Church Annual Dinner

It's a very chinese thing, having big sit down dinners. This was was the church annual dinner, held in the main hall of the church.

55 tables of 10 people at each table - so 550 people in total! Which is apparently less than the last couple of years.

A time to say farewell to outgoing pastors... (pastors in Methodist churches rotate around the churches and don't stay in one particular church for more than a few years).

And for the outgoing pastor to give a farewell speech and sing a song.

Also a time to introduce new leaders - this is the new LCEC (Local Church Executive Committee) chairman for 2011. So he gives a little speech too.

The pastors go around to say hi and chat with people at tables and wish everyone a Happy New Year.

This is where the food is being prepared... in a mobile kitchen set up by the caterer just outside the church building.

One of the dishes that was served... it's a typical Chinese banquet, where dishes are served one by one. A big plate in the middle from which everyone takes a spoonful or two of food. The empty plate is then taken away to be replaced by the next course.

Another of the dishes - this one is rice in lotus leaf.

This is Pong at the dinner table (the glass you see in the bottom left hand corner is filled with hot tea).

And here is the program for the evening, which includes singing a few songs together too.

Community Centres...

Built by the Peoples' Association (PA), which is a statutory board established to promote racial harmony and social cohesion. There are all sorts of classes going on at community centres... Here are some banners advertising these courses.

They are often quite reasonably priced, and people actually go to these classes to enrich themselves or learn a new skill.

Photos of our church sanctuary

This advent season, our liturgical service is lighting the advent candles... so two people walk in at the start of the service, one carrying a cross and one carrying a candlelight on a stick.

Then the candle is lit at the front... an extra candle lit each week of advent.

Then at the end of the service, the light is brought out, to represent the Christ-light going out into the world.

More adverts on the MRT train platform

This is one of the videos that gets played on the MRT train station platform, educating commuters about queueing and letting alighting passengers out first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPCdykxra-k

Dialysis centres

There is a dialysis centre on the ground floor of our block of flats where we live. The funds come from charitable sources as well as the government. "Singapore Pools" is like the National Lottery in England, and they must have made a substantial financial contribution to get their name on the signboard. NKF is the National Kidney Foundation. To find out more, check our their website: http://www.nkfs.org/