The season of Lent is starting with Ash Wednesday on 6 March at 6 pm.
As for our pulpit sermons, apart from observing the First Sunday of Lent (10 Mar) and Palm Sunday (14 April), in preparation for the Celebration of Hope, we will be exploring some questions of life under the theme "Faith & Life.". We have scheduled a few guest speakers to preach alongside our pastors. It will be a good opportunity to invite your unchurched friends to explore the Christian faith. We will let you know at least a week before, what the topics are and who the speakers will be.
During Lent, we are also starting noontime daily prayers from 12.30 pm to 1.00 pm. On Wednesday, it will be a Holy Communion Service which ends at about 1.30 pm. On Friday, the intercessory group, City@Prayer will be leading the noontime prayer and participants should expect a more active prayer engagement. We will be offering daily prayer for our Church, Society and Nations.
We started our evening Alpha Course this week with the Introductory dinner on Wednesday. More than a hundred guests turned up, not counting our own members. We appreciate prayer for this run as Christians lovingly accompany seekers in their search for truth.
This evening course is not to be confused with Alpha Everywhere which is starting later in March-April. We will be hosting lunchtime groups on our grounds and if you will like to help, please contact Andrew Ho @ 63376104 ext 132 or email andrewho@cathedral.org.sg. Members are also encouraged to host Alpha in their home or office. Do let him know if you are interested to help in some way.
Meanwhile, do be "praying without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17) in this period of run-up to the Celebration of Hope. In praying, we discern the purposes of the Lord and His will and plans for our lives and that of the nation. The monthly regional prayer is one meeting not to be missed if you want to stay spiritually tuned in. We also have various prayer gatherings and you are encouraged to participate.
Being the season of Lent, I should also encourage you to use our daily Bible Lectionary readings in our Cathedral App. This can be on top of whatever devotional resource you are currently using. The lectionary readings can help you to stay close to the emphases of the church calendar with audio facilities for those who need it.
Another event to note is the Andrew Initiative Training on Sat 2nd Mar at 9 am. It will help you to better engage with COH rallies, show you how to invite friends and what you can do if they are interested to respond to the Gospel call. If you are not free on this morning, the same training is also offered elsewhere.
I know this is nagging, but we need many more of you to volunteer to serve at the English/Filipino rally. This Sunday morning rally will be a popular one, not just for Filipinos but just about anybody who can understand English! We can imagine that many foreigners will also be coming, including those from Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and so on. Canon J John will be speaking. A few household celebrities will also be performing and sharing their testimonies i.e. Barbie Almalbis, MadRush and Coro Cantabile. This is an opportunity on a Sunday morning to “go in peace to love and serve the Lord" in a different way. We sometimes forget but the term “Service” (as in Sunday Services) originally connotes the idea of worshippers coming to serve on Sunday and to be sent out to serve Christ in the world. The idea of "being served” is a mistaken notion.
Indeed, with the coming Season of Lent, may we be reminded again of our Lord who serves us with a towel and basin (John 13:12-15).
