Soundings

The world this Christmas is looking to be pretty much the same as it did last Christmas. At this writing, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases reported across the globe is over 225 million, and over 5.1 million have succumbed to the disease. Even with the drive in most countries to inoculate their population from […]

The modern city is a complex and enigmatic phenomenon. A conglomeration of a myriad of different people groups, cultures and languages, the city often defies simple characterisations. What the American philosopher, Lewis Mumford, wrote about the city some 60 years ago still holds true today: No single definition will apply to all its manifestations and […]

The coronavirus pandemic has presented immense challenges to people all over the world. COVID-19 has ruined the lives and livelihood of scores of people. Necessary public health measures such as social distancing have made many feel isolated and lonely, thus increasing the incidents of stress and anxiety. An article published in March by the Straits […]

  In a media release in December 2018, the Institute of Mental Health reported that one in seven people in Singapore has experienced a mental disorder in their lifetime.1 This situation is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with the recent resurgence of community cases following a lull for a few months. The pandemic has, […]

Anglo-Chinese School when it was at Coleman Street. Christian education has always been an important part of The Methodist Church in Singapore One of the most important duties that the present generation must discharge for the sake of the next is to enable them to contribute positively to society. In a papal document on Christian […]

Then-TRAC President Rev Dr Wong enjoyed a warm working relationship with the TRAC staff Some are placed in positions of spiritual authority within the Church because of dramatic, extraordinary encounters with God that transformed them irrevocably. Others have been quite the opposite—where God walked with them from young, moulding and preparing them along the way […]

The great ecumenical creeds of the Christian Church—the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed—begin with the declaration that the Church believes in God, the Father. The fatherhood of God is the fundamental tenet of Christianity that not only distinguishes it from other religions, but also from other versions of theism. Yet as theologian Thomas Smail […]

ETAC Board on Missions Thanksgiving Service 2021 The Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC) Board on Missions held a thanksgiving service on 10 April 2021: “Missions Then, Missions Now”. It was a hybrid service with some participants on-site and others on Zoom. It was a time to praise God for His faithfulness to ETAC and to […]

John Wesley’s “Aldersgate experience” of 1738 is a constant reminder of just how important it is for those who call themselves Christians to have a vital faith in Jesus Christ. On the flip side, it also alerts us to the fact that there are people in our churches today who have all the outward appearances […]

“Soundings” is a series of essays that, like the waves of a sonogram, explore issues in society, culture and the church in light of the Gospel and Christian understanding. For many, the prominent biblical theme and practice of sacrifice first appeared in the Bible in Genesis 4, which records the sacrifices of Cain and Abel. […]

One of the most beloved fathers of the early Church is St Ephrem the Syrian. Born in the city of Nisibis (Turkey) in approximately AD 306, Ephrem was a deacon and a hermit who made enduring contributions to the theology and spirituality of the Christian East. His voluminous writings include theological treatises, spiritual works and […]

A refrain often heard in our world plagued with unceasing conflict is “let’s agree to disagree”. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to agree to disagree is to decide “not to argue anymore about the difference in opinion”. It is a declaration of a truce of sorts—a resolution by the parties concerned to leave the unsettled […]