Vicar Writes

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27 Jan 2019

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

The new four-year cycle of DCBS has started. The turnout has been good and both the New Sanctuary and Prayer Halls are fully used every Thursday evening. DCBS has certainly taken root in SAC and we hope that eventually, it will also be run in other parishes.

We have always wanted to have a strong Christian Education (CE) Programme in SAC. The Church should be a centre of learning and be an important voice in the city. The starting place is to serve her own members through creating an environment of teaching, resourcing and learning. The usual network of Services and Connect Groups provides regular platforms for education, where most in SAC are regularly gathered. On top of that, we have been running CE classes, ranging from courses to one-off seminars. We have also been building up our resources, whether printed or online. The Courier is another “voice”, and this includes both printed and online articles.

In 2019, we will be rolling out a new track called “Faith-Life Track.” Under this, we will be focusing on how our faith and life should be integrated. The scope is wide and will cover areas where science, philosophy and the cultural milieu of the day are powerfully shaping our minds, lives and faith. Specifically, this can encompass areas like creation and evolution, including how we should interpret the early chapters of Genesis, the Christian view towards human gender and sexuality issues, education, the environment, politics/government, artificial intelligence, the rapid social changes in our highly connected world and so on.

We seek to equip the believers to better align their thinking in areas of life outside the church, with the goal of being able to live all of life to the glory of God. Facilitated discussions and readings form the core methodology of this series, giving participants a platform to ask questions and seek answers from the Word of the God and glean insights from other members of the Body.

We will go beyond classroom learning. We are also launching a Cathedral Podcast. It is almost like a modern form of radio. In 20 to 30 minutes, a listener can hear an interesting interview of someone who has some expertise in an area. It is not unlike TED talks, which is a powerful culture-shaper today. Added to that will be written resources, including books and modules.

Undoubtedly, young adults and youths will relate immediately to these as they are exposed to current secular views and powerful voices of today’s culture. However, those who are older will certainly benefit as well.

We have already formed a team which has been laying the ground work since last year. We value your prayers for wisdom and the resources needed to begin a long-term plan to establish this track in SAC. Stay tuned!

These steps are also in conjunction with our SAC's Year of Hope, with our involvement in the Celebration of Hope at the heart of it. Christians need to be better equipped in helping seekers as they consider the questions and searching issues of life. In the face of the latest ideas in the various fields, Christians will need to reflect on these ideas to better integrate their faith with what the world is discovering about God’s world, to put it from the Christian perspective.