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abstinence (relinquishing something in order to gain something better) such as solitude, silence, Sabbath, and fasting, and the disciplines of engagement (activities we pursue) such as Bible study, worship, prayer, fellowship, confession, submission, and service. Talk five touched on “Holiness and Sanctification in Other Traditions” during which Rev. Siew briefly covered the topic of sanctification from the Reformed, Pentecostal, and Keswick traditions, and also from Richard Foster’s book, ‘Streams of Living Water.’ Foster sees the different traditions, not so much as separate denominations, but rather, different ways believers go about pursuing holiness. According to Foster, there’s the Contemplative tradition (or prayer-filled life); Holiness tradition (the virtuous life); the Charismatic tradition (Spirit empowered life); Evangelical tradition (The Word-centred life), and the Incarnation tradition (the sacramental life). Rev. Siew noted that there are strengths and weaknesses in each tradition and encouraged us to look for and adopt the strengths of these traditions. The final talk was on the topic, “Practising Scriptural Holiness in Our Local Churches.” We were reminded that knowing what we have learnt was not enough. There’s the head (knowing); the heart (being) and the hand (doing). We must embrace what we learn so that it will transform us in a way that can be seen in our lives. There must be integration between the head and the heart and between the head and the hand. We need to pray that what we have learnt will transform us and, similarly, what we preach will bring about transformation in others. As pastors, we need to examine ourselves to see if we are doing what we preach. The secret lies in living in the presence of God, in being aware and conscious of the fact that God is with us all the time. Rev. Siew ended his series of talks with acall to all pastors not to remain in the status quo, but to grow in scriptural holiness and to pray the prayer the late Bishop Emeritus C N Fang prayed; “Lord, thank you for your work in the life of John Wesley. Let it happen again. Lord, let it happen in my life; let it happen in the life of my family members, let it happen in our church.” Our sincere thanks to the Board on the Ministry and Sherwood Church for organising the pastors’ planning forum – the workshop by Bishop James Kwang, the series of talks on “Growing in Scriptural Holiness” by Rev. Dr Philip Siew, the morning devotions by Bishop Kwang, and all the Q & A sessions. I think I would not be wrong to say that it was a truly meaningful and fruitful experience for most, if not all, of us who attended. 6
Rev Peter Yong (City Light MC) Once a year, constituents of the various parts of the CMCA body converge to conduct various business of the annual conference. After a few days of pastors retreat and Annual Conference, the closing ceremony conducted in the form of a regular Sunday worship service is a fitting climax. Kudos to our hosting church – Sherwood MC – for their hard work in sweating out all the details of the 2015 CMCA-fest. The worship service may be regular, but the atmosphere is electrifying… in a good way, of course. Why? Because, with the additional hundreds of people congregating in addition to the usual local congregation, we somehow become braver in offering our praises, reading the Scriptures and even praying together. Obviously, the gifts and talents of the worship team – praise band included – have been instrumental in leading all of us in an uplifting worship service. Furthermore, against such a conducive backdrop is the joy of friendship renewal (friends made from previous functions) while new ones are being made. Such merriment goes a long way in conjuring a festive mood to the whole affair. It should be noted that such vibrancy is especially helped along with the couple hundreds of young people in our midst. In addition to the youths of the local church, many youths come from various places of Australia enroute to their Annual Youth Convention. Talk about enthusiasm, and excitement; these youths make a noticeable impact on those ‘not quite so youthful’ as we lap up much-needed dynamism from them. Thanks, Youths! You’re a great encouragement for the rest of us as we see who it is that we’ll be passing the church baton on to. During the service, Rev. Paul Wong preached from Rom 14.7-8 in challenging us to commit our entire existence to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Especially in our post-Christendom society, our Christian witness is best served in living for Christ, and even to die for him, if necessary. Included in this year’s ceremony is the ordination of 2 elders: Rev. James Kong (Camberwell MC) and Rev. Yu Ngee Houng (Glory MC). This is a somber, touching moment as 2 more of Christ’s servants progress in their lives of servanthood. We wish to extend our heartiest congratulations to these 2 new elders. Another touching moment comes in the form of a song when the pastors choir presents its piece. There’s heightened poignancy this year as the song lyrics touch on Phi 3.12. Not so many hours ago in the closing moments of the Annual Conference, a farewell service was held in honor of 2 CMCA pioneers: Rev. Michael Tan (President of Provisional Conference, forerunner of CMCA) and Rev. James Ha (Inaugural Bishop of CMCA). In their usual humility, Philippians 3:12 was invoked to reflect their servant-mindedness: 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. What our pioneers have offered will – and should – be indelibly carved in CMCA memory: for as imitators of Christ, they modeled self-sacrifice for the sake of the church, to benefit those who come later, like us. No wonder there weren’t many dry eyes in the farewell service as people recalled the selfless ministries of these 2 spiritual giants of CMCA. Farewell, our dear Rev. Tan and Rev. Ha. Thank you for your shoulders on which CMCA posterity can sit as we continue the blessed race for Christ. 7
Page 2 and 3: Bishop Kwang with pastors of Austra
Page 4 and 5: 5. Proposed 2016 commencement of bi
Page 6 and 7: Theme Topic Rev Michael Lau (Trinit
Page 10 and 11: Youth Director’s Vision Pastor Al
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Page 14 and 15: Appointment List of 2015 2015 年
Page 16 and 17: BISHOP’S SCHEDULE ⇒ 12/12/2015
Page 18: Contact List for Chinese Methodist

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