U Matters
Sometimes life doesn’t always go the way you think it will and let’s face it, life can deal us some painful and un-expected surprises. A poor medical report, a call from your boss, a child gone rogue - our life circumstances can change quickly. I am sure the Apostle Paul imagined his life differently too. Instead of freely preaching the gospel to massive crowds, his ministry involved him preaching the gospel from the inside of a prison cell.
These unexpected experiences can really test our faith. It is times like these we need to remember God’s promises and cling to Him and our faith community. The Psalmist wrote, "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." Psalm 18:16-19
This Sunday, broadcast Sunday, is the second Sunday of Lent and we are working our way through the book of Ephesians. On Sunday, we also welcome ministry partners from Kun Sun, our local prison ministry. Throughout Lent we hope you are tuning in to FCBH and/or reading along with the Lenten devotionals. We hope you can join us in person or through our streamed services. Additionally, we are very excited to welcome Dan Tupps, our new Director of Young Adults to our staff team and church family. We trust you will take the opportunity to reach out and meet Dan, his wife Geeta and son Lucas. We are delighted they are here with us.
Blessings, Pastor Michele
FAMILY NEWS
Please welcome Dan Tupps, our new Young Adults Director who started with us last Sunday. You can usually find him on Sundays in the Fellowship Hall near the Welcome Table. Please help us make him feel part of our family by saying hi to him after the service. Dan is originally from Indiana, USA. He holds a Masters degree in Ministry Studies and has over 13 years of church ministry experience, which includes 11 years serving in Hong Kong from 2004-2015. In 2015, Dan and his family moved back to Indiana where he pursued a Doctor of Intercultural Studies at Grace Theological Seminary before returning to Hong Kong in the summer of 2019. Dan enjoys sports, movies, board games, and has a rare talent for making cool sound effects! He is married to Geeta, who was born and raised in Hong Kong (HKIS alumnus) and they have one son, Lucas. Their desire as a family is to be a blessing to others and bring Christ's joy to all they encounter.
THIS WEEK
If you are unable to join us on Sundays in person, please go to our website, mobile app or Facebook page and watch the live stream of our services. at 8:45AM. 9:45AM or 11:15AM. Don't forget that you can also give your offering online via the giving page of our website, or by using the QR code:
ONE 2020: Churches in Hong Kong are 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:
Join us for Online Prayer on Wednesday nights from 8-9pm. Together we join in adoration, thanksgiving, confession and intercession. There is much to pray for in this time, and it is refreshing to do it together! Use this link to join: https://zoom.us/j/
Latest News
The following events are postponed until further notice. Please check our website (www.unionchurchhk.org) for latest details.
There will be NO U-Cafe until further notice.
Midweek Bible Study, Tuesday lunch time, from 12:30-2:00, led by Yan Yu.
Lunchtime Alpha is postponed until after Easter. 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 until further notice. 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.
Please note that the management of Sunlight Tower will be checking everyone's temperature upon entering the building. Anyone with a fever will be asked not to enter 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:
Opportunities
This year during Lent, we invite you to join in 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 read, pick up a bookmark with a reading schedule (see above), 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:
HK Church Network for the Poor is coordinating with their partners to source face masks and distribute them to underprivileged families and groups in Tai wai, 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. 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
We will have Youth Group this Friday, Juniors and Seniors are invited to come back to church for fellowhsip and an improvisation night! Please see below for more details.
What: Improvisation games and activities
Where: Union Church, Sunlight Tower, Wan Chai
When: Meet at 6PM, dismissal at 8PM
Details: Senior Hangout until 9PM
NO Sunday Youth Group – Sunday March 8. We will not be having Sunday Youth until further notice.
Mongolia Mission Trip – April 7-12
In partnership with Flourishing Futures, Union Youth will be travelling 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 age 12+ are invited, and if interested please contact us at
Kingdom Kids
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".
"Ephesians 1 - Life Giving Power" Rev. Wade Wollin
For HK Taxpayers wishing to make tax-deductible donations for the tax year of April 2019 to March 2020, please ensure that cheques are made payable to “Union Church” and are dated before 31 March 2020.
Please send your cheques to our Church Accounts Department latest by 31 March 2020, otherwise your donation will not be recognised in the 2019/2020 tax year. Thank you for your continuous support to Union Church.
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.