Pray with Hong Kong, January 18, 2026

Lectionary Selection: Matthew 3:13-17

Prayers for Hong Kong

God of Grace, as Jesus stepped into the water in humility, you opened the heavens, sent your Spirit like a dove, and named him Beloved.

In that same grace, send your Spirit of blessing and care on Hong Kong. We pray for the Hong Kong people and political leaders, for its churches and classrooms, its streets where anxiety lingers and its communities where compassion and courage continue to show a path forward. We pray especially for those affected by the horrific November fire at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po. We echo the prayer of the Divinity School calling for you to “be the comforter of the injured, accompanying them amid the rubble and tears, never leaving.”

Bless the Divinity School of Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Strengthen students preparing for ministry, the faculty teaching with rigor and courage, and staff who sustain daily life and learning. May it be a space where truth can be spoken with love, where faith and reason can meet without fear, and where the gospel’s freedom can be practiced as justice, mercy, and peace.

We pray too for the Divinity School’s supporting churches, especially the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China, and for all partners near and far who share this work. We ask your continued accompaniment of our shared future ministry.

Amen

Mission Moment from Hong Kong

On the face of the hillside above Hong Kong’s Ma Liu Shiu waterfront is Chung Chi College. Founded in 1951 by representatives of Protestant churches to offer higher education that would be both Chinese and Christian, Chung Chi later became one of the three founding colleges of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1963. At the end of a road winding towards the back of the College are the Theology building and a distinctive circular chapel belonging to the Divinity School of Chung Chi College. This educational partner holds a unique place as the only theological faculty among public universities in Chinese societies and the only multi-denominational divinity school in Hong Kong.

During a visit last year, Disciples and UCC leadership learned how the Chung Chi Divinity School is sustained by an ecumenical circle of supporting churches, including the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China, a denominational partner itself rooted in nineteenth century Congregational mission in Guangdong (historic Canton). These threads helped weave the academic and theological witness of the Protestant ecumenical community that persists today amid the interfaith, multi-cultural, and complex political environment of Hong Kong.

In recent years, Hong Kong has known “stormy” seasons socially and politically, and the Divinity School director, Prof. Francis C. W. Yip, who took office in 2020 in the wake of protests and pressure from mainland China, has spoken of training leaders who still seek truth and speak the good news when “seas are rough and waves are roaring.” In that spirit, the Disciples and UCC partner with the Divinity School of Chung Chi College so that pastors, lay leaders, and scholars are formed with rigorous scholarship, deep spiritual grounding, and the courage to serve church and society in Hong Kong, mainland China, and throughout Asia.

Written by Derek Duncan, Global Relations Minister for East Asia and the Pacific for Global Ministries

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