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Tag: Church and Community Mobilisation

United in Christ to Restore Hope

Written by Winnie Fung (Chief Executive) ‘See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.’ (Isaiah 43:19) The theme of the 20th Integral Alliance (IA) meeting this year is the ability to see God ‘doing a new thing’. It’s a challenging call, as it is easy to see darkness and despair in our world these days rather than hope and ‘new things’. But as Christians, we follow in His footsteps to care about the poverty and suffering in this world, and it is imperative that we practice the spiritual discipline of seeing God ‘doing a new thing’ and

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The Lord’s ‘Matchmaking’

Written by Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development) At the end of 2022, our colleagues visited our partner, Samari Utthan Sewa (SUS), in Nepal and met with those assisted by SUS’s anti-human trafficking project. The region faces a severe human trafficking issue, with traffickers making use of the open border between Nepal and India to smuggle Nepali women and children into India. They lure impoverished women with promises of job opportunities, exploiting them in adult entertainment sectors. Our partner proposed an initiative to further combat human trafficking, so they wanted to secure additional resources to launch the new project, which aims to provide education to impoverished children and adolescents, reducing their chances of dropping out of school and

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‘SHARE’ 253 – The Transformation of Church Social Involvement

Written by Tony Chan (Senior Communications Officer) The distinct feature that sets CEDAR apart from other poverty alleviation and development organisations is our operating principle of helping the poor, ‘From Church, Through Church’. Here, ‘Church’ refers not to a specific congregation but to the Christian community. In Hong Kong, we encourage the Christian community to participate through donations, prayers, or volunteer services to help transform the lives of the poor. On the frontlines, we implement projects through local churches and Christian organisations in impoverished areas to fulfil the Lord’s will—believers united in social involvement. The Historical Development of Social Involvement in Hong Kong’s Churches Promoting social involvement in Hong Kong’s churches is not easy. One factor is the

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‘SHARE’ 253 – The Transformation of Church Social Involvement

Editor’s note: In this issue of SHARE, we once again share CEDAR’s core belief: helping the poor ‘From Church, Through Church’. This issue’s ‘Focus’ section delves into the historical development of Christian perspectives on social involvement and shares how CEDAR promotes church participation in social issues. ‘Back to the Bible’ reflects on community-oriented missions through the scriptures in 2 Samuel. ‘Taking Action’ shares a testimony of a church partnering with CEDAR to care for the poor community. ARTICLES OF THIS ISSUE​ Download this issue Banner Picture: EGCDWO

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Learn to be like God – CEDAR Bible Study Insights

Written by: Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development) Earlier, on behalf of my fellowship, I invited a staff member from CEDAR to lead our fellowship Bible study. We explored God’s compassion for the poor, striving to emulate God. Both my fellow members and I benefited greatly from this experience. I want to share our insights with you in this issue of the CEDAR eNews. We studied the parable of the ‘Sheep and the Goats’ from Matthew 25. Before delving into the specific passage, the staff member guided us to first examine the context in which Jesus used this parable. In Matthew 24, as Jesus was leaving the temple, he told his disciples: ‘Not one stone here will be

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‘SHARE’ 251 – ‘Seeing is Changing’ – an interview with the new Chief Executive of CEDAR Fund, Dr. Winnie Fung

The Inauguration Ceremony of the Chief Executive of the CEDAR Fund was held at Diamond Hill Baptist Church on 3 December last year, and we would like to thank our guests and friends for coming to ‘See and Change’. In this issue of SHARE, ‘Focus’ brings the interview of our new Chief Executive, Dr. Winnie Fung, to let readers know about her insights and changes on the road to poverty alleviation. With the title of ‘Come and See: Bring Transformation’, ‘Back to the Bible’ guides readers to take a closer look at the Lord’s work to achieve the transformation of life, and ‘Taking Action’ brings us trippers’ sharing from those who have visited the minority churches in northern

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Sharing on the Exposure Trip of Ethnic Minorities Church Life Experience in Northern Thailand

Written by Gloria Cheung (Senior Communications Officer) Contact with life has the most transformative power to change hearts. Last October, two colleagues from CEDAR joined eight pastors and members from Light Church on a journey to Northern Thailand. They embarked on an eight-day, seven-night ‘Exposure Trip of Ethnic Minorities Church Life Experience in Northern Thailand’ and visited four partners from churches representing different minority ethnic groups. These partners, each in their unique way, demonstrate the love of Christ by being the salt and light in their communities. The first destination of the journey was a visit to CEDAR’s partner Immanuel Foundation (IMF). IMF is dedicated to combatting human trafficking, providing essentials such as shelter, food and legal support

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LETTER FROM CEDAR | JUL 2023

Dear Supporters, For Dragon Boat Festival this year, Hong Kong resumed the dragon boat race after three years of suspension. As shown on TV and reported through various media channels, participating citizens, organisations and companies were very enthusiastic, and everyone was excited. Whether we deem it as a sport or a festival tradition, dragon boat appeals to many of us. My church had also formed a team to participate in a dragon boat race before, so I had personally experienced the team spirit that comes with it – with a mutual goal and a clear division of work, team members must work together and be in sync to follow the instructions while paddling furiously to reach the finish

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‘SHARE’ 249 – An Experience Connecting with the Impoverished – Barefoot Walk

Written by Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development) Awakened by Getting into the Impoverished’ Shoes CEDAR Fund organises Barefoot Walk, our flagship walkathon, every November. Participants have to walk barefoot along a designated route in Hong Kong. We have to prepare almost a year in advance to make it happen, including venue application, route planning, experiential activities’ design, promotional collateral production and event registration. One of the preparation works involves all our colleagues: our trial barefoot walk on the planned route, and it recalls my first day in the CEDAR Fund –‘Colleagues Barefoot Walk’. It was my first time walking on the street barefoot. Apart from dirtiness, I got worried about people’s gaze. Yet, I was walking with

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A Step of the ‘Love Your Neighbor’ Command

Written by Ken Wong (Communications Officer) The ‘Barefoot Walk’ is an activity that allows participants to experience the situation of poverty. Before the participants start walking, the staff of CEDAR Fund will first clean up the walking route, hoping that participants can experience the feeling of poverty through the ‘barefoot’ experience in a safe environment, thereby establishing a connection with the poor. In 2019, a volunteer named Brother Adolphus Yuen participated in the ‘Barefoot Walk’ for the first time and helped with crowd management on the day of the event. He was willing to volunteer, devoted his time, and donated money to sponsor participants joining the ‘Barefoot Walk’. When asked why he was willing to give both money

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