Last night’s caroling at Bangsar Village II turned out to be more of a warm up for us. It was nice to have some friends pop by to support us. And what a delightful surprise to see a few people who actually came to be part of the while caroling exercise. The staff from MPH had already told me earlier that the crowd would be minimal.
Today, the atmosphere at MPH Megastore 1 Utama was different. I’ll try to get some pictures tomorrow. I really liked having a seat and sing at the Christmas Tree. We even managed to sing “Oh Come all ye faithful” acapella without the full choir which I thought was cool. We’ll still need to work on tightening our rhythm but overall I enjoyed myself.
A number of people actually took the song sheets and sang with us which was a great encouragement. Most, stayed where they were either reading or browsing books. I suppose, most people could hear us even if they weren’t standing near us. I was happy Wee Ming had his chance to do his bass solo for “Silent Night, Holy Night” 🙂 it was good stuff!
We’ll be singing one more time tomorrow at 6pm MPH Megastore 1 Utama. We’ll have more choir members then which is good .. and maybe more supporters 🙂 At the end of the day, it was simply wonderful we could sing the message of Christmas there. The staff was very helpful and that was a bonus. So, far our experiences whether at the Curve or at MPH has been positive.
The kids are sleep now. I think a tired May Chin is too … I should be tired, in fact I am to some degree physically. But perhaps, what my friends Soo-Inn told me is true, in a strange way I do get energized after singing. And maybe more so, to me these times are my acts of worship outside of the church which I treasure.
So often, we are shy about our faith and the joy we have because of Christmas. And sometimes, we are tempted to merely criticize how others have commercialized Christmas. But, I think we need to be more confident in our faith, and redirect our energies to celebrate the essence of Christmas in multiple ways … I think the Advent Conspiracy is getting all of us on the right track.
For me, the singing in all these places (even if it’s in the mall) .. has been part of my own worship offering. But it’s been more meaningful because together with the singing, there’s other dimensions we all have had some part in doing as well … whether it’s spending less (at least on ourselves – and thus keeping a watch on consumption), it’s also being more focused in giving more to those in need, the opportunities to engage with “others” (in my case was to listen to my Muslim friend’s stories) , and much more.
While I don’t think Christmas should be reduced to a “feel good” festival only, I do feel good after having a sense of fulfillment because of the big and little things I’m blessed to be part of. Hope we can have a good wrap up tomorrow evening.
So often, we are shy about our faith and the joy we have because of Christmas. And sometimes, we are tempted to merely criticize how others have commercialized Christmas. But, I think we need to be more confident in our faith, and redirect our energies to celebrate the essence of Christmas in multiple ways … I think the Advent Conspiracy is getting all of us on the right track.
This is so very true and your words resonates with what i have been thinking. I was watching John Stott lecturing on Romans and what he said about Paul writing about ‘not being ashamed of the gospels (Rom.1:16)” rocks me. John mentions that the fact Paul wrote that he is not ashamed meant that Paul was initially ashamed but have come to terms with it. That’s why he had to write he is not ashamed in Romans. Chim, eh.
Alex – I think for many initially of us were “innocently” unashamed about our child life beliefs and even childish ideas but then realized that some segments of our versions of the Gospel was no longer compelling, and then slipped into “ashamed” mode partly because we perceive what we believe as not so believable anymore, the joy comes when we move one and become “unashamed” again. This time, while not totally fool proof but it’s birthed out of genuine wrestling and confronting personal demons!