Dust to Dust

God our Father, you create us from the dust of the earth: grant that these ashes may be for us a sign of our penitence and a symbol of our mortality; for it is by your grace alone that we receive eternal life in Jesus Christ our Saviour.



My husband and I received our ashes this Ash Wednesday at St. John's cathedral on Hong Kong Island.



A Brief History of St John's Cathedral

FROM THE FOUNDATION TO THE SECOND WORLD WAR
On the 25th January 1841, as naval officers stepped ashore on a "barren island", Queen Victoria's government could not have foreseen the rapid growth of the settlement, founded in Her Majesty's name, into today's international city on the crossroads of East and West.


It was an era of colonial expansion and the missionary zeal to spread Christianity was running high. Yet six years were to elapse before the foundation stone could be laid for a church for the Colony of Victoria, Hong Kong. The Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist is a testament to the dedication and determination of the early residents and its leaders. They had begun to raise funds for a church even before they left Macau to settle in Hong Kong.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION FROM 1941 TO 1945



In September 1939 the Second World War began. As a British Colony, Hong Kong supported Britain's war effort in Europe while coping with local problems of refugees from China, civilian evacuation and emergency measures.



Japan, an ally during World War One, had emerged as a Far Eastern Power and by 1937, had become embroiled in conflict with China. On the morning of 8th December 1941, the day after their attack on Pearl Harbour, the Japanese attacked Hong Kong.

Despite what must have appeared as a desperate and inevitable situation, on Christmas morning 1941 the Reverend Alaric P. Rose took the morning service in St John's with a congregation of one hundred, whilst shelling continued on the island. That afternoon, the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, made the decision to surrender to the Japanese after a hard fought battle, which had lasted for less than three weeks.

The occupation lasted for four years, but the spiritual life of the church was kept alive. In the internment camp for the military personnel at Shamshuipo the chaplains of the armed forces conducted regular services in an ad hoc chapel. The wooden reredos in St Michael's chapel is a memento of these times. The nationals of countries at war with Japan were interned on the Stanley peninsula, including the grounds of St. Stephen's College. A group of clergy maintained a programme of united and international services of worship and Holy Communion was celebrated every Sunday.

FROM THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR UNTIL TODAY





On the 9th September 1945, the first service after the arrival of the Royal Navy was held in the Cathedral. For many years afterwards the Sunday nearest to the 28th August was celebrated as Liberation Sunday, commemorating these events. Shortly afterwards Bishop R.O. Hall returned to Hong Kong from West China. Alaric Rose (who with his wife, Mary, had spent the previous four years in the Stanley Internment Camp), was appointed Dean. Together the Bishop and the Dean immediately set about making plans to restore the Cathedral and rebuild the congregation.


OUTREACH
In the early days, St John's Cathedral was the spiritual centre of a vast area which included China and Japan. The matter of educating and training young men to serve this diocese as well as ensuring the spiritual well being of Victoria residents was high among diocesan priorities. When the Diocese of Victoria was twenty three years old, a new diocese for North China was created and in subsequent years, further divisions occurred. The Diocese of Hong Kong, as it is today, dates from 1951.
http://www.stjohnscathedral.org.hk/history.html

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Location:Marina Ave,,Hong Kong