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Both a celebration and fundraiser, this dinner was the capstone event of BGST’s 30th Anniversary.
Human flourishing is where social, spiritual, and physical conditions come together to allow people in society to grow fully into all that they can be. The biblical concept of Shalom encapsulates this, where people live in love and harmony with God, the land, and one another. Throughout history, the arts have played a vital role in this endeavour. To begin our reflections, Dr. Greenman spoke on Human Flourishing & the Arts. This was followed by a conversation with three artists - Constance Fourie (dance), Aaron Lee (poetry), and Wendy Wong (visual recording) - on how the arts can help realize God’s Shalom in our society. As an expression of this theme, there was an exhibition and silent auction of art pieces including sculptures, paintings, and ceramics. The Dinner was also be an opportunity for us to share how we want to bring about flourishing in all that we do. #laniakeaculture
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Two-day Singapore conference on #digitaltheology, an emerging field of study within #digitalhumanities Many great presentations on the way the world is becoming sparked rich discussions on the host of ethical issues embedded in the practical use of new scientific knowledge. Lots of cross-references to visionary writers (Huxley, Asimov) and films/TV such as Ex-Machina, Ready Player One, Blade Runner, Black Mirror etc. Lots of great conversations were generated between speakers, practitioners and conferees!
I'm glad to have been part of the organising team, working with my alma mater BGST, CODEC, Indigitous, SGVillage and others. #ChristianX #AIethics #tech4humanity  “One By One” - a song I composed with lyricist Aaron Lee for “Stories We Sing” (2017) - sung by 360+ children from 12 schools at STAR’s Engaging With Songs Day 2019, featuring an amazing orchestra of teacher-musicians.
For most of these children, it was their first time experiencing the tonal colours & dynamics of an orchestra. What a thrill for us too, to be energised by the exuberance of their singing ⭐️🎵🌈 Special thanks to Suriati Suradi & Jo Chan , the architect & curator of EWS Day, & Mrs Rebecca Chew, the visionary behind the EWS programme, for this exciting opportunity to engage & enlighten children through music. Let’s do it again 🐠 🦀 🐢 🦑🍠❗️ #OneByOne #StoriesWeSing #EWSDay - Kelly Tang's Facebook Post, 8 September 2019 LAW ON LIFE - FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIETY
Yesterday's LAW ON LIFE dialogue session at SMU Law School featured national legislator Sylvia Lim, justice advocate Eugene Thuraisingam and me. We shared stories about how we each came to pursue law studies, and how it has helped us do what we do. Sylvia and Eugene were thoroughly inspiring. We all agreed that a law degree provides a good foundation to serve society in various ways. But a robust ethical backbone, deep compassion for people, and a spirit of self-sacrifice are also essential to serve well. The session moderator Prof. Low Kee Yang kept the candid conversation flowing with good humour and wisdom gleaned from his own career as scholar and educator. Many well-meaning young people feel the heavy burden of solving all the world's problems on their unseasoned shoulders. It is better to be realistic about the odds, count the cost and bear the load with like-minded people. Knowing one's life purpose helps to keep the faith through the inevitable ups and downs. #lawonlife #smulaw #servantleadership  It was a great pleasure to return to guest lecture at the Trinity Theological College and to meet a roomful of thoughtful students seeking a holistic theological view of arts and culture today. All of them are readers and some of them are writers. I spoke about literature's foundational impact on culture, poetry as the "chiselled marble of language" (Ann Shalaski) and went deep into its mechanics and magic, introduced the writings of William Franke ("the Bible is both revelation and humanities text"), posited common problems of interpretation, and shared thoughts about the writer's vocation. A student asked for examples of writers with the Christian worldview, and I mentioned JRR Tolkien, Flannery O'Connor, TS Eliot, Eugene Peterson, Malcolm Guite, Edwin Thumboo, Eric Valles and some others. - AMDG, Aaron
"The Nature of Poetry" was launched today at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. The coffeetable book features new nature-themed poetry by 15 Singapore poets and stunning photography of our national parks. The book was edited by Edwin Thumboo and Eric Valles, and published by the National Parks Board. Tell me again where home is
where inhabit all the holy hours where someday you will find me. - lines from 'Time Lapse', published in "Coastlands" by Aaron Lee My friend Reggie from SYFC invited me to meet with a group of his volunteers, all who have recently graduated from tertiary education. Despite their busyness they have been committed to community engagement to young people. I shared some Sabbath principles from the Bible (Hebrews 4), and also gave some practical tips to build rest into their weekly and monthly routines. "The Sabbath helps us know experientially that nothing we do will make God love us more." - Lynne M. Baab  There is a special joy and depth of mutual understanding when conversing with a kindred spirit. Such is Raphael Samuel, a Singaporean Anglican priest who has served abroad for nearly 25 years in Bolivia. He is the first Asian missionary to be consecrated Bishop in the Spanish speaking Anglican world. Since he and his wife Michelle are presently on home visit, we took the opportunity to catch up and enjoy some art and local food together. Bishop Raphael loves reading literature and writes poetry too. I told him about the book by Craig M. Barnes "The Pastor as Minor Poet" that impacted me greatly in my writing and ministry. Apart from King David, there is a tradition of Christian poet-priests; including Donne, Hopkins and the contemporary and inimitable Malcolm Guite of the UK.
 A wide-ranging lunchtime conversation with my friend Jenni Ho-Huan about how art-making and meaning-making are inseparable for human beings, and also about the work we do at the Laniakea Culture Collective.
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