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GC WSCS starts the year with a thanksgiving service

GC-WSCS starts the year with a thanksgiving service
Tambourine dance by ETAC WSCS

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Psalm 100:4

Beginning the new year with grateful hearts as expressed in Psalm 100:4 is to draw closer to Jesus, to be reminded that God is eternally merciful and his love is new every morning. Such was the spirit of the General Conference – Women’s Society of Christian Service (GC WSCS) Thanksgiving Service on 7 Jan 2023, a service that reflected, renewed and refreshed our faith and hope.

Greetings and the Call to Worship by Dr (Mrs) Teo Li Bee were followed by a prayer led by Ms Teo Suet Ehr, for strength to be bold witnesses of God’s goodness and power in these challenging times, and to be his channels of blessing and peace.

When the heart speaks, there is no language barrier that cannot be overcome by the transcendent love of God, as witnessed by the outpouring of praise, gratitude and love that filled the sanctuary in different languages, melding together into a pleasing aroma of Christ!

TRAC WSCS Interpretative Dance – “Tree of Life” Movement in Worship
TRAC WSCS Interpretative Dance – “Tree of Life” Movement in Worship

The Praise & Worship team comprising Mrs Lily Chan (TRAC), Mrs Cecilia Selvadurai (ETAC) and Mrs Florence Yee (CAC) and pianist Kaeyan, set the mood for the congregation to hear God’s Word with three songs Great is Thy Faithfulness, Great Things He Hath Done and Thanks be to God for my Redeemer. How great indeed are the wonders of his grace, when voices in disparate languages unite in praise to our Living God! The Worship prayer was offered up by Mrs Florence Yee in Mandarin.

Rev Philip Abraham, president of ETAC, preached on Raising the Next Generation in God’s Way, based on the Scripture texts of Proverbs 22:6 and Job 1:1-5 which were read aloud by Mrs Daisy Ling (Mandarin), Mrs Sarah Sakuntala (Tamil), Ms Neo Lay Tin (English). Rev Abraham’s sermon was simultaneously translated into Mandarin by Ms Angela Tan. A striking point made by Rev Abraham was for parents to heed God’s admonition in Deuteronomy 11:18-19 (NIV): “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads …[t]each them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” He cited the example of Job who was blameless and upright, who trusted God and feared him, and reiterated the responsibilities of both husband and wife to pass down their faith to their children, to trust God to guide, and to share testimonies as the psalmist wrote in Psalm 78.

Each Conference then presented their thanksgiving items: a tambourine dance by ETAC, a personal testimony by a CAC member and an interpretative dance by TRAC.

Our Thanksgiving Service rounded off with Ms Deviki James’ prayer and the benediction pronounced by Rev Abraham. It was a fitting beginning to 2023, which will be another chapter in the continuing story of God’s goodness, mercy and grace to us.

Mrs Maureen Fong is a member of the Nominations Committee, General Conference – Women’s Society of Christian Service (GC WSCS). / Photos courtesy of GC WSCS

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