Bishop Yong Chen Fah (pictured), who came to Sydney three years ago from Malaysia at the invitation of Archbishop Peter Jensen to be "bishop of the Chinese community', will be farewelled this weekend before he leaves Australia.
When he arrived he wasn't sure what to expect but he says that after three months of visiting all the Chinese churches in the Diocese, "I began to realise what I was supposed to do "” to strengthen them for more effective evangelism and discipleship".
He set about doing this in a number of ways: taking pastors to Korea for specialised training, encouraging them to train up lay leaders in their congregations and helping them see the tremendous benefit of mutual support and fellowship.
"I have issued the challenge to them but it is the Lord himself who is changing them," he says.
Initially Bishop Yong and his wife Mida were meant to spend two years in Sydney, but the local churches realised the couple's input was so valuable they happily put up half the money to pay for an extra year. The parish of Marrickville also extended the time the couple could spend in the church's rectory for a further 12 months.
The Rev David Zhang from St Thomas', Auburn says Bishop Yong "has united us and given us a focus".
"We are scattered "” we belong to different parishes, regions and mission areas. We didn't have much to do with each other in terms of strategising, sharing resources, combined training or church planting and recruiting for the future. Since he has come he's been able to get us listening to each other, talking and doing things together.
"And we love him… he has been to us Chinese clergy like a father figure in God, and Mrs Yong has been like a mother to a lot of the clergy wives "” and especially female clergy who are not married because sometimes they have no-one to talk with to share their struggles.
"He will be sorely missed."
A farewell for the Yongs will be held at St John's, Parramatta on December 11 from 3.30pm.
