Mark Nam

The Reverend Mark Nam 甄英深 Yan Ying Sum
Assistant Curate in Church of England
Church	St. Anne's Church, Oldland United Church, Longwell Green
Diocese	Diocese of Bristol
Appointed	2020—present
Orders
Ordination	11 October 2020 (deacon) 3 July 2021 (priest) by Rt Revd Vivienne Faull both at Bristol Cathedral
Personal details
Birth name	Mark Chin Ying Sum Nam
Born	1981 (age 42–43) Newport, South Wales
Denomination	Christianity (Anglican)
Parents	Anthony Nam Shirley Nam, née Seho
Spouse	Kayi Nam, née Wong (m. 2008)
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Durham Trinity College, Bristol University of Hong Kong University of South Wales

Mark Yan Ying Sum Nam [甄英深] (born 1981) is a British born Chinese Anglican priest in the Church of England. He is the Assistant Curate at St. Anne’s Church in Oldland and United Church in Longwell Green in the Diocese of Bristol where he is also the Diocesan Minority Ethnic Vocations Champion.

Nam is the founder of The Teahouse, a trustee for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), a trustee for the Florence Li Tim-Oi Foundation, and a core-member of the Campaign Against Racism Group (CARG). Nam is a regular guest on BBC Radio Bristol, Premier Christian Radio, and United Christian Broadcasters.

Prior to ordination training, Nam was a pastor and worship leader at The Vine Church, a large English-speaking and non-denominational church in Hong Kong.

Early life and education

Mark Nam was born in 1981 in Newport, Wales, to parents Anthony Nam and Shirley Nam, née Seho. He is an only-child and was christened at one-hundred days old in the Church in Wales. His family moved to Hong Kong in 1982, where his father worked for the British Government. Nam attended Kennedy Primary School, before his family returned to Wales in 1991, where he completed his primary education at Glasllwch Primary School, and secondary education at Duffryn Comprehensive School (renamed John Frost School), where he was Head Boy.

Nam studied law at the University of Glamorgan graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 2005, before returning to Hong Kong that same year to study for a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) at the University of Hong Kong.

In 2008, Nam decided not to pursue a career in law and worked at The Vine Church in Hong Kong, first as the Associate Worship Director (2007-2012), and then as the Community-Life Pastor (2012-2016). Nam returned to the U.K. in 2016 to study theology as an independent student at Trinity College, Bristol. During his studies, he was encouraged by his personal tutor and principal at the time, Rev Dr. Emma Ineson, to explore the possibility of becoming ordained in the Church of England.

After completing the discernment process with the Diocese of Bristol and obtaining a diploma in Theology, Nam began his ordination training at Trinity College in 2018 and graduated with a Master of Theology (MTh) from the University of Durham in 2020, obtaining a distinction in the process. His dissertation was titled ‘Prophetic Dialogue, East-Asian Theology and the Changing Voice of Mission: What can the Church of England learn from East-Asian theology in terms of Contextualizing the Gospel?’[1] and it was shortlisted for the 2021 Churches Together in England annual award for best thesis around the themes of mission, evangelism and church planting.

Ordained ministry

Nam was ordained in the Church of England: made a deacon at Michaelmas 2020 (11 October) and ordained a priest the following year at Petertide 2021 (3 July) at Bristol Cathedral by Vivienne Faull, the Bishop of Bristol, on both occasions. Nam undertook his curacy at St. Anne’s Church in Oldland and United Church in Longwell Green, in the Diocese of Bristol.

The Teahouse

Nam is the founder of The Teahouse, an independent network that seeks to promote the visibility and participation of Chinese-heritage clergy in all structures of the Church of England. Nam started the network as a Whatsapp group to support clergy of Chinese-heritage during the 2021 COVID-19 Pandemic. On 16 August 2021, The Teahouse had its official launch, receiving a positive reception from The Church of England.

Racial justice work

Nam is an advocate of Racial Justice within The Church of England and seeks to highlight the injustices faced by East-Asian communities and the contributions that East-Asian voices and perspectives can make to the wider discourse on topics such as mission, racial justice and the environment.

During his ordination training at Trinity College, Bristol, Nam launched the first BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) support group in an Anglican college. After his training, Nam was appointed by Lee Rayfield, Bishop of Swindon, as the Minority Ethnic Vocations Champion for the Diocese of Bristol, to encourage the increase and development of vocations to ordained and licensed ministries from Minority Ethnic Anglicans across the Diocese of Bristol.

On Remembrance Day 2021, Nam was invited by the Western Front Association to lay a wreath at the Whitehall Cenotaph in London to commemorate the Chinese Labour Corp, a force of 140,000 Chinese workers recruited by the British government during the First World War. Nam vocalised his dissatisfaction at the fact that of the 50,000 monuments in the U.K. honouring those who served during the wars—including horses and dogs—there is nothing for the 140,000 Chinese workers, 95,000 of whom were enlisted directly by the British.

Nam is a core-member of the Campaign Against Racism Group (CARG). On 9 Oct 2022, he helped organize and participated in the 2022 National Act of Hope and Remembrance which is held annually at St. Paul’s Cathedral, marking the end of National Hate Crime Awareness Week. The lighting of the National Candle of Hope and Remembrance—which remains lit for the whole week—was dedicated to those who have experienced hate crime directed at East and South-East Asians.

Mark Nam standing by his portrait at the British Library in 2023.

From Nov 2022 to Apr 2023, documents belonging to Nam's family were featured in a 6-month exhibition at the British Library titled 'Chinese and British.' Amongst the documents were immigration papers belonging to Nam's grandparents classifying them as ‘aliens’. Nam referred to these in an interview saying, 'I am reminded of the scripture verse which says, "you are no longer strangers or aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints."' The exhibition served as the venue for a meeting between members of The Teahouse and the head of the Church of England’s Racial Justice Unit, Guy Hewitt. Nam was quoted as saying, 'I was so pleased that Guy wanted to hear our stories and learn about the earliest Chinese settlers and the challenges they faced [...] I am looking forward to further discussions on Racial Justice for East-Asian diaspora, and how we can be a more inclusive and diverse Church."' A portrait of Nam was also featured in a gallery that ran alongside the exhibition, featuring work by professional photographer Jamie Lau.

Welcoming Hong Kongers

Nam has been influential in helping churches in the U.K. welcome migrants from Hong Kong, who have arrived on a Hong Kong BNO passport that allows British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) individuals and their immediate family members, to live, work and study in the U.K. Speaking to The Observer in 2021, Nam urged the Church of England not to repeat the mistakes it made in failing to welcome those who arrived in the U.K. from the Caribbean in the 1950s and 60s. As well as running workshops for the Diocese of Bristol, Nam has been key in helping the Church of England formulate its official response, through a national conference titled "Making Room at the Inn."

Honours

Mark Nam receiving the Lambeth Award from Justin Welby.

In February 2023, Nam was invited to a royal reception at Buckingham Palace in celebration of British East and South-East Asian communities. The reception coincided with Lunar New Year and took place on Nam's birthday. Other notable guests included Lord Nat Wei, the first British-born person of Hong Kong origin to become a member of the House of Lords, Sarah Mei Lin Owen, the first MP of South East Asian ancestry, and actress/model Alexa Chung. During Nam's conversation with His Majesty the King, Charles was heard to say, "We are lucky to have you." Nam's visit to the palace was revisited by BBC West during the King's Coronation in relation to Nam taking a piece of toilet paper from the palace as a souvenir for his children.

In June 2023, Nam was a recipient of the Archbishop of Canterbury 2023 Lambeth Award, under the category Langton Award for Community Service for his "outstanding contribution to raising the profile and participation of Chinese-heritage clergy and communities in the Church of England and commitment to serving the overseas Chinese diaspora, in particular those settling in the United Kingdom from Hong Kong."

Personal life

Nam is married to Kayi Nam, née Wong. They first met in 2001 at the English-speaking fellowship of the Cardiff Chinese Christian Church, whilst both were students at university. They got married in 2008 at St. Mark’s Church in Newport, Wales—the same church that Nam was christened in as a baby and confirmed as an adolescent. They have three children.

See also

• British Chinese
• List of British Chinese people
• British East and Southeast Asian
• East Asians in the United Kingdom

References

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