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Restitution at Robinson’s

22 November 2020 blogpastor Leave a comment

After Friday’s lunch at Shaw Centre, I went with my wife and a friend to Robinson’s, Singapore’s 162 year old iconic department store. There was a winding down sale. The dame has folded. The shift to online shopping and the covid 19 has taken another victim, with more to follow. I bought a pair of shorts for half-price and my wife bought two blouses at half-price.

NOT SO SWEET MEMORIES

Robinsons brought back many personal memories. I remembered being brought there by better off uncles and aunties as a school-going kid to experience the oohs and aahs of seeing an abundance of stuff you wouldn’t see anywhere else. My mum also liked walking there, even though she could not afford the rather expensive things displayed on the shelves. We could only afford things like bath towels and Airfix, the hobby kit that I was obsessed with, for gluing into plastic models of World War II aircraft.

I was so caught up in this hobby that I would save my pocket money to buy up different models. Once I was so overtaken by my lust for certain model aircraft, that I stole one or two at Robinson’s and put them among other items that had been bought. One was a Japanese fighter aircraft – the Zero. The other, I have forgotten.

I remembered how my heart palpitated as I walked out of the department store. I was relieved when I exited the entrance. It was crowded near Christmas time, so I supposed the security couldn’t cope. But my act of theft did not escape God’s eyes.

REPENTANCE AND RESTITUTION

Many years later, I would accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. As I followed Jesus in discipleship, I learned about repentance and restitution. Convicted about my past sin of stealing, I wrote a letter to Robinson’s department store and apologized for what I stole from them years earlier in a letter, with the estimated cost of what was stolen in cash attached to the letter.

Sometime later, I received a letter from Robinson’s with a receipt, informing me that they received my money, and were glad that I turned over a new leaf! For sure if I had a smartphone then, I would have taken a photo of their letter for keepsake.

Now whenever I looked back at this incident I realize it was an important step for me as a new believer to establish a clear conscience. I would one day be a pastor, and God knew that but not me, not at that stage of my Christian life. When God invites you or convicts you to do something, just do it. It is healing, strengthening and who knows how it may impact others?

Have you done any restitution before? Do share your experience in the comment box.

Preaching at St Andrews Community Chapel during covid 19

19 November 2020 blogpastor 2 Comments

St Andrews Community Chapel has an interesting way of serving their gathered and scattered congregation, their on-site and online service. I was invited to guest preach before Covid 19 gatecrashed the Singapore church and turned every church’s program upside down. Unsure of whether they still wanted me to preach, I wrote to them and released them from any commitment to have me if the new circumstances warranted something different. They promptly replied that the guest preaching appointment was still in place as their congregation had already started to meet under the government guidelines of 100 maximum in the hall with social distancing and other safety measures in place.

Pre-recording and on-site preaching

The interesting thing was that they would also like me to pre-record the same sermon I would preach to the on-site service, and hand the recording to them beforehand so that they could screen it at the same time for the online congregation to watch. I will post this pre-recorded sermon in another post.

The chapel originally was located with St Andrews Community Hospital but due to covid 19 they were using the auditorium of the St Hilda’s Primary School in Tampines. Covid 19 has been disruptive in more than one ways.

Vicar Daniel Tong

I had a chat with the vicar Daniel Tong, a veteran Anglican vicar and notable author of five books and had a chat with him. While I think and talk about writing books, he has already written books that are selling quite well. Seeing him made me wonder if I have what it takes to write a book.

The order of service

Soon the service started and noticeably there were no songs. However, they used liturgy to establish a connect between the gathered people of God and worship of God. Before I knew it, I was at the stage preaching with a mask on. It wasn’t easy as members still trickled in in front of everyone, while I was speaking, and it affected my concentration.

The late we have with us always. Most would at least come before the sermon and they would sit at the back, but with covid 19, there is no buffer time of three songs and announcement and prayer, and in a performing art auditorium, there are no entrances near the back rows (everyone sees you when you are late!).

Online service pampering

Online services also have its late-comers. Many actually attend to the services later on. And they can use the cursor to move forward the video to skip what they are not interested in, perhaps the preliminaries, and merely watch what they like. Online services facilitate the making of churchgoers into consumers, and not disciples! The several months of online pampering have sealed the marriage of God’s children to comfort, convenience and compromise.

On site services impacted by covid 19

Covid 19 has also conditioned us pastors to offer a more compact and concise service. The service I preached it included baptism and holy communion, and all in, if I remember correctly, the service ended in one hour fifteen minutes. Safety measures meant that we had to keep our services compact and dismiss God’s people into the world (without much interaction in the church premises). Outside they can have lunch together in public eating places in groups of five. And we Asians are communal and put community above individualism and we comply with law and order.

I noticed that no offering bags were passed around. Digital giving is encouraged, but those who still want to give cash can put in in an offering box at the front of the stage. Holy Communion is by intinction, partly dipping the consecrated wafer into the wine and handing it to the communicant for consumption. Safety observed at all times.

My personal take on online services

This new normal is something I am grateful for even though it stifles the church of expression of worship in song, in prayer, and warm fellowship. I pray the church will soon go back to what it was before. I miss live worship among God’s gathered saints. I miss singing heartily and mingling around and catching up with church folks. I do not want the spiritual disconnect I feel when I watch an online service. I love the comfort and convenience and time-saving of commute free Sunday worship, but I fear it places limits on the felt experience of the Spirit’s moving and activity on the affections and desires of God’s gathered people. We must determine to awaken God’s people from their atrophied spiritual muscles, and stir holy desire and hunger for God afresh.

Weddings during covid 19

29 October 2020 blogpastor Leave a comment

I have twenty days of leave to clear. Covid 19 made it impossible to travel and my annual leave was mostly untouched. But then I still had remaining work to clear, an office full of books, documents and stuff to clear. Last week was a case in point. I had two weddings and an outside speaking engagement.

This meant I had to do two wedding rehearsals: one at the bride’s Toa Payoh Methodist Church, and one via zoom, since it was held in the home. Two different weddings but both on Saturdays, one in the morning and one in the evening. One for guests of about 100, and the other, limited to about 10 guests.

Covid 19 has really put the plans of many couples into a tailspin or on hold. Originally it was for 10, then 50, then a 100. I cannot even remember the numbers. It was stressful for all who planned weddings during this period. Many had no choice but to postpone their weddings. Others went ahead with their plans but with a reduction in the number of guests. All are disappointed because what could have been their dream wedding turned into a migraine.

*The husband and wife giving* *their touchin*g thank you speeches.

***I was delighted to sit* *among*** **the young and good-looking**

Thankfully the solemnisation I conducted was after the authorities increased the number of guests who could attend the wedding. There were of course the usual safety measures: masks, social distancing, temperature taking, registration, groups of 50s separated by a few metres, keep the wedding short, and no singing nor buffet permitted. The wedding went like clockwork from beginning to end, yet remained cosy and special and happy.

***I was blown away by the Western bento and Ark Coffee***

We were given a bento box and Ark Coffee to take away. There was enough to feed myself and my wife. Generous portions and quality stuff. There was even choices: vegetarian, Peranakan, and Western. I took the Western bento as I have been having too much spicy stuff of late. Enjoyed it.

***The husband and wife giving their moving thank you speeches***

***The wife’s close relatives. Her parents are in Indonesia due to travel restrictions.***

The evening wedding was also special. Beautiful white blooms framed the whole event. Only close relatives, a pair of friends and a pair of dogs in attendance. The limits is due to the constraints of space in an apartment. The whole thing was live-streamed to all their friends and relatives to as far as Indonesia, as the bride’s family are Indonesians. It was a civil ceremony but I added the Blessing Song, some reading of scriptures from 1 Corinthians 13 and a prayer of blessing on the couple. This wedding was relaxed and intimate being held in the new home of the now newly married couple.

After the wedding, I was happy to call it a day and return home to reflect on the day and feel satisfied. One of the joys of pastoral ministry is doing solemnizations.