GII 2016 – The Year of Mercy

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GII journeys in this Year of Mercy

What is the Jubilee of Mercy?
It is a Holy Year of Mercy which began on December 8, 2015 to commemorate both the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council, which called the Church to proclaim the Gospel to the world in new ways, bringing God’s mercy to everyone.

The motto of the Holy Year is “Merciful like the Father.” The role of mercy is the very foundation of the life of the Church and its people, because we are both the beneficiaries and the witnesses to God’s mercy in the world. Pope Francis explains that the mercy of God is not an abstract idea but a concrete reality: God reveals his love for us as that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child.

During this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, we are invited to dedicate our daily lives to living out the mercy which God constantly extends to us.

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Bless our Singapore

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09 August 2015 – Happy 50th Birthday Singapore!

‘Bless our Singapore’ is a song specially composed and sung by Corrinne May, on behalf of the Catholic Church, for Singapore. The video features Corrinne May and her daughter saying a prayer together for Singapore. In the song, Corrinne gives thanks for the many blessings that has been showered on Singapore and prays for God’s continued blessings on our nation Singapore. This music video also invites its viewers to become “salt and light” to the nation by showing how the mission of early Catholics continues to be carried out by the Church today, as depicted by acts of service given to the people of Singapore.

Corrine May shares about her inspiration for the song:http://www.catholic.org.sg/…/inspiration-behind-bless-our…/…

Lyrics:

O Lord, hear our prayer
Bless this land where we stand
May we be light for our nation
May we be salt for this land
To this land, you sent our Fathers
For the church their blood was shed
They served the island’s sons and daughters
Like the wheat that forms the bread

On this land, you grew a garden
From the toiling of our hands
We thank you Lord for every blessing
Trusting your eternal plan

Holy Spirit light the way
Keep us faithful, this we pray
Till we reach Heaven’s shore
Bless our Singapore

On this land, you choose to feed us
on the altar of our hearts
May we be Christ for one another
Never fear to bear the cross

Holy Spirit light the way
Keep us faithful, this we pray
Till we reach Heaven’s shore
Bless our Singapore

Holy Mary, full of grace
Help us give Him all our days
Till we reach Heaven’s shore
Bless our Singapore

Till we reach Heaven’s shore
Bless our Singapore

Cor Novum: A New Heart

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https://www.facebook.com/events/1075156239198395/?active_tab=highlights

The recital will take place: 23rd October 2016 Venue & Time: Church of the Holy Family, 8:00pm – 9:00pm

Ticket: $15 | payment to be made through:
https://www.giving.sg/campaigns/cor_novum

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*Please note, as there are no e-tickets, once you have made your donation/payment through giving.sg, please forward your e-receipt to me (through FB message) or your contact in the fundraising choir so we can note ticketing needs.

This small recital in this Year of Mercy is to help raise funds for Caritas, and to bring together current members, alumni and friends of Genesis II Choir to lend their God-given talent to this cause.

In conjunction with the parish’s 80th Anniversary, this fundraiser is also an opportunity to share beloved sacred choral music, a rich Catholic legacy, alongside modern music with the public, and the message behind the Year of Mercy.

The repertoire ranges from the likes of classics such as Salve Regina and O Magnum Mysterium to contemporary favourites such as Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and Twila Paris’ The Warrior is a Child.

We would also like to be able to help raise awareness of Caritas as a charitable organisation and what it does: 100% of ticketing proceeds will benefit Caritas Singapore.

cornovum

GII Lenten 2016 Update

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Hi there GII!

We have many upcoming events on top of our normal Sat masses this March.
Please do refer to our website: https://genesis2choir.wordpress.com/events-2016/ – for an outline of the next few weeks (till Easter Sunday)
As we are part of the combined choir for Holy Thursday (24 Mar) and Easter Vigil (26 Mar), the hymns and practice dates are also listed. The first one is this Sunday (6 Mar) in church from 130 to 330pm. Please do try to attend at least 1 or 2 of them
We are also encouraged to attend our parish’s Friday Stations of the Cross and Mass; and the Day of Recollection on 19 Mar.
For this Saturday – the 4th Sunday of Lent – Laetare (Joyful) Sunday – the Gospel of the Prodigal Son – let us come in liturgical colours of pink or rose for this joyful sunday in Lent
Christine would be conducting and our hymns are:
O bless the Lord (parts)
The Prodigal Son
Hosea
Loving and Forgiving (parts)
Amazing Grace (parts)
Take up your cross (parts)
[of course, we would sing parts if there are enough singers and if we are ready – so do rally your sections together!]
Please do try to come on time at 4.30pm.
At last Sat’s after mass Lenten reflection – we had 18 of us reading, reflecting and sharing – this is really such an encouraging number and what was more beautiful was that almost everyone shared!
Please do join us again this Sat after mass for our Lenten reflection.
For practice, we would cover hymns for the remaining Sundays of Lent and Lenten Vigil.
Of note: please go and learn “Our Darkness” – which can be found in our dropbox folder under “Lenten Vigil 2016”
Do ask for help or speak to me if you have any questions!
God loves you all!
Darren

Advent 2015 – Marana tha!

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Source: Catholic News Agency

The season of Advent is a vigil. The word “vigil” means to keep watch during normal sleeping hours, to pay attention when others are sleeping. It comes from a very old Indo-European word “weg,” which means “be lively or active.” So to keep vigil or to be vigilant does not mean passive waiting but active, restless waiting, expectant waiting for the Lord. It means paying attention to what is going on in the world around us, and not being asleep. It means acting, living out our mission to be God’s agents in the world.

The Advent tradition of the Church is vigil and prayer.

There are two places in the New Testament — 1 Corinthians and Revelation — where we find a prayer in the Aramaic language, the Semitic dialect spoken by Jesus. Since this prayer is in Aramaic it must come from the very earliest days of the Church. The prayer is “Marana tha” and means “Lord, come!”

St. Augustine tells us that God is indebted to us, not because of anything we have done, but because of His promises. God always keeps His promises. So we call on Him to come again.

Our Advent prayer is “Lord, come!”
Lord, come — into our world!
Lord, come — into our lives!
Lord, come — and purify our longings!
Lord, come — to free us from our compulsions and sins!
Lord, come — into our relationships!
Lord, come — into our work!
Lord, come — into our sufferings!
And into the darkness of our troubled world.

We speak these words — “Marana tha” — with a real and confident urgency, not only for ourselves and our personal lives, but also for our Church and our nation.

http://www.ocp.org/compositions/65151

I wanted to serve God

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GII Interviews continue – get to know our current members!

Next up – Valerie Chang!

1) Name
Valerie Chang

2) Where are you from?
Singapore

3) What do you currently do?
Student in NUS

4) What are your hobbies?
Playing the piano and watching dramas

5) How and why did you join GII?
I joined by asking Darren after mass and I decided to join as I have been thinking of wanting to serve God. Enjoying music and singing, I decided to join GII.

6) What does serving in Ministry mean for you?
I feel that it has added meaning to my faith other than just attending mass as I participate more during mass and I enjoying going to church after joining the choir

7) Do you have any hopes for the choir/community?
I hope to be able to continue enjoying and having the passion to serve in GII despite having more commitments outside church now.

G2 will always hold a special place in my heart

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Chris

Today we feature Chris Raj!

1) Name
Christopher Raj

2) Where are you from?
Milky Way -> Earth -> Asia -> Southeast Asia -> Singapore

3) What do you currently do?
I’m currently a HR Analyst with Citibank. My bread and butter involves reporting figures to aid in HR-related decision making – how many we can hire, are we on track to meet our regional targets, projections… It’s small scale big data and my best friend and worst enemy at work is Microsoft Excel. I also handle recruitment for our talent programmes – internships and mid-career programmes.

I used to be a human trafficker but that’s a story for another day…

4) What are your hobbies?
I play tennis recreationally aka I receive the ball and attempt to hit it across the net. I’m also into current affairs and the property market!

5) How and why did you join GII?
I joined G2 after my O’Levels because my good friends from cathecism were all part of G2. I also joined because Darren Leong was persistently inviting. I was never one who used to religiously attend mass every week (always ciao after cathecism class) and I figured joining a ministry that serves mass every week will help keep me coming to church!

6) What does serving in Ministry mean for you? OR How do you live out GII’s mission statement?
I live out G2’s mission statement by animating! I’ve never been a strong singer and even after a decade in the choir, I still encounter difficulties singing – getting the tune/timing/note/etc right. While I cannot contribute much from a musical perspective, I do my best to contribute my being the head instructions giver – which thankfully is a lot better than my singing
For reference, GII’s mission statement is: An avenue for youths and young adults to discover and use our talents to serve God and the parish through the Liturgy/Mass.

7) Do you have any hopes for the choir/community? OR Do you have a memory about serving in GII that you would like to share?
My most vivid memory involves making a mistake while animating for Christmass mass. I announced our 2nd offertory song and was immediately told that we did not have time to sing it. Losing all professional decorum, I simply followed up the announcement with “Cancel that”. It definitely caught the parishioners by surprise as there was audible laughter but the highlight was seeing our former parish priest Fr. Patrick laughing with them while sitting at the altar. It was amazing how such a random and spontaneous action can bring about some laughter

8) Do you have anything else to share?
Joining G2 has been a rollercoaster ride with its ups and downs. Yet, in the last 10 years, I’ve made so many wonderful memories, met great friends, and grown both spiritually and as an individual. I don’t know where the next 10 years will take me but come what may, G2 will always hold a special place in my heart

Serving with the choir also gives attending mass a whole new purpose

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Shannen

Shannen See’s Interview!

Name – Shannen (Siobhan) See
(Family members) father, mother, 2 brothers

How and why did you join GII:
I first got to know GII through my older brother and initially we both attended practices together.

During that period, I found that the people in GII are friendly and welcoming, and I enjoyed learning from them and singing with them. Serving with the choir also gives attending mass a whole new purpose. It really appealed to me that joining this ministry could deepen my faith and help me understand prayer and mass, instead of just going through the motions.

So I signed up to “officially” join the choir during their recruitment together with my friend from confirmation class, and we’re here:)

Whatcha doing now
Studying:)

Any recent life events
Just started 1st year of university

Share a passion/hobby
I like to play soccer even though I’m not that good at it haha

Future plans
pass my exams and graduate, work, look after family, make more time to contribute to GII

Hope for the community/choir
I hope that the choir community can grow stronger in faith and friendship

A spirit-filled, loving ministry that sings with joy!

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RyanGet to know your everyday Genesians!

The next interview is with Ryan Emmanuel Cher

1) Name
Ryan Emmanuel Cher

2) How and why did you join GII?
I joined GII after confirmation in Secondary 4, mainly because I enjoyed singing and wanted to try out what serving in a ministry was like. I was also looking for a community and thought that joining GII would be a way to make sure that I attend mass every week. Admittedly, I wasn’t very regular in my first 2 years in GII, but I gradually started coming more and more often after my A Levels, and I’m glad that since then I’ve found a community that I can count on!

3) What do you currently do? Any recent life events?
I’m currently studying law in London and am in my final year. The plan is to come back to sunny Singapore to do my training before I get called to the bar. However, I’m still waiting for a reply from God so we’ll see how things go!

5) Share a passion/hobby
I enjoy singing and watching football.

6) What does serving in Ministry mean for you? OR How do you live out GII’s mission statement?
I do my best to live out GII’s mission statement by being a cantor, reminding myself that I’m proclaiming God’s word every time I cantor the psalm.
For reference, GII’s mission statement is: An avenue for youths and young adults to discover and use our talents to serve God and the parish through the Liturgy/Mass.

7) Do you have any hopes for the choir/community? OR Do you have a memory about serving in GII that you would like to share?
I think I could answer these 2 questions together.. One memory of serving in GII that sticks with me is the only GII retreat I’ve attended, which was the most recent one before I flew off for my studies. I helped to plan the sessions together with the spiritual committee, while another group helped to organise the games. I remember standing upstairs pouring buckets of water on everyone while they posed for a group photo:D; I remember the atmosphere in the room during the reconciliation session and washing of feet; I remember singing for mass after that retreat sounding the best we’ve ever sounded (in my opinion), with the entire choir filled with the Spirit.
I think that memory encapsulated my hope for the choir – that we’ll be a community that has fun and goofs around together, but also a spirit-filled, loving ministry that sings with joy!

8) Do you have anything else to share?
I won’t be around to celebrate GII’s anniversary, but I’m thankful for everyone who makes up this community. You are in my prayers!