A new national body has been launched to support the rapid growth of Hong Kong Christians worshipping in Church of England parishes.
The newly formed Hong Kongers in the Church of England steering board met for the first time this week, bringing together representatives from the Church of England’s Racial Justice Unit, the Diocese of Oxford, and the Teahouse group of Chinese-heritage clergy. The group aims to help churches respond well to the spiritual and pastoral needs of Hong Kong Christians who have settled in the UK in recent years.
As part of the initiative, the Church of England has appointed a Hong Kong Communities Enabler, Katie Woo, whose role is jointly funded by the Diocese of Oxford and the Racial Justice Unit. She said new resources, services and materials are being developed to help churches offer a meaningful welcome.
The announcement follows reports from parishes that partnerships with Hong Kong Christians have led to significant growth.
At Trinity Church in Earley, due to a partnership between the Anglican, Methodist and United Reformed Churches, the congregation has grown from around 150 to 650 since beginning work with Hong Kong Christians in late 2021. A weekly Cantonese service was launched the following year with the aim of building an integrated church community. The rapid increase in worshippers led to the planting of a new congregation at St Mary’s Winnersh in Wokingham in 2023.
With support from Church of England Strategic Development Funding and the Racial Justice Unit, Trinity has now become a resourcing hub for planting Cantonese-speaking congregations in other local churches. Four further church plants are planned, with two in the Reading area later this year, and additional plants expected in 2027 and 2028.
The project has also appointed an Anglican associate vicar, Rev Fung Lau, who speaks Cantonese. The vicar of Trinity and project leader, Rev Canon Jon Salmon, said the focus is on belonging as well as growth.
“We’re trying not only to provide a warm welcome but to encourage our new Hong Kong brothers and sisters to feel they belong, and to feel they have a safe space to integrate and get to know each other,” he said. “It’s a humbling and amazing privilege.”
Similar stories are emerging elsewhere. At St Mary’s Stockport, a congregation that once numbered fewer than 20 has grown to more than 100 after the church introduced Alpha courses in English and Cantonese, later extending them to Farsi. A monthly Cantonese service launched in 2024 has since become a weekly gathering.
In north Leeds, around a quarter of the congregation at St Barnabas Alwoodley are from Hong Kong, after the first families joined the church in 2021. Team Rector Dave Ho Young said the church has been supported by a mission apprentice. Hong Kong members at St Barnabas worship mainly in English by choice, with some prayers and collects read in Cantonese.
Young said the development had been deeply meaningful. “When I started here 12 years ago, I would never have guessed that this would have happened – for my Hong Kong Chinese heritage to have been used in this particular way,” he said. “It has been a hugely fruitful and meaningful time for me. To be able to have a church full of Hong Kongers is a joy.”
