In last month’s issue of Methodist Message, I shared about three men seeking to free themselves from the legacy of harsh parenting. In their childhood households, love and care was only shown, if at all, when they met parental expectations.
The Bible book Ezra-Nehemiah describes three priorities in the development of the community after the ravages of war had left Jerusalem in ruin for 70 years. Referring to Ezra-Nehemiah as a single book, following the custom of the Hebrew Bible (unlike the Christian tradition which counts Ezra and Nehemiah as two separate books), the ancient Hebrew scribes (scholars call them Masoretes) included notes at the end of every Bible book, summarising the total number of verses in every book and indicating which verse marked the book’s mid-point.
As I write this article, many churches in Singapore are welcoming the return of their members to on-site Sunday services as Covid-19 measures are further relaxed by the government. The excitement of being able to gather physically in the sanctuary in such large numbers for worship is palpable, as many Christians experience a renewed sense of togetherness—the joy of being a community.
Andy*, a resident at MWS Christalite Methodist Home (CMH), who is in the last stages of life, had been in low spirits, feeling bored and aimless.
It was a night of exuberant worship and prayer that crossed generations. It was a time when hearts of fathers turned to their children, a time where those called by God truly came home to him. The Homecoming event on 22 July 2022 brought together over 1,000 Anglo-Chinese School family and friends, and was the culmination of months of hard work and God’s answer to much prayer.
Foochow Methodist Church (FMC) held a rededication service on 7 August 2022 for its Caring Community Clinic (CCC)—a clinic that was set up on the church premises specifically for migrant workers in 2003. FMC is located at Race Course Road in Little India, and is the second oldest church under the Chinese Annual Conference (CAC).
Little Candles School (LCS) stems from a vision to bring the gospel to the Thai people in the sub-district of Phrao, Chiang Mai. When my wife, Sharon, and I arrived in Phrao as missionaries in 2008 with a heart for church planning, we quickly discovered a means of connecting with the local people through the universal desire for education. We found that many non-Christian Thais readily embraced the idea of a Christian education, even though they were hesitant to join a church.
A brief look at the top ten worship songs on Christian Copyright Licensing International’s list reveals what many of us sing in church today—heartfelt songs to God about how he saved each of us, and how we each resolve to live for him. While there is nothing wrong with such songs, they tend to dwell on our individual salvation experiences and responses. If these are the only songs we sing, we will be missing out on a vital part of God’s redemptive plan—that God has called us to be “a holy nation, people of his own possession” (1 Pet 2:9).
The Merriam-Webster dictionary refers to meritocracy as a “system, organisation, or society in which people are chosen and moved into positions of success, power, and influence on the basis of their demonstrated abilities and merit”. In public discourse, the promise of equality in terms of social mobility, opportunity, recognition and social justice embedded in merit is generally agreeable with people’s basic moral understandings; in recent times, widening social inequality (perceived or otherwise) in Singapore has renewed calls for a rethink of meritocracy.
Being a Methodist is to love God and our neighbours in all aspects of life, including through the good stewardship of wealth. This occurred to me when I started working recently.
