A Finchampstead church joined with its Hong Kong community to celebrate the Year of The Dragon on Sunday.
The church’s Hong Kong community led the morning service at Finchampstead Baptist Church (FBC), with songs sung in both Cantonese and English.
Lawrence Lam, one of the event co-ordinators, said: ” The event went really well, thanks to the support of the church, and the teamwork of the Hong Kongers.
“Lunar New Year is a time for family gatherings in Chinese culture so, we wanted to share this warm and joyful atmosphere with our church family.
“In our sharing, we emphasized God’s love, peace and goodwill that go beyond border.
“We hope our songs harmonized in the spirit of unity, and we wish to extend the blessings of the Lunar New Year to FBC and to the people in the community.”
The group also held a Lunar New Year themed quiz, gave out traditional New Year messages, and demonstrated Chinese brush worked calligraphy.
During the service a Hong Kong choir led a Cantonese blessing, and afterwards visitors were able to sample traditional sweets, snacks, and Chinese tea in the FBC cafe.
Dominique Edmonds, who oversees guest services and events at FBC, said: Our wonderful Hong Kong community shared their New Year with us last year, too, but this time they have really pulled out all the stops.”
The church event was well attended and people said how much they had enjoyed sharing traditional East Asian celebrations.
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