ENG-1995 — Page 399

RELIGION AND CUSTOM

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Other deified mortals include Kwan Tai, the God of War and Righteousness; Pak Tai, Lord of the North and patron of Cheung Chau Island; Hung Shing, God of the South Seas and weather prophet; and Wong Tai Sin, a Taoist deity. The Wong Tai Sin temple in north-eastern Kowloon enjoys great popularity. Dedicated to the gods of literary attainment and martial valour, Man Mo Temple in Hollywood Road on Hong Kong Island is also very popular. Other notable temples include the Che Kung Temple at Sha Tin in the New Territories, which is dedicated to a Sung Dynasty general; and the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island, which has the world's largest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha, the Tian Tan Buddha.

There are more than 350 Chinese temples in the territory, 43 of which are managed by the Chinese Temples Committee as public temples. Income from donations is used for the preservation and restoration of public temples and privately-owned ones of historical value. Surplus funds are distributed for charitable purposes.

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The Protestant Community

The presence of the Protestant community dates back to 1841. In the 155 years since the first Protestant Church came into being, the community has grown to 260 000 in over 1 000 congregations in more than 50 denominations with a large number of independent churches. The Baptists form the largest denomination, followed by the Lutherans. Other major denominations are the Adventist, Anglican, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Church of Christ in China (representing the Presbyterian and - Congregational traditions), Methodist and Pentecostal. With their emphasis on youth

work, many congregations have a high proportion of young people.

Protestant organisations operate three post-secondary colleges - Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and Lingnan College. They run 121 secondary schools, 146 primary schools and 233 kindergartens. In addition, they operate 13 theological seminaries and Bible institutes, 16 Christian publishing houses and 57 Christian bookshops.

They run seven hospitals with 3 463 beds, 24 clinics and 61 social service organisa- tions which provide a wide range of social services, including 221 community, family service and youth centres, 72 day care centres, eight children's homes, 29 homes for the elderly, 97 centres for the elderly, three schools for the deaf, 21 training centres for the mentally handicapped and disables. There are also 15 camp sites. Five international hotel-type guest houses are managed by the YMCA and YWCA.

Ninety-six para-church agencies and various Christian action groups have been established to minister to the Protestant community and to respond to current issues and concerns within the Hong Kong society at large. The church supports emergency relief and development projects in third-world countries. The 'Five Loaves and Two Fish' Campaign, sponsored by the Hong Kong Christian Council, was the first overseas aid project initiated in Hong Kong. Two weekly newspapers, The Christian Weekly and The Christian Times, bring news and comments from a Christian per- spective to the Christian community.

Two ecumenical bodies facilitate co-operative work among the Protestant churches in Hong Kong. The older one, dating from 1915, is the Hong Kong Chinese Christian Churches Union with a membership of 275 congregations. The second co-operative body is the Hong Kong Christian Council, formed in 1954. Major mainline deno- minations and ecumenical services constitute the membership core of the council,