 Anyone just turning up to St Christopher’s on Friday morning might have thought that they were attending a Chinese congregation. Angel, who attends the Sunday evening service, wanted to have a service of blessing for her son Han Yu and daughter -in -law Wu Ping, who had recently been married in a civil ceremony in China. We have had good links with a few members of the Chinese fellowship who attend the Sunday evening service and with the arrival of the summer exodus, I suggested having the blessing within the Friday morning service, which suited them perfectly.
 It was a joyful occasion, enjoyed by both the regular congregation, who were very thin on the ground, and our guests. The couple entered the Cathedral to the Bridal March. Sophia, a pilot with Cathay Pacific, provided a translation, when required, in Mandarin; a couple of the hymns – Amazing grace and How great Thou art (both well known to the Chinese fellowship) were sung with great joy in both languages; and the story of the Wedding of Cana was read in both languages. Tricia in her sermon with lots of visuals highlighted the importance of parties for many significant occasions and pointed to the overwhelming generosity of God in turning of water to wine.
 After the service we joined the Chinese community for a delicious wedding banquet at the Beijing restaurant in Adliya and drank their health and joy with a glass of Tsingtao beer; apparently the brewery was set up where there was a large German community.
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Anyone just turning up to St Christopher’s on Friday morning might have thought that they were attending a Chinese congregation. Angel, who attends the Sunday evening service, wanted to have a service of blessing for her son Han Yu and daughter -in -law Wu Ping, who had recently been married in a civil ceremony in China. We have had good links with a few members of the Chinese fellowship who attend the Sunday evening service and with the arrival of the summer exodus, I suggested having the blessing within the Friday morning service, which suited them perfectly.
