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| Filipinas pose with Pastor Chris Ponniah (center, back row) and guest Pastor Terry Cheng (second from left) after the Resurrection Church's Helpers Day service. |
By Vir B. Lumicao
Domestic helpers play a very important role in Hong Kong society caring for the children and elderly and tending the house while the employers are away at work, according to the pastor and worshippers at Resurrection Church in Saikung.
For their precious service, the church honored the migrant workers by holding a “Helpers Day” at its premises in Pak Sha Wan on May 29.
“This year is our third time we celebrate Helpers Day. The church was started by St. Andrews Church Kowloon to provide support and care for international and foreign workers in Saikung and Clear Water Bay,” Rev Chris Ponniah, minister in charge of Resurrection Church.
The pastor said this year’s event drew the largest attendance with more than 70 helpers joining the celebration.
Ponniah invited a group of Filipinas calling themselves “OFWs in Hong Kong” as special guests this year. He said the church would launch a broader fellowship that would include Indonesians and other nationalities, and would undertake outreach activities.
The whole-day celebration focused on the domestic workers, mostly Filipinas, who mingled with employers and their families in a two-hour church service that was followed by sharing of food specially prepared by the bosses for their helpers.
Resurrection Church celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2013 with a mission “to share the love of Christ in the Saikung Clear Water Bay area through a community-style church.”
“Rev Peter Hurricks had the idea to celebrate Helpers Day three years ago. This year, I wanted to make it a big celebration so we created invitation cards and promoted (the event) widely,” said Ponniah.
“We want to make a difference in the lives of people,” said the pastor, announcing the launch of a Filipino fellowship the following Sunday, June 5, and eventually a Filipino worship.
The inspirational talk was delivered by Pastor Terry Cheng from Mindanao who gave a testimony of her conversion, while The Mission Filipino Solution comprising domestic workers provided choral singing.
Afterwards, Jessie Margo and the Fantasies presented their project in Maramag, Bukidnon – a church being built gradually with money from their fund-raising efforts.
As part of the service, two of 10 Filipinas who gave written testimonies of how Resurrection Church had changed their lives, spoke before the worshippers about the experience that brought them closer to God.
