In Memory of Rev Canon David Sing-Hiong Dang

Memories of dates are the most difficult ones for me.

But I know it must be sometime in 1982, just one Sunday, probably in March, (or was it JUne?) when my three daughters were baptised by Rev. Canon David Dang at the Auckland Chinese Presbyterian Church at 105 Vincent Street, City.

I was baptised by Rev. Dang too two years earlier when my family of seven - Mum, wife, four children and me - were barely a year in New Zealand, having migrated from Singapore during the Muldoon days of 1979.

The last time I saw Rev. Dang was a year or so back, at the Chinese eating house along Aviemore Drive, Highland Park. He was with his dear wife Mary, enjoying his roost duck noodle and as always, cheerful.

Now, just the last Wednesday 4th July 2018, Lin and I attended Rev. Dang’s Funeral Service at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Parnell and learnt about his humble life in the service of the Lord.

I have the habit of making notes of sermons delivered from the pulpit on the Sunday services I attend. I can remember well one of the Cantonese sermons that Rev. Dang had given on “the Prodigal Son” found in Luke 15:11-32. We have heard this parable many times over and each time the parable offers a different angle to the same story.

At that occasion, Rev. Dang urged us to turn our attention to the elder brother of the story, not the long-lost son. “Just look at him,” I remember that was what he had said. “Here was a man whom we have forgotten as we have often concentrated on the emotional side of the prodigal son being reunited with his loving father,” [or words to that effect] he had said.

The brief summary points of his sermon were:

(1) The elder brother was equally lost, right inside his father’s house. He was never far away physically but he had lost the compassion for the sick, for the poor and for the lost ones. We may be Christians just on the outside, but are we truly “Christian-like”. Do we live our lives as Christians - with a caring and selflessly loving heart?

(2) If we are good just to earn our Lord’s favour, we are not saved. If we are jealous of those whom God has bestowed His blessings (whom we thought was ‘less deserving’ we have sinned. We have forgotten that Jesus Christ has never sinned but He was nailed on the cross for us, sinners.

(3) We often refuse to rejoice over what God is doing simply because the things done were not what we thought ‘should’ be.

(4) Going to church every Sunday does not make us good Christians anymore than sleeping at home or enjoying a Sunday out at the beach. We must not depend on who we are or what we have done for our salvation. We need to be born again, by grace through faith. We need to repent and to seek the forgiveness of the Lord.

(5) We have to learn to genuinely love those who appear to us to be ‘disobedient’. The elder brother’s anger (verse 28) at his younger brother’s return ‘home’ tells us a lot about a person who is a Christian only in name. Are we the same as this elder brother of the long-lost son?

 

May God continue to bless us all with the understanding of His words.

 

IN REV. DANG’S OWN WORDS:

In June 17th 2017, Rev. Dang gave the following Thanksgiving Service address, commemorating his 60th anniversary of his ordination to his priesthood at the Holy Trinity Cathedral:

“Thank you very much for joining me in today’s thanksgiving service. In particular, I would like to thank Bishop Ross, Rev. Bruce Keeley and Rev. Jim Lam for participation in the service, and all my dear friends and family who have come all the way from Hong Kong and Singapore for this event. My grateful thanks.

“First of all, allow me to explain the reasons why I have not invited someone else to address us. We gather here today to give thanks to God.”

[One of the key lessons I have learnt from Rev. Dang is the fact that we cannot and must not “blow our own trumpet”. In the many conversations I have had with him in the past, he has always reminded us to place our attention and focus solely on Him who created the world in which we live. How Great Thou Art!]

“Secondly, since I am the one who have the first-hand experience of the grace God bestowed on me, I consider myself to be in the best position to recount how gracious our Lord is.

“The first thing that I would like to give thanks for is the blessings God has bestowed on my family. Indeed, it is rather exceptional to be ordained as a priest for 60 years, but even more exceptional is God’s grace that has been with the Dang family for more than 156 years. I am among the fourth generation of Christians, and there are already three more generations of believers after me!

Christianity is a historical religion. And so, let me begin with a bit of modern Chinese history. By the time of the late Ching Dynasty, China was much weakened and was invaded by foreign powers. After losing the Opium War, China was made to open her door to the Western world.

“In 1850, the Church Missionary Society (CMS) of England sent missionaries to Fuzhou, my hometown in Southern China, to proclaim the gospel. At first, the missionaries laboured in vain. Not only did they fail to gain any converts, three of them even died of failing health. After a decade of fruitless efforts, it was decided that the mission base be moved northwards to Zhejiang. When Rev. George Smith, one of the missionaries working in Fuzhou heard of the decision, he wrote immediately to the CMS, begging for another year in Fuzhou in the hope of some results of their hard work. He quoted the parable of the barren fig tree in Luke 13:6-9 to support his plead.

“Praise God, Rev.George’s request was granted. Three coverts were baptised in the following year, 1861. With such good results, the missionary work in Fuzhou was allowed to continue. My great-grandfather wa among the three converts. At the time, it was very difficult to be a Chinese and a Christian. Because of his conversion, my great-grandfather was expelled from his village, with all ties with family and relatives cut off. He had to take shelter in a private property that the church had bought as a mission base - a haunted house that no one dared to live in.

“Not long after that, my great grandfather fell critically ill. The missionaries sent words to his family, and many from the village came and visited him. As they were wailing and reproaching him for believing in a “foreign religion” that had brought him bad luck, a great light fell on them. They thought it was the ghost and ran for their lives. Later, they returned to check how things were. My great grandfather told them that an angel appeared to him, told him he was going to live, and that he was to use the rest of his life to spread the good news. With mixed feelings of doubts and believe, they began to be interested in this foreign religion.

“Thanks be to God, shortly after that, my great-grandfather regained his health without any medical treatment. Seeing this, my whole family was converted. Many may think that the gospel came to China in the wake of imperialism, and is, therefore, not quite honourable. Yet, Philippians 1:18 teaches, “What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and it that I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.”

“Both my great-grandfather and my father dedicated their lives to the service of the Lord. My great-grandfather became a preacher, and my father was ordained into holy orders. He served in the Fujian Diocese until his retirement at the age of 60. As he was in good health, he decided to go the Singapore to continue his ministry.

“As the youngest of 11 siblings, I accompanied my father to Singapore. As a son of a priest, I found it difficult to follow in my father’s footstep. After many struggles, I decided to dedicate my life to the Lord’s service and enrolled in the Trinity Theology College. Upon my graduation, I was ordained and served in the then Diocese of Singapore and Malaya. To God be the glory.

“My 60 years’ ministry can be divided into three stages. The first stage is my time at the Diocese of Singapore and Malaya. Young and full of vigor, I worked more than 10 hours a day without feeling over-exerted. While I was wearing many hats at the time, one of my main duties was to serve the Mandarin-speaking congregation at St Andrew’s Cathedral. The group started with just four families. By the time I left some 25 years later, the whole cathedral was filled at the Mandarin service on Sundays. The group also planted an offspring church in Changi - the All Saints’ Church. This Church ahs grown into a parish now, and has planted their own offspring churches, and has also encouraged seven young people to enter the full-time ministry. What abundant grace!

“Life is like sailing against the currents - one either forges ahead, or be swept backwards.

“And so, I accepted a new challenge while I was in the prime of life.

“I cam to New Zealand where the second stage of my ministry took place.

“Because of complicated personal issues, the Chinese Presbyterian Church in Auckland had difficulties in securing the employment of a clergy for five years. And so, I volunteered to take up the post and began by cross-denominational ministry. It took me seven years to foster the church back to health. After that, I returned to the Anglican Church and devoted myself to a cross-cultural ministry in the Cathedral u til ny retirement. This stage was an uphill struggle filled with difficult challenges. Even so, the Lord’s grace is sufficient. I thank and praise God for that.

“The third stage is after-retirement ministry. With te relaxation fo its migration policy in the 1990’s, New Zealand saw an influx of Chinese from all parts of the world. Many of them settled in Auckland, and various Christian groups were formed. There was an urgent need for ministers to nurture them spiritually. Matthew 9:37-38 says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Since I was retired, I had the time to do just that. And so, I was in the pulpit every Sunday both in the morning and in the afternoon. This stage of ministry is my happiest. Besides getting to know many fellow believers, I was not burdened with pastoral responsibilities, but could concentrate on proclaiming the good news.

“Look back on the past 60 years, I feel that I am much blessed. While the first reading today from Jeremiah speaks about God’s call and guidance, the second reading from Acts is for me, my goals, my motto, and also a description of my experience. With God’s great favour upon me, leading and supporting me, it is as St Paul says: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them - though it was not I, but the grace of God than is with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

“My wife asked me, whether all who ae in the holy order have on their thanksgiving service. I replied that it is not necessary the case, but depends on the individual’s response to God’s grace. For me, the Lord has always covered me with his grace, which is far more than all I can ask for or imagine. I am also grateful for the cooperation, understanding, support and prayers of my co-workers, fellow believers and my family. I am thankful for God’s mercy, that even though I am weak, he still uses me, keeps me and cares for me. To God be the glory.

“Now that I am 87 years of age, my life journey is reaching its final cadences. Allow me to make two requests fo you all at this thanksgiving service. There are also what I have always urged you to do. The first is to pray without ceasing for your clergy: give thanks for their spiritual gifts, pray fervently for them when they struggle with their weaknesses and especially when you see their shortcomings. It is human to be weak, the clergy are also human, and have their share in human weaknesses and shortcomings. May the Lord forgive us all our indebtedness. All of us can only become who we are in His grace.

“My second request is to count your blessings. The more often we do that, the happier we can become, and the more willing we shall be to serve the Lord whole-heartedly. As Romans 12:1 says, ” I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

“To God be the glory. Amen.”