visit to frank's church
went to frank’s heart of god church in paya lebar yesterday, mett up wif his church friends n joined them for dinner after the service. it was a truly eye-opening experience. his church is seriously HAPPENING. in the sense dat the service is truly lively, n its truly for youths. before the service, the multi-purpose hall felt exactly like people yet to settle down before a school concert. n instead of bells, the lights will go off, to mark a dramatic start to the worship session. when they start singing, they realli pour all their heart n soul into it. people start raising their hands, speaking in tongues, ...n for a moment, it felt quite unnerving. it was a different kind of spirituality at work here. i’m not talking about the mystic silence u find in most expressions of catholicism. the spirituality here is very vocal n manifests in outward expressions of devotion. alot of people participation, n spontaneous “audience” responses. for a first, it was initially a culture shock.
then came a video of a very long but inspiring speech by dis pastor cho, founder of a charismatic korean church. he talked about the challenges he faced starting a ministry. n he spoke passionately on dreaming big n having visions, n letting these visions shape YOU. it was something the youths in the church, including me, could identify with.
dinner at paya lebar market was spent talking cock wif his church friends, who were very much our age, n were very close friends of frank. shared wif them some of my drawings, they were impressed, as usual. God drew all of us closer dat night, n when i bid farewell to frank n all of them at paya lebar mrt, it was a heartfelt goodbye.
as a catholic dis was a true eye-opener. as who just goes to mass on sunday n important feast days, n disappear from church after dat....dis kinda of fellowship is a blessing, but growing up with the beloved mass, i still see it as my way of personally communicating with God. i’m by nature a very quiet person, n i love the the sense of peace n personal space dat the silence in the church offers. i love the structure of the mass, unlike the ad hoc arrangement i saw in the service yesterday.... there’s lots more, dat i would like to compare, but given dis one time experience, it would be unfair for me to do so in the eyes of a catholic who has been going for mass for years.
being outside catholic walls, stepping outside of my comfort zone to witness charismatic expressions of christianity has brought me closer to my faith. seeing other people going about their means of worship to the same God has brought a sense of identification between me n fellow christians. through dis same God, we are linked. but because we all have different needs, we chose different paths to reac the same goal.
alvin ong dozed and watched the sawdust trampled night @ 9:45 AM
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