Priest's Report, as presented at Emmanuel Church's 2008 Annual Meeting for the period 2007/2008.
This has been an exciting year for our church family. We feel very much at home in Béthanie. It has been a joy to welcome new members to Emmanuel and we are working on developing our life together. The year though has also been marked by deep loss and sadness.
Sunday Worship
Our primary activity is our Services on Sunday mornings. We meet as the body of Christ to worship, pray and deepen our love for God and for each other.
Sunday Services
This year has seen some developments to our Services. The chapel is now beautified by seasonal altar cloths, sanctuary chairs and kneelers. These were generously donated by Mrs June Li. We have a legillium (a folding, portable lectern) donated by the Semper Fidelis Chapter Rose Croix, and a beautiful, legillium hanging, made by Nicky Greaves. A font, a new chalice and a Gospel Book would further enrich our liturgy.
New Service
In December we introduced a 9.00am Eucharist on the first Sunday of each month, in addition to our 10.15am Service. The 9.00am is a quieter, more reflective service, without Sunday School. In the planning for our move to Béthanie, the possibility of holding more than one Service on Sundays was considered. It has been exciting to start a second service within a year of moving to Béthanie. Since starting the 9.00am, the 10.15am Service on the first Sunday of the month has been a Family Service. This has been a very positive development.
Music
Music and hymns are a key part of our worship. Thanks are due to our talented keyboard players. The music in our worship as been enriched by an occasional adult choir and soloists under the direction of Susan Kuyper. A Sunday School choir has also performed, led by Susan, Mimi Brown and Iain Carmichael. We will continue to develop our music in the coming year. In May there will be a meeting to look at potential new hymn books. Changing to a more recently published hymn book would provide us with a larger choice of hymns, from within our church tradition and style of worship.
Sunday School
A high proportion of our members are families with children and 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.
Numbers
There are various indicators of a healthy church, not just numbers, but increased attendance is encouraging for everyone. Weekly attendance varies, but we now regularly exceed a congregation of 100. (In last year's report I said we expected around 70 people each Sunday.)
Highlights from this year Services have included:
- the annual visit of the Cantata Choir
- the Service for the first anniversary of our move to Béthanie on 16th December. Archbishop Paul Kwong presided, preached and blessed the Chapel and the various church items we have gained since moving. It was standing room only for the Service and the congregation included representatives from St. John's Cathedral as well as former members of Emmanuel Church who came back to Hong Kong for the occasion.
- our first joint Palm Sunday Service with St. Timothy's Church, Wah Fu.
- our first Maundy Thursday Eucharist in Béthanie.
- the baptisms of Emmanuel Church children.
Thanks
Thanks are due to the people who work hard each week to ensure our Services run smoothly and are of high quality: from those who set up, to welcomers, to musicians, to readers and intercessors, to refreshment providers and so on.
Developing Emmanuel
Having settled into Béthanie we began a process of developing Emmanuel. We held a Discussion Sermon in October, a Growing Healthy Churches workshop in November and a Discussion Evening in January to brainstorm ideas and highlight areas for development. The Emmanuel Committee has been prioritising and implementing ideas. These ideas are all linked to growing numbers and involve strengthening our infrastructure. They also involve the Priest-in-Charge improving his delegation skills!
Participation and Ownership
We are working on encouraging greater participation in the tasks that need doing each Sunday. A member of Emmanuel will coordinate the people who do those tasks, namely greeting, Sunday School teaching, intercessions, chalice bearing, and providing refreshments. Until now, that coordination has fallen to the Churchwardens. We will hold a Commitment Sunday on 11th May and in September to inform members about the various Sunday tasks and encourage each other to share in them.
Welcoming
A team has been established to strengthen our welcome of new folk so that people feel genuinely welcomed beyond their initial experience on Sunday mornings. The team will contact newcomers, send each a Welcome letter, and arrange opportunities for newcomers and established Emmanuel members to meet each other.
Noise Levels
The Committee has given careful thought to this sensitive issue. It is wonderful to have so many younger members, but at the same time the varying needs of all members should be considered. Using a microphone in the chapel has increased audibility. Sunday School teachers are encouraging children to return to the chapel quietly after their exciting Sunday School experience. In the near future, we will ask parents of young children to give particular attention to noise levels and behaviour during Services.
Spiritual Life
On 8th May, our Midweek Group meeting will be a discussion of how we can develop our spiritual lives as individuals and as a church. This will take forward ideas already generated in our Developing Emmanuel process.
Other Areas
A number of other areas raised await our attention. These include developing our links to the Pokfulam community, developing our fast growing Sunday School, providing ministry with teenagers, and developing our advertising both at Béthanie and in the University.
Community Life
As the body of Christ it is good to deepen our fellowship as we seek to be Christ to each other. We now hold monthly bring and share Church Brunches after the Service. Our annual Quiz Night was in November. We did not have a trip to Shek O this year.
Our Midweek Group continues to meet on Thursdays. This year our discussions and viewing have focused on spirituality. The group has regular attendees, but all are welcome to come regularly or occasionally. We may start other midweek groups in the coming year.
In my report last year, I stated that our goal is to be a 'joined up community' in which people know and share each other's joys and pains (rather than a community of gathered strangers). A visitor last Sunday observed that we are a group of people who care for each other. Another person recently emailed that "It is the community spirit and all encompassing welcome that Emmanuel provides that makes it so special". These comments are very encouraging. Relationships, of course, need ongoing nourishment, so our goal is to continue to be a joined up community.
Sharing each other's joys and pains was a very real experience with the sudden death of our churchwarden and friend David Lenan in February. David was a key member of Emmanuel for many years and churchwarden for 3 years. He was the chief architect of Emmanuel's move to Béthanie and our life in Béthanie is his legacy. His death has had a profound effect on us. The way we have upheld Esther, Kat and Oli in their loss and the support we have shown each other has been a wonderful and powerful expression of our community life. I am particularly and deeply grateful for the support you have given me through this painful time.
Community Links
We continue to maintain our links in the Pokfulam community. This year we:
- welcomed the Cantata Choir (former students of Ebenezer School) to Béthanie for the first time.
- donated the Quiz Night profits to the Riding for the Disabled Association.
- donated Harvest gifts to Ebenezer School for the Visually Impaired.
- served mulled wine and mince pies at the Kennedy School Night Market.
- sung carols around Pokfulam on 2 evenings: at Middleton Towers and in the Bisney area.
- donated Christmas gifts to the HKSKH Welfare Council Unit in Kowloon for new immigrant families from the Mainland with underprivileged children.
Our Priest-in-Charge has just stepped down as the Chair of West Island School Council after 4.5 years, but will continue to maintain links with the School. The number of our children who attend Kennedy School gives us a good link to that school. Our healthy relationship with the Academy for Performing Arts through Béthanie may provide opportunities for ministry.
As mentioned above, enriching our links to the Pokfulam community is something to work on in the coming year, including the possibility of visiting patients in Queen Mary Hospital.
Finally
Thank you for all your support and commitment to Emmanuel and to each other. Being your Priest-in-Charge is enriching and rewarding. Emmanuel is blessed by the faith, commitment, humour, kind-heartedness and generosity of spirit of its members.
We can look forward with confidence to the blessings and challenges of the coming year and an ever deepening awareness that "Emmanuel – God is with us".
Reverend Matthew Vernon, Priest-in-Charge.
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