Dear HCMC,
Praise God that the renovation of our worship sanctuary, the school auditorium, has been completed, and the fundraising target has been achieved! When we announced last Sunday that the full sum of $480K had been raised, I was deeply moved. I was moved by the gifts and generosity of all who had been involved, and above all, that God had made this possible.
This project had been in the making for several years. When the current Principal of Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) started his term of office in Jan 2022, the same time I was appointed to our church and as chaplain to the school, he spoke to me about renovating the auditorium at our first meeting together. Back then, a renovated auditorium seemed like a distant dream. There were so many hurdles to cross to make it a reality. By God’s grace, step by step, everything fell into place. Let me testify to some of the many ways we experienced God’s grace through this journey.
God has been gracious in granting us a wonderful partnership with the school. Our worship sanctuary sits in school premises, and the renovation could not have happened without the school’s leadership and support. In our many meetings with the school, the school leaders often asked: “What does the church think?” “Does the church agree with this?” “Is the church okay with this?” They were constantly attentive to our needs, and we reciprocated by being attentive to theirs. Working on this project together has in fact strengthened this already strong partnership.
God has been gracious in our dealings with the contractors. We faced numerous unexpected issues along the way. A major issue occurred last December, when water seeped up from the ground after part of the stage was hacked away, and the waterproofing had to be reinforced. On hindsight, I am thankful it was the rainy monsoon season then, allowing this problem to surface and to be resolved. I am also grateful for the people of our church who were involved in the renovation taskforce, committing to supervise the “nuts and bolts” of the renovation works weekly, sometimes even daily, bringing in their subject matter expertise to ensure the contractors did their due diligence.
God has been gracious through the involvement of our church members. From Oct 2023 to Jan 2024, we had to set up alternative worship venues. The support from all our church members was overwhelming, accommodating the inconveniences, helping with the movement of heavy equipment, chipping in to help wherever needed. As for the fundraising, many donated very generously, some offering multiple times, to get us past the finish line. We were considering organising some additional fundraising activities, but that was not necessary. May God remember and reward all who contributed to this project.
We have been reading Exodus for our church Bible Reading programme. The book resonates with our experience. Like the Israelites travelling in the wilderness, guided by God by day and night (Ex. 13:21), we too experienced God’s guidance as we moved through different worship venues over several months. God established His covenant with the people during that time (Ex. 20-24), and this is reflected in the name of our auditorium: New Covenant Auditorium. God raised skilful craftsmen to build the Tabernacle (Ex. 31:1-11), and likewise, He raised suitable and committed people in our midst for the renovation works. The Israelites gave more than enough to build the Tabernacle (Exod. 36:6-7), and we have witnessed such generous giving as well. Just as the Tabernacle was built with great precision and attention to detail (Exod. 36-40), so we have sought to do our best in this regard for the auditorium.
Above all, may the glory of the Lord fill this place (Exod. 40:34) such that this would be holy ground, a place of encounter with God and great blessing to the church and school. Soli Deo Gloria!
Rev Timothy
