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Sunday 18 August 2007
Story by Gabriel Sebastian, photography by Henry Wong
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Excitement was in the air. Fortunate Restaurant was packed to capacity
with approximately 700 members from the different lay ministries
gathered together to celebrate the mission of the Lay Apostolate. What
could be better than a fun-filled fellowship dinner on 18th August
2007, the eve of Lay Apostolate Sunday? The theme for the Lay
Apostolate celebration was in line with the parish mission of
‘We are One in the Lord’.
Dinner started by with an opening address by Parish Priest Fr John Sim,
and followed by Father Valerian Cheong, the new priest in town, leading
the diners in the song ‘Bless our Food’.
As the diners tucked into the first dish, a slide presentation was
shown on the various lay ministries serving at Church of the Risen
Christ. As a tribute to the mission of the Lay Apostolate, the theme
song ‘We Are One In The Spirit’ was sung in 3
languages led by a group made up of members of the Tamil speaking, the
Mandarin speaking and the English speaking group with all the diners
joining in. Next was the ever-present table draw, which together with
its next-of-kin, the lucky draw, were played at intervals throughout
the occasion.
The dance competition was catchy, especially with some participants
displaying off-beat styles while others managing hip performances.
The gaiety of the event was heightened by the antics of the master of
ceremony, Christine, from the Shalom Choir.
The diners then participated in a table game called
“scissors,
paper and stone”. After each outwitting the other, one
participant emerged the champion and walked away with his catch.
A bingo game was played next and this really got the most out of the
diners. Ears strained to listen to the numbers that were called out as
everyone hoped to cross out as many numbers as possible in the shortest
time. As the numbers were crossed out, the consecutive flow of dishes
was not forgotten. There was some multi-tasking going on too!
After the organisers had thanked everyone present, the night ended with
every one joining hands in singing the song ‘If We hold On
Together’ as sign of unity to continue working together in
building God’s Kingdom and to ‘Go and make
disciples’ as commanded by Jesus.
Three weeks before the Lay Apostolate Sunday, throughout the weekend
masses, representatives from the various church groups did a brief
pulpit presentation on the work of their respective ministries. The
climax of this year’s Lay Apostolate Sunday was also the
display
of posters in Church and the setting up of recruitment booths by the
various church groups displaying information and photos regarding their
activities and mission. |
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