National Day Thanksgiving Service

Last evening I attended the National Day Thanksgiving Service at St. Andrew's Cathedral. It was organised by the National Council of Churches of Singapore. It was a lovely service well attended by Christians of different denominations.

President Tony Tan and his wife Mary, plus a number of Ministers and Members of Parliament were present.

All the heads of churches belonging to the NCCS were present. Our Territorial Commander Colonel Lyndon Buckingham participated in the service. Colonel Bronwyn Buckingham our Territorial President of Women's Ministries and a number of officers were also present in the meeting.

Captain Hary Haran of Balestier Corps together with Irene Low came to fetch me for the meeting. There was very heavy traffic and the captain had to take a longer route to get to St.Andrew's Cathedral. We managed to get there on time.

The Service began with a Trumpet call - a special arrangement of "Amazing Grace" by Jusuf Kam. The Wesley Soli Deo Gloria Ensemble played for the prelude. This was followed by the Introit presented by The Dawnbreakers Singers "Above all" words and music by Lenny LeBlanc and Paul Balache and arranged by Mark Hayes.

"Above all powers, above all kings,
Above all nature and all created things;
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man,
You were there before the world began.

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones,
Above all wonders the world has ever known;
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth,
There's no way to measure what You're worth.

Crucified, laid behind the stone;
You lived to die, rejected and alone;
Like a rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me above all"

My heart was really touched as I listened and joined in this beautiful song. That song has lingered in my heart and mind throughout the whole day.

Canon Louis Tay the Associate Dean of St. Andrews welcomed the President, Ministers and Members of Parliament, the heads of Churches and the people who have gathered to celebrate our nation's 48th birthday.

This was followed by the processional during the singing of "Crown Him with many crowns the Lamb upon the throne."

Different ministers prayed for the nation and its leaders, the civil service, the army, police and medical services and the people of Singapore.
How passionately they prayed! There was a period when the congregation were asked to form into groups of two or three to intercede for the nation.

The whole congregation joined in praying this prayer printed in the brochure.

"Almighty God, You have given us this beautiful island of Singapore as our heritage. Make us remember Your generosity and help us to constantly do Your will. Bless our land with honest industry, truth education, and an honourable way of life. Save us from violence, discord and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil course of action. Make us who have come from many lands with many languages a united people. Defend our liberties and give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom, that there may be justice and peace in our beloved land. When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful; and in troubled times do not let our trust in You fail. Bless our land with Your word. Bless Your church so that her life becomes a living testimony to Your Gospel. We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord, Saviour and King. Amen

There were a number of other hymns used during the service like

"God of the Ages, whose almighty hand" by Daniel Roberts
"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father." by Thomas Chisolm.
"He is Lord, He is risen from the dead, He is Lord" based on Philippians 2: 6-11

The Sermon entitled "Sharing God's heart for the city" was given by The Revd Rennis Ponniah, Vice President of the National Council of Churches of Singapore and also Bishop of Singapore.

His sermon was divided into two main points

1. The fire of Judgement. In this he referred to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He spoke of the evil of the city and Abraham's plea to God to spare the city.

2. The fire of Renewal - referring to Samaria. The disciples had asked Jesus to call down fire to destroy the inhospitable Samaritans, but the Lord had mercy. He then referred to Acts 8 referring to the fire of the Holy Spirit.

He concluded his sermon by asking the listeners to

Pray for the nation, the people and the government.
Proclaim the message, boldly yet sensitively in word and deed. Ours is a multiracial and multi-religious society. Be sensitive to the feelings of people of other faiths.
Participate by helping to shape Singapore. Every citizen has a duty to perform to the nation.

The closing hymn was "May we be a shining light to the nations."

After the benediction for the recessional and postlude we all joined in the singing of

"All Hail the power of Jesus name."

By then it was close to 10.00p.m. so we did not stay for the refreshments.

The Singing was great, The music was excellent. There was this band from Wesley Church. There was a lady playing the harp (I thought of our grand daughter Cheryl who plays the harp too and recently she has bought one for herself and is enjoying it.) There were two violinists on the platform.

Yes, there was Dance team from Bedok Methodist church which provided a beautiful dance item.

What a beautiful evening to spend time with fellow believers in the house of God to thank, praise God and pray for our nation.