HONG KONG (SE): Hymns from a travelling bus, gifts of seeds, carnivals and a musical drama brought the Gospel beyond church walls as parishes across Hong Kong marked World Mission Sunday with outreach activities throughout October.
Deaneries and parish communities organised street encounters, performances and carnivals, inviting passersby to discover the Catholic faith and meet the people behind their neighbourhood churches.
Established by Pope Pius XI in 1926, World Mission Sunday marked its centenary this year. The annual observance brings Catholics together in prayer and support for the Church’s missionary work.
In Hong Kong, diocesan-wide celebrations alternate with deanery initiatives, complemented by parish programmes.
At St. Jude’s Church in North Point, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, commissioned nearly 60 volunteers during a Mass before their street outreach.
He reminded them that evangelisation means working alongside God. He encouraged volunteers to approach people without prejudice and to respond to rejection with courtesy, respect and love.
Across the Hong Kong Island East Deanery, parishes joined a coordinated street evangelisation campaign on October 18. Wearing matching purple-red tops and distributing common information leaflets, volunteers ranging from young children to older parishioners introduced their local Catholic communities to the public.
They were supported by representatives of the Diocesan Commission for Integral Human Development, the Hong Kong Catholic Commission for Labour Affairs, Caritas-Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Central Council of Catholic Laity.
Among the items prepared for distribution were 2,500 seed kits containing soil and seeds. The gifts symbolised the sowing of faith and the Church’s respect for life. Parishes also offered tissue packs and 2027 calendar cards.
Sowing seeds through personal encounters
The joint initiative was proposed by the dean, Father Andrew Kim Yong Jae, KMS, drawing on the experience of street evangelisation at Saint Margaret Mary’s Church in Happy Valley.
Joining parishioners on Great George Street in Causeway Bay, Father Kim found that older residents particularly appreciated the seed kits. Some asked for additional kits for their grandchildren, giving families an opportunity to watch the plants grow together.
He said the calendar cards also provided a simple way to begin conversations, introduce parish activities and share the message that “God is love.”
Father Kim acknowledged that rejection is a natural part of street outreach. Learning to accept it, he said, can strengthen volunteers’ faith and deepen their understanding of what it means to share the Gospel.
Such encounters offer people unfamiliar with Catholicism an accessible introduction to the Church and help build trust through a welcoming presence. He said the deanery would continue exploring other approaches, including community carnivals and sports events.
Father Timothy Wan Kwok-kwong, parish priest of St. Jude’s, noted that public concern about scams could make people cautious about speaking to strangers.
Nevertheless, several residents interested in learning about the faith shared their contact details with volunteers. He believed the Church’s established reputation had helped put them at ease.
In Central, Father Dominic Chan Chi-ming commissioned volunteers from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, emphasising conviction, active participation, unity and prayer as foundations for evangelisation.
The cathedral prepared tissue packs bearing its emblem, website address and QR codes linking to its social media channels.
Joseph Chan, president of the cathedral’s parish council, said volunteers near Tai Kwun encountered many tourists who were less likely to seek a connection with a local parish. Even so, the team regarded each conversation as an opportunity to sow a seed.
Other locations, including Theatre Lane near the Central MTR station, attracted a more receptive response. By the end of the two-hour afternoon outreach, volunteers at the cathedral’s five stations had distributed all their supplies.
Hymns on the move
A bus chartered with the support of a parishioner added a musical dimension to the outreach, travelling from Sai Wan Ho to the Central ferry piers.
Chinese-speaking choir members from St. Jude’s Church and Holy Cross Church sang hymns as the bus passed through Wan Chai. An English-speaking choir from Saint Joseph’s Church then continued the singing through Central and the Mid-Levels.
Sister Vera Wan of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, who organised the route, said she was touched to see people waving and taking photographs as the bus passed.
One particularly joyful encounter took place on Connaught Road Central, where Father Joseph Tan Leitao and parishioners from St. Joseph’s Church greeted the bus from their outreach stations.
As the Filipino choir from St. Joseph’s sang on the upper deck, Filipino passersby began dancing. Chinese-speaking choir members joined their fellow singers upstairs, and the two groups sang together in English in an expression of communion.
Giving young people a mission
In Kowloon, the Southwest Kowloon Deanery presented a musical drama, “Big Brother Jesus, Best to Follow You,” at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Shek Kip Mei.
The performance concluded a six-month outreach programme involving eight parishes and participating schools. It attracted about 300 people, including students, family members and other guests.
Thomas Chung, president of the parish council at Mary Help of Christians Church in Ma Tau Wai, was the principal organiser and playwright.
His four-act script followed two troubled young people whose encounter with a retired teacher opened a path towards faith. The production combined Scripture, projected images and choral music.
Chung praised the two young lead actors and the participating choirs from Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School, Newman Catholic College and St. Mary’s Canossian College. He described the Saint Mary’s singers as having “voices of angels.”
The programme concluded with recognition of volunteers, reflections on community service and the distribution of ice cream vouchers.
Chung said giving young people opportunities to experience joy and achievement helps nurture belonging while strengthening relationships among schools, parishes and the wider community.
Hammond Wong, a parish council member at St. Francis of Assisi Church, said the initiative also recognised young volunteers themselves as people to be evangelised.
Entrusting them with a concrete mission, he explained, allowed them to encounter faith through service and creativity. In his experience, this approach could engage young people more deeply than conventional camp activities while extending the Church’s witness to their families.
Waterfront carnival
On October 25, the Hong Kong Island South-West and Islands Deanery held a festival at Belcher Bay Promenade in Kennedy Town with an opening ceremony officiated by Bishop Ha. The inaugural joint event featured 15 interactive game booths set up by five parishes and Caritas Hong Kong. Stage performances included martial arts, Chinese opera songs, and the performance of the kindergarten students, the Filipino community as well as other choirs. The day ended with a blessing of Bishop Ha in which he encouraged all to become messengers of hope.
Celebrations across the diocese
Other deaneries organised community events throughout the month.
The East Kowloon Deanery held its interactive “Walking with the Lord” carnival at Tseung Kwan O Catholic Primary School on the same day.
Earlier, on October 10, the New Territories Southwest Deanery organised the “Covenant of Hope Carnival” at St. Francis Xavier’s School in Tsuen Wan.
Alongside these regional gatherings, parish cultural and musical programmes offered further opportunities to share the Gospel through personal encounters.
