Tuesday, September 06, 2011
church
guys, just wanna thank u all for responding so immediately and effectively to sunday's canteen. it's rly affirming to know that when crunch time hits, everyone rallies together to support one another. it's a testament to all of ur commitment to community, that we can pull of such a decent canteen at such a last minute.
church
guys, just wanna thank u all for responding so immediately and effectively to sunday's canteen. it's rly affirming to know that when crunch time hits, everyone rallies together to support one another. it's a testament to all of ur commitment to community, that we can pull of such a decent canteen at such a last minute.
not to exonerate (i.e. relieve our guilt) ourselves, but lol greg thinks that it's all part of god's plan to bring the community closer together in a 紧急时刻. seems all too coincidental that we hv 2 canteens so close to one another, all 4 of us missed it out and dom just happened to read e bulletin and realize tt it was our canteen in e nick of time.
thanks esp to those who:
- came down early in e morng to help w setup
- stayed all e way to help w cleanup
- those who brought food
we also wanna share w yall how e entire YMC supported us. when we realized we had canteen, we made some decisions and went to ntuc to buy stuff. because of tt, e entire camp program was pushed back by more than an hour (i.e. night session started at 9; supposed to start at 8). at around 12 midnight+, we broke up the discussion (which wasn't over at all; in fact it only started to get more exciting) cos they knew we needed to cook the aglio olio so everyone headed down to the canteen. we had an entire table of core leaders just helping to cut chilli and chop garlic till 3am. liver's, estelle's and lou's hands were burnt from cutting chilli. lynn practically cooked all our spaghetti. special mention to estelle cos she supervised all of us and taught us everything. like EVERYTHING. beginning with what to buy at ntuc all e way to how much salt to sprinkle at e end.
so guys, i know sometimes we don't feel like we know certain people in log or in YM very well. but at times like this, it's impossible not to realize that we still love each other and are willing to give ourselves for one another, even if we don't really feel like we are friends. perhaps that's the difference between being part of community and simply being friends. as friends, we help each other cos we like each other. as community, we help each other simply cos we're community, and in doing so, discover tt we like each other more and more.
at e discussions during e discernment weekend, one of e major issues we talked about was the integration and unity of YM. swee (i hope i'm assuming correctly) mentioned in e prev post tt it came down to relinquishing one's identity in our community. i share his vision for unity and integration. but i don't rly think it's mutually exclusive from having a 'home' in LoG. i don't think we need to give up our identity. Jesus too, had his 12 apostles, his inner circle; yet they are all part of one church.
so i think e challenge isn't to give up our identity. it is, instead, to look beyond it. from one introvert to another (which is most of us by some quirk of God), it is amazingly tempting to find retreat in the ppl we feel close to rather than in socializing. and that's ok. we have our limits (and for some of us, those limits are uncomfortably low) after all.
but when it is NOT ok is when that 'retreat' becomes exclusionary. it is NOT ok when what we do makes other ppl feel left out. i'll cite examples (positive and negative):
(1) at swee's bday party, there was this moment when i moved to e corner of e room to sit w someone (was it jes? can't rmb lol sry). v quickly, other loggers came over and just like tt, we separated ourselves from all e other communities who were in e central area. we drew e line ard ourselves. was it natural? perhaps. but was it right? definitely not.
(2) at pong's relative's wake, markchong was there. jes and i noticed tt no one was talkg to him even tho he was kindof standg w us, tho not rly being part of e convo. and so we whispered to each other abt it and moaned abt why we had to notice these things, since we were the least capable of reacting towards it. and then, aft bouncing challenges off to one anor, she finally said smth to him to try to get him involved in e convo.
(3) my last example is a person: swee. we must rmb tt he is naturally introverted. and yet so many times, he has demonstrated to us how love for Christ and fellow Christians can transform - when he reached out to Bob & friend at e random fri sharing, when he goes to ard to chat w ppl from other communities during sunday breakfasts and aft weekday masses etc. i also drew inspiration from e fact tt lou was one of those pushg e most strongly for the unity of YM. which i always knew was swee's vision, but i dint think tt lou shared it tt strongly. somehow or anor, swee must hv inspired her. so @swee, just to affirm u: ur dreams do touch others.
this is e kind of culture of challenge and sensitivity tt we need. it is a strange phenomenon tt e quiet ppl who have e sensitivity to notice who is being left out are also exactly e same ppl who find it most difficult to do anything abt it. so to these quiet ppl, i urge: let's challenge one anor. let's talk abt these things tt we notice, these visions tt we dream, and w e affirmation and strength from each other, reach beyond ourselves and out to these ppl. we can still find quiet solace in log's warmth when we become drained, but we have to challenge ourselves to push beyond the lines of community and comfort zones. build friendships with ppl outside of log. heck, build friendships with ppl outside of YM and bring them in! that is evangelism. that is unity. that is church.
one last point. we sometimes take on e attitude of 'log first, then YM'. so we say to ourselves 'i'm not rdy for ym cos i'm not even settled in log!' or 'log isn't even internally settled; how can we focus on YM?' tt has merit to some extent. but ultimately, it is a mindset to be discouraged cos it goes back to e drawing of lines. in e end, we are challenged to see individuals for the Christ in them (a pt tt was made in e prev post too), rather than for which community they belong to. and in loving each other as fellow Christians, rather than as fellow loggers or fellow stoners, integration and unity will naturally happen. love e individual. then community will build itself. tt is e essence of dietrich bonhauffer's quote.
in writing this, i put myself up for hypocrisy cos i know tt i'm on e extreme end of introversion. and so this challenge is v much for me, as much as e rest of us. so challenge me too =)
hv a gd week ahead yosh!
hv a gd week ahead yosh!
mel
2 Comments:
*super like*
no there's no 'community' here. but they are all God's people. somehow missing orientation has made me want to retreat even more into my shell. i, who have led major orientation camps -.- imagine the irony. but i know these are not Godly thoughts or feelings, and have fought super hard against it. and along the way there were many amusing incidents that maybe i'll share another time :))
reading about canteen was awesome. i can actually picture it in my head so vividly. feels so happy. hahah. von is missing you guys here in korea! grow stronger in faith yall!
By 
von.,
September 06, 2011 7:25 PM
cutting garlic is not fun. ur hands get all sticky and gross. and e worst thing is tt it stinks so badly zomg. even aft washing w soap ._. i kept smellg my own hands as i slept wa lao. gross ttm.
By ,
September 07, 2011 12:24 AM