

Emmanuel Church’s hilarious contribution to the St John’s 165th Anniversary Concert held in the Cathedral on Saturday 20th September 2014.  All credit to parishioner Sarah Gonnet for her fabulous lyrics and artistic direction.  The season of Advent will probably never be quite the same again at our little Pokfulam church 🙂  ENJOY!

Emmanuel Parishioners Confirmed in St John’s Cathedral

Emmanuel Church Parishioners and Friends after being Confirmed in St John's Cathedral by Archbishop Paul Kwong on Pentecost Sunday,
Emmanuel Church Parishioners and their Friends after being Confirmed in St John’s Cathedral by Archbishop Paul Kwong on Pentecost Sunday – 8th June 2014

2014 Annual Church Meeting Report

Emmanuel Church Community, March, 2014
Emmanuel Church Community, March, 2014

Below is Emmanuel Church’s Report for the St John’s Cathedral Annual Church Meeting, held on Sunday 27 April 2014

It has been another very productive year for the Emmanuel community. We are stronger in worship, warmer in fellowship, deeper through discipleship, and getting larger through outreach and evangelism. New parishioners, and especially young families, continue to join Emmanuel. Some newer members now read the lessons or intercessions or are involved in the Sunday School ministry. Two others are now active committee members.

I believe there are a number of reasons why Emmanuel has prospered so well during the past year and why newcomers choose to make Béthanie their spiritual home…

First: the ongoing weekly laity-led Bible Study fellowship held in a parishioner’s home, usually attended by 8 people. I should like to record my sincere thanks to Eric and Stacey Usher for their unstinting commitment to this much-valued ministry throughout another year.

Second: the introduction of a monthly clergy-led Wednesday Night Together group, all of which have been held in Chris and Lydia Erving’s Pokfulam home. WNT has been well supported and usually attracts 15-18 parishioners of all ages. Without doubt, Chris and Lydia’s gracious and generous hospitality has played no small part in the success of this monthly gathering. A huge ‘Thank You’ to them!

Third: the return of the ever-popular Brunch-on-the-Terrace Sundays. Three were held over the year each attracting up to 50 parishioners and children. They are great fun, easy to organise, and everyone contributes something to the food and fellowship. More are planned for this year.

Fourth: last year’s successful Stewardship Campaign certainly helped Emmanuel achieve its highest level of financial growth in its 30-year history.

Fifth: a number of well organized and well attended visits to museums and exhibitions throughout the year were opportunities for parishioners to further get to know one another outside church.

These and other activities have done a lot to bring the parish family together. Strong personal friendships are developing all the time and these have helped make Béthanie a warm and welcoming place to be on any Sunday morning. Every visitor I speak to after church remarks on the friendliness of the community.

Under the joint leadership of Kate Moore and Erin McElhatton the Sunday School is in good heart. Together with four other teachers, Kate and Erin continue to make good use of Seasons of the Spirit material, an inclusive program integrating the learning, worship, and serving ministries of the Church. The Sunday School remains a fundamental part of Emmanuel’s ministry. The Sunday School now publishes its own quarterly newsletter.

Trinity Sunday saw the return of the Cantata Choir, alumni from the Ebenezer School for the blind and visually impaired in Pokfulam. It was the Choir’s 11th visit to Emmanuel and they will return this year on Sunday Ist June. As one of Emmanuel’s designated charities in 2013, the Cantata Choir was presented with a cheque for over $15K to help some members further their music studies.

Operation Smile was another designated charity in 2013 and Emmanuel raised over $23K to help further their mission. Operation Smile’s work involves funding operations to repair facial deformities, and the money we raised was enough for five children to have corrective surgery.

Emmanuel’s first Back to Church Sunday service was held last October. I think to everyone’s surprise (certainly mine) the chapel was packed to capacity for the Sung Eucharist. Publicity for the day was of a high standard and everyone seemed to get right behind the new venture. The committee has decided this year’s Back To Church Sunday will be combined with Harvest Thanksgiving in early October.

Despite miserable weather on the night, the chapel was full for the annual Nine Lessons and Carols Service. Without a doubt, Felix Yeung’s Die Konzertisten Choir added greatly to the service. For many choir members it was their first visit to Béthanie and they were delighted to perform in a space with such fine acoustics. I have already booked Die Konzertisten for our 2014 carol service.

There were 80 communicants at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, about the same as in previous years. This year I invited a professional trumpeter to play from the gallery to support some of the carols, which added a nice touch of ‘theatre’ to the celebration. On Christmas Day morning there was standing room only for the Mass for the Nativity of our Lord. The atmosphere was terrific and the singing joyfully exuberant.

It is exactly a year since Fr Robert Martin joined Emmanuel as Associate Priest. It has been a hugely successful partnership, a real sharing of professional ministry, and perhaps, dare I suggest, even a model for the two other daughter churches to follow. Fr Robert and I come from much the same High Church Anglican stable and yet are able to offer Emmanuel our own distinctive gifts, and without in any way threatening one another. We meet regularly to discuss Emmanuel issues and share a lot of the day-to-day pastoral work.

I am especially grateful to Fr Robert for creating some excellent new liturgies. His broad experience in this area has equipped him with an intuitive insight into what works and what doesn’t in a church service. He is now about halfway through updating all our liturgies for everyone’s benefit at Emmanuel.

Next month Fr Robert will move to a new apartment in Pokfulam. At a stroke this will solve one of Emmanuel’s biggest problems in recent years – not having a clergy/church venue for occasional mid-week meetings in Pokfulam. I believe this development will be of enormous benefit to the community in the years’ ahead.

A highlight in Emmanuel’s calendar this year will undoubtedly be Fr Robert’s 30th Anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood. Archbishop Paul has kindly agreed to celebrate a Festive Sung Eucharist at 10:15am on Sunday 13th July. Members of Die Konzertisten Choir will lead the singing. This celebration will be the Archbishop’s first return to Emmanuel since my installation four years ago. Should be a wonderful day!

I’d like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of churchwardens Chris Erving and Wallace Lai, committee secretary Andrea Kan, Sunday School coordinators Kate Moore and Erin McElhatton and all the teachers, refreshments coordinator Jonathan Mok, and everyone else who serves on the Emmanuel Committee. Their generous support and encouragement to me personally and to the entire congregation is much appreciated and highly valued.

I should also like to give special thanks to Alex and Esme Lee, both of whom give so much to Emmanuel and ask for nothing in return. As sacristan, Alex has been at my side at every Sunday service over the past four years. That really is loyalty and dedication! All of us are richly blessed by Alex and Esme’s abiding presence at Emmanuel.

Last, but by no means least, I’d like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to our team of organists: Bryan Carter, Dave Werner, Gigi Lam and Jason Hung. Church organists often get taken for granted and rarely receive any praise or gratitude for their skills. We would certainly miss them if they were not there! Emmanuel is very fortunate to have such a strong team of musicians to lead our worship every week.

You will conclude from the above that all is well at Emmanuel and that 2014 promises to be another exciting and rewarding year in our Lord’s service.

Fr Nigel S D Gibson
Priest-in-Charge

Pre-Lent Brunch on the Terrace

After our Sung Eucharist on Sunday, 2nd March 2014, the Emmanuel Congregation gathered on the Béthanie Chapel Terrace for fellowship and a delightful Brunch. Many thanks to everyone who brought food and refreshments. A truly lovely pre-Lent Parish Family event!

All the Fun of the Fair!

Emmanuel’s ever-popular face painting stand at this year’s St John’s Michaelmas Fair raised over $5,000 for various local charities.  Below are some pictures that give a snapshot of a truly fun-filled day.  Enjoy!

Wednesday Night Together Group

On 6th November, eighteen members came together in Pokfulam for the first meeting of the new Wednesday Night Together group (WNT) organised by Fr Nigel and churchwarden Chris Erving. Wonderful food, wonderful fellowship and a wonderful relaxed atmosphere!  Thank you Chris and Lydia for being such gracious hosts.

WNT will now meet monthly for bible study, fellowship, special outings to interesting places and events in and around Hong Kong, It is open to any member of the Emmanuel congregation and especially newcomers. The next WNT will be on 11th December, details of which will be published in the pew sheet and on this website.

Our Harvest Thanksgiving & Brunch on the Terrace

Many parishioners and friends of Emmanuel Church gathered in Béthanie Chapel on Sunday 6th October for this year’s Harvest Thanksgiving Service.

During the Sung Eucharist, a large quantity of non-perishable food was presented and blessed at the altar before being taken to support the residents of Bethune House, a refuge centre for domestic workers in Hong Kong.

Following the service, a magnificent and joyful Brunch-on-the-Terrace was shared by those who stayed behind. It is hoped that the photos below convey the joy of this delightful annual event.