Visit to St. Joseph's Home

Vincentians attending Mass

Mass by Father Julian

Residents attending Mass

Preparing the food

A simple lunch meal for the residents

Feeding some of the residents

Performance by Bro. Mark Leong

Delivering gifts to the home

Group picture with Sis. Geraldine Tan

Vincentian Get-Together

On 19th July 2013, Vincentians and family members came together for a dinner at the Quentin Eurasian Restaurant at the Eurasian Association, Singapore.  Vincentians had a relaxing time joking around.

The food was nice and the ambience was relaxing.

Looking forward to the next get-together.

Monsieur Vincent - The Saint for All Seasons

Monsieur Vincent - The Saint for All Seasons is a musical production that will be held from 6th to 8th September 2013 at the Republic Polytechnic Cultural Centre.

https://www.facebook.com/SVDPtheMusical

Source: Facebook

Vincentians visit to Gift of Love Home on 12th May 2013

On 12th May 2013, some Vincentians from the Conference of the Risen Christ visited Gift of Love Home at Jurong.

The visit started with a Mass at the home.  Celebrating Mass was a priest from India who said that we can be mother to each other if we show the kind of love a mother would have for a child (it was also Mothers' Day on 12th May 2013).

The Conference catered lunch for the 30+ residents and helped to feed them.

Naturally we also helped in cleaning up the place before taking leave.

CNN Hero Narayanan Krishnan

(Source: YouTube)

Mass for Friends-In-Need on 20th Apr 2013

The National Council of Singapore organised a Mass for all the Friends-In-Need (FINs) in Singapore.  All Catholics FINs were invited.

Celebrated by the Archbishop, Vincentians were urged to see Christ in the FINs and to bring Christ to the FINs.

7 FINs from Conference of the Risen Christ attended the Mass with some members.  Our Spiritual Director, Father Louis Loiseau, con-celebrated Mass.

I apologise for the blurry photograph as I took the photos quickly while the Mass was going on.

Article on Society of St Vincent De Paul in the Catholic News

Source: Catholic News 14 April 2013

News snippets from how Budget 2013 helps the needy

Those earning up to S$1,900 a month will now be covered under the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme, up from the previous cap of S$1,700.

WIS payouts will also be raised by between 25 and 50 per cent, depending on age.

For someone who is earning S$1,000 and aged 45 and above, his payout will increase by S$700.

The cash component will also be higher. Workers will now get 40 per cent of Workfare in cash, up from 29 per cent.

(Source: channelnewsasia.com, Dylan Loh 25 February 2013)

The public assistance scheme, which provides a basic level of financial assistance to those who are unable to work, will be enhanced.

A couple will now receive S$90 more per month for a total of $790 in cash assistance while a recipient in a single-person household will receive S$450 in cash.

About 20 Social Service Offices in HDB towns will be rolled out over the next few years.

Eldercare services will also be integrated.

Aged care services of the Centre for Enabled Living and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) will be integrated under one roof at AIC.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development will strengthen its focus on persons with disabilities with an agency dedicated to the disabled.

(Source: channelnewsasia.com, Vimita Mohandas 25 February 2013)

Who says there's no free lunch in Singapore?

Where to find free meals in Singapore

The storm of recession is blowing all over the world. As the stock markets continue to go south and companies are tumbling the storm is blowing many employees out of their jobs. Although Singapore is one the richest countries in Asia, there are many poor people in its midst who cannot afford the soaring food price and the high cost of living. 

Many of the needy are the silent workforce - foreign workers. Their salary are so low that Singaporeans would not take these jobs. Most of their salaries are sent home to their families or pay off up to a year's worth of debts

Help is available for the needy. Yes, there is such a thing as free lunch in Singapore. Some religious associations and welfare groups provide free meals. The bills are sponsored by members of these groups and business people. 

Here are some of the places that provide free meals:

Singapore Buddhist Lodge. The Kim Yan Road temple serves free vegetarian breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7am to 7pm. All are welcome regardless of their race or religion. In the queue one can find all sorts of people, from the homeless, unemployed, foreign students, foreign construction workers and of course some freeloaders who work nearby. 

The Central Sikh Temple. The temple in Jalan Bukit Merah provides free vegetarian Indian lunches every day.

Nativity Church. This Catholic church at the end of Upper Serangoon Road provides free breakfast and lunch every day. 

The Lutheran King of Glory Church in Norris Road, serves free meals every Sunday to ndian workers dring its Taml service.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. This Buddhist temple at South Bridge Road provides free meal from 12.30pm to 6.30pm every day.

Tian Tao Temple at Sengkang invites foreign workes to its Sunday breakfast buffet. 

Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society. They have meal centres in Toa Payoh (Blk 31 #01-663 Lor 5), Telok Blangah (Blk 3, #01-504, Telok Blangah Crescent) and MacPherson (Blk 90, #01-103, Pipit Road). 

Sri Krisna Mandir. The Hindu religious group at No 9, Lor 29, Geylang. serves free vegetarian food from 11am to 10 pm daily. All are welcome. 

Care Corner Seniors Activities Centre. The Centre at Toa Payoh, Lor 7 Blk 5 #01-131 serves free breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea for senior citizens. (http://www.carecorner.org.sg)

Free Hawker Meal Program. If you are a needy resident living in Tanglin-Cairnhill area, you can apply for help at the Tanjong Pagar GRC. The GRC, under the free Hawker meal Program provides $36 worth of meal vouchers every month to needy recipients for a year. You can exchange the $3 voucher for a free meal at selected food staff at some of the coffee shops in Bukit Merah View and Henderson Road. 

Sutha Restaurant. This restaurant at Cuff Road provides free breakfast (from 7am to 9am) and dinner on weekdays only and lunch on Sundays. This is for stranded Indian workers in Singapore whose beds are the concrete walkways along Cuff Road. These distressed migrants are abandoned by their employees after their work injury or they are duped by the agents. To qualify for the free food, participants are asked to show a Special Pass (a govt-issued document, which means they do not have a work permit) or evidence that they are injured / have a case pending (a letter from a doctor/lawyer plus a work permit). It is funded by the Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) together with One Singapore. 

Lamea Restaurant. The TWC2 provides free dinner for Bangladeshi at Lamea restaurant at Desker Road. (http://www.twc2.org.sg)

ACMI. A Catholic humanitarian group called the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People or ACMI, feeds migrant workers three times a week at its premise in No 2, Highland Road. The site is beside the Church of the Immaculate heart of Mary (http://www.catholic.org.sg/acmi/soupkitchen.htm).

The Migrant Workers Centre in Rangoon road provides free lunches once a month in parntership wth neigbouring restaurants. The center is a joint effort betweeen the NUTC and the Singapore national Employers Federation. 

YWCA. Their meals-on-wheels for Elderly distributes free lunches to needy, frail and homebound senior citizens in Banda Street, Bukit Merah View, Cantonment Road, Holland Road, Lengkok Bahru, and Mei Ling Street.

Their Meals-on-wheels for Children program provides free dinner for children from Low-income families who are schooling in Zhangde Primary School, New Town Primary School, Queenstown Primary School, Gan Eng Seng Primary School and Beyong Social Services. For more information on the meals-on-wheels program, please contact Ms Celest Ling at 6223 1227.

The Willing Hearts, a secular group, distributes free food in 10 areas, among them Ang o Kio, Bukit merah and Hougang. Call 9690-2086 for more information. 

In these times of needs, there is no shortage of compassion from the people of Singapore. Nobody in Singapore needs to go to bed hungry. Thankfully, nobody starves to death in Singapore. 

Sam Choo is a freelance writer at www.articles-writer.com

(Source: http://samchoo.hubpages.com/hub/Who-says-theres-no-free-lunch-in-Singapore)

Christmas Party 2012

This is a late posting.  But here goes.....

The Conference organized a Christmas party for our Friends-In-Need (FINs) on 15th Dec 2012.  This year, we did it slightly different.  Instead of the usual buffet, a bazaar style party was organized.

Vincentians and benefactors from the RCIA ministry became stall holders for one afternoon serving out local delights like longtong, meesiam, satay, chicken wings, ice cream, ham, cookies, drinks, otah otah.  All these delights were "on the house" for the FINs.

The FINs packed the hall and mingled around with each other.

At the background, live entertainment was provided by Vincentian and a helper from the Jesuits.

During the party, the Conference gave out education awards to FINs who has improved in their studies.

The Conference would like to thank the brothers from the Jesuits order, RCIA ministry, helpers and all Vincentians for contributing to the event.

SSVP Retreat

Attended the annual SSVP retreat today where the theme is "Love God, Love Your Neighbour".  During the retreat, we were given time to reflect, discuss and share on "Who do you say I am?", "Do you love me?" and “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”.

Vincentians were also encouraged to embark on the following projects to make the Vincentian spirituality real:-

- Read the Bible daily (to know God)
- Visit the Blessed Sacrament daily (to visit the one we love)
- To "adopt" a neighbour

I also shared that perhaps Jesus asked Peter "Who do you say I am?" is to ask him to reflect deeply so that he can change his paradigm about looking for God in the "who".  Answering the question in any way would be correct and also wrong.  My reason is that God is not only "who".  Perhaps God is also "what", "when", "where", "why" and "how".

For example, if we eat "mee pok da" (dried noodle) gratefully, with an attitude of thanksgiving and with God at our side, would not God now be present in the eating?

If we give in the right spirit in God's presence, wouldn't God be the giving?

If we see God in the person we are encountering, God now becomes the person.

So.... "Who do you say I am?"

St. Vincent De Paul Feast Day Celebration

This evening, as part of our Feast Day celebration, we threw a party for the FINs. Many of them were is the church by 7pm and the dinner started at 7.30pm. Members helped to serve food and drinks to the FINs.

Music entertainment for the dinner was songs with guitar by Bro. Mark Tan and Bro. Mark Leong. Some FINs were being invited up to the stage to sing their favourite songs. Bro. Vincent also took pictures for the FINs and gave them some memories to keep.

 Overall, the FINs and their family had an enjoyable time.

Visit to St. Theresa's Home

 Fourteen members visited the St. Theresa Home’s for the Aged on Sun 19Aug.  The Home has about 200 residents, cared for by a dedicated team of 50 staff, overseen by the Brothers of Mercy.  We attended Mass in the chapel together with the Catholic residents and nursing aids.  In the midst of human frailty, we were reminded of our own dependence on God’s benevolence and continued blessings.  The Second Reading from Eph 5:15-20 was a call from St. Paul to “Watch carefully then how you live...” and to make good use of the opportunity offered by the present time to live out the will of God in our lives. 

After Mass, we served the residents food catered from the SCORE Food Services.  We joined the residents for a sumptuous lunch of sweet and sour chicken, lemon sliced fish, braised bean curd with mixed seafood, Loh Han Chye, Yong Chow fried rice, prawn and chives omelette, and desert of almond long an jelly.  The residents and staff were appreciative of our gesture of love; and we, thankful to the Lord for the many opportunities to live out our vocations as Vincentians to share in his works of feeding His lambs.