Pastoral Letters

Church Family Day – Building Strong Friendship

June 2, 2013 Author:Elder Teo Chin Tian
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  (Ecc 4:9-12)

Some species of mongooses use various defense mechanisms to save themselves from the bigger carnivores.  One of them acts as a guard who keeps watch on the environment.  In the face of impending danger, it makes a loud noise that works as an alarm call for other mongooses to alert them.  When the other mongooses hear this alarm call, they would rush to the nearest hiding hole as soon as they can.

With this illustration of the mongooses standing guard and caring for one another, Pastor exhorts us that likewise, we should stand guard and care for one another.  We should be the “mongooses” in our church.

For the recent Family Day, we prayed for a dry and cool day.  Nevertheless, the advance party secured our meeting place beside a stage at West Coast Park, under a big shelter.  Fifteen minutes into the singspiration, grey clouds started to form.  It began to rain.

It was as if God did not hear our prayer.  However, we thank God for the rain and for shelter on the stage.  We also thank God for the closer and warmer fellowship at the shelter. Had it not been for the rain, we would be scattered across the wide terrain of West Coast Park.  The rain forced us to congregate on the stage, and made us all stay together.  We were thus able to listen to the message and fellowship with one another.

We thank God for a well-planned program run by the committee headed by deaconess Shu Chang and sister Yi En.  Young and old alike were able to participate actively and enjoy different games and activities.  The kids and adults were amazed by the rocket launcher.  A few with inquisitive minds asked about the physics behind the rocket launcher.  While some had their hands and faces painted, others posed for family portraits at a photo booth.

When the rain lightened to a drizzle, we played with Frisbees and flew kites in the cool morning.  We thank God for some new friends.  We had a good lunch and topped it off with grass jelly and longans.  We thank God for a good and enjoyable Family Day and we thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship with one another.  For those who missed this family day, do join us for the next family day!