Hong Kong Meeting of the International Anglican Youth Network Steering Committee:
About two weeks ago I was in Hong Kong at a meeting of the Steering Committee of the International Anglican Youth Network. Michael Tamihere and I flew over on Thursday night (March 12th) , arriving Friday morning. That gave us some time on Friday to wander about Kowloon , and then over to Central on the Star Ferry, where we wandered around, through Hong Kong Park to Wai Chan and then caught the ferry home. The others trickled in on Friday afternoon and evening, and we began with dinner out on Friday night
On Saturday we visited Macau Missionary Area. The Anglican Church there is amazingly small, only about 3-400 members, but they have four or five parishes, and operate several schools, including kindergarten, primary and secondary. These schools are pivotal to their evangelism endeavours. They work really hard with the students to introduce them to Christianity, and the Anglican Way. As a result they are a growing church, and a very young church. Revd. Thomas Pang and Rev Odette spent a lot of time with us, and looked after us really well. Thomas is a Chinese priest on loan from the Diocese of Boston, and is working part time in Macau, and part time in the Religious Education Centre as the Director. His charge is to rejuvenate what is happening and to develop the churches mission both in Macau and in Hong Kong. Macau was Portuguese for nearly 400 years and it was really interesting seeing how it was different to Hong Kong, which was British for a much shorter time.
On Sunday we went to a Chinese language service at Holy Carpenter Church, led by Revd. KK, who had been at the IAYN meeting in London in 2007, and is the curate at this church. It was great to be part of a service which used only the tiniest among of English (to welcome us) and to know pretty much what was going on for most of the service, and so to be able to join in, at least in our heads).
We then began our meeting in earnest. The agenda included:
• Regional reports, what is happening in each region
• Report on the IAYN presence at Lambeth conference 2008
• Preparations for IAYN report and presentation at the Anglican Consultative Council in May 2009
• Communications
• Planning for the next full Network meeting
Two themes that came out of the Regional Reports were encouraging young people in their Anglican Identity (as already raised by the MMA) and providing encouragement for young people to explore their vocation to ministry, both ordained and lay.
While the IAYN presence had gone really well, particularly the stand in the foyer area, disappointment was expressed that the interactive labyrinth had been situated so far away in Canterbury Cathedral and that so few bishops had gone through it. Those that had gone through, bishops and others were very warm in their praise, but as the part author of it, I would have felt it was more worthwhile if more had been able to experience what we were offering. But well done to Sarah Tomlinson who took my script and got a team of helpers together and made it work. Disappointment was also expressed that our optional seminar had been bumped off the programme in favour of one sponsored by an English Bishop, and that the protocol developed for the selection of stewards was not always adhered to, and some stewards were there simply because they could afford to pay, and went without the support of their Province. However, overall it was a good experience, with the young people involved engaging bishops freely and well, and really raising the profile of both the IAYN and of youth ministry in particular. Something similar in being planned for ACC, using some of the material both for the stall and the presentation.
While the website and newsletter have increased our communication with the Communion, it was noted that the newsletter did depend on Sam Desordi Leite who is now lost in the wonders of Berkeley, and that we are not making the most of the website. We are hoping to publish a “good news” magazine with one in depth story from each region. It will be called Good News in Spanish, as a way of noting that large parts of the communion do not speak English, and that that Spanish is the second most spoken language. Some of the articles will also be written in other languages like Spanish, and maybe Arabic. This will hopefully come out in time for Advent.
On the last day we met with the people in each diocesan responsible for youth ministry. Again there was a huge emphasis on using both their schools (they have contact with about half a million people through their schools) and through their social services. One of the parishes is in an area where their are large numbers of migrants, mainly mainland Chinese coming to improve their standard of living. A significant number are solo parent families, There are a number of social issues which the church is attempting to work with. For me it was a good example of how the five strands of mission work. Through their educational and social service work they are working to evangelise. People experience the good news of the Gospel, and are made much more receptive to hearing it preached. Once people have made a commitment there is alot of work being done to help them understand the Anglican way, to be active participants in their local Anglican Church, and to be part of the ongoing mission of the church, God's mission. That is so different from here in Aotearoa - New Zealand, where the five strands are held apart, almost in competition with each other, not as an integrated whole. It is also so different in terms of the access they have to their schools which are seen as missional, where as here they are too often just educational opportunities for the elite (or at least that is how they are seen). They are seen as that I think in Hong Kong as well, but somehow the church has greater access and greater opportunity to be missional in the schools and with the parents. I do not want to denigrate the work of a whole lot of dedicated chaplains who work very hard. But they are left to it and are the only authorised Anglican presence often. It just seems so much harder here. I need to think about this some more.
That night the Archbishop held a formal dinner for us and the Diocesan people. I even bought a clergy shirt for the event, made of fair trade cotton. It was quite the grand affair. During the dinner the Archbishop suggested we hold an Asia Region Youth Gathering. After some discussion we decided Hong Kong would be a good place. He had a YMCA campsite in mind that holds 1200!!! We meet the next day with the Asia rep (from Japan) who had only arrived the night before for another meeting. We have decided to try and hold this regional gathering in August 2011 with another full IAYN meeting to inspire other regions to do something similar. Very exciting! Very scary!
My Highlights
• meeting people who are involved in youth ministry in Macau and in the other Dioceses. It was inspirational
• Seeing the proactive way the Anglican church in Hong Kong is addressing the Economic Tsunami (as they call it) with banners of hope on every building (come to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you peace) and running a seminar for people affected, with various speakers including a young priest who was talking about the values we live our life by.
• the IAYN meeting: hearing the reports, identifying the common threads, and also being part of planning for the future
• being a tourist: going to The Peak, once during the day and once at night to see Hong Kong Island and Kowloon from high up; experiencing the nightly music and light show on the waterfront, which was very cool; the food (thanks Douglas and KK for ordering and letting us experience the range we did); and having time to wonder about and experience Hong Kong and Macau
• Being with the IAYN group. They are friends now, and it was good to grow that friendship
On Saturday we visited Macau Missionary Area. The Anglican Church there is amazingly small, only about 3-400 members, but they have four or five parishes, and operate several schools, including kindergarten, primary and secondary. These schools are pivotal to their evangelism endeavours. They work really hard with the students to introduce them to Christianity, and the Anglican Way. As a result they are a growing church, and a very young church. Revd. Thomas Pang and Rev Odette spent a lot of time with us, and looked after us really well. Thomas is a Chinese priest on loan from the Diocese of Boston, and is working part time in Macau, and part time in the Religious Education Centre as the Director. His charge is to rejuvenate what is happening and to develop the churches mission both in Macau and in Hong Kong. Macau was Portuguese for nearly 400 years and it was really interesting seeing how it was different to Hong Kong, which was British for a much shorter time.
On Sunday we went to a Chinese language service at Holy Carpenter Church, led by Revd. KK, who had been at the IAYN meeting in London in 2007, and is the curate at this church. It was great to be part of a service which used only the tiniest among of English (to welcome us) and to know pretty much what was going on for most of the service, and so to be able to join in, at least in our heads).
We then began our meeting in earnest. The agenda included:
• Regional reports, what is happening in each region
• Report on the IAYN presence at Lambeth conference 2008
• Preparations for IAYN report and presentation at the Anglican Consultative Council in May 2009
• Communications
• Planning for the next full Network meeting
Two themes that came out of the Regional Reports were encouraging young people in their Anglican Identity (as already raised by the MMA) and providing encouragement for young people to explore their vocation to ministry, both ordained and lay.
While the IAYN presence had gone really well, particularly the stand in the foyer area, disappointment was expressed that the interactive labyrinth had been situated so far away in Canterbury Cathedral and that so few bishops had gone through it. Those that had gone through, bishops and others were very warm in their praise, but as the part author of it, I would have felt it was more worthwhile if more had been able to experience what we were offering. But well done to Sarah Tomlinson who took my script and got a team of helpers together and made it work. Disappointment was also expressed that our optional seminar had been bumped off the programme in favour of one sponsored by an English Bishop, and that the protocol developed for the selection of stewards was not always adhered to, and some stewards were there simply because they could afford to pay, and went without the support of their Province. However, overall it was a good experience, with the young people involved engaging bishops freely and well, and really raising the profile of both the IAYN and of youth ministry in particular. Something similar in being planned for ACC, using some of the material both for the stall and the presentation.
While the website and newsletter have increased our communication with the Communion, it was noted that the newsletter did depend on Sam Desordi Leite who is now lost in the wonders of Berkeley, and that we are not making the most of the website. We are hoping to publish a “good news” magazine with one in depth story from each region. It will be called Good News in Spanish, as a way of noting that large parts of the communion do not speak English, and that that Spanish is the second most spoken language. Some of the articles will also be written in other languages like Spanish, and maybe Arabic. This will hopefully come out in time for Advent.
On the last day we met with the people in each diocesan responsible for youth ministry. Again there was a huge emphasis on using both their schools (they have contact with about half a million people through their schools) and through their social services. One of the parishes is in an area where their are large numbers of migrants, mainly mainland Chinese coming to improve their standard of living. A significant number are solo parent families, There are a number of social issues which the church is attempting to work with. For me it was a good example of how the five strands of mission work. Through their educational and social service work they are working to evangelise. People experience the good news of the Gospel, and are made much more receptive to hearing it preached. Once people have made a commitment there is alot of work being done to help them understand the Anglican way, to be active participants in their local Anglican Church, and to be part of the ongoing mission of the church, God's mission. That is so different from here in Aotearoa - New Zealand, where the five strands are held apart, almost in competition with each other, not as an integrated whole. It is also so different in terms of the access they have to their schools which are seen as missional, where as here they are too often just educational opportunities for the elite (or at least that is how they are seen). They are seen as that I think in Hong Kong as well, but somehow the church has greater access and greater opportunity to be missional in the schools and with the parents. I do not want to denigrate the work of a whole lot of dedicated chaplains who work very hard. But they are left to it and are the only authorised Anglican presence often. It just seems so much harder here. I need to think about this some more.
That night the Archbishop held a formal dinner for us and the Diocesan people. I even bought a clergy shirt for the event, made of fair trade cotton. It was quite the grand affair. During the dinner the Archbishop suggested we hold an Asia Region Youth Gathering. After some discussion we decided Hong Kong would be a good place. He had a YMCA campsite in mind that holds 1200!!! We meet the next day with the Asia rep (from Japan) who had only arrived the night before for another meeting. We have decided to try and hold this regional gathering in August 2011 with another full IAYN meeting to inspire other regions to do something similar. Very exciting! Very scary!
My Highlights
• meeting people who are involved in youth ministry in Macau and in the other Dioceses. It was inspirational
• Seeing the proactive way the Anglican church in Hong Kong is addressing the Economic Tsunami (as they call it) with banners of hope on every building (come to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you peace) and running a seminar for people affected, with various speakers including a young priest who was talking about the values we live our life by.
• the IAYN meeting: hearing the reports, identifying the common threads, and also being part of planning for the future
• being a tourist: going to The Peak, once during the day and once at night to see Hong Kong Island and Kowloon from high up; experiencing the nightly music and light show on the waterfront, which was very cool; the food (thanks Douglas and KK for ordering and letting us experience the range we did); and having time to wonder about and experience Hong Kong and Macau
• Being with the IAYN group. They are friends now, and it was good to grow that friendship
Comments