CERC's 28th Anniversary

On Sunday CERC celebrated its 28th anniversary.  We began with an exhortation based on Revelation 2:4 and the idea of a church's "first love."

Three Bible study groups sang Psalter numbers.

Yang Zhi chaired the celebration and read letters from our sister churches in the United States and Northern Ireland.

We were told at our welcome program when we moved here that any special events include cake cutting, and we have found that to be true!

The Session members, minus one deacon

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.  That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations" (Psalm 67:1-2, our sermon text Sunday morning).

Last Two Homeschoolers' Outings

The homeschooling families from church try to get together once a month for an evening outing.  In August we met at a small waterpark near the new Singapore Sports Hub.

The Sports Hub

Sunset behind the waterpark

Fun in a small, shallow pool

Jael, Jason, and Elijah

 

Joseph and Wan Teng

Jessica and Nichelle

The lazy river was $2; the rest was free!

Megan, Jotham, Jochebed, and Emily

This is an unrelated side note, but the following picture is the view from the Sports Hub.  A beautiful view, except it was so hazy!  I'm not sure the cause of the haze that evening, but this is what Singapore looks like everywhere now too, due to forest fires in Indonesia.  The pollutant levels in the air here are at unhealthy levels.  Ghost Month just ended this weekend, so I had to joke that I wonder how they know the haze is from fires in Indonesia and not from all the offerings and burnings for the ancestors going on right in Singapore! There were SO many offerings set out and burn barrels smoking on Saturday!

September's homeschool outing was at Sembawang Park.  The kids were very happy to have a large field where they could play dodgeball and kickball.

Jason and Seow Thong

There were also paths for riding scooters, and a nice playground.

 

 

Poh Ling, Jean, and me

Wan Teng and Annie

Jason and Jael at suppertime :-)

Group photo

We all really enjoy these evenings together and are thankful for the times when our children can gather with other children, even if it is not every day at school.  We also think often of, and pray for, the schools in the PRC.  We pray that God will bless the instruction of His covenant children through the Christian schools, as well as by those who find it necessary to homeschool.

This Year's Weddings

Our congregation has celebrated two weddings this year.  The first was Ivan & Elisa in May, and the second was Aaron & Iva in August.

Ivan & Elisa's wedding

Couples rent churches, since ours is not big enough to hold a wedding.

Elisa's dad walking her down the aisle

Beginning of the ceremony--After this all the attendants and the bride and groom sit down.

Where U.S. weddings end, here the couple comes back 

into church together for a bit more of the ceremony.

 

At the end of the ceremony there are always photos 

taken with all the guests.  Here is the group from CERC.

 
Parking is very limited at many of the churches we have seen in Singapore.  Each wedding has ushers (with different roles than ushers in the U.S.) who help with the parking, among other things.  It was very difficult getting out of this parking lot--the black car in the center was trying to make its way out among all those other cars, which are parked there.

For Ivan & Elisa's wedding dinner they rented a chalet on the Singapore coast and had an informal buffet dinner with games and fellowship afterwards.  It was a very fun evening.

 

As you may be able to tell, there was a flower theme!

Aaron & Iva were married a couple months later at a different church in Singapore.

Aaron waiting for the bride

Megan was one of the flower girls.

Iva's dad walking her down the aisle

Aaron & Iva

The couple with their flower girls and page boy

Aaron & Iva had a formal Chinese wedding dinner, held at a nice hotel on the Singapore River.  These dinners usually include 8-10 courses of Chinese food, served over a span of a few hours.  

At the dinner

The first course

The dishes are all served on this lazy Susan (not sure that term is used here though!).

As a congregation we are thankful for marriages in the Lord and look forward to at least three more weddings next year, Lord willing.  May God continue to build His Church through these marriages.