Easter at St. Anthony's

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     Here I am with my friend Rose, who invited me not only to attend mass at her church on Easter morning but to come an hour early to join her in the choir practice.  So I did and I did.  I thought that it would be safe to show up for choir, given that Rose didn't ask if I could carry a tune but emphasized that it would be in English.  English I could do!  The choir of around 25 was half Chinese and half Filipina, mostly women, some like Rose with quite beautiful trained voices and a couple who stood near me in the alto section who had some trouble hitting the harmonizing notes.  We sang 5 pieces, several of which were familiar to me.  The last 10 minutes of rehearsal we tackled what the conductor called the big one, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring".  This piece was saved until the organist could join us at the piano in the rehearsal room.  He looked about 15, with a stylishly tousled mop of hair, wearing jeans and a rumpled shirt with the tails hanging out from his sweater--refreshingly nontraditional!  And he was quite competent at the keyboard.  I figured he was a Hong Kong University student, since St. Anthony's is located right across the street from the university.
     I haven't sung in a choir for many years--maybe not since high school--and I enjoyed it, though I'm afraid I did not add much to the quality of the singing.

     Rose issued her invitation to me on Friday.  I googled the church address and did a trial walk that afternoon so I'd know where I was going this morning and how long it would take.  I followed a couple familiar streets and then did a long climb up aptly-named Hill Road, which follows under the curving flyover you see in this photo.  It took only 15 minutes to get there. Good thing it was cloudy and almost cool today so I didn't arrive all sweaty.
     There are a fair number of Christians in Hong Kong who celebrate Easter, but there are many more who don't.  It was business as usual for many shops I went by today.

     Here's St. Anthony's Catholic Church on Pok Fu Lam Road.  Rose says she grew up going to this church and went to its primary school.  The parish is English-speaking, so it brings together a wide variety of cultures. Besides Chinese and Filipino people earlier mentioned, there are also Indian, Sri Lankan, and European members.  I saw people leaving three different masses during the time I was there today and the sanctuary seemed to be full for each, not surprising for Easter, I suppose.  I was particularly interested in the numbers of Filipinas, who have been employed for decades here in Hong Kong mostly as domestic helpers.  I have noticed that some of the churches here have extensive outreach services for domestic helpers.