Last Saturday (13th Aug), we had a very fruitful training session for our Connect Group leaders on Facilitation Skills. We are thankful to Francis Tan for availing his time and expertise to spend the day with our leaders. Ultimately, we do want each Connect group to gather around God’s Word and for each member to be able to share and mutually enrich one another.
There is something to be said about a learning process that comes through a group conversation and dialogue. The retention rate is a lot higher when we are able to talk about what we have read and digested inwardly with one another. We will be holding training sessions once every quarter and this is also a precious time for CG leaders to encourage one another. If you are not part of a Connect Group yet and would like to enquire about joining one, please email Pas Lian Swan at connectgroup@cathedral.org.sg
Planning for the new eleven:30 Service is coming along fine. This is a special project which is being planned in collaboration with Holy Trinity Bukit Bintang (HTBB), which is based in Kuala Lumpur. HTBB is a missions project of Holy Trinity Brompton. We are aware that Singapore is very much part of a globalised and urbanised culture which is shared by major cities all round the world. It is good that we learn from a sister Anglican parish which is seeking to reach young urban folks. We will of course have our own culture and flavour while being open to learn new things or “tweaks” as we seek to broaden Cathedral’s reach.
Whatever form a Service may take, it will always be the abiding values that will encourage healthy growth in a congregation, such as good preaching of the Word, a welcoming culture, pastoral attention, community involvement through small groups, prayerfulness and a reverent sense of God’s presence. eleven:30 is seeking to grow the values. Please pray for those involved in pioneering this Service. We are targeting to start the first Service on 25th September at the Chapel for all Peoples.
On the Creative Arts front, we are looking to broaden other areas like dance and drama, on top of the traditional/modern choral (at the Nave) and contemporary worship music (at CNS). Dance and drama is actively used in some churches for worship, evangelism and missions. It is good that Cathedral is able to open some new areas for involvement for those of you gifted in these areas.
Those at the current Alpha Course have been enjoying warm and wonderful home cooking of different cuisines like Sri Lankan, Indian, Malay, Nonya and Korean. Do you know that there are many nationalities worshipping in SAC? Cuisine is one expression of the different cultures and it is good that we can have a taste of each! By now, I hardly need to be involved in the cooking as many ladies have stepped up to cook and be involved in the food preparation. Here is another area where one can step in and serve.
At the 8 am Service, we are prayer-dedicating 35 new kneelers. This project by CWF (Cathedral Women’s Fellowship) has been going on for a year. Each kneeler needed 100-120 hours of stitch-work. We are grateful to the ladies for their labour of love which is making it easier for worshippers to kneel.
New speakers are being demo-ed and tested in the Nave during this period. We ask for your understanding and patience as we consider the various options involved in improving the sound in the Nave.
