Emmanuel (Mission) Church [????-????]

Submitted by moddsey on Sat, 10/09/2021 - 13:37
Current condition
Demolished / No longer exists

Address: 218 Nathan Road. Rented four ground shop spaces. Vacated the building in 1978. See history of the Church here

Photos that show this Place

1933 Fraternity Book Room - Emmanuel (Mission) Church
1933
Nathan Road
1935
1940s Envelope - Fraternity Book Room
1940s
See more photos of this place

Comments

Notes from Moddsey's link above:

The Emmanuel Church was founded by Dr. and & Mrs. Lechmere Clift of the U.K., who had served with the Church Missionary Society in China in the early 1920’s, developing the Emmanuel Medical Mission there. In 1929 they came to Hong Kong and began a ministry in this place.

Before long they rented four ground floor shop spaces on Nathan Road. One space was used as a Chapel, and another for the Fraternity Book Room, later renamed to Emmanuel English Bookroom, which became a well-known evangelical English book-store in Kowloon. This book room continued until the building was demolished in 1978.

Thank you moddsey for these pics and links.  Amazing that the church is still going, tho not in the original premises.  I see the church is true to its founder's principles.

I've just noticed that the HKMD website  has the Emmanuel Mission Church, Medical Centre and Bookroom at 218 Nathan Road, whereas my Yip Family of Amah Rock book has the address for the centre as 802, with Dr and Mrs Clift living at 118.  Some light on this would be welcome.  In the book the distance between the Clifts' two addresses is described as 'quite a long way', which would seem to favour the 802 address.

The other discrepancy is that the HKMD website gives the Clifts' missionary society as the BCMS, whereas the Emmanuel English Church website gives the CMS as the missionary society. 

Edit:  I find that the Clifts started out with the CMS but transferred allegiance to the BCMS in 1923.

 

 

The Katherine Building (which contained #218) was made up of 14 units. The numbering started from 216, 216a, 218, 218a...all the way to 228a. So if it did indeed take up 4 units it must have more than just this one address number.

Great find indeed moddsey.  Awesome.  218 Nathan Road it is! 

I have been going off the idea of 802 Nathan Rd as following Nathan Road north on your map the numbers only go to 784.

Looking at the Daily Press for this date, I find the following information, which I transcribe for easier access.  Mention is made of 2 of the Braga family here.  Hugh Braga I have mentioned before in connection with the Fanling Babies' Home.  James was a younger brother*. 

Daily Press 19/12/1936

EMMANUEL MISSION CHURCH

(Undenominational)

The following are the services for the week at the Emmanuel Mission Church, 218 Nathan Road, Kowloon

Saturday 8.30pm Fellowship Meeting followed by the Lord's Supper

Sunday 10.30am Divine Service. Preacher Rev S Boyle. Subject: God Answers Prayer

Sunday 3.00pm Sunday School.  Young Men’s Bible Class.  Young Women’s Bible Class.

Sunday 6.30pm Divine Service preceded by Song Service at 6.00pm.  Preacher Mr Hugh Braga.  Subject: The Latter Day

Monday 7.45pm S.A.C.A. Blackboard Meeting. (Soldiers' and Airmen's Christian Association)

Wednesday 6.00pm Sunday School Teachers’ Preparation.

Wednesday 8.00pm Praise and Prayer Meeting.

Thursday at 8.00m Bible Study Circle conducted by Mr James Braga

The services are open to all.

No collection Sunday Evening.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

HK Daily Press 13/03/1937

Sunday 11.00am Divine Service.  Preacher: Dr H L Clift ** Subject:  Waiting Upon God

Wednesday 2.30pm Ladies' Sewing Circle at 1 Kings Terrace (Whose home was this?)

Wednesday 8.00pm. Praise and Prayer Meeting and Missionary Talk

Thursday 10.30am Ladies' Bible Study Circle at No 216b Nathan Road 

*From talks with Stuart Braga, we find that James and Hugh's sister Caroline Braga was also active in the Emmanuel Church.  An accomplished music teacher, she played the piano for church services from 1930 until shortly before her death in 1999, with the exception of the war years.

** Founder of this church. 

 

 

216b and 218 Nathan Road were in Katherine Building. Either adjacent or close to each other. To attract a wider audience, it was not unusual to hold bible classes in other venues or in homes of members of the church.

 

Each block had a ground, first and second floor. As far as I am aware the 216, 216a...etc was the address of the ground floor units. If there was a b, then it could possibly have been the first or second floor of either 216 or 216a.

Judging from the position in the block, this would have been the ground floors of 216a (on the right) and 218 on the left. 

This is interesting because these photos from the 1970s appear to show a different building from that featured in the earlier images. The earlier 1950s ones seem to show a building with columned verandahs on all floors, whereas the 1970s ones appear to show a building with smaller windows and no ground floor columns. On closer inspection it appears the pavement veranda became part of the commercial space? I'm assuming the Katherine Building underwent some major changes to its facade at some point. Perhaps there was some change to Nathan Road/pavement width as well?

Either that or the whole building was rebuilt at some point, but I'm not sure how likely that is.

In connection with the MTR Project, noted a brief mention here from the Home Affairs Department in 1974 on the removal of the verandahs of Katherine Building. I assume this may have been the last maj0r change to the building's facade prior to its demolition a few years later.

Do we know when the Katherine Building, which housed The Emmanuel Church in Nathan Road, was built? It certainly seems to have been in existence in 1936.  I can't find anything on it using Google.

Correction, make that 1933.

The date of completion of the building is hard to pin down. The 1938 Street Index for Nathan Road does not provide a name for the building but just the street address of 216-228 Nathan Road. The name "Katherine Building" may have come in post-war when buildings were sold or new owners took over the property. 

Have traced the Fraternity Book Room adverts to 2 February 1933 but nothing earlier. The adverts were placed when the Hong Kong Daily Press organized a special section of advertisements for Kowloon establishments and businesses. The year 1929 is mentioned in the Church's website of when the Church became established on Nathan Road. Some verification work needs to be done regarding the date.