Gallery of Faith is reimagining church for newcomers from Hong Kong

When Michael Lee was looking to start a new ministry for people from the Hong Kong diaspora, he decided to set up shop in an IKEA.

As a newcomer himself, he knew that IKEA was one of the first stops for people from Hong Kong settling in Canada, looking to purchase furniture. So on a Saturday morning in 2023, he sat down in the cafeteria of the Markham IKEA, put out a sign in Cantonese about the new faith community and before long, other newcomers from Hong Kong started to engage him in conversations.

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What emerged was Gallery of Faith, a new, non-traditional community of faith that’s designed to help new folks from Hong Kong to adjust to life in Canada. Lee creates community through shared meals at his home, connects them to resources as they acclimatize to life in Canada and is there to listen and help as needed.

Lee has a rich background in media and the arts, and he brings this to his ministry. Though not an ordered minister, Lee sees his role as not only building community but as “inviting people and introducing them to Jesus.”

Gallery of Faith operates online and in person, but isn’t based in a church. Since its founding in July of 2023, they have hosted a total of 66 physical gatherings to build connections and a collective ministry. These gatherings include ‘hot pot’ Tuesdays where participants share Cantonese hotpot, strawberry or apple-picking trips or in-person worship experiences at Thornhill United. The aim is building close community, so these are not large gatherings, usually up to 20 people.

Shaun Tang is a high school student originally from Hong Kong who connected with Lee through Thornhill United, where Lee’s wife, Rev. Mini Choi, is the Christian development minister. Tang is now part of Gallery of Faith and has found the chance to meet with other newcomers to be invaluable. “Last time I went to their strawberry picking and I met many new friends,” he said. “I think that really helps build a great connection between new immigrants, so they can talk to each other and share out their thoughts.”

Pearl Wong, an online participant from Vancouver, values the inclusiveness of Gallery of Faith and the visual artistry that it builds into its online gatherings. As a queer person, she also appreciates The United Church of Canada. “They’re very inclusive, regardless of age, ethnicities, sexual orientations, wherever you are and as a queer Christian. It’s so difficult to find an affirming church in Asia,” she says.

With high levels of suspicion towards traditional forms of church in our culture, new expressions of church like Gallery of Faith are a way to go beyond stereotypes and engage people who might otherwise never consider participating in a community of faith.

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Rev. Jennifer Henry is the executive minister, organizational development and strategy at the United Church. She believes deeply in this new direction for the United Church.

“It was an audacious dream to say we wanted to create 100 communities of faith,” says Henry. “It really created the opportunity for people to say, ‘I have an idea, I have relationships, I have a connection, I have leadership and I have a dream.‘”

Henry says that the General Council Office is supporting 30 new ministries of various forms, some independent and others “nestled” in existing communities of faith. She acknowledges that one of the challenges is integrating these new ministries into existing United Church governance structures and getting them to the point where they can become official communities of faith.

Another challenge is financial sustainability. Henry says that the “impetus to give is there in these communities, just like it would be in our more existing, more established communities. But we also have to build a governance process so that giving can come in ultimately to a charitable, receiving organization.”

Two proposals coming forward at General Council 45 next month aim to address these gaps. One proposes that a higher percentage — five percent in 2026, 7.5 percent in 2027 and 10 percent by 2028 — of Mission & Service givings go towards new, renewing and emerging communities of faith, while the other floats the idea of adding emerging communities of faith to the Manual, with the goal of better supporting them within the church’s structures and creating a pathway to becoming official communities of faith.

Lee envisions a bright future for Gallery of Faith. He sees it playing both a local and a national role: “The Gallery of Faith is a community of faith for Hongkongers here in Markham, Ont., but also an online community of faith for Hongkongers everywhere.”

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Rev. Christopher White is a United Church minister in Hamilton.