Hope

ARE WE ONE? We have 44 Methodist Churches in Singapore. In Christ, we are one. According to our Methodist Book of Discipline, we are one. According to Singapore Law, we are one. But operationally, we are quite separate. We hardly know what the next church is doing. For the next two months, my team has […]

  YOUNG PEOPLE these days are exposed to information, lifestyles and issues that challenge the values they have been brought up with. It is not unusual for teenagers to test their parents’ authority, challenge traditions and beliefs and explore new ideas and lifestyles. How parents respond to their teens is important, and while teenagers want […]

MY CAREER – GOD’S CALLING I’M NOT SURE my reasons for choosing teaching as a profession were all that noble in the first instance. Basically, I hoped to one day have a family and I wanted to be in a career I could take time off from to raise a family and still return to. […]

In a post-war newsletter, the Rev (later Bishop) Hobart B. Amstutz recalls the harrowing days that followed the surrender of Singapore in February 1942 and the experience of being interned as a prisoner-of-war. ‘THE INTERNMENT ORDER … was to bring clothing for 10 days and meet at the [padang in front of the present City Hall]. […]

  MAKING WAVES Missionaries creating ripples of impact: More village chiefs want to invite them to conduct English lessons THE Methodist Missions Society (MMS), together with Transformation Alliance (TA), is committed to helping to foster a culture of reconciliation and peace in Timor Leste. We must continue to serve with joyful patience filled with hope. The […]

FATHERS are special. They are the role models our sons emulate and sad is the child whose father is not around in his tender years. My sons have been blessed with a very good father. I thank God for my husband as he truly loves and cares so much for our children. He tries to […]

MMS PRAYER NIGHT I WAS greatly encouraged. About 100 people spent three hours chatting informally with some of our Methodist Missions Society (MMS) missionaries and staff, getting updated on the key happenings in the seven countries we are involved in and then praying with us. We are convinced that your prayers are vital for the […]

PAIN is good. For a person’s physical and spiritual health. Every believer should welcome some pain in his or her life. It is a gift from God. I first learnt about the “gift of pain” 10 years ago from Dr Paul Brand, the late English missionary, author, renowned doctor and pioneer in treating lepers, and his book […]

“There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” – 1 Corinthians 12:6 (NIV). SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – plausible? For the most part, I think so. While slums and rubbish dumps may not be a part of the Singapore scene, the hard life of Jamal Malik in the […]

IN HIS New Year Message on Jan 1, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, “In this difficult period, families must bind together, as Asian societies have always done in times of trouble. We must fulfil our duties to our parents, our spouses and our children. In particular, we must safeguard our children’s future. Parents must […]

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION THE events of Dec 21, 2008 brought great joy to the hearts of all present – and I think to God’s heart as well! The COS Children’s Village (COSI – supported mainly by Bedok Methodist Church, Pentecost Methodist Church and other Methodist individuals) and the Emmaus Women’s Centre held a combined Christmas celebration. […]

MICHAEL, 12, had an older brother, John, 18, who had just started his military service. John was so happy when he received his first pay cheque. “I’m rich,” he said, looking at his bank statement. “In just a few months I will be able to buy something I have wanted for a long time – […]