St James' Church

Last week must be one of the highlights of the year for SJC as a parish.
Firstly, the Family A’fair ran very smoothly and everybody had a good time. We had many friends visiting and I believe we met our target of getting 2000 people there. Such an event also has a ‘pre-evangelistic’ purpose and only the Lord knows how this event could be a spiritual blessing for some. It was good to see all three congregations working together, young and old. And after all the jokes and humor I have shared in the church, I realize I have never been able to get the church to laugh as much as they did when they saw me being dunked. All for the fun of it and with the S$1000 dollars, it was a worthwhile experience! Perhaps we can do this once in two years, alternating with our Family Camp. And with our annual SJCK Carnival going on as well, there is ample opportunity for us to benefit from events such as these.
And then, we have the Combined Thanksgiving Service at Harding on the Sunday following. It began our 30th Anniversary Celebration. The testimonies were inspiring as we paused to give thanks. We also prayed for and send off another ‘Lim Family’, Seng Tard, Felicia, Elliot, Ezra, Emily & Nathan. They are starting a new Kindergarten in Jakarta. It is a huge step of faith. Please pray for them and offer them every encouragement and support they may need. 
On the same Sunday, we also started our second run of 24/7. What is clear is that this way of praying is here to stay and will be a part of our parish life for many years to come, Lord willing. I have always felt a burden to establish a prayer room in SJC, to no avail until Denise shared her vision with us. I know now that we can only grow from here. Lord, teach us how to pray!
And being September, it is also our Missions Month. It has become an important tradition and Pas Andrew and the Mission team have come out with an interesting programme. It is a mark of the authenticity of our Christian faith when we are able to be concern for His glory in the world, beyond our felt needs and parochial concerns. May it change our heart and shape within us a concern and capacity for outreach beyond those we personally know.