‘This is a good place’ 

Welcoming the growing numbers of people from Hong Kong in its town has changed the life of Wokingham Baptist Church

 
'Church has become a place of belonging for many families coming to the UK from Hong Kong,' notes Nick Hudson, minister of Wokingham Baptist Church.
 
'From those first one or two families, we've now got about 70-80 people from Hong Kong attending on a regular basis, which has made a huge difference to the dynamics in our congregation.
 
'It's created a challenge in terms of volunteers - but it's been really good for us as a church and a very positive experience.’
 
The Berkshire church first noticed Hong Kongers settling in the town when a couple of families attended a Christmas craft session and subsequently began attending services.
 
Not long after the church discovered the Welcome Course - an interactive six-session video programme spearheaded by Krish Kandiah which aims to help new arrivals find information, friends and support.
 
It decided to run one - and within a couple of days of advertising the new course, all available places had been snapped up.
 
'We thought this is interesting,' says Nick. 'It's going to be a thing. So we gathered a team.'
 
The church provides tea and coffee and a different snack each week to give the Hong Kongers a taste of British life (at a session in late November for instance, it introduced the guests to mince pies and dark chocolate digestives.)
 
Each session comprises a video, discussion starters and even a quiz. Topics covered include moving to the UK, exploring British culture, making friends, enjoying wellbeing, solving problems and valuing citizenship.

 

The church volunteers sit with their Hong Kong guests at tables, on hand to participate in the discussions and answer any questions. In this way the Hong Kongers meet local people alongside fellow new arrivals, and gain an insight into what is an alien country. Some of the ‘locals’ are themselves refugees, which adds another layer of understanding.

Indeed, so useful has the course been, Wokingham Baptist Church has now run it three times. The Hong Kongers have filled every available space - and buoyed by the welcome they have received, many of the participants have subsequently begun attending the church’s services.
 
Gubi was one of the first people to connect with the church and attend the course. She said, 'The Welcome Course has helped Hong Kong people a lot. 
 
'We can meet UK people here and sit with them, and then we can try to speak more English - it makes us more competent to speak out.
 
'The course also teaches us problem solving, how to find some resources, how to meet people here - and we also get to know other Hong Kong people. It's wonderful.'
 
Londy is another. She arrived in Wokingham in December 2022, speaks fluent English and now translates for those who don't yet have the local language.
 
'The content of the course is very relevant to us. It's a very good entry point to anchor new people in the community.
 
'We've made friends here. And some of us will attend the Sunday service - the church prepares information cards in Chinese that we can take away.
 
'Many people join in. This is a good place. And many of us really want to integrate into the British life.'
 
Hosting the course has impacted both the lives of the Hong Kongers and that of the church, Nick explains.
 
'We've run this course three times now, and each time it's filled up,' he says. 
 
'It's been a wonderful way to create a space where Hong Kongers can talk about the issues that they're facing, the challenges of settling into life in the UK, having come from a very difficult situation.
 
'I think it's worked well because it's provided a space for Hong Kongers to meet with one another. There's a certain amount of trauma they've experienced in leaving a situation which they see as being a very difficult regime to live under, and then to settle in a new culture with a new language.
 


'And it has given them the opportunity of meeting people from the UK, volunteers from our church, who are just happy to sit and talk with them, and give advice about how things work around here. They might point them to things locally, such as nice places to go for a walk, good tradesmen, those sorts of simple things.
 
‘Our volunteers are a really important part of this – they’ve got a great heart for helping the Hong Kongers settle well in the UK, and they’ve brought their own skills and experience to bear.

'One church member who is a nurse led a session on accessing healthcare services; a former executive has given help with CVs and job applications; one couple led a session on basic gardening skills, as in Hong Kong most people live in high rise apartments and don’t have gardens; and our treasurer even answered questions about UK tax!
 
'All this has helped the Hong Kongers build relationships locally. I honestly think we've helped to solve some of the problems that they've faced.'
 
Above all, Nick continues, it's provided a genuine welcome.
 
'Churches talk a lot about wanting to be a welcoming community, and it's made us do that in a very intentional and tangible way. It's taught us a lot.
 
'And people have become part of the community here.
 
'They bring a lot of energy and life. A lot of them have come as young families, so they've got children. They've got teenagers. That's given a boost to our church ministries.
 
‘We're having to learn more and more what it means to be a multicultural congregation.
 
'It's a classic case of seeing what God is up to - and joining in.'