Archbishop Paul Kwong reviews 40 years of ministry

Publish Date: 16-Dec-2020

The Most Revd Dr Paul Kwong, Archbishop of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, has many titles, such as the Chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primate of Hong Kong, the Bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong Island. All these titles come with his many important roles in the Church and society. Having served the Church for forty years and celebrated his 70^th birthday recently, he is set to retire on 31 December 2020. During an interview with Echo, Archbishop Kwong looked back upon his years and recounted his memorable moments and shared his views about the society and the Church,

During the interview, Archbishop Kwong stressed that he had always wanted to elevate Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui from a Church of “doers” to a Church that not only knows how to work, but also to think.

“Our church could only mature if she knows how to ‘think’ and ‘do’ at the same time. Therefore after I became Archbishop, I took up the tasks that Archbishop Emeritus Peter Kwong had started, which was nurturing talents, and putting resources into Ming Hua Theological College to train clerics. We have also published many books and established an archive to collect and curate historical documents. These all help our parishioners and clerics to think about and understand our Church. By understanding what kind of Church that ours is, they can think about faith and analyze the different discourses in society from different angles. I organize an annual clergy meeting and invite renowned scholars and clerics to give presentations to broaden the horizons of our clerics.”

“Talented people don’t just fall from the sky, and people are not born with their skills, that’s why I value the nurturing of people. Where do we start cultivating our people? From the parishes of course. Ming Hua Theological College also developed many courses to promote theological education among the laity.”

The many disciple training ministries indirectly enhanced the faithful’s sense of identity and enabled them to value their roles as Anglicans. Archbishop Kwong hopes that the staff and parishioners can always remember their identities as Anglicans and cherish the assets of the Church because “these are all the graces of God.”