Just for Dad — Fathers’ Day 2009

By Rubez Wong June 30, 2009July 2, 2009

As the man of the house, fathers have an equal share in the burden of raising the family. Although their responsibilities may differ from mothers, there is no doubt that a father figure sets the leadership model for the children to look up to.

On the weekend of 20 to 21 July, 2009, City Harvest Church (CHC) acknowledged fathers with a special Father’s Day weekend in all 4 of its worship services.

A special guest performance during the service was Norihiko Hibino, a well-acclaimed saxophonist famous for his work on the music for video games like the “Metal Gear Solid” series. Here in Singapore to perform in the Video Games Live! 2009 concert, the Japanese composer wowed the audience with several arrangements, including the gospel classic “Amazing Grace” and his own rendition of CHC’s “Elevate”.

For CHC’s member, Mark Lim, this year’s Fathers’ Day was a double celebration for him as it happened to coincide with his thirtieth birthday. Attending with his wife and 4 year old daughter, he was greatly moved by a sense of God’s love in the whole service. “I was very touched by the musical performance, it is something unique that we don’t often get to experience,” said Lim. The energizing performance left a deep impression on many in the congregation. As did the highlight of the service, which was the highly anticipated Fathers’ Day drama production.

Performed by an experienced team of volunteers from the CHC Drama Ministry, the drama brought about peals of laughter as well as tears from the crowd. The story about the strained relationship between a father and son resonated with the crowd, and showed how the son eventually realized the importance of restoring his relationship with his father as the latter laid in a coma.

Student Priscilla Woo, 20, brought her parents, for the first time, to the service on this special occasion, and the whole family thoroughly enjoyed the drama. Speaking on behalf of her father, Woo said, “There were tears in my eyes. I could tell that my parents enjoyed the drama! We definitely had a great time today.”

Following the drama, Tan Ye Peng, Deputy Senior Pastor of CHC, shared about how as children of God, Christians have to be willing to wait on God’s timing, just as a young child needs to wait for the father’s timing. Although everyone has needs and wants them to be met immediately, patience and trust in God is needed as He alone knows the right timing for all situations. Tan concluded that God indeed has the best in store, if His children would learn to wait on His promises.

A relatively new member to CHC for six months, Lim Tse Nan, was greatly impacted by the entire day. The 36 year old father of one said, “I found the drama meaningful and the entire service well planned out. It really reminded me of many issues of father-son relationships that people face. I’m also encouraged to be the best father that I can be for my daughter.”