Dialogue Sessions with Our Brothers and Sisters from Trinity Theological College

Post date: Aug 9, 2014 7:07:22 AM

About 40 students from the Trinity Theological College (TTC) visited the Church of Risen Christ on Sunday morning of 20 July 2014. The visit was lead by Rev. Yap Seok Chin and Rev. Dr .Simon Chan. “It is to give our students an opportunity to visit the various churches and understand and study the different Christian denominations in Singapore” said Rev Dr. Simon Chan. The visitors were divided into two groups, with the Mandarin speaking group attending the 8.15am mass and the English speaking group attending the 11.30am mass. Each group then proceeded to attend a dialogue session immediately after the mass with our priests, Fr John Sim, Fr Joseph Zhang and Fr Kamelus Kamus together with various heads of our Church Ministries in attendance. The dialogue sessions were lively and many questions about the Catholic faith on matters of the order of the Mass, the theological significance of various symbols, prayers and actions were raised. Each went away with a better understanding of our Catholic faith. The students and staff of TTC send their sincere gratitude for hosting the visit.

Please view more pictures here.

Visit by Inter-Religion Confidence Circle

Post date: Aug 9, 2014 5:46:22 AM

The Inter-Religion Confidence Circle (IRCC) under the Singapore Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth organised an interfaith heritage walk for the Toa Payoh residents on the morning of Saturday 9 Aug 2014. They came to the Church of the Risen Christ (“the Church”) after attending the National Day observance ceremony at the Toa Payoh Community Centre which is next to the Church. About 220 participants from various faiths came for the visit. John Heng from the Parish Pastoral Council of the Church and Anthony Soh from Mandarin Apostolate Ministry of the Church presented an overview of the Catholic faith, church history and the various services provided by the Church. The presentation was from 8.00am to 9.00am. Please view more pictures here.


Easter Sunday with the Archbishop

Post date: Apr 11, 2015 5:29:49 PM

He is Risen! Alleluia! Such enthusiasm from our brothers and sisters, we filled our church to the rafters! Everyone eager to celebrate this wonderful day, to hear and remember what it means when God said He loves us. Easter Sunday, the day love comes to life. Archbishop William Goh shared that “love triumphs death”. That we all look for and desire love, we seek answers so that we can live our lives meaningfully and purposefully. However, in our desperation, we may end up following the majority, having a herd mentality that may have us running towards death instead. So Archbishop Goh pointed out what St. Paul had said in the second reading, that our life is hidden in Christ, and it will be shown in Christ, in His glory. For Jesus showed us how to live, by living for others and for God. He gave His life to humanity without counting the cost, even at the risk of being humiliated, ridiculed, hated and killed. Archbishop Goh also noted that the world and even some of us, may have questioned why a good man had to be put to death, why good people have to suffer, why any injustice have to happen, that these questions may give rise to doubts. He reminded us that Jesus suffered the utmost injustice, to be stripped naked in public, shamed, ridiculed. Perhaps remembering this each time we are at our lowest, would help to sooth our own pain and suffering. Also, as Christians, we know that they can kill our bodies, yet our spirit lives on! Our life is not in vain. Just like Jesus’ life is not in vain, nor are the lives of those who have suffered. Jesus demonstrated the real meaning of love. It is eternal.

Lastly, Archbishop Goh encouraged us to come out of our comfort zone, to stop hiding in our “tombs”, as this could prolong us being cut off from love, that there is no future there. The Lord Jesus is inviting us to come out of our tombs. He is more than ready to roll away the stone of sin, pride, intellect, and selfishness, they have all been removed, so we need to want to come out as there are no longer any blockages. Once we do this, once we put others before ourselves just as our Lord Jesus had done, once we can smile even in our suffering, then we can live a life of love.

New Evangelization Experience. Our Parish Day of Recollection

Post date: Aug 21, 2015 5:25:09 PM

The need for constant renewal to keep up with the times It was full-house at Risen Christ Parish as about 1,000 parishioners came together on 7 August to take part in a full-day retreat conducted by Archbishop William Goh. The theme of the retreat was the New Evangelisation. The contents of the talks by Archbishop Goh were wide-ranging, but they fell mainly into three broad areas: how to respond to a fast-changing world, bringing our lost sheep back into the fold, and equipping ourselves for the task of this New Evangelisation. Things are moving at a break-neck pace on the global stage. More changes have taken place in the world in the last decade -- especially in areas like technology, geo-politics and social media -- than in the century before. And we can expect more changes ahead. Archbishop warned that the Church needs to be prepared to respond to the challenges brought about by these changes -- or risk being overtaken or deemed irrelevant.

For example, the new laws on abortion, contraception, gay rights and same-sex marriage passed in other countries have divided communities around the world. The Catholic Church has not been spared.

Archbishop said that the Church needs to be more caring and sensitive to the needs of people with differing views. Many Catholic divorcees, single parents and people with same-sex attraction are in a moral dilemma, sometimes through no fault of theirs. They want to remain in the Church. As Catholics we should do what we can to reconcile them to the Church instead of ostracising them.

We also need to reconsider our catechesis. We can no longer teach our children by rote. They are already exposed to all kinds of information through the Internet and social media -- some of them at variance with Church teachings. We need to find new ways to catechise and communicate with our children. And we need to make our Catechism classes more engaging and interesting.

Archbishop said that to start the work of evangelisation we, as Catholics, first need to be holy: "Without holiness we cannot change the world. To be holy is to live authentic lives in our own stations in life, whether as parents, teachers, businessman or priest. "The reason why our efforts at evangelisation fail is because our ministries are more concerned with doing work than discipleship. "We first need to be convicted in the Word of God and become disciples before attempting to evangelise. "If the Word of God touches you, it will touch your audience; it if doesn't touch you, it won't touch your audience."

Chris Soh a parishioner who came with his wife and two teenage sons said: "It was great to be coming together as a parish community to reflect on something as important as Evangelisation. It was also an opportunity to bond with my family and with the parish community."

Ian Binny, the Chair of the Organising Committee said: "In the past years, the day of recollection was a simple half-day affair which would normally end with lunch. This year, it was a whole-day affair which included a Holy Hour comprising scripture reflections, Benediction and a Eucharistic Procession, and ended on a high note with Eucharistic celebration. This Recollection is only the start of a journey for many. In order for the New Evangelisation to gain traction in our parishes, mindsets will first have to change."

~ Vincent Especkerman

My Faith Story: Parish Mission Census Taking

Post date: Oct 30, 2015 5:18:25 PM

19 - 20 Sept 2015. Throughout all the weekend masses of 19/20 Sept, the Church conducted its Parish Mission Census taking exercise. Redemptorist Fr Simon Pereira in his homily urged the parishioners to welcome the home visits. Members from many ministries, led by the Wardens rendered help to parishioners in filling up the census forms. About 1,800 families staying within Church of the Risen Christ boundaries filled up the census forms. Even those not within Church boundaries were not left out, as Fr John assured that there will be something planned for them. The theme for this Parish Mission in 2016 is 'My Faith Story'. Click on picture thumbnail to view album.


My Faith Story: Parish Mission 2016 Workshop

Post date: Dec 11, 2015 6:35:37 PM

10 Nov 2015. More than 300 parishioners spent their Deepavali holiday attending the full-day workshop in preparation of our Parish Mission to be held in 2016. Which is unimaginable in most Western countries, observed Fr Simon Pereira, one of the two Redemptorist priests who conducted the workshop. The other was Fr Jacob Ong. The series of talks, interspersed with lunch and tea-breaks, were wide ranging. The first, given by Fr Simon, touched on the subject of mission. The objective of the Parish mission is to re-evangelise our parishioners and to strengthen the bonds of friendship and trust within our parish community.

We all have a part to play to reach out to fellow parishioners, especially those living on the fringe. Even if we are not qualified to teach the faith, we can at least share our faith story.

"The approach of using one's own experience with God to reach out to fellow Catholics is innovative. Sharing stories help to engage others," said Evelyn Tang, one of the workshop participants.

Fr Simon also gave tips to sharpen our inter-personal skills. They came in the form of anecdotes. We have to be sensitive to people who may have emotional baggage and psychological blocks that prevent them from receiving the word of God. These have to be removed before they can be touched.

"To do mission, we first need to encounter Christ; but ultimately what is most important is how we respond," said Stefannus Untung, another participant.

~ Vincent Especkerman

Opening of the Holy Door

Post date: Dec 23, 2015 5:44:29 PM

Our parish is one of the 5 designated parishes to open its Holy Door. The other 4 are Church of the Divine Mercy, Church of the Holy Cross, Church of the Sacred Heart and Church of St Vincent de Paul. Fr John Sim opened the Holy Door at the Sat 6pm mass on 12 Dec 2015.


Good turnout in 24 Hours for the Lord

Post date: Mar 11, 2016 3:41:18 PM

In union with Catholics all around the world, parishioners of Risen Christ took part in this Lenten devotion called for by Pope Francis. Here at Risen Christ, the parish hall was decked up for the occasion. The various church ministries took turns to lead in prayers in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament over 24-hours starting at 9am on Friday 4 March. Priests were available for confession. This is the third year this event is being held worldwide. With so much violence, secularism and indifference to the sanctity of life taking place in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, there is every reason for us to call on the mercy of God. In his homily at the Penitential Service at the Vatican, Pope Francis said: “I want to see again” (Mk 10:51). This is what we ask of the Lord today. To see again, because our sins have made us lose sight of all that is good, and have robbed us of the beauty of our calling, leading us instead far away from our journey’s end."


Two(2) Parish Renewal Experiences !

Post date: Apr 3, 2016 3:02:06 PM

Two Parish Renewal Experiences were held in March. The first which was held in Mandarin, saw 9 of our brothers & sisters arriving from China as participants. The following week, the 20th Parish Renewal Experience (English) was held. The experience of being Church in the PRE has touched the lives of so many parishioners. Watch out for the next one! No photo album, sorry :-(

ONE in Spirit and Purpose

Post date: Apr 24, 2015 3:42:08 PM

82 of our parishioners came together on Saturday, 18 April, for the New Evangelization Workshop conducted by Fr. Terence Pereira and his team from the Office of New Evangelization (ONE). Evangelizing is not something new. All along it has been a function of all Christians starting with the Apostles. However, the circumstances in the 21st century are vastly different from the time of the Apostles. Hence, the need to discuss the new social and political landscape we find ourselves in today, and the new opportunities, new means and new expressions for evangelization. After a general discussion on evangelization, participants broke into groups to focus on how our Parish of the Risen Christ can be a beacon of hope to the residents of Toa Payoh, and how to reach out to them in ministry.


Coming Together to Celebrate Lay Apostolate Sunday

Post date: Sep 10, 2016 7:53:32 AM

For some years now we've celebrated Lay Apostolate Sunday with a grand lunch at a restaurant. This year we decided to break with tradition and do something different. Ideas were thrown up at the Parish Exco and after some discussion, the Exco decided to have a Fair & Exhibition. When the word filtered down to the parish groups, most members were game for it even though they knew it meant getting themselves down and dirty. As it turned out, the event brought out the ingenuity and creative genius in the members. They had only a few weeks to conceptualise and put their exhibition material together and still managed to do a fabulous job! We were blessed with fine weather on Lay Apostolate Sunday itself. When the 8.15am mass crowd streamed out of the church after the service, they were delighted to see the exhibition in full swing. Most of the stalls were lined along the perimeter wall in front of the church. Some people were trying their hand (or rather their leg!) at the Filipino bamboo dance. Under the porch, people were having their hands henna tattooed.

The theme for the Media Team's exhibits was Walking Down Memory Lane. There parishioners viewed photos of the church from the 1970s when the Church of the Risen Christ was built. And there they also found out that the original name of our parish was 'Church of the Resurrection" before the name was changed to 'The Church of The Risen Christ'.

The exhibition provided the occasion for parishioners to come together to see the wonderful work being done by the various ministries. It brought out the camaraderie and team spirit within the various groups.

Filipino Ministry: Rosaries and book-markers to promote the Holy Hour devotion were given away.

Legion: Bumper harvest: 20 Filipinos, six seniors and five juniors signed up for active membership, and 12 signed up for auxiliary membership. 100 rosaries, 63 miraculous medals and scapular medals were given away.


Lectors: Parishioners, young and old, tried their hand at proclaiming the word of God from the makeshift lectern.


View all the Photos here (1) and here (2) or go to our Photo Booth for 2016 here.

Accolades

"Thanks to the Core Team for a very good job in planning the exhibition in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. We enjoyed ourselves! Special thanks to Kathleen and Ian for working tirelessly! Hip Hip Hurray!!" - Faustina, Divine Mercy

"We too had a joyous day! On behalf of ICM and Tamil Choir, I would like to thank the Core team and all. God bless!" - Mary, Indian Catholic Movement

"It was nice to see so many happy faces in church. It was a great opportunity to bond. The response was good and everyone had a good time. Thank you." - Margaret Wong

"Congratulations Core Team! I hope we can have more activities such as this in the future! It helps promote the ministries. We made some recruitments on that day!" - Veronica Oreste

"We had a Lay Apostolate exhibition some years back, but minus the fun activities. The other years were all about makan in restaurants. We are glad this year was different and more meaningful. It was an opportunity to invite prayer requests and tell people about gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit - a great way to evangelize." - Jessica, Aflame!

"Thank you Bro. Ian and all the ministries involved in organising this fun-filled activity and giving the members from the different ministries the opportunity to fellowship. Thank you all of you and God Bless." - Michael Koh, Exco

"Thank God for all his blessings and help to give us such a good day filled with his Holy Spirit working through us to guide us, unite us, and inspire us to be true Lay Apostles!"

The Parish Assembly - Charting the course for 2017

Post date: Jan 6, 2017 4:01:10 PM

About 100 parishioners spent their second day of the new year in church attending the Parish Assembly. The purpose of the assembly was to review the past year and chart the course for the new year. In his opening address, Fr John Sim introduced the theme for the year, which was "Community of Disciples." Fr John urged individual parishioners and ministries to work together for the common good and not for personal gain. Mr Michael Chong, the Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council, then gave a quick run-through of the events that took place in the past year.

The biggest project the parish undertook in 2016 was the Parish Mission. Most agreed that the mission itself was a success. But the follow-up phase - the setting up of the Neighbourhood Christian Communities (NCCs) - was flat. We were not able to set up as many new neighbourhood cell groups as we had hoped to.

Trainers from the Office for New Evangelisation (ONE) are currently conducting a programme to train up potential NCC coordinators. Hopefully, once they are trained, they will be better equipped and more confidant to set up a new NCC in their own blocks.

Mr Chong explained the difference between "ministry" and "community". A ministry is task oriented. A person may be involved in ministry work without being engaged in community.

To be in community is to be more intimately involved in the lives of a group of fellow Christians.

Many parishioners are in fact engaged in community with members of their ministry, such as the choir or the Legion of Mary. But if a parishioner does not have the time to be involved in a church ministry, then it is a good idea to be attached an NCC closest to his/her block. Every parishioner should be involved at least one church community.

Participants then broke up into smaller groups to brainstorm on how we can build up our parish community.

Many groups expressed the need for the various ministries to work together. This will not only save much time and resources but also result in more effective outcomes.

One participant felt that the church could do more for the lost sheep among our parishioners.

Another expressed the need to create pathways for our catechism children in confirmation year and our catechumen, so that they will continue to be involved in ministry after their confirmation and baptism respectively.

The newly elected PPC will soon be meeting to discuss the suggestions thrown up in the group sharing.

Fr John noted that the Parish Assembly has just ended and everyone was feeling high. But we have to work hard in the months to come to bring our plans to reality.

Farewell & Welcome Lunch Reception

Post date: Apr 29, 2017 3:28:46 PM

The lunch reception after the 11.30am mass last Sunday was a bitter-sweet affair as we welcomed our new priests Fr Edward Lim and Fr Ignatius Yeo into our community. They join Fr John Chen Binshan who moved in few weeks earlier. It was also to thank Fr John Sim and Fr Kamil for their dedicated service to the community of The Risen Christ. Fr John Sim has been transferred to Christ the King parish while Fr Kamil moves to St Bernadette. Catch them at our Photo Gallery !