existence and the meaning of it all and in my opinion the Church offered the best answers to this. Eventually I ended up abandoning the military and my idea of a glorious career as an officer and I started studying theology instead”, he explains.
A dream come through Since faith brought him to the study of theology, he’s been living in Cairo working with interreligious dialogue, been a verger in the Danish Seamen’s Church in Algeciras in Spain, a supervisor in a research institute, more recently priest in Himmelev in Denmark for 2 years and volunteering bartender at the local Gimle Bar and Venue in Roskilde, and since the beginning of this year the new priest at Hong Kong’s Danish Seamen’s Church - a position he’s been dreaming about for years. “I always knew that I wanted to live and work abroad for a longer time. Since I’ve learned about the Seaman’s Church I’ve hoped for this position in Hong Kong or New York. I’ve always had this fascination for Asian metropolitan cities, so it has always been a dream that I kept in the back of my head.” “ S o I p r o m i s e d my s e l f t h a t i f t h e opportunity to go to Hong Kong ever came, I would pursue it”. And luckily for Anders the position opened last year. He applied and got it. The eagerness to explore and live and working abroad was fostered in his childhood, he tells. As a child in the ages of 9 to 11 he lived
in Greenland with his parents, and those years formed an openness and curiosity to explore and experiences as much of the world as possible. Another reason behind the priesthood in Hong Kong was appealing to Anders, was the complicated organization behind a Seaman’s Church, which he experienced in his eight months in Spain: joggling with the traditional and theological Church ventures like sermons, the heavier work in raising funds for the Church’s sustainable operatino and the Church being the center of the social life all appealed to Anders.
Baptism of fire When he landed as the descendant the 1 January 2016, he overtook the legacy of two predecessors that held the position in a total of 30 years - in respectively 17 and 13 years. Anders is only the third priest in Hong Kong’s Seaman’s Church’s history. He entered the short line of priests with a baptism of fire, he tells, planning the annual and very traditional New Year’s Party. “There are a lot of expectations to such an event. There is a way that it’s used to be done, people expect that to follow. So that was a great test for me and interesting beginning of it all”, he says. Now he’s more settled and he enjoys taking the responsibility for Danes to meet in Hong Kong, contacting the Commerce, the Consulate, the Seafarers and so on. The next big event to come, when ScandAsia
visited, was the Pentecost Bazaar, which was very apparent, as the vicarage was filled with stacked cardboard boxes and toys for the Bazaar.
Leaving Himmelev for Hong Kong When Anders decided to leave Denmark for Hong Kong, he left two years as a priest in Himmelev in Roskilde. Two good years, he says. “I’m very happy about my time in Himmelev. I was busy and had around 75 confirmands and 3 funerals a week, so there was a lot of work to do. I feel like I’ve learned the fundamental craft during those years.” However: “The provincial life didn’t work for me. I’ve always been around many people and always liked to be social, so I felt there was a confusion in my identity”. Hong Kong, as a city, is much more well-suited for Anders, and he hasn’t had any challenges in adapting to the vivid metropolitan. Life was also “pretty hectic life in Cairo”, as he says. “I appreciate the diversity in Hong Kong. People in Denmark often say that Denmark is turning multicultural, but it isn’t really. Denmark’s very monocultural, especially compared to Hong Kong. When you experience diversity, you get an experience for how people are different and this makes you acknowledge that the world really isn’t that simple”.
Keeping theology in focus Churches abroad often have the position as the single or one of the few social institutions for expats longing for home. This means that people doesn’t necessarily visit the church for religious reasons. The church’s role can be downgraded to simply being a social club. Anders is aware, that there’s a risk of that. “I’m not one to judge over how the church has been run before. But I’ll do a big effort to keep the theological base and the ecclesiastical in focus”, he says and mentions that he has already insisted on writing “something with relevance to christianity” in the church magazine, renamed the annual Spring Bazaar to the Pentecost Bazaar and reintegrated supper in the service. He is not blind about the social responsibility that the Seamen’s Church, like any other church, bears. As he says: “Seen in an ecclesiastical light, the lunch after the service is as important as the service itself ”. Actually it seems like social engagement is more than normally important for Anders. As mentioned he volunteered as a bar tender in a local bar in Roskilde and he volunteered for Roskilde Festival for many years. In Hong Kong his urge to be social made him invite 20 Danish exchange students for beers in the vicarage and moreover made him visit the annual Scandinavian football cup in the SEAregion, that took place in Hong Kong this year. “I think Danish churches can learn a lot from engaging more in the local community on the local communities terms”, he says.
Positively surprised Focusing more on religion is just a minor addition, he says; he’s not here to revamp anything. All in all he is positively surprised of the church and the congregation. “I’m really positive in many aspects. I mean June 2016 • ScandAsia.China 11