Hong Kong Baptist Church and Singapore’s Queenstown Baptist Church gave a resounding performance at CHC’s Dialect service.
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| CN PHOTO: Tan Song Kow |
Members of City Harvest Dialect Church were in for a treat as they watched two performances during the Dialect Church service on June 27. One was a nostalgia-inducing ensemble of traditional Chinese songs from Hong Kong Baptist Church’s Chinese orchestra, and the other, a lively song and dance item by the Queenstown Baptist Church in Singapore.
The orchestra performance featured several traditional Chinese instruments such as the erhu, guzheng and dizi. Some of the group members also demonstrated their singing prowess as they sang along to the tunes of the orchestra. In all, the orchestra played three different pieces, “Joyous Encounter,” “Life Journey” and “Spreading Love To The Nations,” the last of which was a crowd favorite. The piece was a Christian remake of the popular theme song from Wang Fei Hong—a very popular Chinese martial arts television series.
The orchestra’s manager, Yeung Wai Kuen, 60, shared how the orchestra was formed among these elderly with no formal music background. “They started from zero,” said Yeung, “and now after several months of practice, they are performing in Singapore over a six-day period in many elderly homes and churches.”
The oldest in the group is 78, just two years short of the golden age of 80, proof that anyone can serve God regardless of age. Said Yeung, “The orchestra is set up for the elderly to come out of their homes and show their talents; [it is also] for them to just come to serve each other even though they did not know each other prior to this.”
Yeung explained that the orchestra has weekly practices where those with the skills serve and teach those who are keen to learn. Yeung, who also manages a professional Christian Chinese orchestra, takes time off to serve the elderly and motivate them to actively serve God. His ministry definitely proves that age is not a barrier to those who are willing to serve.
While it was HKBC’s inaugural visit to CHC last weekend, it was the second time that QBC made their appearance in CHC’s dialect service. The first time they came was in 2007 where a group of 20 members visited CHC’s Dialect Church for a time of interaction and learning and a relationship was formed between the two churches. This year however, the team from QBC performed for the first time in the dialect service to much appreciation. Together with HKBC, both performances were warmly received by the dialect-speaking congregation.
An attendee at the service, Goh Yang Lim, 77, commented that the performances were “very refreshing.” Chee Poh Seng, 80, praised the orchestra, “The performance was good. The song that followed the tune of Wang Fei Hong has been improvised to a Christian song. I don’t remember the lyrics but the song brings encouragement.”
Maria Tok, zone supervisor for the Dialect Church commended the efforts displayed by the two visiting groups. “The HKBC orchestra serves as an encouragement to our congregation, and shows that serving is never restrained by age. Even though they are not professional musicians, and have only been set up for about a year, their willing hearts to serve the Lord with their talent have inspired us,” she said.
“A few of the dancers from the eight-person dancing team from Queenstown Baptist Church suffer from knee-cap injuries or rheumatism, [yet] through them, we can see that serving God and His people is never restricted by our age and health condition.” Tok added that her congregation has plans to set-up their own dialect drama team in the near future.
The performances were followed by a sermon that Tok preached entitled, “Using Kindness to Build Relationships,” focusing on the importance of love in relationships. She encouraged the congregation to show their love to one another in practical ways.
