U Matters

When you consider all that is going on in Hong Kong and surrounding areas, there is much to be anxious and down about. One therapeutic strategy that researchers are affirming to help with depression and anxiety is regularly recording what you are thankful for. Simply put, at the end of each day write a list. This strategy is very similar to the lyrics found in the hymn Count Your Blessings, written by Johnson Oatman in 1856. He writes,

Count your blessings, name them one by one.

Count your blessings, see what God has done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one.

Count your many blessings see what God has done.

If I were to list what I am thankful for this week it would include:

  • Technology. Through technology we have been able to connect with one another, make decisions, have meetings, pray, check in, and worship together. We had 239 households view our services online last Sunday!
  • Gifts within our community. I am so thankful that God equips and gifts people differently. These past few weeks especially, our ladies retreat leadership team have been working overtime. Their attention to detail, administration skills and care for the 42 ladies attending is outstanding.
  • Prayer. Although we may feel alone, we are not alone. God is with us (Isaiah 41:10) and if any of us lack wisdom all we need to do is ask. (James 1:5)
  • The sun. We have had some lovely sunny days.
  • Community. Being connected to people, hearing their stories and rejoicing in seeing God’s hand on their life, has encouraged me this week.

“Reflect on your present blessings, on which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” Charles Dickens

I hope you are able to find something to be thankful for this week and perhaps make it a regular routine. We are reminded in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

This Sunday, we will conclude the Book of Ruth. If you have not been able to join us, or if you would like more background to the book, the Bible Project is a wonderful resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h1eoBeR4Jk

Blessings, Pastor Michele

IMPORTANT NEWS

Please note that from this Sunday, 23th February 2020, the management of Sunlight Tower will be asking everyone to have their temperature checked upon entering the building. Please enter through the Queen's Road East entrance and leave through the side street exit (Tai Yuen Street). Anyone with a fever will be asked not to enter and refused entry to the building and advised to seek medical help. Everyone will also be requested to immediately wash their hands thoroughly once inside the church on the 18th floor. Please do come worship with us and try to arrive well in advance of the service start time to accommodate this check. 

If you have travelled to mainland China in the last 14 days, please do not come to the Church. Following Government advice, we recommend that you remain at home during the two-week period. Join our worship by streaming via our website or our mobile app.

Thank you for your understanding. There are multiple ways to remain connected with the Union community while many of us are staying and working at home more. Want to know more? Need urgent prayer during these challenging times? Contact the office:

Latest News

The following events are postponed until further notice. Please check the website (www.unionchurchhk.org) for latest details. 

There will be NO U-Cafe until the 8th of March

Lent begins next week, with Ash Wednesday on Wednesday, Feb 26. Though we will not hold our regular service with imposition of ashes, we will have a special Ash Wednesday prayer service on zoom, at 8pm. Please join us in this time of acknowledging both our frailty and God’s gracious, sheltering love: https://zoom.us/j/620034161

Midweek Bible Study, Tuesday lunch time, from 12:30-2:00, led by Yan Yu. 

Lunchtime Alpha is postponed until further notice. Contact Monte Peterson if you are interested, and we will let you know once it will begin. 

Children’s Sunday School Arrangements: Kingdom Kids' regular Sunday School program is suspended and will tentatively resume on Sunday, 15 March. For the meantime, we will provide Veggie Tales movies for children who attend church with strict hygiene procedures in place. We truly appreciate your kind understanding and cooperation as we do our part in helping protect the health and safety of everyone attending our Sunday School program and church services. 

Men's Fellowship Dinner planned for Saturday, 29 February will be postponed to a later date. 

Opportunities

This year during Lent, we invite you to join into several church-wide disciplines as we together prepare our hearts for Holy Week and Easter. We will be reading and preaching through the book of Ephesians as a church.

+If you like to listen, join the city-wide ONE campaign, listening to Matthew and Ephesians (more info below).

+If you like to read, pick up a bookmark with a reading schedule, as well as prayer and action suggestions. 

+Watch introductory videos to the book of Matthew and Ephesians (from the Bible Project). This series (on Right Now Media) about Ephesians is great for families (from the co-creator of Veggie Tales!)  QR code to join Right Now Media:

 

Do you have a little more time on your hands with other events cancelled? Love to read and discuss books? Join the Union Book Group! Our next book is the The Wife's Tale, by Aida Edemariam. This biography is the true story of her grandmother's remarkable and ordinary life in Ethiopia. Books are available at the Welcome Table ($100), and also available on Kindle. We will meet to discuss the book on Tuesday, March 3, at 7:30PM. Join us!

ONE 2020 Churches in Hong Kong will be running a Bible listening campaign from February 26th to April 12th, 2020. Please download the mobile application (“One Hearing the Word”) and listen to, or read, a passage of Scripture, followed by a Devotion, a short Prayer and, finally, one portion of the Gospel Film, daily in 6 languages (English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog, Indonesian and Korean). http://www.onehtw.com/ , download the App or scan the QR code: 

HK Church Network for the Poor is coordinating with their partners to source face masks and distribute them to underprivileged families and groups in Taiwai, Central, Kwun Tong, Yau Ma Tei, Tai Kok Tsui, Fanling, Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsuen Wan, Hung Hom. So far, they have received requests for 23,000+ face masks from most deprived districts in HK, and have started to distribute collections to partners. They still need many more. Thanks to support from churches and individual donors, they are sharing more than supplies but also love and hope in Christ. To donate please bring your masks to Union Church. Thank you.

Seniors Fellowship Group. We would like to start a fellowship group for the older members of our congregation for a time of caring and sharing. We will have a kick off morning on Thursday, 12 March. 10:30AM till noon. If you would like more information contact Isabel Morrison at thank you.

Hospitality volunteers needed! We are looking for volunteers to befriend our LTS students during their time in Hong Kong. If you are willing to host a student for lunch after church, or invite a student for a hike, sightseeing, etc., please contact Yan Yu ( ) or speak to someone at the Welcome Table.

If you are in need of some Pastoral Care Support, we encourage you to contact admin at:   or call 2523 7247 and they will be more than happy to help you get the support that you need.

Join the Union Team:
We are looking for an 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

Meeting as a small group in this time is challenging, but the support from each other is more important than ever. There ARE online options - please reach out if you need help figuring this out! If you aren't currently in a group, we encourage you to try it out. There are groups for women, men, couples, day-time, night-time, etc. Interested? Contact Monte Peterson

Prayer at Union

All are welcome to join us for weekly prayer.
Tuesday Morning Prayer - 7:30 AM

Youth

Friday Youth Group – Friday February 21

We will have Youth Group this Friday, and we will be taking hike to the Peak! Please see below for more details.

What: Hike to the Peak & Devotional
Where: Meet downstairs at Sunlight Tower. Dismiss from Peak
When: Meet at 4PM, dismissal at 6PM

Details: We will dismiss from the Peak, so please ensure Youth have money for transport/snacks if they would like them. Parents are welcome to join.

NO Sunday Youth Group – Sunday Feb 23

We will not be having Sunday Youth until March 1st, or until otherwise noted.

Mongolia Mission Trip – April 7-12

In partnership with Flourishing Futures, Union Youth will be traveling to Ulaan Bataar in Mongolia, where we will be assisting in their numerous ministries to vulnerable families and children in the city’s Ger district, as well as learning how to more effective disciples of Jesus Christ. Open to all members of the Union Church Congregation. Unaccompanied Youth must be ages 16+

Sign ups are now open and we need to put our team together as soon as possible! Please sign up HERE

Confirmation 2020

Confirmation is a chance for youth to confirm their faith in Jesus Christ with the support of the Congregation. This year’s course will be postponed but will hopefully begin in March. All youth aged 12+ are invited, please contact us at

Kingdom Kids

Sunday School WEEKLY CHALLENGES: Dear Parents, please click HERE for the link to our KINGDOM KIDS WEEKLY CHALLENGES. Prizes are available for the first 5 families who sends in video recording of the challenges completed to  . We look forward to receiving videos from you. 

Influenza Season Precautionary Measure

As we are entering the influenza season, we are enforcing strict hygiene procedures such as temperature checks and the application of hand disinfectant spray before entering the classrooms. Children, and Sunday School teachers/staff on duty, will be required to wear face masks and face masks will be made available in each classrooms Our Creche centre and all Sunday School rooms are equipped with disinfectant spray machines which are safe and approved for use for babies and toddlers. If your child is running a temperature above 37.2 or is showing symptoms of cold and flu, we would appreciate it if you could keep your child at home until he or she is well. Thank you very much for your kind understanding and cooperation in keeping all of our children safe and healthy.

In addition, to keep the Crèche Center clean and safe for babies to use, we would appreciate if parents could leave baby strollers at the designated stroller parking area which can be found at the church main entrance door.

Sunday School 2019/2020 Registration
All children enrolling in our Sunday School and Creche Center MUST BE REGISTERED by filling in and signing the Registration Form HERE. For more information, please visit Union Church's website or contact us at CHILDREN or 21010414.

Missions

In keeping with the history of our church and the Great Commission, Mt. 28:18-20, we are excited about missions.

We are excited about the many ministries we support annually, both locally and internationally, and we hope you take advantage of opportunities to get involved. Each week, there will be a missions committee member at the welcome table; please ask them how you can participate or if you have questions. Additionally, please tune in to the video in the foyer to learn more.

We hope you welcome the many Lutheran Theological Students from Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand who are attending Union.

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.

To get involved with these and other ministries, please talk to any member of the missions committee: Nick Appel (Chairman), Kathy Foley (Secretary), Dennis Hopton, John Jamison, Melody Landes, Jeff Cheung, KK Ip, Yan Yu (Deacon), Michael Birley (COM). Additionally, David Ashton-Howorth and Pastor Michele attend meetings.

Filipino Ministry

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

Stephen's Ministry

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 (

Ladies

Fertility & 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.

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 Sermon

"Ruth 2 & 3: A love story" Monte Peterson

Protest/Weather Procedures

In the light of the 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 07:30AM, all Church activities (Worship services, Classes, Youth and Children’s programs etc.) scheduled at 9:45AM or before will be cancelled. If the signal is subsequently lowered 2 hours before the 11:15AM service, the 11:15AM service will be held as scheduled. If the signal is lowered after 1PM, the Church will remain closed for the rest of the day.