T he stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. he Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Psalm 118: 22 - 24 T ALDERSGATE march - april 2015 Aldersgate In and Around Bi-Monthly Issue is also available at www.aldersgate.sg 2 29 Mar Palm Sunday 8.30am/10.15am (English) “Thy Kingdom Come Welcoming the King” Rev David Ho 10.15am (Mandarin) Rev Dr Norman Wong 10.15am (Youthphoria) WorKship Sunday 29 Mar Service for Residents at Bethany Methodist Nursing Home 3pm (English) Pr Richard Seow 02 Apr (Thu) Maundy Thursday Service 8.00pm (English) Stay With Me Rev Dr Lorna Khoo 03 Apr (Fri) Good Friday 10.15am (English/Chinese) The Blood Of Christ Rev Dr Lorna Khoo 05 Apr (Sun) Sunrise Service 6.30am (English) Christ Is Risen! Our Reason For Living! Rev David Ho Easter Service 9.00am (English/Chinese) Christ Is Risen! Our Reason For Living! Rev David Ho 12 Apr (Sun) Trinity Theological College Sunday 8.30am/10.15am (English) Rev Dr Maggie Low 10.15am (Mandarin) Rev Yap Seok Chin 10.15am (Youthphoria) To be confirmed 19 Apr (Sun) 8.30am/10.15am (English) Leading / Administrative Gifts Rev Bryan Tan 10.15am (Mandarin) Pr Cheryl Chan 10.15am (Youthphoria) To be confirmed 26 Apr (Sun) Seniors Sunday 8.30am/10.15am (English) Dr William Wan 10.15am (Mandarin) Pr Cheryl Chan 10.15am (Youthphoria) To be confirmed 03 May (Sun) Church 36th Anniversary 10.15am (English/Chinese) Rev Dr Chiang Ming Shun 10 May (Sun) Mothers’ Day & WSCS Sunday 8.30am / 10.15am (English) Mrs Lai Kheng Pousson 10.15am (Mandarin) Mrs Ho-Yeo Chew Kheang 10.15am (Youthphoria) To be confirmed 17 May (Sun) Marketplace Sunday Healing The Marketplace 1 8.30am / 10.15am (English) Mr Liew Heng San 10.15am (Mandarin) Pr Cheryl Chan 10.15am (Youthphoria) To be confirmed 24 May (Sun) Pentecost Sunday / Aldersgate Sunday 8.30am /10.15am (English) Rev Dr Lorna Khoo 10.15am (Mandarin) Rev David Ho 31 May (Sun) 8.30am / 10.15am (English) Healing Ministry 1 Rev David Ho 10.15am (Mandarin) Rev Lee Shuit Kuin 31 May (Sun) Service for Residents at Bethany Methodist Nursing Home 3pm (English) Pr Alan Ang 10.15am (Youthphoria) To be confirmed 10.15am (Youthphoria) To be confirmed Speaker / Sermon Topic is subject to change without prior notice In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 Children’s Ministry Darius Tian Teachers Training (31 Jan) The teachers gathered together at the beginning of the year to share and hear from each other about how the past year went. We also had the opportunity to hear from Pastor David on his insights and plans for the ministry. Ways for improving the ministry were also discussed. We ended the session with a popiah-making activity. Through it, the teachers learned that no matter how the lessons are taught, they must be enveloped with God’s Word – just like no matter what ingredients are added, a popiah will never be complete without the popiah skin. 3 4 Meet the Parents session (8 Feb) About 80 parents and teachers gathered together at the basement rooms after their respective services for a time of sharing and interaction. A focus of the Children’s Ministry this year is parent-teacher interaction, whereby both the parents and teachers work together to ground our children with a godly foundation. The key programmes of the year were shared with the parents and the parents also encouraged the teachers by sharing about how their children have been applying what they learn from Sunday School at home. The session ended off with both parents and teachers coming together to pray for the children before having some free time to interact with each other. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 Chinese New Year Orange Distribution (15 Feb) As part of our annual outreach effort to the Dover community, all the children from the 8.30am service and the Primary 5 and 6 children from the 10.15am service crossed over to the Dover estates to bless the residents there with oranges and Chinese New Year greetings. The children also took some time to talk to some of the residents and came together to pray for the residents that they met. It was really encouraging to see the children, who were initially shy, slowly warm up and become more and more enthusiastic in knocking on the doors of the residents. Glory be to God! 5 6 Chinese Ministry Susie See Chinese Ministry 19th Anniversary Celebration AMC Chinese Ministry celebrated its 19th Anniversary on 1 March. We would like to thank God for His 19 years of provision and guidance to the Chinese Ministry. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 During the service, the Chinese Choir and Caleb 85 members presented worship songs to glorify God. The sermon by the Rev Dr Francis Ngoi was appropriate for us as he highlighted the obstacles and challenges we face when evangelising in the 21st century. He emphasised that the best way to evangelise is through our daily life testimony, loving each other and fulfilling our role as defined by God. It is through going back to the basics of disciple living that we can bring people to Christ. The celebration ended with the cutting of a cake and a buffet meal. All the 103 participants enjoyed the green tea cake and the food. 7 8 Youthphoria Joel Tan TRACkers F ive youth from Youthphoria are attending TRACkers, a 3-month discipleship programme for youths in transition. Designed to effect value change, the four-tier training approach builds our youths through biblical learning, mentoring relationships, mission exposure and creative arts. They will be putting up a musical on 27 & 28 March, 7.30pm, at Paya Lebar Methodist Church. Shepherd’s Bonanza (17 January 2015) Our Youth Pastoral Care Group (PCG) leaders met up for a time of sharing, fellowship and dressing up as bible characters! See if you can identify who they are dressed as! “dressing up as Bible characters!” In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 Relationship Talk cum Adam-vs-Eve (15 February 2015) Ivin & Mylene Vikesh shared about the biblical understanding of relationships and marriage, and our youth got to ask lots of questions along the way. Panel Discussion: (22 February 2015) “Old is Gold” Yee Minyi, Asher & Cindy Lim, Lock Hui Min - our loving young adults - came down to Youthphoria to be our panellists for our discussion on singlehood, courtship and marriage. They engaged the youths with their testimony and sharing. 9 10 Youthphoria celebrates Chinese New Year (22 February 2015) Lohei – Aldersgate Methodist Church style! Disciple And Nurture Personal Bible Study Methods class David Chan Nine people have signed up for the Personal Bible Study Methods class. The six-session class is conducted by Mr David Chan and is based on the book of similar title written by Rick Warren. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 Sports Ministry Rayson Seow AMC participated in the CrossRoad Cup 2015. This is a football tournament organised by the Sports Coalition Singapore to provide churches with a platform for their Sports Ministry to evangelise to pre-believers. Before the start of every match, players go through a mandatory Singspiration and Sharing of the Word. If they do not participate in this pre-match activity, they will not be allowed to play. Our first match was on 8 March, 5pm, at Anderson Secondary School. We played Church of Singapore, the defending champions. The rest of the fixtures are shown below for your support and participation: Date 29 Mar 05 Apr 03 May Time 3pm 3pm 5pm Venue Anderson Sec Sch Anderson Sec Sch Anderson Sec Sch 12 Jul 3pm Ang Mo Kio Sec Sch 02 Aug 23 Aug 06 Sep 5pm 5pm 3pm Anderson Sec Sch Anderson Sec Sch Ang Mo Kio Sec Sch AMC matches against Pentecost Doves (Pentecost Methodist Church) Calvary FC (Calvary AOG) BBTC Eagles (Bethesda Bedok - Tampines Church) AMK Shepherds (AMK Methodist Church Chinese Annual Conference) AMK Bethesda (AMK Bethesda Church) Salvation Army (The Salvation Army) Christ MC (Christ Methodist Church) Please pray for a safe tournament and God’s protection for all players. 11 12 Prayer Ministry Amy Chia Fireplace Ministry Tuesday - MARY & MARTHA On 20 Jan 2015, Rev Edward Pousson spoke from Luke 10:38-42 on how to do Martha’s work with the heart of Mary. Mary’s sister, Martha, got completely wound up with the fuss and flurry of the kitchen and missed out on spending time with Jesus. Rev Edward Pousson posed some tough questions for examining ourselves. Are we a Marytype or a Martha- type? Are we a distracted disciple or a devoted disciple? Is Jesus our house guest or our heart guest? Are our hearts busy and distracted that we will not hear the voice of Jesus calling us to share a meal. When was the last time you heard Jesus knocking at the door of your heart? When was the last time you heard the gentle voice calling ‘May I come in’? These are some of the questions. Finally, Rev Edward Pousson shared five points on how we can do Martha’s work with the heart of Mary: 1. Stop drawing attention to yourself and your much serving. 2. Stop comparing and measuring yourself according to what others do and do not do. 3. Deal with your distractions, worries and troubles. 4. Cultivate a quiet and restful heart. 5. Spend time alone with the Word of God reading slowly and listening with your heart as you read with your eyes. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 Fireplace Ministry Tuesday - PROPHETIC MINISTRY TODAY Rev Leslie Lim, who is no stranger to us, taught on the topic ‘Prophetic Ministry Today’ on 24 Feb. Based on 1 Corinthians 12:1-12, he shared guidelines for using the gift of prophecy, including its purpose and what it is not. Rev Lim and his team also conducted a practical session on how prophetic praying is done. Four brave souls came up one after another for prayer. To emphasise that their words were not preplanned but led by the Holy Spirit, the prophetic team members were blindfolded. After the prophetic words were released, those who were prayed for testified of God’s goodness and the accuracy of the words given. The meeting ended with a ministry time for the rest of the congregation. Altogether 70 people attended this meeting. 13 14 HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD D o you long to be able to hear God’s voice? Do you need to learn to receive guidance from God? Can you discern the Lord’s voice from other voices? Sixty-five people are attending the ‘Hearing the Voice of God’ course taught by Ms Cynthia Oei from Church of Our Saviour. This four-session course, which started on 3 Feb, provides participants practical equipping in developing and walking out a hearing ear in the midst of busy, everyday life. Through the teaching and practical individual and group exercises, participants discover how they can hear God speaking to them. They learn to recognize the many different ways that God speaks today, and how to discern God’s voice from among the other voices they are hearing. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 Animal Ministry Rev Dr Lorna Khoo Caring For Cats Talk There was a lot of interest in our Animal Ministry’s CARING FOR CATS talk on 25 January 2015. About 50 plus people signed up and 43 were present. Dr Tai Yesun (Nam Sang Vet Clinic’s senior vet) gave the talk with Joanna from Cat Welfare Society and Eunice Nah from Agency for Animal Welfare (AAW) sharing about their work. 15 16 Caleb85 Chinese New Year Shopping Trip The morning’s weather was just right for the Caleb 85 outing. Thirtythree excited people comprising of members, members’ families and friends participated in the shopping spree. Departing from AMC at 9.45am, it took us about 50 minutes to get to our first destination. Upon arrival at Woodlands Terrace, we could literally feel the festive spirit in the air. People were shopping till they dropped, and the whole road was crowded with shoppers carrying bags and bags of goodies. We visited well-known shops like Fassler for their salmon, tuna and sashimi; Fragrance Foodstuff for their bak kwa; J&C Cakes World for their Lunar New Year cakes and goodies, and many other shops. After lunch at Soon Hong Eating House, we proceeded to Kwong Cheong Thye, which is famous for its raw fish sauces, authentic Singapore mixes etc. In the afternoon, we headed to Jurong Fishery Port where we got seafood items from Song Fish Dealer. After a hard day of shopping, we headed back to church sweet church. Everybody was tired but contented. Amy Chia In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 About Caleb 85 Gathering on Every Wednesday, 2pm - 5pm Every Wednesday, Caleb 85 Seniors engage in - Worship - Exercise (Praise Dance) - Food - Games - Sharing testimonies/ Watching movies - Praying for one another An average of 10-12 people join all the activities. ABOUT PRAISE DANCE Praise Dance or Praise Exercise was founded in 2004 by a Taiwan Music Teacher Ng Mei Yun who began teaching it in a park. Today it is enjoyed in more than 200 locations in Taiwan and in many countrires from USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong, South East Asia to New Zealand. An estimated more than 10,000 people praise God through exercise at the same time every morning. In Praise Dance, rhythmic exercise is accompanied by Scripture based songs and beautiful music. These dance exercise steps include Contract, Stretch, Push and Twist, Dance within Exercise, Exercise within Dance, Exercise through the body, mind and spirit. 17 18 Pastoral Care Group Ministry Rev Dr Lorna Khoo PCG visitation Rev Dr Lorna Khoo and Mr Stephen Cheng, our Pastoral Staff in charge of Pastoral Care have been visiting the PCGs (cells) to a. get to know the cells b. share future PCG directions c. answer questions. They have visited the following cells: Ambassadors for Christ 2. TG 3. Upper Room 4. Zion 5. Oasis 2 6. Living Stream 7. Mustard Seed 8. Young Oasis 9. OUCH – (2 groups- Male and Female ) 10. Lord Seekers 11. Charis 12. Gordon – ( New PCG) 13. Meta Oasis 1. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 Staff Movement WELCOME ON BOARD We welcome 1. Mrs Catherine Chia, our new Admin Lay Executive Staff, wef 22 Feb 2015. 2. Mdm Hii Hui Sieng, our new Temporary Administrative Staff. She will be assisting Pr Cheryl Chan in the Chinese Ministry wef 16 Feb 2015. Ms Emily Eu, our Admin Lay Executive Staff, has resigned to return to her family in Malaysia. May the Lord bless all of them as they seek to serve Him in their new roles. farewell We bid farewell to our former Youth Worker, Rudy David Wong, who is currently a missionary in Timor Leste. A special farewell session was held for him, and many from Youthphoria and the church also gathered at the airport to send him off. 19 20 WSCS Katherine Low Crime Prevention Talk (25 January 2015) Police Inspector Patrick Lim gave a talk for Foreign Domestic Helpers on relevant Singapore law. Many employers also attended. They all appreciated the informative talk and agreed the session was beneficial. The Significant Woman (From 24 Jan 2015) ‘The Significant Woman’ discipleship course is a life coaching resource of CRU International. It is a 10 session course held fortnightly. The response was good and some had to be put on a waiting list. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 “Living an Abundant Life” Evangelistic Lunch Event by TRAC WSCS (7 March 2015) A few of the AMC WSCS members had invited their prebeliever friends to the TRAC WSCS Evangelistic Lunch held at Ban Heng Pavilion, Harbour Front Centre. The speakers were Rev Dr William Wan and Ms Judith Halim. After the sharing, four of the friends indicated that they would like to know more about Jesus. Celebration of pre-CNY with the PFS women (02 Mar 2015) A total of 19 people attended the celebration. We started with worship with CNY songs praising the Lord. We then adjourned for fellowship with delicious food and phototaking. English Class for Foreign Dome stic Helpers Every 2nd & 4 th Sunday, 10:30 -- 11:30 a.m. 21 22 The Boys’ Brigade (BB) 33rd Singapore Company Joel Lai Recruitment 2015 The 33rd Company held its annual recruitment drive on 9 Jan. Praise God for an intake of 31 new Secondary 1 boys in the Company, bringing the total Company strength to 129 BB boys. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 BB Singapore 85th Anniversary Reunion BB Singapore celebrated 85 years of God’s faithfulness. In celebration, the Company colours, represented by Mr Kevin Huang, was showcased at Singapore Expo in a largescale celebration on 28 Feb 2015. Enrolment Service 2015 The 33rd Company held its enrolment on 7 Mar. There was also a change in Captaincy. Mr. Joel Li , handed the command of the Company to Mr. Joel Lai. Rev David Ho, Mr Rufus Chan, Honorary Captains, parents and members of the 33rd Singapore Company attended the service and witnessed the handing over ceremony. 23 24 Young Adults / Outreach & Social Concerns Justin Tan Chinese New Year Appreciation Dinner for Migrant Workers Held at the school canteen, the event included the traditional lo hei, a scrumptious buffet meal, a blessing draw and dance performances by AMC’s own Yum Cha ministry. Through the appreciation dinner, many of the migrant workers were not only blessed in a material sense, To show appreciation to migrant workers, the young adults and Outreach and Social Concerns Committee organised a Chinese New Year appreciation dinner on 13 Feb 2015. The honoured guests were 80 workers engaged in the construction work at Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) to upgrade the school, including building a performing arts centre. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 but were also able to share in the joy and festive spirit of the Lunar New Year, as well as to make new friends. It is said that it is a joy to serve, and this was indeed true for the more than 50 volunteers from AMC (including the WSCS ladies) who willingly gave their love, time and service to plan, support and serve during the dinner in various roles including as befrienders, food servers and ushers. The appreciation dinner was also supported by generous cash and prize donations by AMC members and friends. 25 26 3rd Company of The Girls’ Brigade Pr Wendy Chiang 78th Enrolment and Dedication Service 28 Feb 2015 was a sunny morning. More than 200 girls from the 3rd Company of The Girls’ Brigade (GB) rose early to gather at AMC for their 78th Enrolment and Dedication Service. With them for this special occasion were the Chaplains, Assistant Brigade Commissioner, Principals, Officers, parents, teachers and student leaders. In response to the charge given by Rev Dr Lorna Khoo, these spirited girls in blue renewed their vows to seek, serve and follow Christ through GB. As I exhorted the girls not to perceive themselves as too young to take active responsibility for their growth like Jesus did in Luke 2:41-52, I also reminded the adults who were present that God counts on them to participate in their children’s faith development. It takes a village of significant others to nurture these girls into mature and responsible influencers. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 With that, I thank God that he has given Aldersgate the privilege of proximity to sow into the lives of these GB girls from the Fairfield Methodist Primary and Secondary Schools. They exist within our community so that we can love and serve them. So do reach out to them with your gift of prayer and presence so that they can grow in wisdom, stature and in favour with God and man. 27 28 STAFF RETREATPastor David Ho / Clara Toh The AMC Staff team comprising of Pr Cheryl Chan, Stephen Cheng, Rufus Chan, Amy Chia, David Chan, Clara Toh, Han Suat Hoon, Catherine Chia, and Rev Dr Lorna Khoo and Rev David Ho went for a staff retreat in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, from 12 – 15 Mar 2015. The purpose of this retreat was two-fold – to visit Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) and learn from them about how they operate as a cell church and also to have a time of bonding among AMC staff. DUMC arranged for the AMC team to visit three cell groups (Family Group, Senior Group, Young Adults Group). All the staff experienced great hospitality from the group leaders and their members. Pastor Chris Kam, the Deputy Senior Pastor, also conducted a session on the plenary of the cell and explained the need for cells. He also brought us through the operational chart of the cell church and the roles of different leaders. After the session, the AMC team split up to visit different ministries, i.e. Pastoral Care, Prayer Ministry, Hospitality, Outreach and Social Concerns, and Youth Ministry, to have dialogue sessions with the heads of the ministry. We also had a chance to speak with Pastor Bernard Lee, the Executive Pastor, about how the whole Church functions. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 The AMC team was able to attend both DUMC’s English Service and Mandarin Service on Saturday and Sunday respectively. We returned with many “take-aways” and much encouraged by the values, faith, culture, strategy and vision of DUMC. We felt very blessed, most of all by their hospitality and generosity and this too is something worth our emulating. The staff team would like to take this opportunity to thank the PPRSC for giving us a break from our church responsibilities and the opportunity to visit a church that has gone through so much to become what it is today. 29 30 Lo hei with APC Aldersgate Methodist Church staff team and Aldersgate Praise Centre staff/teachers team had their annual Chinese New Year get-together & Lo Heilunch at the church Social Hall on 25 Feb 2015 Local Conference (4 February 2015) Copies of the Church’s Local Conference report detailing direction and plans of the church re: 2015 are available for viewing by church members at the church office. Please contact Suat Hoon. Mandarin Oranges Packing AMC Staff Team packing the mandarin oranges to bless the members and worshippers on 15 February 2015. In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 Slum Simulation Exercise (SSE) Purpose: Identify key issues slum dwellers face -> develop a SUSTAINABLE, LONG-TERM, TRANSFORMATIONAL project What will participants learn? • Allow one to enter into the role of the person you are assuming so as to experience the life of those who live in the Cambodian slums. • One will be able to empathize, identify and understand what Cambodian slum dwellers face daily. How does the exercise work? 1. The whole exercise is made up of 4 weeks. 2. Each week is 15 minutes long. 3. Each “family unit” will be given certain tasks to complete for the week ahead. Five (5) minutes for “family” discussion and planning before the start of each week. 4. At the end of the week (i.e. 15 min), all participants are to return to their “homes” for a gap time of 5 minutes. Date for the SSE: Saturday, 18 April 2015, 2-5pm at AMC. Registration starts at 1:30pm. Who should attend? Slum Ministry Think Tank Members, LCEC & Missions and other Ministry Members. 31 32 In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. - 2 Cor 5: 15 an AMC Treasure Island Easter production 2 April 2015 | 9am - 11am AMC Basement Rooms 2 - 4 33 34 In and Around Mar - Apr 2015 Congratulations - Births Mr & Mrs Eugene Tan on the birth of their twin baby boys, Joshua and Elijah, on 28 February and 01 March 2015 respectively. ~ House Blessing~ 15 February 2015 - Kelwin Li’s & Corinne Sia’s flat Bereavement Support Losing someone you love and cherish is something you will never be prepared enough for. The pain, the sense of loss, the emptiness coupled with a mix of emotions can take a toll on those left behind. In the 4 sessions facilitated by Ian Poulier, you will be allowed to share and reflect on your personal journey of grief. Date: 15, 22, 29 July and 5 Aug 2015. Cost $12 per person Venue: Aldersgate MC For more information, please contact Mr Stephen Cheng @ 6773-1964. 35 36 Our Sunday Services English (Traditional): 8:30am English (Contemporary): 10:15am Mandarin: 10:15am Youth Service (Youthphoria): 10.15am Church School (Treasure Island): 8.30am & 10.15am 华语祷告会 周二晚上8时正 CONTACTS Pastor-in-Charge: Rev Dr Lorna Khoo pastor.ic@aldersgate.sg Pastor: Rev David Ho davidho@aldersgate.sg Pr Cheryl Chan (Chinese Ministry) cherylchan@aldersgate.sg Stephen Cheng (Pastoral Care/PCGs) stephencheng@aldersgate.sg Rufus Chan (Youth/BB Asst Chaplain) rufuschan@aldersgate.sg Helpful info Amy Chia (Prayer/Membership/Seniors) amychia@aldersgate.sg Church Office Operating Hours Monday to Friday:8.00am – 5.30pm Saturday: 9.00am – 1.00pm Sunday: 8.00am – 1.00pm Note: Staff Meeting on every Tuesday from 10.00am till 11.30am. Church office will be closed for “staff lunch” together from 11.30am till 2.15pm. (Subject to change without prior notice) Closed on public holidays except for Church Services. David Chan (Children’s Ministry / Discipleship & Nurture) davidchan@aldersgate.sg Church Opening Hours Monday to Friday:8.00am – 10.30pm (booking till 10.00pm) Saturday: 8.30am – 10.30pm (booking till 10.00pm) Sunday: 7.00am – 6.00pm (booking till 5.30pm) Closed on public holidays except for Church Services. Clara Toh (Communications) claratoh@aldersgate.sg Han Suat Hoon (Administrator) suathoonhan@aldersgate.sg Christina Tan (Lay Executive Staff) christinatan@aldersgate.sg Catherine Chia (Lay Executive Staff) catherinechia@aldersgate.sg Editorial Team for In and Around: Rev Dr Lorna Khoo, Tan Chiu Ai, Clara Toh, Andrew Ang Aldersgate Methodist Church 98 Dover Road, Singapore 139647 Tel: 6773-1964 Fax: 6773-3194 email: amchurch@singnet.com.sg Website: www.aldersgate.sg
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