HONG KONG (SE/KKP): The Mercy Canteen, set up by MercyHK, a charity founded by Oblate [OMI] Father John Wotherspoon, was blessed by Cardinal Stephen Chow, SJ, on November 19. Located at 191 Temple Street, the canteen began operations on September 18 and has received positive responses from the faithful, who often patronise it in groups [Sunday Examiner, September 24].
Father Christian Fini, omi, provincial for the Australian Province of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Father Stephen Ip, parish priest of St. Paul’s Parish, Yau Ma Tei, Father Dominic Fung OMI, Protestant Church representatives, and nearly one hundred people participated in the blessing ceremony at Nathan Road, which began at the group’s centre.
The group serves migrant domestic workers, asylum seekers, and the homeless.
Cardinal Stephen blessed the MercyHK canteen as well as the other two service centres that day. In addition to its Temple Street canteen, the charity group manages a Doctor Jesus Centre nearby for patients and a centre on Nathan Road 557 for organising Church activities.
During the blessing ceremony, Cardinal Stephen said one of Pope Francis’ major initiatives in 2016 was the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. He praised Father Wotherspoon and his team for setting up MercyHK that year to demonstrate God’s mercy in the community. “Mercy is the best way to proclaim the gospel,” he said, adding that it is not necessary to convert people to Catholicism.
Having the opportunity to serve others is a blessing, and the people served by the centre show the face of God. “When you allow us to serve you, you allow us to receive the blessing of God,” the cardinal told them. He encouraged the staff of the canteen to serve with love so that diners could feel the love of God.
Father Fini expressed his appreciation of Father Wotherspoon’s outreach services, saying that MercyHK serves the needy from the very basics so that people can be fed, regain their human dignity and come to know God.
In his remarks, Father Wotherspoon thanked the cardinal, the priests, the volunteers who assisted with fundraising and decorating the canteen, as well as all those present.
Cardinal Stephen said one of Pope Francis’ major initiatives in 2016 was the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. He praised Father Wotherspoon and his team for setting up MercyHK that year to demonstrate God’s mercy in the community. ‘Mercy is the best way to proclaim the gospel,’ he said
He also thanked the faithful who had been supporting the canteen, and said that it is the only one in Hong Kong with an a social worker’s office attached, allowing more needy people approach the group. According to him, Lucia Leung Mei-ling, the social worker, has been receiving new cases daily since opening the canteen.
Leung told the Sunday Examiner that she found it very convenient to reach out to the needy from her office in the canteen. Furthermore, as the manager of the canteen, she commented that she was pleased to see how the former inmates dedicated themselves again to their jobs, although some former staff found it difficult to adjust and succumbed to the temptation of drugs.
“We are happy that positive changes can be found for those who continue to work here,” she stated.
According to her, 80 per cent of the customers are Catholics. She thanked their support, but she shared that the canteen is yet to break-even and needs more customer support.
Eddie Chan Chi-kong, director of MercyHK, revealed that the canteen is considering ways to increase income, including reserving a time slot for group activities.
Chan shared that the restaurant has decreased its prices to attract more customers, but it may be hard to lower them further. He explained that, since it receives dim-sum from the same suppliers as some five-star hotels, the price is high.
He recommended that people come and try the fare, adding that ginger has been added their most popular Mercy Special Drink to warm customers during winter days!
The MercyHK shop at Temple Street used to sell secondhand goods and had been a distribution centre for needy people during the Covid-19 pandemic. In May this year, the organisation started planning to turn the shop into a canteen to give former prisoners a job opportunity and support the organisation’s funding [Sunday Examiner, May 21].
MercyHKcurrently subsidises accommodation and daily meals for homeless people, managing and renting residential units and guest house places. Around 200 cards for free meals per day were issued to those in need. The group also offers free medical consultation and medicine for needy people.
