For any enquiries, please email missions@cathedral.org.sg
OVERSEAS MISSIONS
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Missions to the disadvantaged and marginalised in Batam
289 FOTM was started in late 2009 by the then Dean of St Andrew’s Cathedral to help the poor and needy seen through the earlier medical missions to Batam. Over the years, various efforts to help the community include food pack distributions, children’s programmes and home visitations, and a clean water project in the villages. The team also worked with the SAC “Bridge of Faith” worship team in 2010 in Dapur Duabelas village in a microfinancing project to empower them to make their own living.
Despite the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, the mission continues, albeit with our Batam partners in the frontline doing much of the fieldwork, and Singapore volunteers supporting from home. During the Covid restrictions between 2020 and 2022, the food distribution frequency was increased from quarterly to monthly. In addition, during Easter and Christmas, the volunteer team in Singapore also created online content to be sent to the communities for their programmes. ‘In the recent years, 289 FOTM has collaborated with local partners to adopt four different villages in Batam.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Presently, interactive activities such as music, craft and dances are conducted online through various digital media including Zoom and video recordings. These activities are usually requested by our Indonesian partners, although we welcome suggestions. Do please take note that activities would need to be planned in consultation with the Missions Department in St Andrew’s Cathedral and preferably with a runway of 3 months.
Trips to Batam are made over the weekend. Contact us for more information on upcoming trips.
Sharing God’s love to the poor youth and children in Cambodia to bring them hope and a future
Set up by the Cathedral in 2000, Project Khmer H.O.P.E. (PKH) aims to meet the social and economic needs of the poor and and needy in Cambodia, helping them out of the poverty cycle and bringing them hope in Jesus Christ.
PKH works with some 500 youth and children through three PKH Centres and a PKH English School to provide residential vocational training for youth and to support the education of poor children who cannot afford schooling.
In particular, PKH actively serves the Suoy community, an Unreached Peoples Group, by providing tribal Suoy children with education, meals, tuition in English and Bible knowledge. This ministry has enabled many Suoy villagers to know God’s love.
PKH offers vocational training to equip the Cambodian youth with vocational skills to secure jobs in the service industry. The residential vocational programs in the PKH Centres train students in the English language, hospitality and industrial skills.
Besides equipping the youths with vocational skills, PKH also provides pastoral guidance and encourages them to contribute back to their communities through practical help.
Volunteer Opportunities:
The PKH Centre in Aoral teaches technical skills. It also conducts English lessons at night. The objective is to equip the students with a functional command of the English in order to communicate with their employers and others around them. These lessons are on Tuesdays and Thursdays (with a view towards opening a Wednesday class) and are conducted at night from 7:45pm – 8.45pm Singapore time over Zoom. This role is most suitable for people with teaching experience and able to communicate simply across language barriers. Volunteers should also be tech-savvy and willing to prepare their own lessons according to the provided materials. Commitments should last 9 months (academic year).
You can also share devotions from the Bible to encourage the staff at PKH on Wednesdays from 2 to 3pm Singapore time over Zoom. This role is suitable for volunteers with a keen grasp of the Word of God, yet able to bring its truths across in a fun and engaging manner. Volunteers should be tech-savvy and willing to prepare their own materials from scratch. Commitments should last 10 months.
- Medical Team for basic health screening for students and the village community
- Organise Youth camp for PKH students in June
- Organise Christmas campfire in December
LOCAL OUTREACH
ABC is a long-term commitment to minister to the people living in Bukit Merah, where many are low-income individuals, families and elderly. Volunteers engage the residents through various activities; befriending them through visits and specially organised outings, and showing care through the distribution of food packs, small gifts and acts of kindness.
The objective of potential volunteers would be to connect with and befriend less fortunate members of society in the Bukit Merah View and Henderson area. At present, in partnership with LifeHouse SG, St Andrew’s Cathedral has adopted one block and selected households within the adjacent block at Bukit Merah View. This is a long-term commitment of at least one year on the first Saturday of each month from 9.30am to 12pm. Patient endurance is key as we pray for warm relationships with the residents, and for open hearts.
Volunteer Opportunities:
1st Saturdays of each month, 9am to 12pm
As many of the residents are elderly and staying at home alone, many need a listening ear or someone to talk to. ABC Volunteers visit them every 1st Saturday of the month, engage in conversation with them, and help with simple chores, such as reading letters and changing light bulbs.
Selected Saturdays, 9am to 12pm
Every year, outings and special events are organised to bring the residents, many of whom do not go out often due to mobility issues, out of their homes to have some fun and activities.
Upcoming event: 2 December 2023, Adopt a Block this Christmas; 9 December 2023, Christmas Is Love Party
More action-oriented individuals may consider volunteering as one-off activities organiser. Subject to prevailing Covid-19 restrictions, we hope to be able to engage residents in bonding activities such as block parties and outings. This helps to spread joy in this community and gives more opportunities for interaction. Do please take note that activities would need to be planned with a runway of at least 3 months, and in conjunction with other activities that the ABC Team has prepared. Contact us for more information.
An 11-week course that creates space where people can bring their family and friends to explore about the Christian faith, God and life.
Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith. Each talk looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create a space for everyone to explore the Christian faith together and ask any question.
No two Alphas look the same, but they generally have three key things in common: hospitality, a talk and good conversation.
ConnectAlpha@Cathedral
Alpha@Home
Alpha@Workplace
Volunteer Opportunities:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Befriending and blessing the migrant workers among us
God’s heart is that all nations shall be saved. Singapore, being an international hub, attracts many people including migrant workers from Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines, who choose to make their living here. They come with hopes, dreams, and are often in search of a better life.
Started in 2018, BMW aims to reach out to the migrant workers in our community, by sharing God’s love and blessings with the people He brings into our midst each week. Our migrant worker friends live amongst us in Singapore and this provides us with the best opportunity to befriend them, and reflects the Cathedral’s calling to be a House of Prayer for all nations and to be God’s blessing to sojourners.
Come and be God’s blessings to the sojourners of our home Singapore. Indeed, the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Keeping pace with current affairs in Myanmar amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, we invite interested English speaking church members and regular visitors to join the Myanmar Worship Service every Sunday from 2pm – 4pm as Observers. The purpose is to connect with people from the Myanmar community and understand their situations and challenges in the hopes of building long-term bridges and bonds with them. We are looking for volunteers who can cross cultural and international barriers to befriend and understand the Myanmar people where they are. Volunteers should be able to commit a period of one year.
Another way to connect with the Myanmar community in Singapore is to give them English Lessons (Sundays, 12pm to 2pm). As many of them are Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) this enhances their communication ability with their employers and empowers them in the long run. In meeting this need, we hope to manifest the love of Christ to them. We are looking for volunteers who have a heart and burden for migrant workers in Singapore with a strong command of the language and the ability to communicate English as a second language in a simple and understandable manner to our Myanmar friends. Volunteers should be able to commit a period of six months.
Each Sunday, teams of volunteers go around befriending the many migrant workers who gather around the Cathedral area, and invite them to join our Worship Services or activities.
Volunteer to help organise events, such as English-language classes, cooking sessions on local dishes and healthcare talks.
The Boys’ Brigade is all about Discipleship and Mentoring the next generation of young men and empowering them to become leaders who stand for what is Godly and right. The Object of the Boys’ Brigade is the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom among Boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self- Respect, and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness. St Andrew’s Cathedral sponsors the 106J Singapore Company in Gan Eng Seng Primary School
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Volunteer Opportunities:
- Ad-hoc Volunteer
If you are willing and able to contribute and teach a meaningful skill or run an activity, such as games on a once off basis, but can only commit a short period of time, this role is for you.
- Long-term Volunteer
If you have a passion to mentor children from 9 to 12 years of age as a role model, have the energy and a fun-loving personality while imparting deeply rooted Christian values in a dynamic environment, do consider being involved as a long-term volunteer. Volunteers may participate for a period of at least six months and for those who have caught the vision and burden for this generation of young people, be encouraged to be upgraded to become an Officer in the Boys’ Brigade. No prior uniform unit experience required.
Ministry to the rough sleepers in the city
Named after the beggar in Jesus’ Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), it reflects the ministry’s goal to remember the needs of the poor at the Cathedral’s doorstep. Lazarus Ministry (LM) aims to bring hope to homeless people in Singapore, enable the destitute to get back on their feet and help them rediscover their purpose in life.
Each rough sleeper’s situation is unique. A variety of factors may contribute to the plight of rough sleepers, including unemployment, housing issues, family conflicts and health problems. LM volunteers dedicate themselves to understand and meet their needs while encouraging them as they journey together.
Volunteer Opportunities:
1st & 3rd Fridays of each month, 9.30pm - 11.30pm
A small team of volunteers visit the areas around Cathedral to befriend rough sleepers, listening to them and sharing provisions to meet their immediate needs, while working to link them up with organisations offering shelter.
Christian medical missions afford an opportunity for healthcare professionals and others to tangibly demonstrate the love & grace of Jesus Christ through much-needed healthcare to the poor, the sick and the suffering. In this way we reflect the very nature and glory of Christ to the world.
Find out more about our Medical Missions
• Batam Medical Outreach (BMO)• Mobile Medical Service to the Community (MMSC)
• Healing of the Nations (HOTN)