Think

When my elder daughter hit primary school-going age, my husband and I reviewed our options. We could send her to my alma mater, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (PLMGS), or another one of my alma maters, a SAP school. Admittedly, the first things that come to mind when I think about my own formative years […]

Before I die, I want to travel the world. Learn to play the piano. Race down the Autobahn at 200km/h. I could go on and on. And then it hits me. I’m running out of time. I’m at the point in my life where the years before me are fewer than the years behind me. […]

The Tika Taka boys. ETAC Thanksgiving Service 2019 “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” What a privilege it was to sing our Lord’s praises as a family and as a conference at the annual ETAC Thanksgiving Service on 26 Jan at Tamil Methodist Church. With “praise” as the theme of the service, and led […]

The Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) of The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) entered a new chapter of her history with the adoption of Central Pooling. Apart from the structural changes, how can CAC churches work together in this transformational journey? 2 Corinthians 8:8–15 (NIV) describes an appeal to help other churches, where Paul exhorted the […]

The Lunar New Year (LNY) brings with it family gatherings, delicious goodies and the excuse to indulge, as well as questions about how Christians may celebrate without compromising our faith commitment to Jesus. In considering such questions, let us Chinese Christians remember that God birthed us as Chinese, so there is nothing wrong with appreciating […]

“Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.”1 This statement by Jaroslav Pelikan Jnr. is often quoted, and with good reason. Pelikan makes three pleasing but provocative contrasts: a contrast between “tradition” and “traditionalism”, between people in the past who are dead and those in the present who […]

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14, NIV) ETAC’s theme for the quadrennium is “Renew, Revive, Reorganise and […]

We love the Lord and want others to know him, so many of us do our part to share Jesus with others. We have a ready presentation that we are quick to dish out to anyone who will listen. We target people whom we think are easy to give this message. If they don’t believe, […]

“It’s just a meaningless ritual!” Among Christians, the word “ritual” is often perceived negatively because of associations with activities considered irrational, “pagan” or outdated. Some people give more importance to the inner attitudes “of the heart” than to outward, ritual actions. Liturgical scholar Frank C. Senn defines ritual as “a pattern of behaviour that expresses […]

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2, NIV) Most of us are probably where we are today because, along the way, some people invested in our lives. They were our mentors even if […]

National Day is usually an occasion for our prime minister to give an account of how we have fared in the past 12 months, backed with statistics showing our nation’s economic health. At the National Day parade on 9 August, the strength of our army, navy and air force, together with their expensive military hardware, […]

In 1880, a Chinese boy, Charlie Soong, arrived at Wilmington, N.C., on the United States cutter, Colfax. The captain of the Colfax, Charles Jones, became very much interested in the Chinese youth. Captain Jones later found the boy a home with some Christian friends. There, the young Soong became a Christian. Subsequently, a Methodist minister […]