“Fellowship on the Greens” (FOTG) was first initiated by the late (then-former) Minister of State, Dr Tay Eng Soon and the late Mr Edwin Chan in 1989, for the purpose of bringing Methodists from different churches to socialise and strengthen bonds in the Methodist family over a game of golf.
Today it is Methodist Welfare Services’ (MWS) flagship fund-raiser even as it continues to build on this heart-warming legacy, as seen in the joyful and meaningful fellowship among the 216 golfers at its silver anniversary, or 25th year of this golf fellowship, held recently at Jurong Country Club on July 17.
92-year-old Cecil Wong is one of our most stalwart supporters and has played in almost every MWS golf fellowship since it first began.
Mr Wong recalls: “115 golfers played in the first tournament in 1989. This was convened by Barker Road Methodist Church and it raised $10,000.”
Without doubt, Mr Wong is very much part of this legacy, as he continues to enjoy the game with his children and grandchildren, with a full endorsement by his doctor despite heart trouble.
This year, we received overwhelming response to this milestone FOTG. We had to open an early morning session in addition to the afternoon session, with the golfers split into a total of 54 flights through the day. Over $350,000 was raised, thanks to the generosity of sponsors, donors and participants. This will be channelled into supporting all MWS centres serving the elderly, families, youth and children.
To date, 11 Methodist Churches have organised the tournament, with many repeatedly convening over the years. This year’s convening church was Grace Methodist Church.
Organising committee member Mr Ross Tan, who is also Golf Captain of Jurong Country Club, pointed out: “More Methodist churches could be represented in the flights.” Agreeing, Mr Cheng Soon Keong of Wesley Methodist Church, and last year’s vice-chairman of the organising committee, expressed the need to expand future outreach to even more Methodist churches in the network.
Nonetheless, regular participant Rev Dr Gordon Wong, President of Trinity Annual Conference, has a positive outlook on FOTG’s future: “There has been definite growth. We first started with Trinity Annual Conference churches and now, more Chinese Annual Conference churches are coming in to participate or convene. In future, I think more will get involved.”
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SUPPORT * our cause by volunteering, donating, and participating in MWS events.
Adeline Huang is the Executive (Communications and Fundraising) at Methodist Welfare Services / Picture courtesy of Methodist Welfare Services