Mothers are often held as bastions of sacrifice. In City Harvest Church’s outreach to single mothers, The Nurturing Circle, we see mothers who go beyond sacrificing for their families to help perfect strangers. Three of these mothers tell us their stories.
Crystal Goh, 33, had just given birth to her first child when she heard her senior pastor, Kong Hee encouraging CHC members to meet the needs of those outside the four walls of the church. She recalls seeing CHC pastor Veronica Tang and pastoral supervisor Pauline Kong standing on stage, introducing a new outreach called The Nurturing Circle and explaining to the church why single mothers need help.
Crystal’s heart was stirred, and she immediately signed up as a volunteer.
“When I had my firstborn, I had blood complications and it was the first time I felt so helpless,” she says. “But thankfully, I had very good support at home.”
When her daughter was born, Crystal’s mother left her job to look after the baby. “My father would come over to help me as well, and my husband has always been a loving support—he is very hands-on with the children,” she shares. Today, Crystal has two children, and her mother continues to travel to her home to care for her kids during the week.
Crystal also found support in church, among her peers in the pastoral zone led by Lim Meng Chin, a lay pastoral supervisor. The mothers formed a WhatsApp chat to share information and serve as a source of guidance and advice. “As a new mom, I really didn’t know many things, like which doctor to bring our kids to, or how to deal with breastfeeding,” she explains. “This chatgroup has been very helpful to me.”
Crystal (first from left) and Laetitia (in pink) are two of the mothers who support single mothers in The Nurturing Circle, helmed by Pastor Veronica Tang (rightmost)
Having multiple strong pillars of support made Crystal realise how blessed she is. She hopes that by volunteering in this ministry, she can render support to those who have no one to turn to. The Nurturing Circle is an initiative in CHC’s Church Without Wall programme. Formed in September 2021, this ministry focuses on reaching unwed, single mothers to provide practical help and emotional support.
“I realised that it really takes a village to raise a child,” says Crystal. “I don’t know how the single moms do it. But we do what we can to help lighten their load a little.”
She added that some of the single moms she befriended had been rejected by their families when they got pregnant. “And they are so young. I feel for them deeply because I’m a youth cell group leader,” she explains. Seeing her cell group members live a carefree life makes her empathise with the young women, many of whom are as old as her members but bear all the responsibilities of a single mother.
As part of the ministry, Crystal volunteers at Safe Place, an initiative of Lakeside Family Services that provides residential respite for pregnant women who need a temporary place to stay. Some of the new mothers leave their baby in the Safe Place while they work, and the volunteers would step in to look after the babies.
Apart from that, Crystal also pays regular visits to a teenage single mother, together with Pauline. The teenager was referred to The Nurturing Circle by a church member. Besides bringing her groceries and necessities, Pauline also gives her Bible study. The duo also took the teenager and her daughter to the zoo to celebrate her 1-year-old’s birthday. “We brought along our own children and had a great time at the zoo,” Crystal recalls.
She feels that as a first-time mother, she was able to relate to those she serves. “I know their struggles and how difficult being a mother is. My child is only a few months older than the teenager’s, so I’m slightly ahead of her in the journey and can offer her encouragement and support.”
Her compassion for single mothers has motivated her to continue serving in Nurturing Circle even when it isn’t convenient. Thirty-six weeks into her second pregnancy, Crystal led games at a Mother’s Day event!
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING
Volunteer Laetitia Yim, 41, explains, “Serving in the ministry made me realise how privileged and blessed we are. That’s why we need to be a blessing to others and be kind as well.”
Her passion for vulnerable mothers and their children was ignited when she visited a home in Hong Kong. The home houses children whose parents can no longer provide for them and these children wait to be fostered or adopted.
When she heard about the Nurturing Circle, she decided to find out how she can help this demographic of mothers. Laetitia was roped in to serve at Safe Place for a year. Every Saturday, she would go down to the home to render help in whatever way she can.
“We’re not there to be counsellors, but we are there to help,” she says. “Many of these young women don’t want to be disturbed, they just want a break, so we do what we can to help.”
One particular young woman reached out to Laetitia. She was in a predicament because her boyfriend left when he found that she was pregnant, and her family rejected her. “She showed me the messages that her mother and sister sent her, telling her that she has brought shame to their family—it was terrible,” Laetitia recalls.
Despite her difficult circumstances, the young woman did not give up on life. She told Laetitia that she was studying a course at a polytechnic so that she can give her child a better life. “I was touched by her story,” she says.
While the girl stayed positive most of the time, she still had her bad days. Laetitia lent a listening ear and encouraged her to remain positive.
The young woman gave birth last year and successfully completed her studies. Even though Laetitia could not keep in contact with her due to Safe Place’s policies, she was happy to have journeyed with her through a difficult period.
The Nurturing Circle conducts many events in partnership with Safe Place. On special occasions like Mother’s Day or Christmas, the volunteers would deliver log cakes to the clients, past and present.
TOUCHING LIVES WITH KINDNESS
One memorable event for Laetitia was when Safe Place held a fundraiser at the former Merchant Court Hotel. With the help of CHC’s Nursery Ministry, the volunteers set up a makeshift nursery in a meeting room next to the ballroom where the fundraiser took place. They brought in cots and mats from the Nursery rooms in the church. “Pastor Veronica was so worried that the children would have no toys, she bought a lot of toys for them,” Laetitia shares. That evening, they watched over the babies while their mothers attended the event.
Jasmine with her two sons on the way to deliver Christmas goodies to the single mothers.
Jasmine Liow, 44, is another volunteer who gives her time to bring cheer to the clients on special occasions. “The people that we meet are not Christians, but I think our little gestures can touch their hearts. We bring the love of Christ to them,” she shares.
At a Christmas event last year, she met a single mother whose child was having rashes and feeling unwell. Jasmine’s own children had had the same issue when they were young so she could relate to the single mother’s problem. “She was sharing with me what she went through the last few days, and I felt the need to pray for her,” she shares. “She was very open, which made me realised that non-Christians are also hungry for a touch from God.”
What drew Jasmine to serve in The Nurturing Circle was a word from God. “During Covid, there was a time when everyone was very afraid of the virus, and we all kept to ourselves. When Pastor Kong shared about the CWW initiatives, I felt God telling me to step out and reach out to others again,” she explains.
“God told me to guard my heart and my way of doing it is to be a disciple of Jesus and to love the community—not only those who are lovable, but also those who need help.”
The efforts of these mothers reflect is the heartbeat of every CWW initiative—to bring the love of Christ outside the four walls of the church, into the community.
