Diocesan Diocese of Singapore • www.anglican.org.sg MCI (P) 109/03/2018 Issue 270 | November 2018 DIGEST total dedication FOR GOD'S MOMENT ENGAGING THE YEAR OF CRISIS RELIEF IN LOMBOK ST ANDREW'S JUNIOR 14 PRAYER 22 32 COLLEGE 40TH ANNIVERSARY Psalm 126:5-6 5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. Contents EDITORIAL TEAM 02 Editorial ADVISOR The Rt Revd 03 From The Bishop’s Heart Rennis S. Ponniah 06 Communion News EDITORS Revd Canon Terry Wong 10 Provincial News Ms Lucilla Teoh Mrs Karen Wong Ms Sasha Michael 13 Church in Singapore: Celebration of Hope 2019 DESIGNERS 18 Teaching Article: Lessons from Intimate Ms Joyce Ho Conversations - Jesus & Nicodemus Mr Daniel Ng email: [email protected] website: from our ministry fronts www.anglican.org.sg 21 Deaneries and Global Missions cover photo: illustration by Daniel Ng 29 Children 30 Youth and Young Adults 30 Anglican Schools Feature: SAJC’s 40th Anniversary 34 Anglican Schools 36 Community Services 41 Indian-Speaking Work 42 Chinese-Speaking Work 46 Diocesan News 50 Diocesan Listings Printer: Hock Cheong Printing Pte Ltd Diocesan Digest © The Diocese of Singapore All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by an means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, and recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. 1 EDITORIAL JUST AS I AM f you were amongst the thirty thousand plus who gathered at the PraySingapore event at the Sports Hub on 7 October, you would agree that the screening of the short clip of Billy Graham’s rally in 1978 was a notable moment. We were transfixed by his message. We were moved by how the crowds responded to the salvation altar call, while his signature rally song, Just As I Am, rang out. I felt myself transported back in time as I reflected on what the Gospel meant in those days. Sin has caused the divide between man and God. God so loved the world Ithat He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. He came to save us and this offer of salvation is free. To be a Christian, one only has to turn from his sins (repent) and “receive Christ.” One does that through praying the "sinner’s prayer.” Undoubtedly, Billy Graham was one major reason why so many churches worked together and gathered at the National Stadium. Beyond his magnetic personality, however, was our shared conviction in the Gospel’s message - that we can come, just as we are, responding to the bidding of the Lamb of God - which made those rallies such a deeply spiritual and unique experience. Christians invited many friends because of this conviction. That was the answer to a gnawing spiritual vacuum. I happen to know personally some who entered the stadium 40 years ago as non-believers. Some of them today are pastors while many others are serving as key lay-leaders in churches. One of them became married to me. I know it is easy to be nostalgic. Our society has changed so much. The Church has gotten a lot more sophiscated. The ‘gospel’ is understood and preached in many ways. We have become more sensitive to other faiths, and rightly so. We have also become more sensitive to how information on social media can quickly rouse and divide our society. Incredibly, during the 1978 rallies, there were some Christians who positioned themselves outside the stadium and tried to persuade the crowds that Billy Graham was a heretic. Today, something like this would be the least of our concerns. The Gospel is two thousand years old. As it traversed through time and culture, each generation and society has had to re-articulate its message so that her people can know and be drawn to it. With the advent of the internet, we have become more connected to each other across the globe than ever before. With these innumerable modern Towers of Babel, it may seem like God is not needed anymore. The community in Singapore can be as diverse as the world herself as our citizens log into these towers. And yet, the Gospel message remains unchanged. The creed, whether said or sung, remains as the shape of what the Church believes. It finally boils down to one’s conviction. It is less about the method. It is about recapturing this Gospel conviction. It is not about churches making the Celebration of Hope a success. It is the other way round: will churches and Christians be stirred to share the Gospel in 2019 the way they did in 1978? It may have to be re-articulated, as I have already said, but is there the same conviction of the uniqueness of Christ and the power of the Gospel to change lives? We pray so. We pray that during those evenings in May, many will stream down the stadium steps, and come just as we are. By Revd Canon Terry Wong 2 FROM THE BISHOP'S HEART total dedication FOR GOD’S MOMENT n the late 1960s, the United States entered the Gittite in 2 Samuel 15:17-22. King David is fleeing IVietnam War for the manifest reason of stopping Jerusalem on account of his son Absalom’s brazen the spread of communism. But the Americans revolt. Those loyal to David flee with him, risking encountered the Vietcong, a mass political their lives as Absalom steals the hearts of the organisation with its own army, which stood in its majority. When David reviews the parade of those way. In the analysis of why the militarily superior who have thrown their lot with him, he is utterly Americans were unable to eliminate the Vietcong, surprised to see Ittai and his contingent of 600 folk attention was drawn to the Vietcong’s effective with the little ones as well. spread of revolutionary fervour and to their military David tries to persuade Ittai to go back and stay tactics of stealth, concealment and patience. with the new king on the grounds that Ittai is only There apparently was one more significant a new resident of Jerusalem, having just relocated factor: the utter commitment of a Vietcong soldier from the Philistine city of Gath. To flee with David to his commander and the fellow soldiers of his unit. is to plunge into the unknown and to court death. The Vietcong field operative may not have even But Ittai answers David with these words: known what the ideological battle (communism vs “As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, capitalism) was all about. He was merely fiercely wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for committed to protect his leader and his comrades death or for life, there also will your servant be.” from injury or harm. [2 Samuel 15:21; Ruth 1:11-17; John 11:16] I learnt something about the social To be personally and totally committed to Jesus organisation of the Vietcong during my student is to lay our whole life – “all that I am and all that I days as a sociology-major at the then University of have” – before the Lord for Him to use. We place Singapore. The powerful effect of personal loyalty, Jesus high above all else and hold back nothing as in the case of the Vietcong, comes to mind as from him. Our time, our energy, our earning I think about what is needed in God’s mission capacity, our loved ones, our own plans and of love. By the grace of God, we are entering dreams, our hopes and fears – all are surrendered the height of the Season of Prayer-Evangelism to him, in loving obedience and holy trust. Because (2018-2020) marked out for our diocese. And the Jesus first loved us, and His love is steadfast to the personal loyalty I am thinking about is each one’s very end. He is faithful and true. I was made to love total dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ. Him and I was redeemed to glorify Him. Whatever the cost, be it shame or discrimination, loss of Total dedication to Christ Jesus comfort or loss of control, total dedication to Jesus What does total dedication look like? I find an simply says, “Wherever you want me to be, Lord, outstanding example in the story of Ittai the I will be there because I know that is where I will 3 most fully know Your presence. And Your presence Christians must be totally dedicated not only to is what I treasure most”. the cause of Christ but also to the person of Christ. Even as I write these words, I know that total Total dedication to Jesus is going to be critical in dedication to Jesus can only be a work of grace how God’s kairos moment unfolds. that is effected through the power of the Holy Spirit. The reason I share them with you is because How God has been preparing us I believe that this God-appointed Season of Prayer- May I share with you some salient ways in which the Evangelism is accompanied by a unique time of Lord has been preparing our diocese for this kairos God pouring out His Spirit on all who are yielded moment of revival? to Him. I am struck firstly by how the Lord has enabled such a significant number of our churches to God’s Kairos Moment expand our spaces, ministry points and facilities to Together with several pastors of our city, as well as accommodate the coming harvest.