In the past few decades, there has been an avalanche of excellent books on marketplace ministry such as Every Good Endeavour: Connecting Your Work to God’s Plan for the World (2012) by the late Timothy J. Keller, and The Kingdom of God in Working Clothes: The Marketplace and the Reign of God (2022) by R. Paul Stevens.
From message to messenger
The 12 men came on stage as the opening item. Ranging in age from the early 40s to late 60s and dressed in blue jeans and T-shirts, they looked confident and determined. Linking arms they began to sway and sing to the tune of Robbin Williams’ song “A Better Man”. The lyrics, however, had been re-written by one of the men.
Towards Harvest 2024
Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC) celebrated its annual Thanksgiving Service on 27 January 2024 at Sembawang Tamil Methodist Church. More than 350 members—nearly 40% of ETAC’s membership—from ETAC’s eight churches gathered for a time of thanksgiving, fellowship, praise and worship, acknowledging the abundant grace of the Lord over ETAC during the past year.
Sowing gospel seeds in the young
I was born into a Christian family. My grandmother and mother brought me to church at a very young age. I loved attending Sunday school because of the many interesting Bible stories, the fun times I had with friends and of course, the nice goodies and prizes given out for active participation and regular attendance.
How three outreach ministries in AMKTMC grew
For churches in the Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference, the Tamil-speaking congregations are well-placed to reach out to different segments of society. One significant segment is that comprising migrant workers, both male and female. This was the objective of Ang Mo Kio Tamil Methodist Church’s (AMKTMC) Fellowship of Indian Brothers (FIB) and Fellowship of Indian Sisters (FIS).
Love the Lord and your neighbour
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) is an annual celebration by Christians internationally. Traditionally it is celebrated from 18 to 25 January—the period between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul—and was first proposed in 1908 by Father Paul Wattson, co-founder of the US-based Graymoor Fransciscan Friars.
Defending the faith I am grateful for
Did you know King Charles III, the current monarch, bears the title “Defender of the Faith”? This title was first conferred on Henry VIII in 1521 when England was still part of the Roman Catholic Church, by Pope Leo X. Known as Fidei Defensor in Latin, it was granted to Henry VIII in recognition of the theological treatise Defence of the Seven Sacraments which he authored, possibly working with Thomas More and Cardinal Wolsey.
My love story with Jesus
I am a hopeless romantic, and Jesus must know this. One day in May 2003, a longtime friend texted me to ask if I would be interested in accompanying her to a dinner and dance by her cousin’s National Service unit. Her cousin’s platoon mate was looking for a date to bring to the event. I was single at the time so I gamely agreed. Little did I know that that would be the day that I would meet the earthly love of my life and eventually, my love for all eternity.
Our lenses when looking at others: Where is the love?
As someone who has been involved in the cause of ending violence in the family for more than 30 years, I am somewhat gratified to see and hear of more people speaking out against toxic masculinity. This version of masculinity— the way some men think about themselves, their roles, values, behaviour and, more importantly, how they relate to women—is toxic or harmful to others, the community and themselves.
The hands of Jesus
Just before we turned in for the night on Christmas Eve, my husband asked: “How was your year?” The question caught me off guard, as he would typically ask about my day, and not an entire year’s worth of days. I could not answer immediately, but upon further reflection, I realised that much of my 2023 was spent scurrying from one small task to another in a somewhat endless cycle.
