U Matters

The last several Sundays we have been updated on the discernment process. As a church we have been invited to continue praying on Wednesday nights, to pray individually and to prepare for an upcoming opportunity to let the discernment team know what you are discerning. Additionally, this Sunday you are invited to pray between the services at 10:45-11:15. As we continue to pray for our church let’s remember that:

Discernment is a process.
The word discern means to put to the test, examine, discover, approve. It takes time and intentionality to discern. Discernment involves gaining spiritual insight and desiring to see God’s will.

Discernment is about being transformed.
The discernment process allows us to grow and be renewed in our personal relationship with God. Paul says in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Discernment involves the heart and mind.
Solomon prayed for wisdom and the response was "The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, ‘Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be."1 Kings 3:10-12. Interestingly, different translations give a slight variance in understanding of texts. For this passage, the ESV translation uses "mind" whereas the NIV translation uses "heart." Discernment comes from God transforming us – heart and mind.

Discernment involves the Holy Spirit.
"these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God." I Corinthians 2:10

Discernment happens in community. May God continue to lead us and guide us as we seek Him together and may we continue to be open to the process of being transformed by His Spirit.

For additional reading consider this article from Christianity Today:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2016/september/recovering-prayer-and-discernment-in-our-agendas-and-strate.html

Blessings,

Pastor Michele


On Tuesday, we welcomed Ting Liu to our team as our new Children's Ministry Assistant. Please join us in welcoming her as she shares her gifts with the children in Sunday School.

ReCharge Returns!

Join us for dinner, worship and study together on Wednesday nights, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM.
Study opportunities include:
- Revelation, led by Chris Fung
- The Gospel According to Jonah, led by Monte Peterson
- The Keys to a Blessed Life (Young Adults), led by Timothy Ng, Joshua Ng, KK Ip and Ken Morrison
- Lord of the Rings and the Gospel (Youth), led by Hunter Purvis
- Alpha, led by Patrick Wilson (starts September 25)
- Stephen’s Ministry Supervision, led by Pastor Michele
 

Prayer. All are welcome to join us for weekly prayer.
Tuesday Morning Prayer - 7:30 AM 
Wednesday Discernment Prayer - 6:15 PM - 7:00 PM or 7:45 PM - 9:00 PM
Sunday prayer for the city after each of the worship services

175th Anniversary

Worship and Celebration Service: Saturday, 19th October at Methodist International Church - all welcome. Please sign up at the Welcome Table or utilise the QR.

 

Opportunities


Parents in Prayer, Sunday 22 September 2019, 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM, in the Sanctuary.
We would like to invite all Union Church parents to join us for an opportunity to pray for our children immediately after the 11:15 AM service. Please join us as we lift up our children (adult children too) and families in prayer. All are welcome.

September 22, 5:15 PM
SELAH - A pause to walk in the Spirit. This is a service designed to come away from the busyness of our schedule and sit and spend time intentionally with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. It is a walk by faith, trusting God to reveal, heal, teach and guide us in a more intimate relationship with HIM. There will be worship. There will be silence. There will be prayer. We will gather together as ONE, and walk privately as one. You are invited to come, as HE meets you heart to heart.

Sunday School Teachers Needed
Kingdom Kids needs adults who would love to serve and devote their time and energy for our children. We provide Gospel-centered curriculum, training, supplies and the kids. You get the incredible blessing of investing in kids and growing closer to Jesus with them. We are still in need of 1 lead teacher for the 6-7 years old at the 9:45 AM service, and 1 lead teacher for the 10 years old class at the 11:15 AM service. Contact JACKLIEN ( )

Alpha Returns! Bring your friends, relatives and colleagues to the first session on Wednesday, 25 September at 7:00 PM! Sign up at the Welcome Table. Reservation or info contact  .

Marriage Course
Build a marriage that lasts. Tuesday nights from 15 October to 26 November 2019. 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM. Fellowship Hall of Union Church
Whether you are newly married or been married for years, this course offers a lifetime of practical ideas and tools to help keep your relationship strong. The course runs for 7 weeks + 1 further week if we have a social gathering. It is based on Christian principles but is designed for ALL couples with or without a church background. The course is structured like a date night between each couple - there is no group sharing - just a romantic 3 course dinner which is served for you, a talk with videos and private discussions between yourselves as a couple.
Cost $1,800/couple including course materials and all the dinners.
For registration, please click or contact Joanna Yau at  or sign up at the Welcome Table.
 
Sunday Lunch Study: Continuing this week, Sept 22, we will be looking at Jonah, the Prodigal Prophet. Much more than just a cute children’s story, Jonah’s story teaches us about God’s surprising call, God’s faithfulness when we stray, and God’s extraordinary love and mercy. 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM, Youth Room. Lunch provided, $50 suggested donation.

Midweek Lunch Studies
It's not too late to join either of our Tuesday lunch studies, on Ezekiel or Jonah! BYO Lunch.

Ezekiel led by Yan Yu, 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM. Youth room.

The Gospel According to Jonah, led by Monte Peterson. 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM. Room 2.

Union Book Group
Mark your calendars--Union Book Group will meet again Tuesday October 15 at 7:30 PM. Our first book is The Reason, by William Sirls, a novel where the characters struggle with questions like Where is God when bad things happen? Does God ignore the prayers of the faithful? Books are available at the Welcome Table. Contact Monte Peterson.

Right Now Media
We’re excited to give you free access to RightNow Media, a wonderful library of video resources for all ages to help you develop and grow as both a disciple of Jesus and disciple-maker.
Link to join:https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Account/Invite/UnionChurch 

Faith Comes By Hearing
Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) Asia invites you to join them at their Vision Trip Sharing session on 29 September 2019 from 12:45 PM to 2:30 PM in the Sanctuary, to hear encounters of Father's Love for His people and of God's miracles through testimonies from their supporters who recently returned from Sapa. Please contact Carrine at or 66822346 for more information . Please RSVP.
Faith Comes By Hearing



Sons & Daughters
Sons & Daughters share God's love with men and women in the red-light districts of Hong Kong. They have asked for our assistance with providing practical items, such as food, toiletries, and household items, for use in their drop-in centre and family home. If you are willing to donate items, please see the list of items needed at the Welcome Table.

The 2019 Fall Walk to Emmaus Women and Men's walks are coming!
The Women's walk (WTE#80) will be from 26 -29 September and the Men's walk (WTE#81) will be from 4 – 7 October. The Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal movement dedicated to strengthening our local Hong Kong churches and communities through the development of mature Christian disciples and leaders. If you are interested or have any questions, please ask Terri Appel or Bronwyn Alexander about the Women's walk, and Nick Appel or Charles Schmitt about the Men's walk. Please go to: https://hkwalktoemmaus.org/ for information about signing up.

Prayer and Discernment for Union Church - Wednesday, 6:15 PM to 7:00 PM or 7:45 PM to 9:00 PM

Prayer & Discernment Update. The Prayer & Discernment Group continued to meet throughout the summer and as people return from travel, we encourage the community to join the group on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM. Those who attended the 23rd March AGM and/or church meeting on 9th June, learned that the Prayer & Discernment Group was created to support Union Church with entering a time of Healing, Waiting on the Lord, and a Season of Stillness. We have clearly discerned that the first priority is to prayerfully seek greater alignment and healing to deepen our trust and become a more Christ-centred community. As such, we have not discerned that we should be in any hurry to commence a search for a Senior Pastor. We believe that unless we first "put our house in order" and seek deep healing through unified prayers, old strongholds will remain entrenched, and issues that have surfaced at various times in Union Church's past, will recur, in various forms. We can be likened to the Israelites, who waited to move only when the fire by night or the cloud by day led them to go forward. We firmly believe the Lord is telling us to 'wait' before we move forward towards a search. Meanwhile, God is doing great things at Union Church. We are working with Pastor Michele to ensure that the staffing is suitably resourced and that ministries are properly supported. We welcome all to pray as a community while we wait on the Lord to lead us forward.

Join the Union Team:
We are looking for a Young Adults Director, Assistant Youth Director, and a Crèche Coordinator. Please contact  stating which role you are interested in. We will contact you with more information about the role.
 

Small Groups

Small groups are one of the main ways we connect with each other and connect with God, learning what the Kingdom of God is all about. Interested in joining or starting a group? Contact Monte Peterson. 
 

Ladies

Fertility and Pregnancy/Infant Loss Support Group - Struggling and could use some fellowship, friendship and support? Contact Sonia Lee.
 

Baptism and Membership

If you have been attending Union Church for a while and have never gone through the official process to become a member, now is your chance! Please collect a green form and make it official!
If you have never been baptised and are interested, please see Pastor Michele.  
 

Youth

The class will be a part of the regular Wednesday Night Recharge, with dinner at 7:00 PM, followed by Worship and then joining together for the study that ends at 9:00 PM.

Friday Youth Group –September 20
Juniors (11-13) are asked to arrive from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Seniors (14-18) are to arrive from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
This Friday will be a Joint Youth Group, where Union Youth will be working side by side with Community Church Youth to address and come up with creative solutions to some of the big problems facing Hong Kong and the world.

Sunday Youth Group – September 22
Youth can attend at either 9:45 AM or 11:15 AM in Indigo Hotel 29/F
Juniors (11-13) Will be following the Be Bold curriculum, dealing with big questions around their faith.
Seniors (14-18) will be following the Bible Project series on Spiritual Beings.

Wednesday Recharge - September 25
We are excited to announce that we will be going through "The Lord of the Rings and the Gospel". The study will look at the movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, and learn how Tolkien, a committed Christian, wove themes and teachings from the Gospels into his work.

The class will be a part of the regular Wednesday Night Recharge, with dinner at 7:00 PM, followed by Worship and then joining together for the study that ends at 9:00 PM.

Kingdom Kids 

Sunday School 2019/2020 Registration 
All children enrolling in our Sunday School and Crèche Center MUST BE REGISTERED by filling in and signing the Registration Form HERE. Registration Forms are also available at the Welcome Table. Please note that this registration is for the school year August, 2019 to June, 2020. Your child/children will be assigned only one (1) class (i.e., 5 yrs old, 10 yrs old) for this whole period in accordance with our age brackets.

Kingdom Kids Upcoming Events - Save the Date
Hallelujah Party: Saturday, 2 Nov 2019, 2.30 - 5:30 PM 
Christmas Musical Pageant: Sunday, 8 Dec 2019, 9:45 AM & 11:15 AM
Children’s Christmas Outreach:
HOLF - Saturday, 14 December, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
St.Barnabas Society & Home - Sunday, 15 December, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
 

Filipino Ministry

1:00 PM - 1:50 PM     Congregational Prayer
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM     Bible Study Groups
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM     Worship Service
Every 1st Sunday of the Month from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Outreach & Evangelism.
 

Stephen's Ministry

Are you Going Through a Difficult Time?
A Stephen Minister can help. Stephen Ministers are members of our congregation who listen, care, encourage, and provide emotional and spiritual support to people going through a crisis or a difficult time. Please contact Pastor Michele if we can help ( ).
 

Family in Need (FIN)

If you would like to help support our family in need ministry, which helps people monthly with basic needs, please mark your envelope "FIN".
 

Last Week's Sermons

"The Sound of Sheer Silence" by Monte Peterson

Protest/Weather Procedures

In the light of the recent protests and their impact on Hong Kong, we need to ensure the safety of our congregation and staff. We will always try to hold our services as normal, but we will implement the following procedures for our Sunday services when needed:

• All services will proceed as normal as long as there is no protest planned for the area directly around Sunlight Tower.

• In case of spontaneous events that might impact our congregation coming to Church, then our staff will make a decision on whether to suspend services. An email will be sent to all of our members to inform them of which services will be suspended.

We will try wherever possible to give as much notice as possible should we feel the need to suspend any service. Please make sure that you check your email before setting off for Church. You can help us by ensuring that we have your most up to date contact information. If you think your information may be incorrect, please contact .

At this time, we would also like to remind you of our Typhoon/Severe Weather policy:

All Church activities remain unchanged when tropical cyclone warning signal number 1 or 3 is hoisted. They will also be unaffected by the amber or red rainstorm warning signals.

When the Hong Kong Observatory issues a ‘Pre No.8 Typhoon Warning Signal’ on a Sunday, we will complete any service taking place and ask people to leave the Church and make their way home. Services planned for after this will be suspended

When the black rainstorm warning signal or tropical cyclone warning signal number 8 or above is hoisted on a Sunday before 7:30 AM, all Church activities (Worship services, Classes, Youth and Children’s programs etc.) scheduled at 9:45 AM or before will be cancelled. If the signal is subsequently lowered 2 hours before the 11:15 AM service, the 11:15 AM service will be held as scheduled. If the signal is lowered after 1:00 PM, the Church will remain closed for the rest of the day.