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Church Picnic 2014

 

GBC Picnic (Mar 2014) – Image 1 of 26

 

Church Picnic 2014 started with God, by the lake at the Botanical Gardens. At early as 8:30 am on a breezy Saturday morning, our church members started to gather at the Gardens. Pastor Ollie led a 30-min devotion on Colossians 1:18-19 by John MacArthur. Church members were then split into groups of 2-3 and went through a set of questions before praying for one another. They were also blessed by the written testimony of Lily Pang on the role and importance of prayers in her life and ministry.

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“Prayer is like lubricant – it smooths the ragged paths and reduces the friction on the road of ministry. …more importantly, prayer is the expression of trust in the Sovereign God in the midst of uncertainty. Prayer is an expression of trusting our loving Father even when we struggle with situations and agonize for others.” - Lily Pang

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After dedicating the morning to God, the picnic started proper. Settling upon the grass which was now green again after a week of blessed rain, the picnic goers spread out their mats of various sizes and colours and started to set out the food and drinks they had brought. Freshly baked bread, homemade scrambled eggs, seri muka, muffins, sandwiches, chocolates, wafers, fruits, and even hot coffee and tea were among the buffet spread that was available. Everyone was required to wear a nametag on the front of their shirts so that they could get to know each other’s names.

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A good amount of time was spent fellowshipping on the mats while enjoying the cooling weather. People walked from mat to mat to mingle with different groups, offering their food and drinks around. Those who showed up totalled about 50, ranging from the babies that had to be carried, to the evergreen who remained young at heart. It was a good mix!

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Some of the young adults led a session of games later in the morning. First there were icebreakers where everyone had to organise themselves into groups – where each person was from a different CG, or such that the total age of the group members would be within 400 to 450. There was a great scrambling around as groups formed and then merged to total up! By the end of the icebreaking sessions, most people knew each other by name at least.

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The games eventually progressed on to Captain’s Ball on the lawn in cheerful, competitive spirit. A few players fell more than once but everything was in good fun. The older folk showed us how fit they were by scoring over and over again!

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It was a good time of unwinding for everyone on a beautiful Saturday morning, surrounded by trees, ducks and great weather, and also a setting that put everyone, of all ages, at ease. We may be daily surrounded by struggles and decisions that need to be made, responsibilities that need to be met, and so on, but let’s not forget that we are part of the larger body of Christ. We who are called to be hospitable and pray for our fellow church family members in love can take a step towards doing so by first spending time to get to know one another.


And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” - Acts 2:42