Archive for November, 2006
While Malaysia fiddles, its opportunities are running dry
Sometimes when you are a way for so long (in my case 27days for others maybe 2.7 years or more … it depends), I found myself looking at my own country with fresh eyes. Apparently, Michael Backman is getting a lot of attention.
‘Amok’ Season Again: How We Perpetuate The Myths Of Empire
I overheard some of the concerns when I was in Germany, so now I’m catching up on the reading. There are also other articles I will be checking out in The Other Malaysia
A policy of basic respect
This lady makes so much sense with these words in the context of Malaysia, “Basic ground rules should be set and strictly adhered to. Statements that hint at compromising national unity in any way should be reprimanded. This should apply to all leaders in all public discussion, including parliamentary debates. Condemnatory insults of any race or religion should not be tolerated under any circumstance. In short, there should be conscious effort to move away from clamour and steadily towards rational dialogue.”
‘Choice a cornerstone of Islam’
I was surprised to read this considering our current climate where it could be deemed a little to religiously sensitive for such comments and yet, I appreciate us having the chance to openly and humbly discussing such matters with a healthy confidence in who we are and a generosity to listen to others who are different from us. …
“Azzam, the author of several books and a commentator on Al-Jazeera and the BBC, also said Muslims should not make such a big deal of those who chose to leave the religion.
“If submission to Allah involves free choice, then the same principle must apply if one wants to leave the faith,” he said.
He noted that the Quran did not stipulate any punishment for apostates at all, and the punishments spelt out by the hadiths had to be contextualised.
“In Islam’s formative years, going in and out of Islam was used to sabotage the community, and hence was viewed as treason.
“But if one leaves the religion out of free choice, let them become what they want.”
He said Muslims should be more confident. “Nothing will happen to Islam if people leave the religion.”"
Life as a secret Christian convert
I found this piece giving me a glimpse from a secret Christian convert’s point of view. Especially the following … “”I feel that I am all alone in this struggle,” she says, “and I am frightened because I am alone against the odds.”"
I confess one of the things bugging me throughout my trip back is whether my checked-in luggage would arrive. The plane was delayed in Nuremburg and I had to slightly run to make sure I arrived with a decent time for Gate F3 in Amsterdam airport. And I knew the transit time was a little short this time compared to when I went to Germany (which my luggage didn’t make it with me). So, you can understand why I packed my luggage more “strategically” this round with almost all of my clothes in the checked in luggage and the “goodies” and “gifts” with my hand-held luggage and notebook bag. The three bottles of wine which were gifts had no choice but to be with the checked-in luggage because of the STRICT new laws on Liquids for hand carry luggage.
So, it was a great relief to have ALL my luggage this round. Gareth and Elysia made my heart melt with their greetings. Both of them have grown so much in 27 days .. especially Elysia’s vocab and way of carrying herself. It’s times like this you feel “wonderful” as a father.
I think May Chin will be happy with clean laundry I brought back … 
The guesthouse I stayed in had the facilities and I’m glad I managed to wash and dry all my clothes in Germany before my return. I’m still waiting for her to come home from work … that’s the less than perfect part of my arrival. And yet the reality of her “work situation” this week with last minute meetings. It was nice to separately put the children to sleep.
I hope to have the day tomorrow conducive to “re-orientate” myself back to life here. There’s still a long way to go … for many things in life. I’m thankful for my 27days in Germany and there’s a lot of raw experiences to be reflected upon. I’m not realizing how “intensive” the whole experience was with the planned and unplanned elements. And I think some space is needed for quite a while to “focus” a little more on the changes I’m undergoing, and to discern what is God doing in my life and in the world today.
Gloria in excelsis Deo
It’s almost 27 days away from home … I’m back from a nice dinner with Thomas Paulsteiner, the East Asia representative and contact for Division for World Mission Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (World Mission ELCB). The food was good (as usual) and the conversations helpful to slowly bring the whole time I’ve spent in Germany to a gradual close.
It’s time to go back to Malaysia tomorrow. I’m thankful to have the last “assignment” to be at Lauf’s Christuskirche Sunday morning contemporary worship service. It REALLY felt the closest to what I’m used to at Bangsar Lutheran Church (perhaps it’s God’s way of preparing my “transition” back to Malaysia). Pastor Thomas Hoffman has become from an initial contact to a close friend. I’ve even recorded him playing drums (which is very good in my opinion) but that will be for another time where I have more energy.
I feel I need to wind down a little now. There will still be a morning devotion tomorrow with an evaluation and discussion afterwhich will be a farewell lunch. Then packing and off I go to Nuremburg Airport back to KLIA via Amsterdam. There are a few songs which has caught my attention during my visits and stay here. This one which is based on “the Lord’s Prayer” is one of those memorable ones. I thought I’d post it up to close the evening. In many ways, I believe my time here has been one way to allow the truth and reality of this prayer to be embodied and expressed in all I am, all I say and all I do … in small unofficial ways and in more focused programmed ways too. But this is more then about my experiences, it’s about how God is working still in his own way to see his Kingdom come in respective situations in Germany and Bavaria specifically. When all is said and done, the focus is still on his kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven … and we should start by being grateful that we can have a part in this process. Looks like I will return to blogging either in the Amsterdam Airport or back home in Kuala Lumpur. for now a prayer … “Our Father …”
[The Lord's Prayer in Song Video]
(The Lord’s Prayer in German)
Vater Unser im Himmel,
Geheiligt werde dein Name,
Dein Reich komme,
Dein Wille geschehe,
wie im Himmel so auf Erden.
Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute.
Und vergib uns unsere Schuld,
wie auch wir vergeben unseren Schuldigern.
Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung,
sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen.
Denn dein ist das Reich und die Kraft
und die Herrlichkeit in Ewigkeit.
Amen
Alois Schwarz must be in Philipines right now as one of the speakers of the major Lutheran Church in the Philippines meeting. He was a fine host for me when I was in the Hof District and specifically in Tauperlitz last Friday until Sunday before I came near to Munich. I’m impressed with the website of the Evangelisch-Lutherisches Dekanats Hof. I liked the way they used a plate to organize all the churches and ministries in the surrounding villages and towns.
Alois speaks very good English and is well traveled. He’s the only single pastor I stayed with. So, it was interesting for me to see life through the eyes of a pastor who is single as well. We were also flexible with our schedule a little when it might have appeared to be not workable – which I REALLY appreciated.
Alois included me very much in the life of a local church pastor during the weekend which included a dinner at Mexican restaurant with the council members of the church, a birthday party of a 70 year old lady (which before I left I shook hands with a retired medal winning swimmer!), and a special bonus was conducting an infant baptism with him at Kirchengemeinde Kautendorf. So, while there was not so much of big meetings kind of events. I could have a better “feel” of what a local church pastoral ministry is a more village and even rural area in Bavaria.
Our conversations helped me see clearer the areas we need to be watchful in Asia. Alois has not only spent time in Canada for his theological studies, he’s also worked in Papa New Guinea and served as a lecturer of Church History and Old Testament in the Phillipines. My mind was drawn to think about leadership issues in our Asian churches, and the way we utilize our resources, as well as what can true partnership between the North/western and South/eastern churches mean in the 21st century. Now we are in a time where we can work as true partners as we humble our hearts and minds together for an agenda for the church and God’s mission bigger than ourselves.
Another special thing I will remember is our morning devotions together and evening prayer with a candle lit in the middle to center our scattered thoughts. As I understood better the German scenario in terms of life, religion and especially the Christian faith .. the lighting of the candle reminded me again and again God is still working in Europe perhaps not in the same way as Asia but we must not underestimate where Christ is working. Our role is to see where the Spirit is working, encouraging the people who are responding, and come alongside and serve Him faithfully wherever we are!
It’s hard to keep up with the events chronologically, so I decided to go with the flow. Time is ticking fast, the temperature is surprisingly warm for this autumn in Munich, the sun is shining bright right now. Manfred has been explaining to me how this climate probably is due to the warm air blown from the Mediterranean sea towards the south of Bavaria. Manfred is quite an amateur ecologist too as I learnt so much about trees and animals during our conversations in the car
When I arrived I was fascinated by the family piano passed on through generations in Manfred’s family. It has even survived the war and has bullet marks on it!!! I did notice how Africa is still part of the family and they talk fondly of their experiences there as missionaries with the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (The wooden Hippos were nice!). Sabine is also a pastor. So, this is the first family I stayed with where both husband and wife are pastors (currently Supermom Sabine is not serving in a parish full time though).
The three daughters Magdalena, Johanna and Esther are lots of fun since day one. I call them the three sisters that don’t fight and we laughed. Watching Esther do her homework with the guidance of Sabine is very entertaining. Her facial expressions when she gets the spellings right is a delight. When she makes mistakes you suffer with her Johanna speaks English well and I think my presence provided a chance for her to practice .. well done! Magdalena is even taller then her mother!!! And yet she is still very young … she will 13 soon and like many children here is in her confirmation class. I could see the responsible big sister in her.
Of course, a picture of the bed I slept in the last couple of days … a bed from Africa! One of the added values of the teaching program thus far has been the chance to “live” with families here. And the last few days, our conversations was a mosaic of topics that went beyond mere church and mission related issues. I think we cannot divorce all the other aspects of our lives when we relate to each other.
Last night was fun when we watched a UEFA Champions League football match together with a glass of wine. Sabine was surprised by my knowledge of the players … I joked and said I know enough to talk about it even though I’m not a FAN! At other times, we talked about parenting, discipline, education, and culture.
Very often, it’s in these non-formal conversations, I found myself re-looking at my own upbringing, and the “multi-mix” culture I’m part of in Malaysia, it also provided stimulus to consider what is possible for the future – as it’s too tempting to see “culture” as a static environment. I believe and observe that there’s a lot of dynamism in “cultural changes and shifts” today, and perhaps just perhaps, we do play a part whether big or small in shaping the culture. And with that consciousness, we can move forward. Right now I’m not thinking in terms of “culture wars” but more a “gardening” or even “ecological” way of thinking about culture. Well…. that’s just some seed thoughts with the sun shining on my fingers
[Quick View at Zugspitze video]
At 2,962 m (9,718 feet), the Zugspitze was one place I’m glad I could visit today with Manfred Kurth as my guide (official website here). After being here for 22 Days around various places in Bavaria from North to South, finally I had a “REAL” initiation to winter weather at -3 degrees celsius at the peak But then the wind blew the cold cut into my skin. It was a challenge holding the camera and taking a quick video above. I’m glad I got the extra clothing I needed from Manfred and had this little cute cap from Papa New Guinea to cover my head and ears:-)
I admit I was amazed at how fast the cable car pulled us up to the peak. It was nice seeing people skiing (I’m really lousy at it so I was satisfied just being there and taking lots of pictures!). And I loved to see the beautiful scenery and touch snow (ok! I’m a kid at heart *grin*)
I was surprised to see a chapel and was told by Manfred perhaps it was built to remember some people who died in an avalanche years ago. As we were trying to get down he took a video of me. Nice to be on the other end of the camera, I looked and felt like a fat man trying to get down with leather shoes in soft snow.
The weather was good today and it was good to have a break. I’m looking forward to complete my time here in Germany and return home next Monday. There are still at least three more assignments to do – with tomorrow’s religious education classes, and then speaking at a youth camp, and closing with speaking at a Sunday service in Lauf. So, this little breather (even in a place with thinner air) was much appreciated.
It was a special opportunity for me to participate in a Ecumenical Service at Cantate-Kirche Kircheim tonight. It was part of a special “Day of Repentance” and the text I was given to speak from was Revelation 3:14-22. It was a unique service for me for a number of reasons:
1. I realized “ecumenical” was more understood as between Lutheran and Catholic here (where as my perception was inclusive of more other denominations from a Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian view). Fascinating how one needs to check on the overtones of the words we use for differing contexts.
2. I appreciated the creative parts of the service where we sang the Kyrie eleison in between three short plays which were meant to get people thinking about their Christian faith in a culture where Christians are less likely to “stand firm, stand up or speak out” on their beliefs.
3. I had the chance to participate through preaching, serving the Holy communion as well as giving the final benediction in Chinese.
4. From my view, it was simply worth celebrating both Catholic and Lutheran participating in communion together and there was a little part where we held hands to receive the parting short blessing which reminded me much about BLC in Malaysia.
[Cantate-Kirche Kirchheim Evening Talk Video]
After the service, we immediately moved to another room for the evening talk. I felt the atmosphere very open and was surprised when a senior man Mr. Klaus came up to me before we began and told me he has been to Malaysia but that was 1979. One amazing thing throughout my travels thus far is meeting Germans who have been to Malaysia He chipped in when i was showing the Durian with the phrase .. “It smells like hell but tastes like heaven!” I had a good laugh with that.
The discussion was lively after sharing about Malaysia in General and Christianity in Malaysia. As usual there were a lot of interest in The Status of religious freedom in Malaysia. Of course, my approach was more from a personal and pastoral point of view. It’s always good to clarify any misconceptions and yet be honest with challenges we face.
There’s a lot of complexity and dynamism especially at this stage of our history in Malaysia. And all the players – from religion to politics, ethnic concerns to economic considerations, government to the people, etc. need to walk wisely and yet openly towards a future we can all embrace. Kyrie Eleison!
All in all we had a good evening, the closing applause in the video indicated their appreciation of my sharing. Some of the post-service-talk conversations helped me discern where God is working especially emphasizing what’s more essential in terms of church life. One lady’s sharing was especially encouraging when she mentioned after hearing about our adventures the last 6 years in BLC – that community, sharing life, and joy is more important than the temptation fo focus on buildings for example. If that’s one thing she got from what I shared then I rejoice. Another lady shared with me earlier on being encouraged by the cooperation of different denominations in Malaysia. And it’s true there’s much we can celebrate at a local church level as well as national level.
And yet, deep down like anyone who is truly plugged in to the Church .. there are many areas we need to work on and improve. Sharing the story of BLC as well as being a Christian and a pastor in Malaysia again and again has helped me re-affirm the values I’ve been exploring and trying to embody these past 6 years. And yet, there’s also sparks where I’m reminded where we may have missed something or need to be watchful of pitfalls. It’s always good to re-look at the core mission and vision of what other ideas need to center on.
It’s a little late … and I’m glad tomorrow there’s a break good to relax a little. Praying for good weather.
[Choir Practise - Vivaldi Video]
I was impressed with this Lutheran Church choir … joining in the choir practice was a lot of fun especially when the choir director was so energetic, passionate and intelligently helping the members interpret the music.
There were times where even for someone like me who’s not so into classical music, I could appreciate the paradox of the simple and the complex in the music, the environment of worship the songs were meant to evoke, and the harmonies as well as the dissonance, … etc.
Though this wasn’t a concert setting with everything all sorted out, I felt drawn into times of stillness as well as adoration. Not bad for one who’s music diet tends to be ambient, rock, pop, acoustic, folk, jazz or modern music. There was something special with these musical classics from Vivaldi and Bach. I think when I return I might check out some CDs!
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Your German Name is: |
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I couldn’t resist this since I’m here. I typed in Sivin Kit and the results were the above!
Sometimes we find a most scenic moment in the most hidden place. In the case of the picture above it’s a pond found near a small village in the region of Hof where I was at last weekend – in a place what people would call the Bavarian Siberia.
Now, I’m near Munich … and have a wonderful bed to sleep and a delightful “very good” Wi-fi connection which I didn’t expect. So, maybe I could update more than I expected.
Just came back from a choir practice and now have a fresh appreciation of Bach and Vivaldi I think what impressed me most wasn’t just the church choir but the passion of the young twenty something music student choir director. My batteries ran out so I’ll probably only be able to put up a video tomorrow. This was not part of the original program, it was more of joining the lifestyle of my host Manfred and Sabine.
I found the not part of the “official” program bits enriching and expanding my horizons. One of the unexpected “blessings” in this trip is to have a better understanding of the history and development of African Christianity through the eyes of longer term missionaries who’ve lived there. First, it’s a wonderful introduction to a continent which I feel is more distant for me geographically and historically. Second, it purges my naivety about how Christianity develops there and specifically cultural questions. Third, I find my horizons expanded even more when it comes to seeing Christianity worldwide and what is possible for the future (as well as areas we need to keep an eye on).
It was fun to teach Esther (Manfred and Sabine’s youngest daughter) some Chinese. So far I’ve lived with five families in Germany and all at different life stages and with their uniqueness. The conversations with a nice beer always opens up personal as well as spiritual topics worth the time spent here.
I’m glad to be here right now. I do miss home and am prepared to go back. And there just simply too much to process all at one go. For now, I’ll be thankful for every moment which has passed and the episodes which has yet to unfold. It’s a full day tomorrow and Wednesday.
I’m looking forward for at least one day of planned sightseeing perhaps to the alps near to Munich Of course, a good weather helps. It’s getting colder now. It’s time to sleep.