Our 2014 theme “Hasten the Work” was evident at the Open House at the Compassvale Link Chapel held on Jan 18th, 2014. It was jointly organized by the Ang Mo Kio, 4th, and the Bedok Wards with full support from the missionaries. The event received a boost when 2 investigators walked into the chapel the night before it started, asking many questions about the Church and what the event was all about. Was this a harbinger of things to come?
The day started on an upbeat note with a zumba session led by Eliane Lau from the Ang Mo Kio ward.
From the stomping music, visitors were later treated to other more relaxing stations including Genealogy and Family tree, Family Home Evening, and the Meet-and-Knit station conducted by the Relief Society. One feedback was that the virtual stations were very much appreciated. As an example, the Smith family from the 4th Ward ran the Family Home Evening as if it was a live session, with anecdotes of real life situations. Guests to the Genealogy station were able to log in and search for their ancestors, while members and non-members had a great time during the dry run of the Meet-and-Knit session to make beanie hats for premature babies.
We also had guests from the Inter Racial Religion Council (IRRC). This is a quasi government council comprising representatives from the government and various religious groups. The primary goal of the IRRC is to promote racial and religious harmony in Singapore through dialogs promoting a better understanding of the beliefs of these groups, and through activities such as the Open House. To this end we were able to showcase the guests some of our beliefs and practices, and how members of the Church live their lives.
Many residents of Sengkang, where the Chapel is located, also showed up. Of this group, there were a few who showed genuine interests and wanted to know more about the Church. A resident showed up the Sunday after to return a completed beanie hat that she’d started making during the Open House. She asked for wool to make more beanies. On terms of outreach this is a very encouraging start.
Several visitors showed up in Church the next day for Sacrament, and another mother attended the Bedok Ward Relief Society with her daughter. All of the Sengkang residents showed up because they’d received the flyers that had been dropped into their mail boxes by volunteers.
Under the leadership of Brother James Tay there were many people who worked hard to organize, prepare, and man the open house. There were many who distributed flyers to the Sengkang residents, and prayed for the event, and who “opened their mouths” and invited their friends to the Open House. All of those people made the open house a roaring success.
(Reported by Sister Robin Smith)