| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||||
 | Kingspark News Rotary
Club of Kingspark | | ||
| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||||
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Editorial
(Hello Chicago) - By Francis Wann | ||||
District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||||
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Hello, Chicago
Some of us might have wondered - has Rotary made the world a better place after a hundred years? As our delegates prepare for the kickoff of the opening ceremony on June 18, it should also give them time to reflect on themselves, and a chance to meet other RI officials and community leaders to share their Rotary experiences. But one would have thought a conference of this nature should be more symbolic than substance. It must be, among other things, an occasion to show our solidarity and unity to the world. Probably there wouldn't be room for nitty gritties and ideological clashes. While technically this Convention should be similar to the first one in 1911, Rotarians worldwide must be at pains to make it an extraordinary one. And they should. As Rotarians, it's important for us to understand Rotary's history. Mats Ingemanson of Rotary Global History Fellowship has mentioned in his newsletter that he would talk about "The importance of Rotary History when we shape the future of Rotary" during breakfast at the Union League Club of Chicago. Let's hope our early birds will catch a bit of history (and report it for KingsparkNews). It's now only two weeks to the start of another Rotary year, and while the changing of guards has become an annual ritual, the ideals and values remain unchanged. They certainly have withstood the test of time over a century. There must be occasions when we wanted to question ourselves of our Rotaryworthiness, or when our integrity is shaken under the four-way test. But as Paul Harris said, "If Rotary is to realize its proper destiny , it must be evolutionary at all times, (and) revolutionary on occasions." (Paul Harris, 1930 message to the RI Convention) What individual Rotarians get out of the Convention depends on their priorities, and hopefully the atmosphere there should be enough to inspire our members to embrace the full meaning of the motto "Service Above Self". If you feel that Rotary is not making a big enough impact on the world as other service organizations, maybe that's because we're not used to sell ourselves. Perhaps the RI Convention has a lesson for everyone. We may not be the most glamorous, but we promise to deliver. Good morning Chicago. | ||||
President's
Column
Taking this opportunity, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our members and their families who have joined our formal visit to our Sister Clubs. The delegation comprises PE Dominic and his family, PP Edward and Rtnne Alice, PP Tom and Rtnne Mildred, PP Ted, IPP Peter, VP Sunny, Michael, James, Kennedy, Marvin and Spark. It was a wonderful trip filled with fellowship and excitement. Embraced by the warm hospitality of our Sister Club Taipei Chung Yuan, we had a busy schedule. We officiated the opening ceremony of the World Community Services Project jointly with RC of Sathorn Thailand and RC of Taipei Chung Yuan. The joint project involves in renovation of an existing activity center at Hoping New Village through the redesign of space and replacement of equipment. We also had a meeting with the key Board Members of our Sister Clubs to discuss about our future plans. More importantly, we participated in the 5th installation of RC of Taipei Chung Yuan. As the anniversary marks its first milestone, DG, three PDGs, DGE, DGN and a list of District Officials of RI District 3520 came to witness the ceremony. Apart from the club business, we enjoyed the fellowship programmes arranged by our Sister Clubs especially the delicious meals in Taiwanese restaurant, French cuisine and Din Tai Fung. As all of us who have participated in this Sister Club visit enjoyed themselves and felt the warm hospitality, I would encourage all Kingsparicans to join our Sister Club visit in future to enhance our participation in the joint services projects and share our fellowship. In the flight to USA, I watched a film which talked about the importance of family. Although I am sure all of you treasure your family life, I wish to remind you that all of us and members of our Sister Clubs are family members of the Rotary Family. We need your support in maintaining a close relationship with our Sister Clubs and make our alliance a more successful one in the future. Being the last article for me to write under the capacity of "President", I do not know how to express my heartfelt thanks for the support extended by you and your family. Proved by the recent award presentation, I wish you know that your support has made our Club become the most outstanding Club in the District during the Centennial Year. As my experience in the past year has highlighted the importance of "Team Work", I wish to seek your continuous support to our future President and the Club. By all means, I shall make continuous contributions to our Club hand-in-hand with you in the future. Let's join our effort to make next year another remarkable Rotary Year for our Club. | ||||
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Work of Love
Is this a good or bad thing, and is this healthy? Meaningful answers can only come from you as readers and members of the club and for whom this biweekly has been produced and published on time, 24 times a year. I don't know about my brother chief editor, but I have yet to hear from a member, any member at all, of the club on how we are doing. For all intent and purposes, it has now become a presentation by three persons: the editor editorialises, the President reports on his sojourns, past present and future, and the webmaster says what he likes. stretching his limits at times. On the other hand, I have had feeback from members of other clubs, within and without the district, which is good and which gives me reasons to continue what I am doing. Very interestingly and flatteringly, the District Webmaster has seen it fit to feature Kingspark News more often and regularly on the District Website, which cannot be a bad thing. I would like to share with readers the fact that a number of issues, at least four and including this one, were uploaded while I was travelling. Such endeavours involve extra work and planning and some technical skills. An easy way out would have been to ask somebody to do it or to skip an issue while I am away, and I am pretty sure no one in the club, except perhaps my brother editor, would take me to task for doing that. Indeed, very few would have even noticed. But I have chosen the more difficult route, not because I like doing it or I like showing off my skills, but because I have made a commitment to the President and to you that I would do it. This is what volunteerism is all about. I once asked PDG Raymond Wong how long he intended to remain as editor of his club's weekly bulletin. He said that he would have to find a successor who would do it. And so he soldiers on, even after he has given notice to quit the club. Great spirits indeed, but how many from his club would appreciate such great spirits. Yesterday's Gospel from St Matthews is about love, in particular about loving one's enemies and praying for those who persecute one. It is interesting that the world has not changed that much in the past 2000 years. Then, the scribes and pharisees preached and pactised "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." These days, most people believe that loving friends and hating enemies would be the most natural thing in the world. It would seem that Christ's teaching is impractical even as an ideal and is rather impossible. However, one needs to read into the passage carefully and understand that the "love" that Christ preached had nothing to do with liking people, or affection, still less sex. Love in this context means wanting the other person to e good. Thus, we pray for people who needs our prayers so that they can become better. It follows that those who are full of hate and anger would badly need our prayers. It follows that Christ's teaching is not only not unusual or strange, but the only way forward. PDG Raymond has continued his work out of love. His bulletin is a work of love. I'd like to believe Kingspark News has been produced for similiar reason. | ||||
Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response from the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||||
Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Thomas Chan | ||||
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