Priest's Report, as presented at Emmanuel Church's 2006 Annual Meeting for the period 2005/2006.
We have had another good year at Emmanuel, being the English-language Anglican Church in Pokfulam.
Sunday Worship
Our Sunday Worship is the most important part of our life at Emmanuel. We come together each week as the people of God to worship and pray.
Since September our Sunday attendance has increased. This is great news. We now expect around 60 people, whereas before September we expected around 40 people each week. There are various indicators of a healthy church, not just numbers, but increased attendance is encouraging for everyone. The quality of our worship and of our welcoming are attractive features for newcomers. Thanks are due to the people who work hard each week to ensure that quality: from those who set up, to musicians, to readers and intercessors, to refreshment providers and so on.
A high proportion of our members are families with children. Our Sunday School plays a vital role in providing for our younger members. Thanks are due to our Sunday School leaders for the excellent job they do. The children clearly enjoy the experience.
Highlights from this year's regular Sunday worship have included:
- Family services for Pentecost, Harvest, Remembrance Sunday, Nativity, Candlemas/Chinese New Year, Lent and Mothering Sunday.
- The visit of the Cantata Choir - the choir for former students of Ebenezer School for the Visually Impaired – in May.
- Another outdoor Christmas Service in the garden of West Island School.
- Revd Dr John LeMond, of Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre, preaching on Unity Sunday.
- Our annual Palm Sunday Service with St. Luke's, Kennedy Town: starting at Emmanuel, then heading to Kennedy Town by coach and followed by lunch.
We have tried to have a second Service in the School Garden, but the weather has stopped us! Also, we've not held any Discussion Sermons this year, but there is one planned in May.
Recently, we have been working on increasing the number of people who fulfil the various roles that are needed on Sunday mornings. There is still room for progress.
Building Community
As the body of Christ it is good to deepen our fellowship as we seek to be Christ to each other. So we have held these social events:
- our annual Quiz Night in November.
- a trip to Shek O on Pentecost Sunday and a "last supper" for Jacqui and Nikki Bradley in August
- since September, regular Church Brunches for which people bring and share food immediately after our Service.
Our Midweek Group continues to meet on Thursdays. Since Easter last year, we have been watching films with faith themes. This has proved a great way of meeting and engaging with faith issues. Films we recommend are detailed in the Lent 2006 St. John's Review. During Lent this year, we have read "Life Balance" and enjoyed excellent discussions.
Church Brunches have proved an excellent innovation this year. I hope we will continue to hold them on a monthly basis. Our sense of community remains strong. Indeed it has been strengthened by people joining Emmanuel and different members knowing each other in contexts other than church.
Community Links
We continue to maintain our links in the Pokfulam community. This year we:
- welcomed the Cantata Choir
- donated Harvest gifts to Ebenezer School for the Visually Impaired,
- served mulled wine and mince pies at Kennedy School Night Market,
- donated Quiz Night profits to the Pokfulam Riding School for the Disabled.
- and sung carols around Pokfulam – this year for the first time in the playground of Middleton Towers.
Our Priest-in-Charge continues to be the Chair of the School Council at West Island School and to maintain links with Kennedy School.
We stopped distributing advertising postcards to flats in Pokfulam because they produced little response. The best advertising seems to be word of mouth and inviting friends. For people new to Hong Kong, the website and the SCMP on Saturdays provide our details.
Location
Our meeting room at West Island School is still a good home for us, but we continue to look forward to moving to the Chapel of Béthanie on Pokfulam Road. The Academy for Performing Arts' renovations are well under way. The building can be seen from Pokfulam Road (opposite Pokfulam Reservoir) shrouded in scaffolding and green sheets. On the 19 April the cowsheds (two building in the grounds of Béthanie) were named as "The Wellcome Theatre". Replacement stained glass for the Chapel windows is being made in the Philippines.
Finally
Thank you for all your support and commitment to Emmanuel and to each other. Being your Priest-in-Charge is enriching and rewarding. I'm looking forward to discovering with you what God has in store for us in the coming months.
Reverend Matthew Vernon, Priest-in-Charge.
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