Learning to Be Good Neighbours

December 4, 2020 | 3 minute read
bethany.mortelliti

Along with many other churches and Christian leaders across the country, Pastor Ken Huang and the people of Brantford Chinese New Venture were faced with the need to respond to practical needs this year over the course of COVID. The stories that emerged as Pastor Ken and this New Venture sought to be good neighbours are an incredible example of what can happen when a community is ready to adapt in the wake of large scale change.

Near the end of January 2020, a family in Brantford headed to China during Chinese New Year celebrations.

At the time, awareness of the potential impact of COVID-19 was growing. When Pastor Ken Huang became aware of a new practice for returning travellers from China to voluntarily quarantine for 14 days, he responded immediately. Once the family returned, Ken and his New Venture community in Brantford established a volunteer group to support the family and others regularly by buying and delivering groceries as well as other essential daily supplies. The name of the group? “The Good Neighbour Support Group.” Thanks to their commitment to being good neighbours, Ken and his team were able to support a dozen families in similar situations.

Armed with an awareness of the potential gravity of the pandemic in Canada, Ken and the Brantford Chinese New Venture moved on to a new project: creating an online “Good Neighbour Support Group” through a tool called WeChat. In this group, they engaged the work of a family physician and a few health professionals to regularly broadcast and share updated knowledge related to preventative measures against COVID-19 through online seminars, daily briefs and articles.

Using the name “The Good Neighbour Support Group” was a strategic choice. Christian health professionals recognized the biblical meaning of the name and were moved to contribute but the group was appealing to a wide audience. The articles produced within this group have been read by thousands of people, and one has upwards of 76k views. Thanks to this group, thousands of people have been able to protect themselves and reduce anxiety and stress.

Pastor Ken humbly points to Jesus’ words in Mark 12:31 to “love your neighbour as yourself” as his source of inspiration in leadA woman is sitting at a desk sewing.ing these efforts. In his perspective, “all you have to do is provide practical ways for people to help, and many are willing to help!”

Shortly after developing the WeChat group, Pastor Ken found himself in front of a sewing machine learning to thread a needle with a pattern for a scrub cap at his side. As part of their continued efforts to meet local needs, he and his wife Rebecca mobilized the group to sew scrub caps to donate to frontline health workers in hospitals, clinics and senior homes. From children being willing to trace and cut fabric to older adults finishing the final hems, over 100 volunteers were involved in making practical tools to serve an emerging need. In the end, they made over 3,000 caps to benefit more than 1,000 workers.

Once larger companies began producing similar products for health workers, the Good Neighbour Support Group took on a new project. Aware that many young students would be navigating the chaos of COVID while also beginning new studies, they began a series of seminars online through which upper year university students and graduates could share their student life experiences. Each week a guest talked about how to cope with the major life transitions of the university years. Some guests were Christian and shared briefly on how Christian university fellowships had made an impact in their time of transition. It is Ken’s hope that many might be open to Christian groups as they move through their studies.

As a follow-up to these seminars, Ken and his team are developing a mentorship program for the speakers and attendants on a small scale. 

This New Venture has gained great traction regionally and even globally, even through reaching out to the local Chinese community in Brantford has been challenging due to social distancing restrictions. They are praying for wisdom from God to know better how to engage local people even while they continue to catalyze change on a larger scale.

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