Review of E.R. 07

E.R. 07

GeT a LiFe!! (Fri)

LiVe iT oUt!~ (Sat)

Venue: Christian Ecumenical Centre, Stampin

Time: 7:30pm

I apologize for the late update on the event. As always it is due to some time constraint. So here I am, back to update those who did not attend the E.R. on how the two-night event played out.

First of all, would like to start off by extending a heartiest "congratulations" to the emPOWERed Youth Ministry for excellent efforts and preparations. The hall was set up wonderfully with a built-up stage right in the middle of the room complimented by some ravishing coloured lights and dried ice. The agenda of the night was very well-planned and the events that came up, one after the other, were pretty unpredictable. The agenda organized was truly creative and fresh.

E.R. 07 : GeT a LiFe!!

Concert session 1

First of all, would like to start off by extending a heartiest "congratulations" to the emPOWERed Youth Ministry for excellent efforts and preparations. The hall was set up wonderfully with a built-up stage right in the middle of the room complimented by some ravishing coloured lights and dried ice. The agenda of the night was very well-planned and the events that came up, one after the other, were pretty unpredictable. The agenda organized was truly creative and fresh.

Starting off with a short talk by Fr. Joseph Chai followed by an adrenaline pumping introduction by Benedict Lo, the crowd was brought to an uproar as the worship leaders made an impressionable entrance with religious rock songs which were accompanied by the emPOWERed dancers and special guest, Mark David. As it approached towards the middle of the event, there was a little sketch courtesy of the Drama Ministry followed by life testimonies by Edmund Lo, Emmanuel David and Errol Glenn. Also, there was a special message by our very own Archbishop John Ha.

My favourite and also the most expected segment was when Karen Chin sang, while playing the guitar, Kathryn Scott's "Ashes To Beauty" totally unplugged, accompanied by Cherlyn Joseph on the back-up vocals. More praise followed after in the night and the first night ended nicely.

E.R. 07 : LiVe iT OuT!!

Tonight's session was truly moving. With a more sentimental and soft choice of songs, I can personally say that the crowd was given a chance to truly reflect and worship Our Lord (based on the many opinions of a few other attendees). The night started off with a solo by Lewis Lo which lead into more upbeat songs followed by several softer ones. Karen Chin, Pius Kalang, Correine Loretta and Rainer all shared their respective testimonies boldly, all glorifying His name in the process. Loretta's life testimony was played out via a short sketch courtesy of the Drama Ministry. The rest of the night played out pretty much the same as the night before except with a different choice of songs, including Rainer and Loretta's self-written song which I found to be the most moving song of it all.

All and all the E.R.07 was a great success with the help of many supportive and generous sponsors, hardworking and dedicated ministers and helpers and above all, the goodness and grace of Our God.

May the emPOWERed Ministry continue to be showered with His blessings so that they will be able to continue to organize more unforgettable events in the future in their efforts to save our generation!

May God bless you all and keep on rocking for the Lord!

PostSecret

"Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world"

Just recently I came across PostSecret, an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. Before I could not seem to grasp the point of doing all this; sending in your secrets to be posted up on a site. But then after coming across PostSecret I realized what it was all really for.

Everyone has their own personal secret. A secret that we hold deep inside of us that we could never bring ourselves to reveal. Hurts, experiences, embarrassing stories, stupid decisions, raging emotions. These secrets we carry sometimes weigh such a heavy load it burdens us so greatly. I realized that communities like PostSecret only aim to help those who are burdened by this heavy load realize that there are so many others out there just like them and that they do not have to bear it all alone. By sending in their deepest, most hidden secrets at least a little part of the burden that they have to carry on their shoulders will be lifted for they can finally let things out.

People often say that in times of need, seek God. But sometimes, we find that it is just not enough to have Him with us spiritually. Sure, His presence strengthens us but we need that little extra to relieve us completely. That is why He sends us aid in the form of the people around us. We are all interdependant, one way or the other. Take what PostSecret is doing for example. They are working based on the very grounds that we all need each other to go on with life. We help each other through these difficulties that bring us down. Sometimes all we need is to know that there are others out there who are going through the same things if not worse and that our life is not all that bad after all. It makes our problems seem so little when you compare them to such a big world.

God provides. Always.
: )