Church of the Risen Christ

Prayers for the Conclave

Neighbourhood Christian Community (NCC)

Description

Welcome to our LITTLE CHURCH
(Neighbourhood Christian Communities)

"The Church as Family cannot reach all her possibilities as Church unless she is divided into communities small enough to foster close human relationships." ~ Pope John Paul II

Our NCCs or “Little Churches” are clusters of Catholic families living in the same neighbourhood and living out Gospel values in the spirit of the early Christians.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples...” John 13:34-35

VISION

Our Vision is to form “Little Churches” where Catholics living in the same neighbourhood come together to support each other in their discipleship journey, and in so doing, possibly evangelise non-Catholics living within the neighbourhood.

OBJECTIVES

To live out Gospel values by supporting each other spiritually and materially
To make the Gospel come alive by regular ‘Opening of the Word’ and 7-Step Gospel-sharing at NCC sessions.
To enrich our faith by organising Rosary/Divine Mercy devotions, watching spiritually-uplifting videos, sharing faith stories etc
To serve the needs of and evangelise to the larger neighbourhood community, if possible.
To be a channel of communication between the parish priest and parishioners

GOAL

The goal is to eventually have every parishioner become a member of an NCC. Those who are already active in church ministries can still be a member without taking up leadership responsibilities in an NCC.

FAQ

Q1 Who can join an NCC?

Every parishioner who is a baptised Catholic living in the neighbourhood can join an NCC. Remember, this is not a private club. No one should be excluded.

Q2 Can Catholics from other zones or other parishes join in an NCC session?

The idea of an NCC is to bring together Catholics from the same neighbourhood. But this is not to be applied rigidly. A fellow parishioner living in another zone or a Catholic from another parish may be included as a regular member.

Q3 Can non-Catholics attend the NCC meetings?

Yes, if they are interested to find out more about the Catholic faith.

Q4 How frequent are the NCC meetings?

Every NCC is different, with different member profiles, and different spiritual, material and social needs. So, whether an NCC holds its meetings once a week, once a fortnight or once a month is for the members to decide.

Q5 We already have so many ministries, why have an NCC at all?

The church is blessed with so many ministries, each serving a particular need of the church. The NCC is different in that it serves the needs of those living in a particular neighbourhood. It benefits everyone especially the old and house-bound who are not able to move around easily.

Contact

If you are living within the vicinity of the zones listed below, you are most welcome to join any of the NCC prayer session and get to know your Catholic neighbours and experience community living led by the Holy Spirit.

Chief Coordinator: Juliana Jansen

Contact: ncc@risenchrist.org.sg

Please contact us at ncc@risenchrist.org.sg if you are interested to join the NCC groups listed below.

NCC Profiles

Zone A: Amazing Grace NCC

Blk 207, Maria Lee & Josephine Kwee

We are a closely knit community living around Block 206 Toa Payoh, Lorong 1. Currently, we have five active members. A few dropped out during the Covid pandemic period. We meet once a month on a Friday evening. We usually do Bible reading and reflections, followed by Rosary or Divine Mercy prayer. And we end up with fellowship.

Although our meetings are held monthly for now, we contact each other regularly by phone. We have a lively WhatsApp chat group. If one member is ill, we help to cook food or buy food for them, and sometimes accompany them to the doctor.

Zone B: Bethany NCC

Online, Charles Lim

Thanks or no thanks to Covid, we have been meeting viz Zoom for some time now. We meet every fortnight on the second and fourth Friday of each month at 8pm. We use the 7-Step Gospel sharing format for our meeting because it adds a personal dimension to Bible sharing. We currently have 5-7 members attending the Zoom sessions regularly. Every now and then, especially during the festive seasons, we come together for a pot-luck meal.

Now that most of the Covid restrictions are lifted, we hope more people will join us to build a vibrant church in our neighbourhood.

Zone B: St Benedict NCC

Blk 152, Juliana Jansen & Clare Hariff

We currently have ten active members who meet once a fortnight either in person or online for our NCC sessions. We use the 7-Step Bible sharing for our meetings and have intercessory prayers. Absent or inactive members can make prayer requests through our WhatsApp chat. We also share announcements on NCC matters with them so they are kept in the loop. During the Lent season, we use the Lantern booklet for our sessions. We also make it a point to support parish projects and enjoy lively fellowship with each other. During the Christmas and Easter seasons we have potluck parties. We welcome parishioners living in the Lorong 2 area to join us.

Zone C: Cornerstone NCC

Blk 99A, Elaine Soh

We currently have six active members all living around Lorong 2. Our meetings are held once a month, usually on the fourth Thursday. Closer to the meeting date, our leader will decide whether to meet physically or via Zoom. We try to keep the meeting within one-and-a-half hours. The meeting includes gospel song, Prayers, Bible sharing, sharing our faith stories and we end out with some nice chit chat.

At the end of each meeting, we will collectively decide on the next meeting date. We make it a point to rotate hosts. Outside of the meetings, some of us may meet for meals or go on a dancing nite.

Zone E: Emmanuel NCC

Blk 229, Chris Soh

We have 8-10 regulars attending our monthly meetings although we have more than 20 people in our WhatsApp chat group.

Our meetings are usually held on the third Saturday of the month at 8pm, using the 7-Steps Bible Sharing format. During the Lenten and Advent seasons, we meet weekly to use the reflections provided in the ONE Booklet. We also visit and pray the Rosary together whenever the Block Rosary (in May and Oct) or the Fatima Rosary Novena (9 days) comes to any one of our member’s homes.

Every once in a while, we will hold a Movie Night, or organise a Dinner-and-Dance at a restaurant, or a karaoke session. Every year we give out ang paos, festive hampers or clothing to the Bangladeshi cleaners in our precinct to show our appreciation, or treat them to a meal.

Parishioners living in the Lorong 8 area are welcome to join Emmanuel, either as active members or just to register your family for the purpose of establishing communication with the Parish.

Zone G: Galilee NCC

Blk 193, Briagatte Pereira

There are a total of nine active members at present, most of us middle aged with a few elderlies. We hope to see an injection of new blood to give more variety to our sharings. Our meetings are held once a month, usually around the middle of the month. Our activities include the 7-Step Bible sharing and Rosary prayers, and we come together to celebrate the festive seasons. We also have intercessory prayers, praying for our needs and the needs of the wider community. Here at Galilee, we endeavour to grow in in faith and love in communion with our neighbours and to live the Gospel way of life more fully.

Zone G: Genesis NCC

Blks 100-199 & Bishan Loft, Rita Lopez & Agnes Goh

We have our meetings every Thursday night, from 8pm to 9.15 p.m. We use Opening the Word and the 7-Step Gospel sharing in our meetings. When the pandemic began in February 2020, we learned how to use Zoom and carried on faithfully with our weekly sessions. We even had new members joining us online during that period.

In addition to our Thursday night meeting, some members who don’t know how to use Zoom or can’t go out late at night meet on Tuesday afternoons to pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy devotion. Those who live around Bishan St 11 and St 13 take turns to open their homes to host these meetings.

Zone G: God’s Children NCC

Online, Eva Hwee

Our group comprises about 20 members living in the Bishan St 12 area. We meet online every Thursday using the 7-Step Bible sharing or some material from Formed. And once a month at one of our member’s homes for Devotional prayers. During the Lenten and Advent seasons, we follow the booklets prepared by ONE (Office for the New Evangelisation). We participate in all kinds of outreach programmes and help out at the canteen. We even went on several overseas pilgrimages to Batam, Myanmar and Velankanni in India.

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