U Matters
The musical “Come From Away” has influenced audiences around the world with its global story of generosity and kindness. The musical shares the story of the 7000 airline passengers who were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland (population 10,000) during 9/11. For 5 days planes were grounded and the community banded together to open their hearts and homes to strangers in a time of crisis.
We are facing our own challenges and crises and there is tremendous fear and uncertainty. Schedules are awry, students are home-schooled, travel plans uncertain. We get nervous when we get the sniffles or hear someone coughing. It is times like these we are reminded of what is important and what we have control over.
As I write this I am listening to the song, “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood. A good reminder. The Psalmist writes, “be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10. We may not be able to control all of our surroundings or circumstances, but we can control how we respond to the situations around us.
Let’s remember and pray for all the front-line medical workers, the sick, the homeless, the government officials making decisions, those in Wuhan and those family and friends who are afraid and vulnerable. If you are feeling stressed and would like someone to pray for you, please reach out to our staff and deacons. We would welcome the opportunity to support you.
This Sunday, we embark on a new 3-week series on the book of Ruth and hope you can join us. If you are not feeling well, we encourage you to join us for a live stream: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCljaSyVR_n5MQY_98V58HvQ
Blessings, Pastor Michele
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 on the 9th or 16th of February.
Recharge, our Wednesday night meeting for dinner, worship and study, will be cancelled for the next two weeks: February 12 and 19. However, we will still have an opportunity to get "ReCharged" by gathering in prayer online using Zoom. All are welcome! To join, use this link between 8:00pm - 9:00PM: https://zoom.us/j/268101602
Midweek Bible Study, Tuesday lunch time, from 12:30-2:00, led by Yan Yu.
Evangelism Workshop, February 16, led by Yan Yu.
Group for Parents of babies, February 16, contact Monte Peterson
Parents in Prayer we encourage all our parents to continue to lift up all of our children in prayers daily and may God’s protection, peace, love and joy be with us all during this time of uncertainty, instability and fear. Deacons and ministry staff are still available for prayer support after church service, please enquire at the Welcome Table.
Children’s Sunday School Arrangements: Kingdom Kids' regular Sunday School program is suspended and will tentatively resume on Sunday, 1 March. For the meantime, we will provide Veggie Tales movies for children who attend church during this period of time 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.
Senior Sunday School Outing planned for Sunday, 16 February (children aged 10 to 11 years old) will be postponed to a later date. Parents will be informed via email when the new date becomes available.
Opportunities
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!
Lunchtime Alpha will begin Wednesday, February 19, from 1PM-2:15PM. Currently, we are planning to continue, feeling that this opportunity to share the gospel is important. If you have questions about the meaning of life or God or Christianity, you are warmly invited to join us! If you have friends with these questions, you are encouraged to invite them, or better yet, bring them along. Pray that God works through this opportunity to bring Christ's light into Wan Chai! Sign up at the Welcome Table or by emailing monte.peterson@unionchurchhk.
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, 20 February. 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
A new year is a great time to make a new commitment to fellowship and growth with other Christians! 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 to start the new year off right!
Prayer at Union
All are welcome to join us for weekly prayer.
Tuesday Morning Prayer - 7:30 AM
Wednesday Prayer and Discernment for Union Church - 6:15 PM to 7:00 PM
Youth
Friday Youth Group – Friday February 7
We will have Youth Group this Friday, and we will be hosting a Fellowship Night! Youth are invited to join us at AMC Pacific Place at 7:45PM on Friday to watch JoJo Rabbit.
What: JoJo Rabbit Movie
Where: AMC Pacific Place
When: 7:45PM Friday Feb 7
Details: Cost is 100 for Youth (please bring student ID!) For more details/review of the movie please check this link. The Film is PG-13 for some violence, etc.
NO Sunday Youth Group – Sunday Feb 9
We will not be having Sunday Youth until February 16, 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 over 5 months starting in February.
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".
"Enduring Partnership" Dr. Kenneth Gerada
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.