Methodist Message: Jun 2022

ISSN 0129-6868 MCI (P) 044/11/2021 THE METHODIST CHURCH IN SINGAPORE Vol 124 No 6 JUNE 2022 How are we doing as God’s gardeners?

Contents 1 Bishop’s Message 2 Events—Coming Up 3 News—Aldersgate SG 2022 4 News—Re-telling Bible stories in Teochew 6 News—MSM 25th Anniversary 8 Church Life—CAC Highlights 10 Feature—Look, it’s a pangolin! On attentiveness and wonder for creation 13 Feature—Bringing Creation Care closer to the churches 16 Feature—At Toh Yi, composting is a neighbourhood affair 18 People—Paul Khoo 20 Books—Autobiography of Ng Fook Kah 22 THINK—Social egg freezing 25 Opinion—Soundings 27 Reach Out—Missions 29 Reach Out—Welfare Services 30 Relationships—You & Your Family 33 What does being a Methodist mean to you? 34 Looking Ahead Cover art: The Garden of Eden Blooms Again A dark and gloomy forest symbolises our less-than-praiseworthy efforts in caring for the environment. There is an air of decay and neglect, reinforced by the deliberate use of grey tones and falling foliage. An ideal picture of when we are good stewards of God’s creation is depicted in the glass dome. About the artist: Caitlin Low is a self-taught artist and an intern with MCS Comms. EDITORIAL BOARD The official monthly publication of The Methodist Church in Singapore. Adviser and Publisher Published material does not necessarily reflect the official view of The Methodist Church. Dr Anthony Goh - Chairperson All Scripture quoted is based on the English Standard Version unless otherwise stated. Council on Communications 70 Barker Road #06-04 Singapore 309936 Managing Editor 6478-4793 | 6478-4763 Alvin Tay message.methodist.org.sg | www.methodist.org.sg [email protected] Editor fb.com/Methodist.SG Lianne Ong @methodist.sg @methodistsg Sub-editors Lucy Cheng Design & Production by Londonbob Design — Printed by Adred Creation Print Pte Ltd Janice Khoo Have something to say or share? Email us at [email protected] Tan Chiu Ai Proofreaders Christabel Tan Kenneth Lee

Bishop’s Message Bishop Dr Gordon Wong was elected Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore in 2020. He served as President of the Trinity Annual Conference from 2013–2020. Creation Care in Psalm 104 P salm 104 is one of the most extended meditations lovingly concerned for all creation, and humanity should on Creation Care in the Bible. The Psalmist praises not lord herself over her fellow created beings. (The list in God for both creating and caring for the many, Psalm 104 puts both inanimate and animate beings alike many different created beings in our world. The long under the care of the one God who created us all.) Indeed, list includes the heavens, the clouds, wind, lightning, the mandate to humanity in Genesis 1:28 “have dominion the earth, the seas, the mountains (verses 2-9), valleys, over” other created beings would seem to lay the lion’s springs, wild animals, donkeys, grass, plants, humans, share of responsibility upon humans to help God—in whose trees, birds, storks (verses 10 -17), goats, badgers, the image humanity is made—to express care for all God’s moon and sun, lions, big fish, small fish, and even creation. This mandate probably lies behind the sudden and monster fish (verses 18-26). All of these are created by unexplained anger with which the Psalmist ends: God and depend on God’s hands, face and breath to be sustained (verses 27-30). By using the same Hebrew May sinners vanish from the earth word in verses 11 and 13, there is a playful implication and the wicked be no more! that even the mountains, just like the animals, need God to provide them water to drink! Psalm 104:35 In such a long list of created beings, one writer Was the Psalmist angry at the way humans in his or her comments that “humanity has only a bit part”. This is an time were abusing God’s creation rather than caring for exaggeration (humanity is named three times, although it? We cannot be certain, but we can certainly do our the mountains take pride of place with six references). part to care for all of God’s creation. May all who abuse But the writer’s point is that the God of Psalm 104 is God’s creation be no more! |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 1

Events ¢ Coming Up Brought to you by TRAC WSCS “Behold, I will do a new thing” Isaiah 43:19 (For Ladies only) With the pandemic, many are faced with circumstances that are Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA). Lives, businesses and careers are affected. Be inspired by women who had gone through challenges in life. Come and join us and experience a BREAKTHROUGH in whatever situation you are in. SATURDAY, 25 JUNE 2022 09.00 AM – 1.00 PM TOA PAYOH METHODIST CHURCH 480 LORONG 2 TOA PAYOH (S319641) EMAIL: [email protected] PHONE: 6100-9727 (WSCS) Register online at https://tinyurl.com/TRACWSCS-VUCA2022 or scan QR Code to register! CONFERENCE SPEAKERS Fee: $10 per pax (includes morning tea) Dr Cheah Fung Fong PayNow to UEN: S90CC0754D (indicate T51) Behold, I will do a new thing (Isaiah 43:19) Or bank transfer to: Can there be breakthroughs in the complexities DBS AC No: 072-524519-2 (indicate T51) and uncertainty of your circumstances when tough times are prolonged with no end in sight? Janette Chong Hannah Chun Raising An Expected Gift Dust to Diamond Every child is a gift from God even when one Restored from a life entrapped by alcohol, son has ADHD and another, ADD and Asperger’s drugs, mental imprisonment and unhealthy Syndrome. relationships. Rev Irene Thung Ha Poretz: Breakthrough (Micah 2:13) Grace Lim Learn the keys to breakthrough in your Saved From Death By An Unstoppable God relationships, relational hardships, health, grief, loss, life transitions, restoration and redemption. A near death experience brought a breakthrough to serve beyond borders in an unexpected way. Register online by 15 June 2022 |2 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

News ¢ Lianne Ong is the editor of Methodist Message. / Photos by Daniel Lie and Lianne Ong Aldersgate SG 2022 F or the first time after two years of pandemic restrictions, the Aldersgate SG Celebration Service was conducted in-person at Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church on 21 May 2022, with over 400 members of the Methodist community in attendance. The service was also live-streamed. Aldersgate SG is the annual keynote event of  The Methodist Church in Singapore to celebrate our Wesleyan heritage—an annual commemoration of the day John Wesley experienced assurance of his salvation and felt his heart “strangely warmed”. The theme this year is Love God by Loving Our Enemy. With reference to the story of The Good Samaritan, Bishop Dr Gordon Wong spoke about an earlier story of two neighbours that became enemies—Israel and Judah. Sharing from 2 Chronicles 28:8-15, Bishop Dr Wong challenged the congregation to consider our neighbours that Jesus would want us to show love to. If you missed the Aldersgate Celebration Service, watch the re-play of the livestream here https://aldersgate.methodist.org. sg/livestream |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 3

News ¢ Kate Lim worships at Aldersgate Methodist Church and is a volunteer writer with Methodist Message. / Illustrations courtesy of Wycliffe Singapore Re-telling Bible stories in Teochew A nimated banter in Mandarin and Teochew, punctuated with laughter while someone searches for the most appropriate dialect word as a Bible story is re-told from memory—this is a common scene when two full-time workers at Wycliffe Singapore, Beatrice Wong and Grace Lim (not their real names*), collaborate with a team of volunteer translators from Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church (PLCMC) to re-tell Bible stories in Teochew. A demand for Bible stories in Chinese dialects Are you able to tell Bible stories about Jesus’ ministry in a Chinese dialect, such as Teochew? Not many people will be able to answer in the affirmative. And yet, there are still dialect-speakers in Singapore who have yet to hear the gospel, due to illiteracy, language barriers, or a lack of resources in their dialect. Wycliffe Singapore, an organisation known for its Bible translation work and Bible literacy programmes, embarked on a Teochew translation project, starting with classic Bible stories. “We want to improve each person’s access to God’s word in his or her ‘heart language’,” Beatrice said, referring to the native tongues of the dialect-speaking communities. Wycliffe Singapore ran a series of training workshops with speakers from various dialect groups (Hokkien, Hainanese, Teochew) in late 2020 and early 2021 because it saw the need to develop oral Bible stories to reach out to the dialect speakers. A project involving the telling and recording of Bible stories in Teochew, a commonly-spoken Chinese dialect in Singapore, came about when a group of Teochew-speaking participants was interested and committed to do more oral Bible stories in Teochew after the workshops. Currently, a group comprising 4 Teochew-speaking translators form the core team for the project. These volunteer translators, led by Mr Tay LM, are senior citizens with ages ranging from the 60s to the 80s, and attend PLCMC’s Teochew service. The team is also supported by some overseas translation consultants and facilitators. The story crafting process The translation of the Bible stories into Teochew is more than a literal exercise. It involves a painstaking process of choosing the story, story crafting, and several rounds of testing and revision. Bible stories about Jesus healing the sick, exorcism and wealth are chosen because of the “cultural bridges” that help to connect with the Teochew audience, according to Beatrice. Story crafting—the process which involves multiple group discussions around the key themes, words and concepts for each Bible story—forms the bulk of the work. The team members also have to grapple with different worldviews between themselves and the target audience, and select the most appropriate phrasing to use in the translation. Storyboarding is part of the story crafting process |4 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

“We put in considerable effort to prepare for each discussion. After several test runs with Teochew-speaking pre- We try to read many different versions of the Chinese Bible believers, and overseas translation consultants, the stories and anticipate as many potential discussion points as are then revised. possible with the translators,” Beatrice said. Being part of the Great Commission The team of translators are guided through the processes of reflection and internalisation of the selected Bible “I feel blessed and motivated by this mission of improving passage. They are asked to listen to, re-tell, reflect on and access to Scripture in a language that is not commonly used discuss the chosen Bible passage. in Bible translations,” Grace said. “The process of reflection and internalisation includes “I am thankful that each working day is spent discussing the exegesis, understanding the key Biblical concepts and Word of God to devise more ways of sharing the Gospel,” jargon, the key themes and the historical-cultural Beatrice told Methodist Message. background of the passage,” Grace, an intern at Wycliffe Singapore, explained. Ann said, “After all these years of reading the Bible in its printed form, I am not used to telling the stories from The translators and facilitators also create storyboards memory. That was something very new to me. I felt which help the translators visualise the events and inadequate and was not keen to participate in the storying remember the details of each Bible story. project initially. I am glad that I picked up a new skill and grew in my walk with God. It has also been fulfilling to Being personally engaged with the story helps the contribute this way to the Great Commission.” translators to retell the story from memory, expressing it naturally and fluently in colloquial Teochew. More workers needed ahead Ann Goh, a translator in her 70s, said, “Through the There are seven more oral Bible story projects in the pipeline exploration of the key points of the Bible stories and my that are now in the process of being checked and revised, own reflection, I developed a deeper understanding of the with plans to work on the Creation and Easter stories. Biblical truths. Sometimes, I also discover something about a Bible story that I had known for years. These all help me The team members hope that more Teochew-speaking to tell the Bible story without a script.” members from various churches will join them. This will contribute to a richer discussion of the Bible stories to meet the increasingly diversified needs of the target audience. Another translator, David, who in his 60s and a relatively “We hope to see more people join us!” Mr Tay said. new believer, said, “The whole story crafting process is helpful for my own discipleship.” Translation nuances and cultural sensitivities If you know someone with whom you want to share “We need to be mindful that the target audience for the oral Bible stories are pre-believers. Deciding on the gospel in Teochew, appropriate and culturally sensitive points to bring across please share the video link and QR code, through the stories becomes important in order to help them encounter God,” Grace said. https://wycliffe.sg/blog/first-fruits-teochew- storying-project For example, the team deliberated over the translation of “Holy Spirit” to ensure that the chosen translation of the word in the story helps “to match the biblical truth with the worldview of the Teochew listeners”. “When we first rendered the Holy Spirit as上帝的灵 If you are interested in joining this project, (shang di de ling) the Spirit of God”, it sounded negative please contact [email protected] to non-Christian Teochew testers, as if someone was possessed by evil spirits. We eventually decided on *Beatrice and Grace are protecting their identities as they prepare using 圣灵 (shen ling) “Holy Spirit”, because 圣 (holy) for future postings as missionaries. has positive connotations of something divine, and this is more acceptable to our target audience,” Grace explained. |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 5

News ¢ Dr Evelyn Lim is the Director of Music & Organ Instructor at Methodist School of Music (MSM). She has served at MSM since 1997, and is a member of Wesley Methodist Church. / Photos courtesy of MSM Nurturing the field in faith Methodist School of Music turns 25 Methodist Festival Choir, Advent (2019) “To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill: Oh, may it all my pow’rs engage to do my Master’s will!” Charles Wesley A charge to keep small group of part-time teachers, the training aspect of the mission began, with just 18 music students. In January 1997, convicted with a charge to train, equip and Through collaborations with churches, sacred music edify God’s servants in worship and music, the Methodist festivals, choral presentations, classes in worship School of Music (MSM) began operations and in a blink of leading skills, in addition to music lessons, were an eye, it celebrated its 25th anniversary on 29 April 2022. organised. The MSM Choir, conducted by Ms Gan, paved the way for the full-fledged Methodist Festival Choir The idea for MSM budded from discussions in the 1980s which would be formed later. to mid-1990s about improving the worship and musical life of the local church. Aside from theological seminaries, In 2001, as the government gave notice for the land there were limited avenues where lay persons could at Mount Sophia to be returned, MSM moved to new access worship training. The vision was to establish a premises at Upper Bukit Timah Road together with TTC self-sustaining, sacred music cum educational institution and St Francis Methodist School. As this was before within The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS). By the construction of Hillview MRT, the area seemed offering quality music education, worship servants would remote, away from the buzz of the city. However, new have good grounding upon which to serve effectively, with possibilities abounded. A number of teaching and the hope that its impact would spill over beyond MCS, ministry staff joined the ranks, enabling MSM to expand and reach the local and perhaps, even the international its offerings and incorporate its main charge—to equip community. As a music school, MSM would offer music and edify God’s servants in worship and music. The training to the public; as a Methodist agency and sacred biennial International Worship Symposium—a gathering music institution, training and platforms for church music of clergy, specialists and lecturers in worship and music— and worship would be provided. now in its 9th season, credits its roots to these formative years. It also became evident by then that there was Hilltop ministries an unaddressed need—the training of organists for traditional worship and liturgy. MSM plugged the gap From its founding to 2000, MSM operated from the with the training of organists of various denominations, re-purposed classrooms of the former Methodist participating in educational outreach, and working with Girls’ School at Mount Sophia, co-locating with Trinity organists within the community. Theological College (TTC) and the headquarters of MCS. Together with Founding Principal, Ms Mary Gan, and a |6 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

With the arrival of Dr Judith Laoyan-Mosomos in 2006 regional identity, an Asian hymnal featuring Asian (who currently heads the department of Worship and composers—Let the Asian Church Rejoice—a joint project Church Music), the ministry arm of MSM flourished. There with TTC was also published in 2013. was a brief collaboration with TTC in administering a Master of Theological Studies degree (2006-2011), the The Covid-19 pandemic caused another flurry of anxiety, Visiting Professor programme which connected MSM with as traditional modes of teaching and ministry were international lecturers, and the Certificate in Christian threatened. It was timely that younger, tech-savvy Worship (CCW) which offers modular weekend classes in ministry staff had now joined the ranks, helping to secure worship skills and liturgy. our lifeline through webinars and other media platforms in cyberspace. As hybrid forms became part of the new Refining fires normal, it propelled MSM to roll out new programmes, deepening and enriching the knowledge and experience Following the retirement of the Founding Principal in 2009, of local and international congregants. “The Faith We MSM underwent leadership transitions, and another round Sing”, “Shepherding Souls in Worship”, “Conversations” of testing of faith and vision. In retrospect, we underwent are among the newer programmes in place. a refining period, re-evaluating our identity, vision and purpose. God provided a host of volunteers who believed Nurturing the field in faith in the vision and took on some of the load. God saw to it that his work was unthwarted—community engagement Twenty-five years ago, MSM’s founders stepped out into increased as we established the Methodist Festival Choir unchartered territory and planted in faith. MSM continues (directed by Mrs Wong Lai Foon) and Methodist Festival to exchange resources with local and international Orchestra (directed by Ms Samantha Chong). We conducted friends and institutions, and is in continual engagement memorial services at the Garden of Remembrance, and with the community and the church. We continue to started work with Methodist pre-schools. Addressing press on and walk with God on this incredible journey. Methodist Festival Choir (2019) Celebration Service (staff and faculty) MSM Student Recital (2015) Please visit https://youtu.be/uXsDgtkzDRg |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 7 or scan the QR code to listen to the song. https://issuu.com/methodistschoolofmusic/docs/msm_25th_ anniversary_commemorative_ebook or scan the QR code to download our 25th anniversary commemorative e-book.

Church Life ¢ CAC Highlights Stephen Yeo is the former LCEC chairperson of Bukit Panjang Methodist Church. / Photos courtesy of Bukit Panjang Methodist Church MAKING DISCIPLES AT BPMC in community building D isciple-making in Bukit Panjang Methodist Church Nature of the community (BPMC) started when our two English pastors, Rev Lek Yong Teck and Rev Erick Tan, were posted to Our disciple-making community is one characterised the church in 2017. In essence, disciple-making in BPMC by numerous “one another” activities taking place all is intended to develop and grow a Christian community across the church. We don’t go to church just to be that contributes to fulfilling the Great Commission of our ministered to but also to teach one another, confess our Lord Jesus Christ. sins to one another, bear the burdens of one another and pray for one another. BPMC strives to become a dynamic disciple-making Studying the Word with one another community described in Hebrews 10:24-25, not as an The first foundational principle in our disciple-making is aggregation of individuals like a bag of marbles but as that it must be scriptural. All our disciple-making leaders a congregation like a cluster of grapes. Of course, we’re are actively seeking to help their members ponder and not fully there yet, but we’re clear about our direction reflect on how they are going to apply the truths of and we exercise patience in depending on God to do the scripture into their lives and learn to live as Jesus lived. work of spiritual growth in our community. We also dig into the Bible to identify and follow Christ’s model, methods and messages on making disciples. In a world influenced by western individualism, we want to grow a community that is irreplaceable by any other Spur one another in our culture—one that is always “meeting together” To spur means to point people to answer our Lord’s and touching all aspects of our members’ lives. We call to deny ourselves, carry our cross and follow would like our community to worship together, pray him. Spurring is not so much about running spiritual together, learn together, eat together, cry together, formation programmes with pre-determined start and rejoice together and above all, be together. Like all end points. Rather it is to recognise that we are all at other churches, we hold congregational worship as a uniquely different stages in our spiritual journey with large group, but additionally, we also operate mid-size Christ, and then structuring the learning opportunities and small groups where the life-on-life touch points for to take us from where we currently are and bring us to disciple-making and spiritual growth mostly take place. the next deeper level of walking with God. Hence, the |8 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

second foundational principle in our disciple-making by just one department (i.e. Disciple & Nurture is that it must be sequential. For this reason, we Committee). Disciple-making is our church strategy structure all our mid-size and small groups according and all the various ministries have to ask themselves to the 4-Chair discipling system developed by Dann this question, How will my ministry contribute towards Spader: For the spiritually lost (Come and See), for disciple-making in my church? believers (Follow Me), for workers (Become A Fisher of Men) and for disciple-makers (Go and Bear Fruit). The greatest challenge to forming such a community in People can then join the appropriate group and grow a Methodist church is that we are not starting from a from there. clean slate. Many of the existing role-based committee systems and leadership structure can still run but need Encourage one another to be realigned to the overall pathway and system of a To encourage means to come alongside the people disciple-making church. we disciple and help them to deal with the multitude of challenges that come with following Christ. Another challenge is that our church programmes are This requires both modelling by the discipler and usually multifarious and developed from the bottom- holding the ones we disciple accountable for their up. Hence church priorities have to be aligned to strike lives. Obviously, this is only possible after we have a balance in winning the lost, building up believers, developed deep relationships with the people we are equipping workers for the harvest and investing in a discipling. Therefore, the third foundational principle few to make more disciples. in our disciple-making is that it must be relational. To do this, all our leaders are assigned with specially Yet another challenge is our itinerant pastoral system— appointed mentors. Additionally, those that enter into what if an incoming pastor does not prioritise disciple- our disciple training automatically have a lifelong making? Will all the efforts of the previous pastor go mentoring relationship with their leaders. down the drain? For this reason, the Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) has decided to become a ‘Disciple- Work with one another Making Annual Conference’ driven by a Disciple-Making The fourth foundational principle in our disciple-making Taskforce personally led by our President to steer the is that it must be reproducible, not just in reproducing disciple-making efforts of the local churches. At the more love and good works in our community but local church level, the Pastors have to take the lead reproducible, more and more people who have learned and mobilise the laity to ensure continuity of the to do this as a lifestyle. process over time. Consequently, we are beginning to witness more and The most frequently asked question is, Does becoming more people participating in our 2 ongoing social a disciple-making church really grow the church concerns efforts: significantly? As disciple-making is a long-term investment, it is difficult for BPMC to show definitive • “Warm nights”—provision of 2 rooms in our results after just four years into this journey. However, church premises to cater for (homeless) rough we have noticed more workers participating in prayer, sleepers, in conjunction with the Ministry of evangelism, follow-up and social concerns in our church, Culture, Community & Youth. and the signs of growth look promising. • “Reach-a-family”—delivering groceries to needy Future outlook families, in conjunction with Fei Yue Family Service Centre. We have decided to become a disciple-making church by learning from those that have gone before us, The outworking of this principle is that all of those applying the principles to our own local church who enter into disciple-making will be helped to context and evolving our pathway as we grow and continue living as disciples of Christ thereafter, and as we understand more of what is involved. The some will graduate to become disciple-makers. CAC’s guidance and support will surely increase the sustainability of our disciple-making church system, Challenges to community formation and we look forward with anticipation for God to do a great work in and through BPMC to help fulfil his Great Once the decision is taken to become a disciple- Commission. making church, this effort can no longer be driven |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 9

Feature ¢ Prarthini Selveindran is a volunteer with A Rocha International, an international network of environmental organizations with Christian ethos and co-editor of the book God’s Gardeners: Creation Care Stories from Singapore and Malaysia, published as part of her work with Friends of A Rocha in Singapore. She currently serves with the Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES) Singapore, and worships at Charis Methodist Church. / Photos courtesy of Prarthini Selveindran and Mary-Ruth Low Look, iattt’esntaivepneassnagndowloinnd!er for creation On Prarthini Selveindran T he two times I encountered a pangolin in the wild, I was certainly in wonder. Now, the pangolin is a shy nocturnal animal rarely encountered outside of forest reserves, so to see one in our urban setting was quite unexpected. On the first occasion it ran away from us and scrambled up a very tall tree. Both encounters were certainly wonder-full! I like to think that this orientation of wonder is something akin to the Psalmist’s posture in Psalm 104. Psalm 104 has informed a significant portion of my biblical reflection and imagination in relating to God’s good Earth. Why? In Psalm 104, we are invited to pay attention to creation through the posture and orientation of the Psalmist. The great diversity of landscape and creatures around him propel him to marvel at what he sees: wild donkeys, birds nesting in trees like the stork in the junipers, high mountains with wild goats or ibexes and rock badgers, the cedars of Lebanon, the lions, the seas teeming with wildlife… even a Leviathan! The second time I spotted a pangolin, my companions The Psalmist speaks not only of the various kinds of and I were able to get a little closer, because there were animals but also their homes in the wild and their no tall trees around. relationship to one another and to God. Interdependence and interconnectedness are underlying themes in Psalm 104. The psalm underscores how all creation is dependent upon God—that his Spirit sustains them and provides for them. God values and provides for His |10 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

creation, fundamentally affirming creation’s worth and as a response of worship of the Creator. Paying loving right of existence. The overflowing love of God is that attention to the way we live and the manner in which which makes the world hum in being sustained. we relate to God’s created community demonstrates our worshipful obedience to God. The Psalmist, full of wonder at the grandeur of creation that has captivated his vision, breaks out in praise: Many years after Psalm 104 was written, we hear from Jesus on how to live well and wisely on earth as he What a wildly wonderful world, God! draws his disciples’ attention to the natural world—most  You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, notably, to the birds of the air and lilies of the field (Matthew 6:26-29). Jesus calls on them to open their  made earth overflow with your eyes and shed any anxiety when they see how God’s wonderful creations. resources are sufficient for all of his creation. (Psalm 104: 24, MSG) John Wesley understood the profound interconnectedness of creation. In the preface of his When I give Creation Care talks, I typically begin by playing book A Survey of the Wisdom of God in the Creation, a recording of birdsong taken outside my window, before he wrote, “By acquainting ourselves with subjects in asking my audience to identify our feathered friends. natural philosophy, we enter into a kind of association Following that, I show a picture of a stream, and ask them with nature’s works, and unite in the general concert to spot a (camouflaged) horned frog. of her extensive choir. By thus acquainting ourselves with the works of nature, we become as it were a member of her family, a participant in her felicities.” In another sermon, he spoke of new creation in terms of uninterrupted communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit, a “…continual enjoyment of the Three- One God, and of all creatures in him!” (emphasis mine). He held the view that the whole of the created community participates in God’s work of restoration and redemption. Later in life, he speaks of a life of holiness as a life by which humanity would delight in and enjoy creation all the more. The aim is for my audience to pause and pay attention to Yet, for all his delighted attention and expressed wonder, God’s creation around them, an attempt at renewing their the Psalmist remains grounded and conscious of the relationship with the rest of the created community. These realities of brokenness. A dissonant note creeps into days, I attempt to move away from presenting Creation Care this symphony of beauty when the Psalmist exhorts God as one in a long list of to-do’s in Christian living, or as a to vanquish the wicked. His petition is a reminder that ‘priority’ on a church’s mission agenda. Instead, I want to man is fully capable of wreaking havoc on the created begin from a posture of wonder and attentiveness moving order. To me, this carries echoes of Jeremiah in Jeremiah to a reorienting of our position in relation to our Creator 12:4, “How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it and his created community. Doing the beasts and the birds are swept away”; and Hosea so enables our movement 4:3, “Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it beyond a guarded apathy languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds or paralysing guilt of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken that denies or resists away”. We need to ponder deeply the consequences if action. In this, I hope we are lax in our task as stewards and carers of God’s to reframe the way marvellous earth. we approach Creation Care—not out of fear Doubtless, we live in a world of wounds, but it is (of the consequences possible to live in loving attention and wonder. Let us of inaction), but freely, join the Psalmist as well as the whole chorus of creation in singing hallelujah to our great God—to be lost (and At a recent BioBlitz in April found!) in wonder, love, and praise. 2022 held by Friends of A Rocha, environmental educator James Khoo |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 11 explains how a biological census is done

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News ¢ Jason Woo is Communications Executive at MCS Comms. / Photos courtesy of Dennis Tan Bringing Creation Care closer to the churches W ith a growing recognition of the causes and impact of climate change and governments’ attempts to step up action to address the climate crisis, the Church is also seeing a role for itself in the global effort. Some young believers in Singapore have chosen to take up the challenge to spread the message of being good stewards and caring for God’s creation and natural resources. Dennis Tan Wei Jie is one of them. The third-year environmental studies undergraduate at National University of Singapore and research assistant, is working on solutions to mitigate carbon emissions in urban areas. Deeply interested in marrying his Christian faith with Creation Care and environmental protection advocacy, the 24-year-old who attends Sengkang Methodist Church co-founded Creation Care SG (CCSG), a local, volunteer-run group with likeminded people, and heads the Projects and Partnerships teams. Dennis counts the guided reflective walks in Dairy Farm Nature Park, one of CCSG’s current programmes, as his most notable achievement yet. “I’m really proud of our guided reflective walks at Dairy Farm Nature Park. It took months of preparation, recces and test runs to get the product that you see today. We wanted to create an experience that would inspire people to reflect on their relationship with our Creator and the rest of creation, and we wanted to allow people to be able to experience it beyond Creation Care SG,” explained Dennis. (top) Signages abound detailing the “We [also] launched an audio-guided version on Spotify and Soundcloud that times when the park was a dairy farm. allows people to do these walks on their own. This is also our most successful project, having reached 381 online plays and 50 guided walk participants!” (bottom) Hiking down a muddy trail while being immersed in the thick embrace of nature. |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 13

Bringing Creation Care closer to the churches A new guided walk with Wesley Methodist Church that will see Wionftno aathltekuhirenaegrt participants traversing Fort Canning is also in the works. Creation Care SG organises guided walks through nature parks to In September, CCSG has bigger plans to push the message of immerse believers in the tranquility being good stewards of God’s creation to the wider Christian of the island’s green pockets and community by hosting the inaugural Creation Care Conference prompt them to contemplate the on 9-10 September 2022. Themed around the Garden of Eden, awesomeness of God’s creation, his Dennis hopes that it will help move churches in Singapore ever-present providence of natural towards better care for God’s creation. A new publication resources and humanity’s neglect produced by CCSG, Guide to Creation Care for the Church in of our collective duty to be good Singapore, will be launched during the conference. stewards of his creation. “We have been working for nearly a year now to interview A typical venue for the contemplative pastors and church leaders to develop a resource that will help walk is Dairy Farm Nature Park [groups who are interested in this topic] take action. We will at Upper Bukit Timah, which gets be conducting fundraising efforts from June to August for the its name from the fact that the conference, such as terrarium workshops and selling the works 75-hectare park used to be grazing of Christian artists,” said Dennis. He also shared plans to work pastures for more than 800 cows with students from Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary), providing milk for the colonial St John’s-St Margaret’s Nursing Home (SJSMNH) and National residents in Singapore. Parks Board (NParks) to kickstart a therapeutic horticulture programme for the elderly SJSMNH residents. Over two hours, the walk took participants through eight different Despite the success of CCSG’s programmes, Dennis is mindful stations where the guide posed that the future holds many challenges. questions to spark discussion. These stations included a pile of He said, “Many of us [in CCSG] are graduating next year and logs (bringing to mind rampant things will be quite different then, although I definitely hope deforestation) and flowering shrubs to continue growing our community in the long-term. Honestly, (leading to conversations about the I still don’t know where God is bringing us, but I hope that we importance of honey bees and other will continue to be faithful no matter where he leads.” pollinators in nature, without which entire crops may be threatened). Reflecting on the implications of global deforestation |14 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

Issues like humane animal husbandry and Bcleaenacuhp thoughtless food wastage were also raised to drive home the message that creation care covers a Creation Care SG conducted a beach clean-up with spectrum where everyone can do their part. Church of Singapore (Marine Parade) at Area C East Coast Through the various discussion topics, participants Parks and its surrounds on 23 April, as part of their Earth were encouraged to view climate change and Day commemoration activities. More than 20 participants environmental destruction through Christian signed up for the event; some were from other faiths. lenses. The emphasis was on the important role Several bags of trash were collected between the groups, the Church can play in championing the cause of and the trash was categorised and logged into an app for caring for and protecting God’s creation. beach clean-ups. Sophie Gan, 28, a new volunteer guide, sees her “Picking up trash that other people have left is what role as one of sharing the message of Creation good citizens are taught to do. But this exercise did give Care with Christians who may not have grasped the me pause as it made the connection between faith and gravity of various environmental issues. the physical surroundings. ‘Am I leaving behind more waste than I should, in inconsiderate ways? Is the waste I “I think the walks are important for Christians to am leaving behind harmful to marine life?’” be able to take time and reflect about their role as stewards of God’s creation. This is not something - Shane Seah, 32, Kampong Kapor Methodist Church that usually comes to our mind while living in an urbanised city like Singapore. I hope that these volunteerIf you would like to walks will provide Christians with an opportunity with Creation Care SG, to think about how their actions in daily life you may sign up directly at bit.ly/joinccsg affect the environment, and what they can do to drop an email to [email protected] minimise the impact,” explained Sophie. or message the group Taking part in his first contemplative nature walk on Facebook (@creationcare.sg) together with his friend, Stephen, was Swee Kong, or Instagram (@creationcare.sg). 63, who worships at Bartley Christian Church. A fervent spokesperson among his peers on the importance of Creation Care, Swee Kong was delighted to be a part of the trek. “God has called us to be stewards of his creation. The earth we live in belongs to God. Our sin has environmental consequences. Our greed has caused more land to be cleared for our use, seas to be over-fished, leading to huge loss of habitats of other creatures,” lamented Swee Kong. “If the Church does not speak up, we risk becoming irrelevant as climate change has become such a global topic. We also risk being seen as culpable. Critics of the Church will point out, ‘Does not the Bible clearly state that we have to care for the earth? Yet you have been silent.’” |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 15

Feature ¢ Janice Khoo serves in the Choir and Media & Comms Ministry at Kampong Kapor Methodist Church. / Photos courtesy of Amelia Hang At Toh Yi, composting is a neighbourhood affair H ave you ever finished meal preparation and found “It is about stewardship and looking after this world for yourself with a pile of fruit and vegetable peels the generations beyond us,” says Amelia, whose children that cannot be consumed? For many of us, this Katelyn and Nathaniel are 8 and 6, respectively. “I tell my kitchen waste goes straight into the bin. Amelia Hang, children that what we do is about looking after what God 36, who attends Cairnhill Methodist Church, found a way has given us first, for the sake of them and their children.” to turn this waste into something useful. She turned to composting, which is a process in which plant and food Rina shares another perspective, “It’s Creation Care. waste is decomposed and recycled into nutrient-rich Whatever God has given us has a good purpose. If we do matter that can be used to enrich soil. not make good use of it, such as through growing plants and recycling, or in our case, composting, we are creating It all began when Amelia, a stay-at-home-mum and a a problem for the earth.” She adds, “I want people to see part-time tutor, needed somewhere to bury partially how we can take care of the world God has given us.” decomposed kitchen waste, also called pre-compost, to complete the composting process using the bokashi Together, they decided to start a community composting method. This involves a two-step process in which food initiative with the goal of using the mature compost waste is mixed with bran and first fermented in a sealed as nutrients for the community garden. The Toh Yi bucket before it is buried in soil to complete the process Community Compost group was formed in 2021 and for making compost. She chanced upon a YouTube video about 20 households from the estate contribute actively about composting and contacted the creator of the video, to it. This includes six children who join their parents in Rina Lai, who coincidentally lived in the same estate and this green community exercise. was part of a group that had started a community garden in the Toh Yi neighbourhood. With funding support from the SG Eco Fund (a fund launched by the Ministry of Sustainability and the “I contacted Rina and asked to join the community garden Environment to support the co-creation of solutions for where I could also contribute my pre-compost,” says Amelia. a sustainable Singapore), Amelia and Rina purchased Once she got the greenlight from Rina to bury her pre-compost composting bins into which they layer the components for in the community garden, Amelia took the first step towards making compost. “For one hour every Saturday morning composting vegetable and fruit scraps in her flat. from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., and every Tuesday evening from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. residents drop off vegetable peels, coffee Rina, 50, who works as a Community Services Manager grounds, tea leaves and egg shells at our compost bins. at Mount Carmel Bible-Presbyterian Church, welcomed Volunteers help to supervise the bringing in of this form Amelia to the community garden. of kitchen waste, which is also known as green waste.” The two ladies found that they were likeminded in their views about waste reduction, inspired by a common understanding that they were to be stewards of what God had entrusted them with. |16 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

Further involvement of the community comes from contributions by Plant and Green waste that has the estate cleaners, who help by collecting dried leaves, which are vegetable been cut into small then shredded. Other volunteers approach vegetable sellers from waste on pieces and layered the nearby wet markets for sawdust used as packing material, which the way to they would have otherwise thrown away. The leaves are shredded becoming into the compost bin and mixed with sawdust to form brown waste, which is layered with compost green waste in the compost bins. This traditional method of making compost differs from the bokashi method which Amelia used at first in that it is a one-step process and can accommodate larger quantities of waste. Rina (left) and If you would like to try your hand at Amelia (right) turning the composting: compost mixture in the bin 1. Find a bin that can be tightly sealed (look out for recycled bins!). Amelia told Methodist Message, “We have been very blessed in that we have had no push back from the town council or the residents. 2. Drill holes in the top and bottom of the They see the benefits of the project—it doesn’t just reduce waste, it bin to allow oxygen to enter and for also creates community. People in the estate recognise each other liquid to drain. from the composting initiative and they can say hi to each other because of that connection.” 3. Place one layer of brown waste (e.g. shredded dried leaves and sawdust) at “Some of the residents bring their children with them when they the bottom of the bin. drop off the waste, and the children play with Amelia’s children who will be helping her,” Rina lets on with a smile. “The aunties and 4. Place one layer of green waste (e.g. uncles who exercise come by to offer to help and they also bring fruit and vegetable peels, coffee their fruit and vegetable peels to add to the compost heap.” grounds, tea leaves and egg shells). Even though Amelia loves growing plants, she ruefully acknowledges 5. Alternate layers of brown and green that she is better at composting than she is at gardening. She waste until the bin is filled. Place one says with a laugh, “It is like the body of Christ. We are all good at layer of brown waste as the top layer. different things. Some people are good at growing things; I am good at decomposing things!” With this contribution of different abilities 6. Add some water to help with the to the Toh Yi Community Compost, an effort to be good stewards of decomposition process. God’s gifts has also brought about unity in the community. 7. Cover the bin and leave it for 2 weeks. Children from the estate play 8. After 2 weeks, use a stick to stir the contents of the bin and introduce while their oxygen to the mixture. parents drop off vegetable 9. Wait for 1 week and stir the contents waste at the again. Repeat this weekly for 2 months. compost bins 10. Be prepared for fruit flies and expect that juice from the decomposition will leak from the bin! The result is nutrient- rich compost which can be mixed into soil to help plants grow. |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 17

People ¢ Jason Woo is the Communications Executive at MCS Comms. / Photos courtesy of Paul Khoo Father’s Day musings Striking a balance between work, ministry and fathering Family on the Galilee Worship Boat with Worship Leader Family in a field of sunflowers in Taiwan 2018 Joshua Aaron on an Elijah7000 Israel Trip 2018 P aul Khoo, 45, is a familiar figure in Christian It was no easy feat to care for young children while fathering circles. He is one of many key volunteers growing the business, but Paul managed to keep things with Elijah7000, a movement that takes inspiration together through his faith in God that influenced how he from Malachi 4:5-6 and seeks to “turn the hearts of all prioritised his various responsibilities. fathers towards their children”. As the co-founder of a media company, Raison Media, his work has also led him “Unlike most other children who were able to sleep to work closely with organisations to create campaigns through the night, mine consistently could not and part to build godly families. These include the Dads for Life of my job was to tend to night feeds. Cumulatively, I think national movement, and The Bible Society of Singapore’s I did night feeds for more than a decade,” laughed Paul. global DECLARE event which aims to guide families back to the Word of God. “There is need for a lot of patience when one is a parent. When things get tough with the kids, it is always good that “Part of my goal was to reclaim the media space for we remind ourselves that we have to first look out for the God so that the platform can be used to disciple future causes of the difficulties,” Paul told Methodist Message. generations,” explained Paul, a former Raffles Junior College teacher, who started his company in 2009. Paul surmises that the Asian fathering model is sometimes at odds with the Biblical model, with its emphasis on In addition, he is an active member in the worship ministry being the financial provider for the family, often at the of Paya Lebar Methodist Church (PLMC). As a father of expense of being the spiritual head of the family. three children, Mikayla, 16, Matthew, 14, and Mark, 11, how does he see his role as a father? How does he juggle Mindful of this, Paul said, “During the early years, I would work, church ministry responsibilities and fathering? make it a point to prioritise my family and the kids over my work. I would carve out set times to interact with Being present as a father them and made sure I was available. For instance, I would engage them in conversations before bedtime and When Raison Media was started, his first two children that would serve as a round-up of the day. It functioned were under the age of five. His third child was born when as an emotional reset for them and me.” Raison Media was just in its second year of operation. |18 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic, which has blurred the lines opportunities you have to address these things, the between work and home, has had an impact on how easier it will be to address the anxieties without the to set aside time for the family. “Hybrid or work-from- surprise of a blow-up,” Paul said. home arrangements make it more crucial for us to organise our working hours to be outcome-oriented It is the conscious identifying of where their hearts rather than being task-oriented,” said Paul. Paul also are oriented—which he discovers when they pray—and does not hesitate to keep his schedule fluid by shifting practicing affirmation. Does that include academic his work hours to the evenings after the kids go to bed achievements, as most Singaporean parents are just to ensure quality family time. inclined to do? “I do affirm it, but I focus on personal and spiritual growth.” Challenges facing modern fathering As the kids grow and become more independent, does Parenting in the 21st century certainly comes with Paul see his role as father diminishing? its set of perils, and in the cacophony of voices that try to influence parenting styles, Paul identifies one “The fathering role doesn’t end, it just changes. When critical area that he feels all parents have to contend the children are young, you parent as a leader. But with—the excessive media influence that children are when they’re older, you parent as a peer, walking exposed to. alongside them, like a coach.” “The sheer amount of media influence that our children are exposed to potentially creates a slew of very difficult conversations that parents may not be ready to engage in,” explained Paul. But Paul contends that parents cannot shy away from having those difficult conversations as eventually children will figure it out for themselves, and it may not be with the benefit of wise counsel from parents. The management of the level of usage of devices in the family tends to be the bugbear between parents and their children. His children regulate their usage via methods such as a logbook (for Mark) or the checking in and out of the devices at specific timings (for Mikayla and Matthew), which he admits is a different practice for many families. Adopting different parenting styles with gender and age Paul has also discovered that parenting girls and boys has required different responses from him. With the boys, he has found that their sense of worth is uplifted with simple affirmation. With his daughter, Paul said, “It’s more about ‘How do I help her discover who she is?’” He is also mindful that as a father, his words can have Family with the PLMC more impact than he intends. “I don’t realise that the team at a Dad & Sons words I say can go beyond the truth value of a statement. Interchurch Futsal I need to be more conscious and gentler in how I say Competition with things, how I address issues,” Paul said. Jason Wong 2019 Now that two of his older children are teens, he is Paul and Mark on a conscious that contact time with them (scheduled or trip to Israel with a otherwise) has to be used to help them “release steam”, as one would do so with a pressure cooker. “The more prophetic worship group 2017 |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 19

Books ¢ Corinne Tan worships at Kampong Kapor Methodist Church. / Photos from the book, Journeys of an Octogenarian, are reproduced with permission. Tales of a Chinatown boy N g Fook Kah is a well-loved member of Kampong Kapor Methodist Church. In his autobiography, “Journeys of an Octogenarian”, 89-year old Ng writes of the people and events that have shaped his life. “Journeys” is written with candour, describing people and experiences with touching honesty. Calling it a “people story”, Ng (known as ‘Papa’ to many) plays storyteller to his family and friends as he weaves their stories into his own. A youth spent in hardship and turmoil Ng was born in 1932, in Chinatown’s infamous Sago Lane, known for its “death houses”. As a young boy, he lived among coffin makers and undertakers, rickshaw pullers, lion dancers and Chinese opera troupes. The sights and sounds of funeral processions and Chinese rituals were familiar to the Chinatown “street urchin” who lived just four doors from these death houses. Grandma was a “sew-sew woman” who fixed buttons for a living; grandpa was kepala (chief) in the Carpentry Section of the Singapore Municipality, while father was a plain-clothes mata gelab (detective). Ng lived through some of Singapore’s most tumultuous times—the Japanese Occupation, British colonial rule and Singapore’s transition to independence. During the Japanese Occupation, Ng worked as an apprentice blacksmith in a Japanese factory, “pushing bellows day in and day out” at a furnace, till he almost went “berserk”. Events in later years left a deep impression on Ng, including the fire at Bukit Ho Swee in 1961, which destroyed lives and homes, but miraculously, left him and his home unscathed. A student in Raffles Institution (RI) (Class of 1950), he was a determined young man who joined the RI Cadet Corps, trying hard to “come alongside the elite class of 1947”. He later graduated from New Zealand’s Otago University Dunedin as a Colombo Plan Scholar, and was awarded a Fulbright Visiting Scholarship. In recognition of his service to Singapore, he was later conferred the Public Administration Medal, Silver (1975), Public Service Medal (1982), and Public Service Star (1989) by the Presidents of the Republic of Singapore. In addition, as a grassroots leader in Ulu Pandan Constit­uency, he was awarded the Long Service Medals (Bronze and Silver). Ng also recalls happy times like watching his first English movie “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” at Roxy Cinema with a Magnolia ice-cream, owning his first car and meeting his sweetheart Anne Wong, who was a teacher like him. |20 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

Ng’s father had high hopes for his son to be a “modernised passing of his beloved Anne. In his eulogy at Anne’s undertaker entrepreneur” in the lucrative undertaker industry wake, Ng shared that he asked for God to grant him three in 1948. Unmoved by the prospects of success and wealth, wishes before Anne died—for her to have her favourite Ng chose a career in education instead. This was a decision chilli crabs, celebrate his 80th birthday and their 60th that led him to people who impacted his life greatly. wedding anniversary. Unfazed when none of his wishes were granted, Ng used this opportunity to glorify God God’s connections who told him that, “Your way is not my way”, and that “(your) citizenship  is in heaven”. Such was the faith of Anne was a student at Fairfield Methodist Girls’ School. this man, who continued to love and serve God fervently. It was through Anne’s classmate, Daisy Yim, that Ng and Anne were introduced to KKMC in 1952. With Ng served in many ministries at KKMC, including the deep gratitude, he recalls what he considers “divine Mandarin Ministry, the Seniors Ministry and LifeGroup appointment”, when Daisy’s father, the late Yip Weng Ministry. He was a local preacher and was also a member Fatt, led them to worship at KKMC. It is here that the of the TRAC Board of Seniors Ministry. He was among the “Chinatown lad and lassie” first ‘met’ God and were pioneering leaders in The Boys Brigade, teaching bible study baptised on Palm Sunday in 1955. in Raffles Institution. In a moving message to The Boys’ Brigade 60th Company in 2013, he urged the boys to “stand As young Christians, Ng and Anne experienced the in stark contrast to all in Singapore as righteous persons”. “turning point” in their lives, when they joined the Tiong Bahru LifeGroup. Here, they were “shaped, piloted and Ng recalls the miraculous beginnings of the KKMC anchored by the Word of God”. He recalls that his life had Mandarin Ministry in 1985. As new residents settled in been given “a new lease in the tapestry of love”. The the Little India neighbourhood, Ng and fellow church love they felt from the LifeGroup was the catalyst to a leaders prayed for opportunities to reach out to them. vibrant life of service for God. With God’s help, they made the bold decision to start a Mandarin ministry, even though there were no Mandarin- Ng and Anne also cherished the loving and warm speaking leaders then! Today, KKMC’s vibrant Mandarin fellowship in their Adult Sunday School Group, one of the Ministry is a testament to God’s love and providence. earliest LifeGroups at KKMC. He has fond memories of him and his family traveling to KKMC with fellow church A record of God’s handiwork members, in a private bus specially chartered for Tiong Bahru residents. Three years after joining KKMC, Ng was As the chapters draw to a close, we see a bigger picture baptised. Ng and Anne married in 1961, and in 2011, beyond Ng’s life story. “Journeys of an Octogenarian” they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Rev E.S. is a record of God’s handiwork , a time capsule of his Lau (father of Earnest Lau) is fondly remembered for miracles and lessons, to be remembered and applied officiating two momentous events in Ng’s life in KKMC: even to our own lives. his baptism and marriage. The couple were blessed with three lovely and God-loving daughters—Rebecca, Gracia The last page is read, but Papa Fook Kah continues to and Rosita, of whom he is extremely proud. thank and praise God for each day of his “sweet, sweet, life”. This book of life’s lessons is an inspiration for Following in their parents’ footsteps, Rebecca and Gracia us, to live for God and keep the fire going for future pursued successful careers in the education service. generations. May God’s unfailing love be proclaimed in Ng’s eldest daughter Rebecca is a school principal, and our lives, as “One generation commends your works to conductor of KKMC’s children’s choir, while her husband, another; they tell of your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4). Andrew Chew, was also a leading figure in the education service. Gracia is now in a mission field in Southeast Asia. If you would like a copy of the e-book, His third daughter, Rosita, is a lawyer who is active in please write to Ng Fook Kah the arts. and his family to request for a copy at Not all was rosy in Ng’s life, however. He recalls, with [email protected] profound sadness, the death of his mother after giving birth to his youngest brother, and his being away at university in New Zealand when his father passed away in 1957. Perhaps his most painful moment was the |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 21

THINK ¢ Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor of Christian Doctrine at Trinity Theological College and Theological and Research Advisor at the Ethos Institute for Public Christianity (http://ethosinstitute.sg). Social Egg Freezing: An Ethical and Social Quagmire PREFACE arising from non-medical use of medical technology, safety concerns, disingenuous communication of success rates, I t should not come as a surprise when a Methodist asks and the wider social implications of using SEF for deferring point-blank, “What’s our church’s stand on social egg procreation, all correspond to the MSP concerns within the freezing?” spheres of science and technology, community life, family, and social well-being, to name some examples. It stands to We can point to the three general rules formulated in the reason that our commitment to the rights of women cannot 18th century by the first Methodist societies: first, do no be held separate from the rights of children, families, harm. Second, do good. Third, to attend to all the ordinances society, and the common good. of God. But how do these rules play out for 21st century issues such as the use of social egg freezing (SEF)? The Dr Chia reminds us that SEF has the grave potential to Methodist Social Principles (MSP), outlined in The Book of do harm, both in calculable and incalculable ways. This Discipline of The Methodist Church in Singapore, are one is inordinately damaging to women, not to mention the attempt to articulate what doing good and doing no harm detrimental effects on children and society at large as look like in the present day. They set out the church’s views well. His article is thus both an example and a summons on contemporary issues such as abortion, homosexuality and to, in the words of our MSP, “cultivate and practise the surrogacy. Understandably, the MSP make no mention of SEF virtues of the Christian life… and manifest them in the way as it is a fairly new issue to Singapore. The nearest they come we think and the way we live”. to it is in a broadly stated principle that “married couples who are burdened with the problem of infertility should May the Holy Spirit grant us all the virtue of prudence in prayerfully examine their motives for wanting a child and a fast-advancing world of scientific discoveries and novel consider and understand the medical, spiritual, moral and applications. legal implications of assisted reproductive procedures”. Rev Dr Nathanael Goh Dr Roland Chia’s article on SEF spotlights how the legalisation of this practice of SEF comes loaded with ethical and moral Assistant Pastor, Sengkang Methodist Church implications. These implications throw into relief the rules of doing good and doing no harm. The potential risks |22 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

O n 5 April 2022, the Singapore Parliament gave Safety concerns its unanimous support for the 25 action plans proposed in the White Paper on Singapore SEF poses some risks to women that should not be Women’s Development (released on 28 March), after taken lightly. a nine-hour debate. One of these action plans is the legalisation of social egg freezing (SEF).1 The most important medical risks associated with egg freezing are those that result from ovarian stimulation. More specifically, Parliament accepted the White As Petropanagos et al report, mild-to-moderate Paper’s recommendation that women between the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome could result in ages of 21 and 35 be allowed to freeze their eggs, fatigue, nausea, headaches, abdominal pains, breast regardless of marital status. However, only married tenderness and irritability. women will be allowed to use their frozen eggs. However, severe hyperstimulation could cause blood SEF must be distinguished from medical egg freezing. clots, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, dehydration and vomiting that require admission to hospital. In Medical egg freezing is a method used to rare cases, it can even result in death.3 preserve eggs so that young women undergoing medical treatment Women who attempt to have a child by using their (e.g. chemotherapy) would have frozen-thawed eggs will also be vulnerable to the a chance to conceive biological risks of IVF such as multiple pregnancy, pregnancy- children in the future. SEF, however, related hypertension, premature delivery and infants with low birth-weight. refers to healthy women who wish to use this technology for non-medical reasons, such It must be reiterated that these risks are borne by as the desire to postpone childbearing while focussing women who have elected to undergo this procedure on career advancement. not because of medical reasons, such as preserving fertility ahead of cancer treatment. They have Unlike medical egg freezing, SEF raises serious ethical elected to do so for “social” reasons, such as career and social concerns. However, most articles on this considerations or because they have not met the topic published in our local media fail to address right partner. the ethical quagmire associated with this procedure. They focus instead on its current low success rate and Furthermore, in choosing to take this route, these its high financial cost (average cost of one cycle in women are also exposing their future offspring to Singapore is $10,000). considerable risks. These include congenital structural abnormalities, structural cardiac anomalies, and In this article we examine, albeit briefly, the fundamental possible risk of cancer.4 ethical and social concerns surrounding SEF. Success rate Non-medical use of medical technology Media hype about SEF tends to send the wrong message The key ethical issue related to SEF has to do with by presenting it as a panacea which guarantees that its use for non-medical reasons. The technology is not women can have a family later in life. used to treat an illness, but to address a non-medical issue—natural ageing—or to support and promote a In its 2020 paper on SEF in the UK, the Nuffield Council lifestyle option or preference. on Bioethics notes that “Concerns have been expressed about the trivialisation of SEF in media coverage.”5 We should exercise exceptional caution here because the use of medical procedures on healthy people is Clinics that advertise the procedure have also fuelled not only an ethically problematic practice, but also one public misconceptions about the success of this with serious social consequences. procedure. “Some clinics’ advertising”, observes the Nuffield paper, “lacks clarity on success rates, costs As Angel Petropanagos et al put it: and risks”. “Some clinics have been criticised for irresponsible marketing strategies...,” it adds. Social egg freezing uses medical technology to respond to a nonmedical problem—natural Perhaps the legalisation of SEF in the UK in 2000 has ageing. Physicians should therefore move beyond given the media and fertility clinics more latitude to a discussion of the potential benefits, risks and misrepresent the success of the procedure. financial costs to address societal implications.2 |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 23

Social Egg Freezing In reality, the success of SEF depends on many factors, SEF may also put a heavy and unnecessary burden on the including the age of the woman when the eggs were next generation. As NCCS explains in its statement: frozen and when they are used, the number of eggs procured, etc. A BBC article which discusses the success … women in their 40s and even 50s rate of SEF reports that according to the 2015 data in the who use this technique often place on their children the UK, only “2% of all thawed eggs ended up as pregnancies and 0.7% as live births”.6 heavy burden of having to take care of their geriatric parents (often burdened with chronic health conditions) Given the current success rates, the National Council of when they are just about to start out in life as working Churches of Singapore (NCCS) warns, in its 2019 statement on SEF, that to portray egg freezing as “fertility insurance” adults, amidst all the attendant responsibilities and is to fabricate a false hope.7 challenges associated with people at this stage of life (marriage, career, mortgage, starting a family, etc).10 Social issues And this will no doubt have wider ramifications for society. There are also a number of social issues surrounding the practice of SEF. Conclusion Once SEF is legalised and becomes mainstream, women There are many more ethical issues surrounding may be subjected to subtle pressures—which can come in SEF that we are unable to discuss in this article, such various forms—to make use of the medical technology. For as the commodification of women’s bodies and the example, in October 2014, Apple and Facebook announced medicalisation of childbearing. that they will pay their female employees to freeze their eggs so that they can concentrate on their careers and But the issues that we have highlighted and briefly delay having children.8 addressed should give all of us—especially Christians— pause about using this medical technology for non- medical reasons. Pro-SEF social media influencers and algorithms that target 1 White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development: Towards a women with SEF adverts can also influence women to take Fairer and More Inclusive Society, 66. https://www.scwo.org.sg/ this option. Even physicians and family members can coerce wp-content/uploads/2022/03/White-Paper-on-Singapore-Womens- women to take advantage of this medical technology so D e v e l o p m e n t . p d f. that they can “avoid future regret”. 2 Angel Petropanagos, Alana Cattapan, Françoise Baylis and Arthur This in turn may change women’s and society’s mindsets Leader, “Social egg freezing: risk, benefits and other considerations”, about career, marriage, and family. As Petropanagos et Canadian Medical Association Journal, June 6, 2015, 187(9), 666-669. al put it: https://www.cmaj.ca/content/187/9/666. Women are encouraged to freeze their eggs 3 Ibid. as a way to ‘have it all’ (that is, to have both a family 4 Okun N. Sierra S. “SOGC Clinical Guidelines: Pregnancy Outcomes and career), implying that for those women After Assisted Reproduction”, Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology who want both these things, Canada, 2014, 36:64-83. egg freezing makes this possible.9 5 Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Bioethics Briefing Note. Egg Freezing in the UK., 3. https://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/assets/pdfs/Egg- f re ez i n g - i n -t h e - U K . p d f. 6 BBC, “Egg-freezing: What’s the Success Rate?’ 17 February 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51463488. 7 National Council of Churches of Singapore, “Social Egg Freezing: Ethical and Social Issues”, 3. https://nccs.org.sg/wp-content/ uploads/2019/03/NCCS-Social-Egg-Freezing.pdf. 8 Mark Tran, “Apple and Facebook offer to freeze eggs for female employees”, The Guardian, 15 October 2014. https://www. theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/15/apple-facebook-offer- freeze-eggs-female-employees. 9 Petropanagos et al, “Social Egg Freezing”. 10 National Council of Churches of Singapore, “Social Egg Freezing: Ethical and Social Issues”, 3. https://nccs.org.sg/wp-content/ uploads/2019/03/NCCS-Social-Egg-Freezing.pdf. |24 METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022

Opinion ¢ Soundings Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor of Christian Doctrine at Trinity Theological College and Theological and Research Advisor at the Ethos Institute for Public Christianity (http://ethosinstitute.sg). “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. Virtuous Living and Creation Care T he question that is receiving some attention among person is never short-sighted, and always orders his actions politicians, policy-makers and stakeholders is whether in accordance with the ultimate purpose or telos of life. individuals or institutions should bear the greatest responsibility for solving the current climate crisis. In addition, prudence requires foresight, circumspection and caution. In relation to his responsibilities to the created order According to an article published by The Guardian, “the of which he is a part, a prudent person will with foresight responsibility for solving major societal problems is consider the future consequences of his present habits. increasingly being shifted to the individual”. This view is Circumspection and caution will guide the choices he makes. being contested by others, who opine that such problems Justice takes into consideration the welfare and common can only be solved by institutions. “Personal sacrifice alone good of the whole human community. However, one cannot cannot be the solution to tackling the climate crisis… It speak of the common good of the human race without can be achieved only by real structural change; by a new according significance to its natural habitat, the entire industrial revolution.”1 biosphere upon which human life depends. While it is obviously true that without the concerted efforts As Schaefer puts it: of governments and industry players, individuals are unable to solve the ecological problem, the latter can nonetheless … because the common good of the human community play a significant role. would be jeopardised by the degradation of the air, land, and water, the accelerated rate of species extinction, the In recent years, destruction of habitats, and damage to the biosphere, theologians such as the virtue of justice could be construed today as inclining Jame Schaefer have humans individually and collectively to relate to other been reflecting on how abiota in ways that do not jeopardise the functioning of the cardinal virtues natural systems in the interests of human communities developed by medieval near and far, now and in the future.4 theologians—especially Thomas Aquinas (1225- 1274)—can help us to live responsibly amidst the current crisis.2 The four cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, fortitude and The third virtue, fortitude, enables a person to stand firm in temperance. The reason why these virtues are described as the face of challenges. “cardinal” (Latin cardo, meaning “hinge”) is because all the other virtues are either grouped under them or are hinged Fortitude also strengthens the individual’s resolve to resist the (attached) to them. temptations to yield to certain appetites, and to make sacrifices for that which is good. In this way, fortitude reinforces justice These four virtues are explicitly listed in chapter 8 of the because it inclines individuals as well as communities to seek deuterocanonical book, Wisdom of Solomon: “[Wisdom] the common good both now and for the future. teaches self-control and prudence, justice and courage; nothing in life is more profitable for men than these (v 7).” Fortitude also reinforces prudence because it supplies the necessary resolve to the intention of relating responsibly to According to Aquinas, “Prudence counsels us well about all living and non-living entities that make up our planet. what pertains to the whole life of a human and to the “Fortitude,” writes Schaefer, “can be appropriated today as ultimate end of human life.”3 This means that a prudent the virtue that will strengthen the faithful to persist in using |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 25

Virtuous Living and Creation Care the goods of Earth minimally with the aim of ensuring the attitudes toward other-than-human creatures when internal stability of the ecosystems and the biosphere.”5 informed by scientific findings about their interrelationship and interdependency”.8 This brings us to the fourth and final virtue: temperance. For Aquinas, temperance denotes a restrained desire for While the virtues are traditionally associated with the physical gratification, a disciplining of our passions.6 This individual in Christian literature on spirituality, their includes good and necessary physical pleasures such as relevance to societies, industry players and governments eating, drinking and sex.7 must not be missed. For the virtues have to do with the cultivation of certain habits based on proper attitudes The sub-virtues of temperance—continence and humility— towards others, including the created order. also have much significance to the environmental problems we face today. Continence has to do with moderating That is why some moral theologians have maintained, our desires, especially our seemingly insatiable need to correctly, that the doctrine of virtue is in a profound acquire goods in a consumerist culture. sense the doctrine of obligation. As individuals, communities, societies, corporations, governments and Humility is related to continence because, as Schaefer states, we have the obligation to conduct ourselves with explains, it can restrain the inordinate desire to acquire prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance—for the non-necessities of life and positively condition human common good, and the flourishing of our planet. 1 Anders Levermann, ‘Individuals can’t solve the climate crisis. Governments need to step up’, The Guardian 10 July 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/ commentisfree/2019/jul/10/individuals-climate-crisis-government-planet-priority. / 2 Jame Schaefer, Theological Foundations for Environmental Ethics. Reconstructing Patristic & Medieval Concepts (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2009). / 3 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, 57.4 ad 3. / 4 Schaefer, 232. / 5 Schaefer, 235. / 6 Summa Theologica, 141.2, 3. / 7 Summa Theologica, 141.4. / 8 Schaefer, 233

Reach Out ¢ Missions Rev Dr Andrew Peh is a lecturer in missions and world religions at Trinity Theological College. Y ou may have read that the world is teetering on There are evangelicals in the United States who contest the the edge of certain extinction and that we are now view that global warming and climate change is a direct one minute from midnight on the Doomsday Clock. consequence of human action. Environmental degradation While the Covid-19 pandemic may have paused most human and climate change are seen as the earth’s natural response activity and provided a brief respite for the earth, the beauty rather than a result of human consumerism and greed. of a world where the peak of Everest is visible in Delhi, or Evangelicals were generally tacit in their views and were the flourishing of some animal species and the lowering of complicit in discounting numerous efforts to begin to make air pollution all across the world are very quickly forgotten conscious efforts in addressing and arresting the speed of as we return to a post-pandemic (endemic) “normality”. global warming. Sadly, environmental ethics and caring Furthermore, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine will for creation do not seem to have significance among likely further exacerbate the climate crisis. Protestants. In our churches, there are many members who think that the bottom line is that we need only bother with It may well be that amidst the gloom and doom, saving souls and everything else is secondary, perhaps even accompanied by a growing deficit of courage and fortitude unnecessary. It may well be that that “saving souls” is the among the world leaders to act decisively, the younger chief end of the mission of the Church. But is that the chief generation is seeing the need to rise up and challenge the end of the mission of God? norms and hopefully bring about real change in responding to the climate crisis. I am increasingly convinced that As I began researching on this particular area through a evangelical Christianity is complicit in this apathy towards survey of the Scriptures, I found that God’s word is replete environmental stewardship. with all these references where we cannot ignore creation simply because Christ’s work on the cross redeems not For too long, evangelical Christianity has adopted a “default only humanity but creation itself. We need to reread the setting”, where it is all about us! We are at the centre of it creation mandate in Genesis 1; to respond to the Psalmists all, where the creation mandate is given for humanity to call for creation (yes, in all of God’s splendid creativity) to subdue and have dominion, and therefore gives us licence praise the Lord; to recount as in Jonah 3 that God’s grace to use (and abuse) all God has created. We believe that at is extended impartially to the Ninevites as well as to the the end of time, this “world will melt like snow” and will animals, contrary to Jonah’s personal preconceptions. We be no more and hence we should rightly be concerned only cannot ignore passages in Romans 8, where Paul wrote that with saving souls instead of saving whales or planting trees. “in hope, that all creation, now groaning, will be liberated |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 27

The greening of missions from its bondage to decay” and also in Colossians 1, that There is a growing consensus among missiologists that God, through Christ, will “reconcile to himself all things” stewardship and care of creation is an increasingly urgent This is well encapsulated in The Cape Town Commitment aspect of missions that the Church cannot be nonchalant (the roadmap of the Lausanne Movement): about. Integral missions involve taking seriously both the Great Commandment as well as the Great Commission; The earth is created, sustained and redeemed by Christ. it is ministering to meet spiritual as well as existential We cannot claim to love God while abusing what belongs needs. The importance of ecology and environmental to Christ by right of creation, redemption and inheritance. stewardship in missions must help recalibrate how We care for the earth and responsibly use its abundant mission organisations and churches think about missions resources, not according to the rationale of the secular and how they conduct missionary activities in a manner world, but for the Lord’s sake. If Jesus is Lord of all the that is biblically informed and ecologically responsible. earth, we cannot separate our relationship to Christ from Ecological concerns (for example, carbon footprints) how we act in relation to the earth. For to proclaim the should be another factor of consideration before churches gospel that says ‘Jesus is Lord’ is to proclaim the gospel feverishly return to the norm of sending people on short- that includes the earth, since Christ’s Lordship is over all term trips. creation. Creation care is thus a gospel issue within the Lordship of Christ. While the biblical accounts are inordinately partial to human salvation—the work of saving people from sin and Such love for God’s creation demands that we repent of judgement, which is indeed an important focus of our our part in the destruction, waste and pollution of the partnership with God in his mission—that, however is not earth’s resources and our collusion in the toxic idolatry the whole story of God’s mission and therefore, that should of consumerism. Instead, we commit ourselves to urgent not be the whole story in our mission emphases as well. and prophetic ecological responsibility.1 If God is concerned about creation, should we not also be similarly concerned? Hence we cannot ignore God’s other creation! 1 Lausanne Movement, The Cape Town Commitment, https://lausanne. org/content/ctc/ctcommitment#p1-7

Reach Out ¢ Welfare Services By the Methodist Welfare Services (MWS) Communications Team / Photo courtesy of MWS Senior volunteerism Making the most of one’s golden years Seniors are Leong Imm said that serving the needs of the community mobilised as through volunteering is not only fulfilling God’s calling in her life, but is also a meaningful way to spend her community golden years. befrienders to conduct Her outreach efforts are part of the Community home visits Befriending Service run by MWS, which connects and provide volunteer befrienders with vulnerable seniors. Besides psychosocial befriending, senior volunteers with MWS also serve support for in other ways such as tutoring disadvantaged children vulnerable and leading recreational activities to increase social older adults engagement and promote active aging. W hen 67-year-old Loo Leong Imm started MWS believes that every person—including our seniors— volunteering as a befriender with Methodist possess innate strengths and treasured abilities, and can Welfare Services (MWS) in 2017, she faced be empowered to make a positive difference. rejection from one of the elderly beneficiaries. Volunteers are trained to fulfil their given roles, with “I was paired with Mdm Tan, who has dementia and guidance on understanding seniors and identifying their is battling depression. She speaks Hokkien, so I tried unmet needs for follow-up care. To support volunteers, conversing with her in broken Hokkien. Initially, she refused MWS periodically hosts thematic webinars such as to talk to me as she thought that I was after her money,” ‘Understanding Dementia’, ‘Diabetes’ and ‘How to be recounted Leong Imm. “But after several visits, she came to Equipped as Befrienders’. It also launched the MWS realise that that wasn’t the case, and she began to warm Befriender’s Toolkit to guide volunteers in reaching out to up to me.” different befriendee profiles.  Leong Imm continued to visit Mdm Tan every week over 3 Be the light of the world years, engaging her in conversations and exercising with her at home. Often, Mdm Tan would experience mood Jesus told his followers to “let your light shine swings, and Leong Imm would lend her an empathetic ear before others” (Matthew 5:16), calling us to and try to calm her down. live out our faith. One way of doing so is by being generous with our time and serving the During the Covid-19 pandemic, when home visits were needs of the community through volunteering. halted, Mdm Tan’s dementia deteriorated to the extent that The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has when Leong Imm resumed visiting her, the senior could received a gift, use it to serve another, as no longer recognise her. Still, Leong Imm kept visiting the good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Even senior every week, and became a steadfast pillar of support small acts of love can make a big difference to to one of Mdm Tan’s sons, her main caregiver. the lives of our beneficiaries. To alleviate his stress, Leong Imm allowed him to vent To sign up as a volunteer or befriender, his feelings freely. “He was stressed from taking care of email [email protected] his mother. As I was once a caregiver to my mother-in- or visit mws.sg/volunteer law who had dementia, I was able to relate and share with him my own experiences of caring for someone with dementia,” she shared. “This helped him to cope better with his caregiving duties. I’m glad that my volunteering has benefitted this family in some way.” |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 29

Relationships ¢ You & Your Family Benny Bong has been a family and marital therapist for more than 30 years, and is a certified work-life consultant. He was the first recipient of the AWARE Hero Award, received in 2011, and is a member of Kampong Kapor Methodist Church. Who am I? M any of us go through life not giving much thought to the question of “Who am I?” Identity documents such as our identity card or passport are commonly taken as proof of who we say we are, but they carry only a small bit of information about us. They do not tell who we really are.  One important aspect of who we are is the roles we play in close and enduring relationships, e.g. between spouses or among family members. “Serving families for a decade and more...” 24-HR HOTLINES PAUL & DANIEL +65 8321 3355 TOLL-FREE 1800-777-2422 www.AmazingGraceFunerals.com Amazing Grace has prepared these few measures to allow families to have a meaningful and dignified farewell for their loved ones: A. Online Ticketing Complimentary online ticketing system to allow visitors to reserve a visiting time slot and plan their visits, allowing families to keep within the regulated maximum number of persons at any one time with minimal coordination. B. Online Memorial allows friends to find updated information and offer their sympathies to bereaved families C. Live Streaming this option is available to enable friends and families to participate in the wake/vigil and funeral services online D. Donations families may appoint a PayNow account of a family member to receive donations. This will be posted on the online memorial. Christian Funeral Packages • International Repatriation • Pre-Planning Seminars

Take for instance a client who came to see me about managing his anger. His violent disposition had led to his living apart for the past five years from his wife of 20 years and their three children. After an especially violent altercation with his elder daughter, he had been asked to move out. Living apart had its advantages—when things in the home got too tense, he could leave and the family was shielded from his aggression. However, it also meant that he did not have to work at managing his temper; his identity as a violent man became entrenched. Recently, his wife raised the question of whether he had plans to move home as she felt she was in limbo—married yet living apart. Though not living together, he has been visiting almost every day and running errands like ferrying the children to school and tuition classes. He and his wife frequently went on dates and they continued to be physically intimate. All this suggests a close, functioning relationship. Yet, both seem to fear that his moving back may jeopardise the status quo.   In examining the triggers that set off his temper, one 24is-HhRisHfOrTuLsItNrEaStion when trying to get close to his family. +65WP8AhU3eLn2& D1hAi3Ns IE3Le5ffo5rts are rebuffed, either because his 180hiem0p-fTea7OetL7Lil-esF7RnElcE-iek2ei4s he2ivs2idideennt toitrythaesy recall his past aggression, www.AmazingGraceFunerals.com a violent man is hard to “Serving families for a decade and more...” shake off. O nElaEycaohcnhweiwtlihfitehit, saitbsfuedrwatTdohyebissanr,sisleIse,ufmdhmyuoueespsa.tetroHfssue,,tlaafiwlnlkla,danbtfseouattorst;bhee role he wants to play and what he is allowed a spouse and co-parent. But past hurts and living for selfdoisrtirnusHt ims awkiell;his family limit his role to being a companion to his wife, Only one lifefi,n‘atwnciilal lsporoonvibdeer paansdtf,amily chauffeur, which falls short of what he wants. Only whatH’sowdoenveer,foars CI herxisptlawinielldlatsot.him, wanting to play a role is only half the formula as the desi-reCd.T.roSlteudmdust be welcomed by others. This mutuality of playing the part that others want or allow is especially important in the case of my client, who had long been domineering and controlling of others. The hope is that, with his newfound willingness to respect the family’s wishes, they will grow more confident in allowing him to be more involved in their lives.  O nly one life, Wahfaetwroblreisefayreeayorsu, playing? How do they match with the roles you wish EaEcahchwiwthithitstiotbspudlraadyye?sn,AsIr,emhtouhpsetefrsuo,llaefisnll,dexfpeeacrtse;d of you causing you strain? Are they too living formsaenlfy ofrorinyoHuistowiclol;pe with? Are certain roles expected of you in conflict Only onweitlhifee,a‘cthwoiltlhseoro(nlikbeeapwaisfte, whose husband expects her to support him in Only whihs aatm’sbditoionnes bfourt Cwhhroisist wcoinllclearsnte.d by the negative impact on his health)? - C.T. Studd If some of these situations ring true for you, it might perhaps account for your wondering, “Who am I really?” |METHODIST MESSAGE — June 2022 31

14 METHODIST MESSAGE, JULY 2013

People ¢ Richard Tan is the Lay Leader and Local Preacher of Grace Methodist Church. / Photo courtesy of Richard Tan What does being a Methodist mean to you? A s Methodists we are inspired by Wesley’s advocacy to be an “altogether” Christian and his model for small groups, or cell groups. This model was one of John Wesley’s most successful ministries in meeting the needs of members and coaching them to grow in “holiness of heart and life”. At Grace Methodist Church, we put this into practice through the partnership of ordained pastors and laity, by reaching out to the underprivileged and forming Connect Groups (CGs). The leaders and facilitators were trained by the pastors and conduct weekly or fortnightly group meetings, where we worship, give thanks to the Lord, study God’s word, pray and fellowship, and seek improvement of social conditions through the formation of small groups for encouragement and edification. Through this framework, we see that members are encouraged and edified, and this is where love and affection surfaces. In 1 John 4:10-11, the key to knowing love is not found in our love for God, but rather in his love for us. He sacrificed his son Jesus to die for our sins. Hence if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. If I fail to show love to a CG member, I seek God’s forgiveness and ask him to help me show to others the kind of love he showed me. I encourage you to connect with people around you. Love for Jesus and love for others always go together. Kopi kakis by Kopikaki team

Looking Ahead ¢ Scan to see events online! JULY PARENTING: THE TEEN YEARS 16 July 2022 (Saturday), 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. 1 Woodlands Road #04-03 The Tennery, Singapore 677899 Register at https://fathers.com.sg/programs/teen/ Free (Valued at $80 per pair of parents / $70 per parent) In this workshop, parents will gain insights into the mind and behaviour of their teens. They will learn about their teen’s cognitive, social and emotional changes and needs. Parents will also learn how to nurture a close and lasting relationship with their teen by acquiring skills in communication, connection and collaboration. While it is a workshop on parenting teens, parents with a 10 or 11-year-old can start to attend this workshop to prepare themselves for what is just around the corner. Minimum 10 pax to start. Organised by Centre for Fathering JULY D6 FAMILY CONFERENCE 2022: RECALIBRATE JULY TO AUGUST 29 and 30 July 2022 (Friday and Saturday), 9.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. Online via Zoom Register at d6family.sg (Closes on 17 July 2022) Early bird price at $50 until 13 June 2022; thereafter $60 Join this year’s line-up of speakers as they share D6 principles, strategies and best practices on generational discipleship and Family Ministry. Embark on a journey where you will learn to identify and establish healthy practices, and to honour God in the way you lead the families in your church. Organised by SOWER Institute for Biblical Discipleship CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME 18, 25 July, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 August 2022 (Mondays), 7.30 to 9.30 p.m. Wesley Methodist Church or via Zoom (TBC) https://ttc.edu.sg/english/study-at-ttc/equip-registration/ $100 (Free for TTC Alumni and TTC Matriculated Students - Registration required) This course explores a topic of current interest in the area of mission studies: creation care as an integral part of the mission of God (Missio Dei). It will provide a brief survey of the current context: climate change and the ecological concerns, and will also examine theologically God’s purpose(s) for creation and the role of humanity in the stewardship of the created order. Speaker: Rev Dr Andrew Peh. Dr Peh lectures in the area of mission and mission history at Trinity Theological College. His interests are in the history of Christianity in Asia and mission trends in the 21st century. He also serves in the Chinese Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Singapore as a diaconal minister appointed to Charis Methodist Church. Organised by EQUIP JUNE TO DECEMBER THE GIVING METHODIST 2022: STEP OUT OF THE BOAT Give Donation, Give Voice and Give Time campaigns—now till December 2022 thegivingmethodist.sg [email protected] Spearheaded by The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) and Methodist Welfare Services (MWS), The Giving Methodist takes place each year to galvanise Methodists to show acts of kindness and love to those in need. With the Covid-19 pandemic raging on, let us take courage to step out of our boat and uplift those who need help to ride out this storm. You can join in by “Giving Time” through volunteering with MWS or a Methodist church’s social concerns ministry, “Giving A Donation”, or “Giving Voice” to the disadvantaged and distressed by spreading the word about this campaign.  Organised by Methodist Welfare Services