Holy Week services took on a different approach this year with the services of the first three days conducted under One MCS, helmed by the three Annual Conferences from 25 to 27 March. Local Conferences did not conduct services on these days and instead encouraged members to attend the One MCS services.
The multilingual services were held at Toa Payoh Methodist Church (TPMC) in person and also livestreamed. On average, 359 persons attended in person while about 727 unique views were recorded online over each of the three nights. Notably, several in-person attendees were not from the Methodist community.
Over the three services, Bishop Dr Gordon Wong shared reflections on Isaiah 56-58, titling his sermons “God of All the Nations”, “God of the Crushed in Spirit” and “God of the Hungry”.
On Holy Monday, Bishop reminded us to welcome “foreigners” into the house of God regardless of their background or whether they had been baptised. He also challenged us to think about the ways we could receive the people around us that might feel excluded in church. He raised the examples of two churches that had made their “houses” more accessible. One had placed coffee machines and facilities on the entry level of the church premises for anyone to use, while another hosted singalongs with prayer.
On Holy Tuesday, Bishop took us through Isaiah 57:15-19, expounding on how our God is holy and righteous and sits with “the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit”. Just as John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, said in his sermon “On Zeal”, to “relieve the distress of our neighbour, whether in body or soul” was a hallmark of Christian godliness, Bishop encouraged congregants to do likewise. Bishop, who is the patron of Methodist Welfare Services (MWS), highlighted the work of the MWS Family Development Programme (FDP) which supports lowerincome families in getting out of debt and building their assets by transforming their attitudes and habits towards their finances. A booth was opened at TPMC on Tuesday for anyone who felt moved to support the FDP.
On Holy Wednesday, also known as Spy Wednesday, Bishop told the story of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Even Judas, a close disciple and friend of Jesus for three years, could be tempted to betray Jesus. The congregation was reminded to check if we were betraying our God by committing the wrong actions because of our imperfect understanding of the Bible.
Bishop reminded us that “our God is the God of the Bible who is a God of all nations” and prayed that God would “save us all this Holy Week as we fix our hope on Jesus who was crucified and died but rose again for everyone”.
