HONG KONG (SE): St. Francis parish, Ma On Shan, has organised a series of workshops to equip parishioners with household maintenance skills. It is hoped that through the workshops, it can recruit volunteers to help with upkeep of the 25-year-old church building.
The first workshop on July 4, started with a message from Father Manohar Jyothi who explained that the parish had organised the workshop in response to the Year of St. Joseph, a quiet and hardworking carpenter. He believes that a message delivered in a talk can easily be forgotten, but a maintenance service done for others will be remembered and is, in fact, a concrete way to implement the spirit of love.
The first workshop drew a good response as around 60 people signed up for the activity. Father Jyothi said he hopes people’s eagerness to learn and to serve the parish will continue as the series of workshops go on.
Francis Choi Cho-fung, a seminarian, then spoke about the virtues of St. Joseph as mentioned in Pope Francis’ apostolic letter, With a Father’s Heart [Patris Cordes].
He reminded those present that the Year of St. Joseph [8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021] and the diocesan three-year plan for parish renewal are interrelated as they remind people to contribute to the parish according to the spirit of St. Joseph, who served God through work and actions.
Father Yan explained the principles behind the design of circuit distribution boards, electrical fuses and the danger of overloading. Meanwhile, Kung shared his experiences in doing maintenance for the parish for over two decades.
Assistant parish priest Father Timothy Yan Ho-fung, a former employee of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department before he joined the seminary, along with Stephen Kung Kwok-sam, a retired parish maintenance technician, led the workshop.
Father Yan explained the principles behind the design of circuit distribution boards, electrical fuses and the danger of overloading. Meanwhile, Kung shared his experiences in doing maintenance for the parish for over two decades.
Under the guidance of some technicians, some participants were then taught how to fix the wires inside a three-pin socket, while some helped Father Yan and Kung to fix the legs of an old cabinet in the parish office as well as the lamps at the entrance.
One participant, Thomas Fan Chun-fung, said he was happy to help if the parish needed any maintenance services as he believes the skills he has learned need to be practiced. Yeung Ngar-yee, another participant, said that although she wasa not a member of any pious associations in the parish, she has been helping the parish through voluntary work. She is always willing to help should the parish need any volunteers for its maintenance.
The second and third workshops are scheduled for August 1 and 8.
According to Father Yan, the parish plans to design a photo gallery to be installed above the stair railings to mark the 25th anniversary of the consecration of the church, so it needs more help to fix the peeling paint of the railings and the adjacent walls.
For the workshop on August 8, he plans to let some participants do this job in groups divided according to their experiences in related work.
