Singapore churches – Page 17

Category: Singapore churches

Church response to Circuit Breaker re-opening

28 June 2020 blogpastor Leave a comment

What we were doing during the Circuit Breaker stay-home period

Since the beginning of the circuit breaker (CB) the pastoral staff and worship teams have taken turns to record our songs, announcements and sermons from home and sent them to a strong media and editing team who then uploaded the pre-recorded, stitched-together online worship service. We have received good reviews and comments about our online presence, and are proud of the production standard, and have become quite used to doing it. Even though it was stressful and tiring. Stressful because we had to learn the skills of recording and that of preaching to an empty room. Stressful because the recording of songs and music and putting them all together was tedious and difficult. Stressful because putting together one service required thorough and long hours of editing. Not to speak of the meeting of deadlines.

What phase 2 circuit breaker re-opening allows

In terms of recording and broadcast of religious services and prayers, the MCCY allows:

“Religious organizations (RO) are encouraged to continue supporting the religious needs of their communities via remote means such as recording and broadcast of religious services and prayers. In Phase Two, we will allow up to 10 persons on-location for these productions, of which up to 5 persons can temporarily remove their masks when speaking or singing. Those who are unmasked for speaking / singing are strongly encouraged to maintain at least a 2 metres separation from other persons. All other persons present must remain masked and maintain a 1 metre separation. The time spent on-location for this activity should be kept as short as possible. The production team must also put in place safe management measures, including no-cross deployment between locations (where practicable), no socialisation during breaks and thorough cleaning of technical equipment”.

When it came to worship services: “Places of worship may resume congregational and other worship services, starting with up to 50 persons at a time(excluding religious and supporting workers, which should be kept to a minimum), subject to safe management measure. “

And in a key stipulation:

“Singing and other live performances are not permitted during the worship service. Singing is considered a higher risk activity as it could potentially release a larger amount of droplets. Places of worship may consider alternatives to singing and other live performance components in their worship services.

How churches are responding and why

I think churches are generally happy that there is communication between the MCCY and that they are sympathetic with the needs of mosques, temples, and churches. Churches appreciate the feedback and clarification sessions that had been taking place. Churches share the same concerns as MCCY and want to co-operate and keep Covid 19 in check in our country. After all religious gatherings have been a hotbed for the spread of the virus.

While it is good that up to 50 can now attend worship services, most churches have not jumped in to begin gathering physically. There are many reasons for this inertia. Different churches would have different reasons for being hesitant and remaining unchanged.

Most churches have, through quite a struggle, found a rhythm of doing church online, and have even been doing it well beyond their expectations. Their congregations have also gotten used to tuning in to meetings online. Even the older generation have learned to tune in. Many like the commute-free and shorter services. In a way they are in their comfort zone.

Having taken so much trouble to get to where they are, churches would be hesitant to go back to physical gatherings when there is no certainty if these liberties may soon be taken back if the infection numbers in the community rise up. Why not wait and see? Why switch back and forth?

Anyway, many churches need time to get things ready for re-opening. The Roman Catholic churches want their members to stick to one church and not move around to other churches to prevent cross infection. But to round up volunteers and train them takes time, so each parish can decide when they will re-open.

We have to admit that the restrictions on singing does discourage the return to physical gatherings. Singing was a part of Christian worship from the beginning, but with the rise of clergy, congregational singing went off the grid until the Reformation, which brought it back to the churches that left Roman Catholicism. Today congregational singing plays an important part of Christian worship. Members learn theology, express their feelings and adoration through congregational singing, and though they may not know it, witness to God’s love and grace in song. So if there is no singing …. it’s not the full experience of worship they have been used to. I know this topic about how essential singing is to worship is debatable and you may want to comment on this. Feel free to do so below.

Another reason for hesitation is that there are churches that have to share space in one building, or have their own halls in the same building. There are many churches in this position in industrial buildings as well as in HDB sites like the ones in Yishun, Clementi and Jurong where two or more churches are housed in the same building. The MCST have to ensure that the different congregations in the building do not cross-infect each other via common areas like staircases, lifts, and common restrooms. This also make churches in such situations think twice about meeting physically.

I would think a fuller experience of worship may be had at home where a small gathering of 5 church members joining a family at home, can tune in to online church service on Sundays and sing to their hearts content, and after that interact and share life authentically.

Our church has decided to gradually do all our recordings in church instead of from homes. We have begun with recording the sermons in church. This will be followed with all the worship songs being recorded in the church. In the meanwhile, we keep monitoring the situation, and prepare for the day when the church can re-gather physically. When that time comes, we will meet in church and have live streaming for those at home. We will also continue to leverage on technology to minister in prayer ministry and Christian education. It looks like Zoom meetings are here to stay.

Pre-recording in church sanctuary (Photo: Wayne)

I still do not know what the new normal will look like but from the looks of it more churches will be better off after the pandemic, for they had been forced into learning to leverage on technology, something it feared to do in the past. I expect churches will not discontinue some of the things they have picked up during the Circuit Breaker. Most will keep a stronger presence online than they had before. This augurs well for the “new normal” church!

What about your church or denomination? How are they responding to the new phase 2 circuit breaker re-opening?

Church response to coronavirus pandemic

13 March 2020 blogpastor Leave a comment

The WHO has declared covid 19 a world pandemic. It is spreading around the world at an alarming rate. World wide emergency cabinet meetings and health orgainizations task forces have been trying to formulate plans to contain and defeat this invisible and clever enemy.

Over in Singapore there is a calm confidence. Yes years ago there was a panic when SARS hit our shores and we scrambled like crazy. When SARS ended there were reviews, evalutions and detailed contingency plans laid in case of another epidemic. This fine tuned plan is being implemented today. Kudos to the civil service and the government.

Together with the WHO announcement, came a speech from our Prime Minister. It was reassuring to hear from him. The thing that struck me as a pastor was his mention that religious meeting need to be shortened and the size of meetings reduced.

Pondering over this, it seems that this could be a good time for the church, steeped in tradition, and entrenched in a fixed way of dong things, to do a review and consider changes. Changes is difficult for church leaders and members. However, when something considered potentially life-threatening stares you and your family in the face, you would actually welcome change or at least accept that it is necessary.

To illustrate how difficult it is for the church to change its way of congregating or worshipping. What if we tell all church members to meet in homes in groups no larger than 20 people, on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday watching a pre-recorded service or live stream? And that would substitute for the Worship Service. Tradition will cry out, Can the Eucharist be conducted at home? Pragmatism will query, How do we collect the offerings? Will there be a drop in finances? Parents will plead, What will we do with our children without Sunday School or children’s church? Small churches will cry out, We don’t have media expertise to do pre-recorded services or live streaming?

Changes are difficult, but if the church is willing to steer a steady and determined course and discern what is best in its context, and make necessary changes, that church will be all the better and stronger after the changes.

The mustard seed must welcome change in its form to grow into a tree, and the leaven must create disruption and ferment in the flour, and change the flour’s constitution for it to become baked bread.

I would be happy to hear your comments or suggestions of how we should co-operate with government advisories like the one issued by the Prime Minister.

Covid 19 impact on church and pastor

27 February 2020 blogpastor Leave a comment

The covid 19 virus has had a significant impact on the churches in Singapore. Every church had to make adjustments to its programmes. The Roman Catholic Church suspended its masses shortly after the government activated the DORSCON orange alert. So did charismatic megachurches like FCBC and City Harvest Church, as well as a large Presbyterian church. This is besides the two other churches that the Ministry of Health intervened in, and suspended its services, because of the infection cluster among its members.

However, for most other denominations and independent churches, the essential worship service continued, and other peripheral services, events, and programs were cancelled or postponed.

Various precautionary steps were initiated in most churches: temperature readings, attendance taking, handwave instead of handshakes, more hygienic ways of delivering Holy Communion, shorter services, dismissal and dispersion of members after service, and live streaming of services for members who opt to stay home.

This meant more stress on the pastors as the dilemma of decision making in the midst of DORSCON orange was a tug of war: to continue with services might be misconstrued as a lack of prudence and sensitivity; and to suspend the services may be perceived as a lack of faith in God.

Thankfully I have a pastoral team to work with and to discern the best decision to go with at each point in time. In addition, I have good pastor friends from other churches, and we share notes about the decisions we were making. Finally, the church I serve is a part of two larger network of churches: the Love Singapore movement, and the National Council of Churches of Singapore. We take to heart their advice. These support systems helped to take the stress off me, and in the end our group discernment led to a decision to go ahead with the services, doing live streaming of the services, and encouraging our parents with young children, and the Pioneer generation to stay home, if they wished to.

The staff also had to plan for continuity in case the covid 19 hit the church. So we formed two teams, worked from home, and we tried using Zoom, a software for group meetings via internet video conferencing. The first time we used it, it took us 45 minutes just to get all seven of us on the screen. It was an interesting experience. One thing noticeably different was that I had to consciously concentrate and listen. We also interupted each other less and listened better. The Bible injunction to “Be slow to speak and quick to listen” became a reality!

I worked more from home and this gave me more time for prayer, reflection and reading. A prophetic word from Tan Gee Paw, the man who spearheaded the cleanup of Singapore River, stated that God had pressed the PAUSE button for China and for the church too. PAUSE to halt mindless pursuit of wealth and pleasure, to pray and listen to God. I believe God is squeezing good out of evil, and my prayer is that more of God’s people will spend more time seeking the Lord in prayer than they had before.

There are many reasons to be thankful in the midst of walking in the valley of the shadow of death. There may be fear, anxiety and even panic, but these should reveal something about disordered values in our life, and an invitation from God to take an inward journey that will hopefully free us to be all God wants us to be.

I felt inspired when I saw members still attending worship services with increased earnestness in their singing and praying.

I feel thankful that we have a government that is organized and efficient.

I feel God’s hand is on this nation in the midst of the covid 19. May it bring a greater clarity to all Singaporeans that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions, power, honour, or achievements. Life can be unpredictably short and we need Jesus Christ to be Lord of our life more than anything else.