The Chinese congregation in City Harvest Church gears up for a season of family-themed events.
Contributed By Koh Yong Hui
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| CN PHOTO: Kenneth Tan |
In 2009, the City Harvest Chinese Church organized five successful weeks of after-church activities for their members and friends. Dubbed “Wu Da Huan Xi” or “Five Weeks of Joy & Fun”, the event was well received and saw maximum participation from people of all ages. As such, the organizers decided to hold another similar event again this year with an emphasis on forging closer relationships among the families and members in their congregation.
The theme for this year revolves around the family—referring to the love that is found within the church as well as in the home. For the next five weeks beginning this Sunday Sep. 19, there will be activities held after the Chinese service where members can participate in together with their families and friends.
According to Natalie Teo, 35, an administration officer for the Chinese Church, these events help the people to interact with others outside a church setting. Through this, “we can introduce CHC as a wholesome place for the family,” she added. With many weeks of planning prior to this, the organizers have looked into the details of the event to ensure that the different activities caters to everyone—from the youngest to the oldest member.
Chinese Church members and their friends can look forward to interesting and enriching weeks ahead. There will be a collage board design contest where individuals will bring their chosen momento that represents their favorite moment with their family during the five weeks. Together with other members from their own cell group, they will then need to piece together these photos or souvenirs as a collage and then create the most meaningful story or testimony from it. To encourage family participation, there will also be games for families.
The cell group led by Kong Sai Kian took part in the most number of events in the 2009 event and emerged as the overall winner in terms of participation. In remembering her experience the previous year, she shared that “winning or losing is not really that important. What matters most is that everyone had fun!” This year, Kong and her members are all geared up again for the coming weeks ahead.
Other activities include a chess match, a mooncake-making demonstration, a fashion design competition, a DIY cake design display, and two contests: Funniest Photograph and Best Home Video. The five weeks will culminate in a gala dinner held at a Chinese restaurant at SAFRA Mount Faber.
Even as the Chinese Church looks forward to five weeks of fun-filled events, organizers hope that many of the members will use the opportunity to invite their non-churched friends and relatives and spend time with them. It is not about scoring the most points or attending as many activities as possible, but the aim is to “focus more on the process of participation where we can help build stronger relationships in the process,” Teo concluded.
The activities will be held every weekend after the Chinese service from Sep. 19 to Oct. 17 at the Jurong West St. 91 church premises.
