Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

600 UK churches sign up to welcome Christian arrivals (new customers for their declined God's business) from Hong Kong

600 UK churches sign up to welcome Christian arrivals (new customers for their declined God's business) from Hong Kong

We must not repeat the mistakes of the Windrush era, say clergy
The Church of England must not repeat its lack of welcome to the Windrush generation when thousands of Hong Kong Chinese people move to the UK in what could be the largest planned migration for decades, say clergy of Chinese heritage.

Many of those who arrived in the UK from the Caribbean in the 1950s and 60s were discouraged from attending or even turned away from Anglican churches. Last year, Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, spoke of his shame at the C of E’s record of racism.

“We don’t want the church to repeat its mistakes by neglecting the needs and desires of people coming here from Hong Kong,” said Reverend Mark Nam, a Bristol-based curate of Chinese heritage. “I’ve read many harrowing testimonies [of the Windrush generation]. We want the C of E to be ready and welcoming to everyone this time. We need to learn from history.”

The Home Office earlier this year received 34,300 applications for a new visa for people in Hong Kong seeking residency in the UK in just two months. More than a million people with British national overseas (BNO) status could arrive in the UK in the next five years, according to official estimates.

The UK government has said people with BNO status and their immediate families can apply for entry visas valid for up to five years, and eventually apply for citizenship. The programme was launched in response to Beijing imposing a harsh new national security law in the former British colony.

About 600 UK churches of different denominations have signed up to be “Hong Kong Ready”, committing to welcoming Christians from Hong Kong into their church communities. One in 10 of new arrivals is estimated to be Christian.

Later this year the C of E’s committee for minority ethnic Anglican concerns (CMEAC) will host a conference on how parishes can welcome people arriving from Hong Kong.

On Monday a support group for C of E clergy of east Asian heritage is being launched with a eucharist service at Southwark Cathedral, presided over by Canon Andrew Zihni, who was born and grew up in Hong Kong. The Teahouse has been set up to create connections between the 0.2% of paid clergy who are of Chinese or east Asian descent and “to empower them at all levels of the church”, said Nam.

Born in Newport, south Wales, Nam spent much of his childhood in Hong Kong. When his family returned to Wales when Nam was a teenager, he experienced racist abuse at a school where he was the only pupil of Chinese heritage.

“When the Black Lives Matter movement kicked off last year, I was asking, ‘Where are the east Asian voices in the church?’ We were invisible. None of us knew of each other’s existence,” he said.

He was also concerned about the sharp increase in hate crime against east Asian communities last year after the Covid pandemic took hold, fuelled by former US president Donald Trump’s repeated references to the “Chinese plague”.

Rogers Govender, the dean of Manchester and chair of CMEAC, welcomed the launch of the Teahouse. “Finding ways to support networks and communities of Chinese heritage and east Asian clergy and laity has been identified as one of our key objectives,” he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
×