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God’s ‘little flock’ sets up WSCS at Holland Village MC

The newly-formed executive committee of the HVMC WSCS.
Front row, from left: Mrs Angelene Tay, Mrs Eunice Yeo, and
Mrs Hazel Vicente. Back row, from left: Mrs Chew Hui Peng,
Mrs Peggy Lee, Mrs Koh Ai Jin, and Mrs Ang Siew Kim.
– Holland Village Methodist Church picture.

OUR CHURCH AT HOLLAND VILLAGE was constituted about a year ago. Our membership stood at 132, and it was easy to think that “perhaps it is better to wait till we are bigger” before starting a Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS) chapter in Holland Village Methodist Church (HVMC).

Yet, the Lord showed me Luke 12:32, where Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, little fl ock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” The tender tone of Jesus in these words “little flock” reassured me that we are His little flock.

And so this was how the 36th chapter of the WSCS came to be inaugurated on April 20 at HVMC this year.

We are indeed a “little flock” – 37 members have come forward to join the WSCS at our church since the inauguration which was conducted by Ms Daisy Pang, President of the Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC) WSCS. It was witnessed by guests such as Ms Dorothy Lim, the General Conference WSCS President, and Mrs Laureen Ong, East Asia Area President of the World Federation of Methodist and World Uniting Church Women.

Also present were members of the HVMC LCEC and members of other WSCS chapters. There was such an air of joy and excitement as the chapter was formed and a sense of a new beginning prevailed.

Indeed the Lord has been faithful to His promise that we are his “little flock” regardless of numbers and size.

Evolving the Women’s Ministry into WSCS had been on our minds ever since HVMC was inaugurated on July 8 last year.

In the past four years, the Women’s Ministry served actively in Bible study groups and the floral ministry. Many women were also involved in the outreach work of HVMC in the neighbourhood through the Methodist Welfare Services “Walk With the Poor” programme.

Being part of the local church ministry, however, did not connect us to the rest of the good work that other Methodist women were involved in. I was an active member of the TRAC WSCS Executive Committee and the GC WSCS Executive Committee, and in my years there, I discovered a new perspective.

While I served at the local church level only, it was easy not to sense the need to be part of the WSCS network. The experience I had serving at different levels of the WSCS ministry showed me there was a special

sisterhood of Methodist women across Singapore who love our Lord Jesus Christ.

I discovered the diversity of talents and personalities in the 35 chapters united by a common vision of bringing women closer to God. This network had existed for decades and through the years the leaders have grown more united and effective in their leadership training and outreach.

Attending the different WSCS activities, I also realised the huge potential of this unity in numbers.

In 2011, TRAC WSCS attempted the unprecedented effort of organising a nationwide conference for all Christian women called “Awake! Abide! Arise!” There was trepidation in the organising committee over our limited resources being enough for such an ambitious plan.

They booked a hall for 500 persons and had an overwhelming response of over 600 registrants. The committee was small in number but they were able to count on their network of sisters.

The WSCS of the Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) and Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC) came forward to help, and the end result was a very successful conference that moved many women. The presence of the Lord was strong and many women were encouraged.

I was convinced that the network of Methodist women is vital to the scale of impact of our ministry. I made many good friends with sisters of the other 35 chapters, and we received encouragement and help from them in setting up our chapter.

Other WSCS chapters helped train our ladies in floral ministry. The WSCS in Barker Road Methodist Church, our “mother church”, was supportive and allowed us to ride on their activities such as cooking workshops, jewellery beading classes and God@Work sessions.

We now have a wide network of sisters from the Methodist Church to rely on. We can be bolder for God in our tasks and our work in the harvest field can be shared.

We pray with a humble heart that God will truly and tenderly lead our little flock at HVMC, and that the women may help to grow God’s kingdom.

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Eunice Yeo is President of the Women’s Society of Christian Service in Holland Village Methodist Church.

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