| I: | I know that Holy Spirit Church has been waiting for a new church building for 25 years. How do you feel now as this dream is becoming true? |
| Tsang: | This project grew from the idea and confidence of our predecessors in Holy Spirit Church. God has His timing for everything. We thank Him for answering our prayers and letting us to work together in His name to build a holy place for worshiping Him. |
| Lee: | Building a new church is a big challenge to us. It is a good thing. But after the church is built, there will be more things to handle, such as the increase of church members, maintenance of the building and development of the church. We do not worry about building a new church, but are concerned about the things that will come up afterwards. |
| Cho: | I heard about the new church project when I joined Holy Spirit 25 years ago. Over the years, I have participated in various fund-raising activities for the project, but it has always been something that exists on paper only. Now seeing that it is becoming a reality, I feel particularly excited. |
| Kwong: | After having Sunday services and other church gatherings in places that do not belong to us in the last 20 years, finally we will have a home for us soon. The joy and gratitude that I feel is more than words can express. During this long period of waiting, we experienced many difficulties. Through this project, we see God's answer to our prayers, hopes, donations and offerings. |
| Chow: | It is invigorating, but also burdensome because afterall it is not an ordinary mission. |
| Leong: | I am both happy and worried. Happy because something that we have been hoping for day and night is happening. Worried because it is a big challenge financially and spiritually. Not only do we need financial support from our church members, we also need spiritual preparation to face this challenge. |
| Lit: | We need to work hard to raise more fund and bring more people to church. |
| I: | What is your biggest mission in building a new church? |
| Tsang: | The biggest mission of a church is to spread the gospel and care for the believers. The new church will be located in the densely populated Shatin new town. It is our mission and also our vision to bring the gospel to Sheng Kung Hui's (SKH) schools, old age homes, youth centres, centres for new immigrants and child homes within our parish. As our church will be near to a hospital, pastoral care for the sick will also be one of our new endeavours. We want to be out-reaching and bring the Good News to other people through these contact points. |
| I: | As Holy Spirit will be SKH's first church in New Territories East to have a stand alone church building, what role do you think it will play in the future? |
| Tsang: | Church members living in the New Territories generally are reluctant to take part in activities held in town even though they are very good activities because it is a bit far away. Because of its convenient location, I believe our new church will become a hub for SKH in NT East and a missionary, training and resource centre for the Province and its dioceses. |
| I: | What facilities will there be in the new church? |
| Tsang: | The building will have a church that can sit 350 persons, a hall with a capacity of 150 persons, 7 activity rooms of various sizes, some of which are inter-connected with each other, a church office, a resource centre, a library, a conference room, a bride's room, a reception area and a vicarage. There will also be a small retreat centre that can house over 10 persons. It will overlook the Yuen Chau Kok Park and provide a nice quiet area for meditation and prayer. |
| I: | What are the reactions of your church members when they know that construction work of the church will start very soon? |
| Tsang: | Numerous meetings have been held between colleagues of the SKH Welfare Council, members of the Church Building Committee and our consultants. Progress and latest development of the project are reported in Parish Committee meetings. This is again announced in our weekly bulletins for church members. We pray for God's direction in every Sunday service. Donations from church members is increasing, although it is still a long way from our target. We believe that in time it will grow to a significant sum. We are learning from the humble faith of the poor widow who offered all she had. At the same time, we feel excited to be able to work with the Lord in this mission.
When Holy Spirit Church first started, we had our Sunday worships in the music room of Holy Spirit Primary School and our church office was located in the then vicarage flat. Over the years, we have grown and now, our Sunday services are held in the school hall, and the office has moved to a SKH kindergarten in Wo Che. Looking back, we have gone a long way to where we are. |
| I: | How is the fund-raising situation of the new church project? |
| Tsang: | A church is made up of people. We work hard to spread the gospel and build a church full of people. At the same time, we also work hard to raise money to build the new church. The Parish Committee has planned some fund-raising activities. We are also filming a short film to promote the project. We understand that these fund-raising activities may create some pressure on our church members, but we hope they will understand that this project is an unfinished task initiated by Bishop Baker, his successors, pastors and members of Holy Spirit Church over the past 25 years. Raising fund for the project is always in the mind of Bishop Tsui who had on numerous occasions appealed for the support from other member churches. We should be thankful to him. |
| I: | What is your expectation on the design of the new church? |
| Lee: | Not too modern. Keep it simple and solemn. |
| Cho: | I hope it will be like its name: full of spirit and love, with the Holy Spirit always in our midst. |
| Kwong: | It will become a new landmark of Shatin and a part of the community. It should attract people to come to it. |
| Chow: | Solemn but simple. It should enable the congregation to concentrate in the worship. |
| Leong: | I hope it will reflect the essence of our faith and the meaning of liturgy in our worship. I also hope that it will provide an environment where people can feel that they are close to God. |
| I: | What do you expect to feel like when you have worships in the new church? |
| Cho: | Just like what we are feeling now: a big family where everyone loves and cares for each other and people who come here can feel this warm and harmonious atmosphere. |
| Kwong: | Solemn, calm and a feeling that God is with you. |
| Chow: | Yes, a feeling that God is with you. |
| Leong: | A feeling that the Holy Spirit is in our midst. |
| Yeung: | Solemn, holy and serene. The church should be a place where people can worship the Lord, meditate and pray quietly. When the Service is over, people should talk and socialise in another place, not in the church hall. |
| Lit: | Feel like a home. |
| I: | What expectations do you have regarding spreading the gospel when the new church is built? |
| Lee: | We hope that more can be done in this aspect. We should identify our target groups and focus our work on them. |
| Cho: | We should extend our work to schools (kindergarten, primary and secondary schools), provide social services and bring the gospel to people on the street. |
| Kwong: | I hope more people will know our new church and be willing to join us. |
| Chow: | I hope that all of us can work together with vision and strategy. |
| Leong: | I hope that we will have a closer relationship with the SKH primary and secondary schools within our parish. I also hope that the new church will make people feel that Jesus and His church are among them. |
| Yeung: | We should work strategically, encouraging every member of the church to take part. We should have plans to follow-up the work that we have started. |
| Lit: | I would like to see more ministry work via sports and adventure activities |
| I: | What do you think the new church should do to care for its members and to concern itself with the society? |
| Lee: | We should do more in family, individual and community caring. Since Hong Kong has an aging population and our church is connected to a senior home, we should spend more effort in caring for the aged. |
| Kwong: | Internally, I hope that we can care more for our members, whether they are poor or rich, lonely or weak. Externally, we should give more support to the community especially to those who are in need. |
| Chow: | We can organise volunteers to take part in community affairs such as visiting the needy. |
| Leong: | I think the new church will provide a meeting place for our members and the community. Hopefully, it can also provide facilities for hire by other SKH organisations. |
| Yeung: | We should encourage our church members to care more for each other, especially for new members who should be introduced to join the appropriate groups or fellowships as soon as possible. We can have more discussions on public affairs. Newspaper clippings can be displayed for members' reference. |
| Lit: | We should extend our care beyond the church to the community. |
| I: | What do you expect the new church will do in spiritual nurturing of its members? |
| Lee: | I hope we will have more systematic and structured training courses with enough people to teach and participate. |
| Kwong: | I hope the nurturing work will grow and multiply rapidly. |
| Cho: | We should start to work now and encourage every member to take an active part. |
| Chow: | Systematic nurturing courses are needed to strengthen our spiritual growth. |
| Leong: | With more space and facilities in the new church, we can have more long term and systematic training courses in the future. |
| Yeung: | These courses should be organised to suit church members of different age groups. They should be divided into different modules and stages. |
| Lit: | We need to have more spiritual growth. |
| I: | What new developments would you like to see in the future? |
| Lee: | I hope that our congregation will grow to a full-house. Since Holy Spirit will be the only church in NTE to have a stand alone church building, I hope it will become a ministry and training centre for SKH's NTE parishes. |
| Cho: | I like to see more activities for both our members and nearby residents such as health talks and flower arrangement, bakery and calligraphy classes. |
| Kwong: | I hope our church will attract people from all walks of life and become the "salt" and the "light" in our community. |
| Leong: | I hope it will bring us spiritual renewal, igniting again our passion to serve our Lord and spread the gospel. It will serve the people of Shatin better so that whenever they want to go to a church they will think of Holy Spirit. |
| Yeung: | I hope to have more activities such as nurturing and retreats to increase our biblical knowledge and spiritual strength. We should strengthen the spiritual life of our members before preaching to the outside. More exchanges and activities with churches of all denomination should be held. |
| I: | Do you have anything to say to the members of other SKH churches? |
| Lee: | I hope all SKH church members can work together not only in building a new church, but also in shaping the direction of SKH in the next few years. |
| Cho: | Let us work together to build a house for the Lord. |
| Kwong: | I want all SKH church members of Hong Kong, Macao and the rest of the world to know that our new church will be one full of spirit and grace. I hope they will be happy to support us by donations. |
| Chow: | I wish all SKH church members will help us realise this dream of ours for more than 20 years. |
| Leong: | I hope our brothers and sisters will share our vision in building a new church and our mission in spreading the Good News to the people of Shatin. |
| Woo: | Please pray for our new church project and the safety of the people working in it. If you want to know more about the project, please visit our website at http://hsc.hkskh.org/ or call 2699 9655 to talk to our pastor Rev Richard Tsang.
If you want to make any donation, whether it is designated for certain items or made in memory of someone, please make your cheque payable to Sheng Kung Hui Holy Spirit Church and mail it to:
Sheng Kung Hui Holy Spirit Church,
G/F, Shun Wo House, Wo Che Estate,
Shatin, Hong Kong.
Please mark clearly the names of donors and their contact details so that we can send them a receipt. |
| I: | Many thanks for the interview. I wish the new church project will progress smoothly. |