Church of the Risen Christ
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Church of the Risen Christ is a Roman Catholic church in Singapore. It is located in the Toa Payoh Housing Estate and was founded in 1971.
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[edit] History
The growing Roman Catholic community of Toa Payoh originally conducted their religious activities at the Ho Ping Centre and then at the Social Function Hall of the HDB East Area Office. The first mass was celebrated in the function hall on 6 April 1969.
In June of 1969, religious bodies in Singapore were invited by the Singapore Government to tender for a piece of land of 40,000 square feet. A month later, the government announced that a Roman Catholic church would be built at the junction of Toa Payoh Central and Lorong 4. The announcement sparked off a massive challenge of raising $450,000 for a church building, which fell on the shoulders of the late Rev Fr Pierre Abrial and Rev Fr Adrian Anthony.
While contributions were forthcoming from benefactors and parishioners, Fr Abrial had to make personal visits to parishioners to ask for further donations, some of which were collected over 18 months instalments. By mid-June 1971, they were only some $30,000 short of the target. This shortage was eventually filled by the parishioners over the next few months. About two weeks later, the Church of the Risen Christ was officially opened on 3 July 1971 by His Grace the late then-Archbishop Monsigneur Michael Olcomendy.
Originally, the Church was to be known as Church of the Resurrection, but was changed to Church of the Risen Christ as the former term was found to be rather abstract and impersonal. A quotation from the souvenir magazine published in conjunction with the Church’s official opening cites the following rationale: “The name RISEN CHRIST expresses in a better way the unique character of the Easter event. We believe in a Risen Christ. We believe that He is alive and that we have a relationship with God through Him. Our Church stands as a permanent witness to such a faith”. [citation needed]
Situated in the centre of the new satellite town, Church of the Risen Christ was meant to serve a population of 200,000 middle and low-income flat owners. As Toa Payoh town estate grew in its affluence and size, so did the Church and its parish community.
In an effort to reduce noise from the road traffic nearby, Church of the Risen Christ became among the first Roman Catholic Church to install an air-conditioning system within its premises in 1974.
The grotto was later built in 1990 in honour of the Virgin Mary. Upon its completion, the grotto was blessed by His Grace, then Archbishop Gregory Yong on 15 August 1990, the Feast of the Assumption. The Grotto has since become a center of devotions and prayers for individuals, families and church groups. The wooden shed and benches were later added during the last renovation.
As time went on by, space constraints posed a growing concern. Catechism classes for children were conducted in places like the sacristy and kitchen, thereby impeding on the priests’ privacy and opportunity for interaction. Hence, the Church decided to build a new extension that would meet the needs of the growing community. Construction on the new 4 storey extension began in early 2003. Costing approximately $3.5 million, the new building houses the priest quarters and kitchen and contains 13 rooms that double up as classrooms and meeting rooms.
At the same time, renovations within the church were carried out. The flight of stairs leading up to the Main Entrance was replaced by a new staircase with an extension built to house a youth room and an auditorium. A mural painting of Jesus preaching to a small crowd with the Lake Galilee in the background adorns the inner wall of the extension. To reduce renovation cost and time, layering of new floor tiles over existing ones was carried out. Small stained windows depicting the Passion of the Lord replaced the previous orange lanterns with illustrations of the scenes of the Passion. The old seating benches gave way to sturdy new ones, while the use of hymn books and bible leaflets were discontinued with the use of projectors and television screens displaying liturgical prayers, bible readings, hymns and announcements during mass. The Church opened the new extension for viewing to the parishioners in November 2003.
[edit] Mass Schedule
Weekday Masses: 6.30am & 6pm
Mass in Tamil: Every 1st Sunday, 7.15pm Saturday Sunset Mass: 6pm
Mass during Lunch time: Every 1st Friday, 12.45pm Sunday Masses 7am, 9.30am, 11am & 6pm
Mass celebrated in the Charismatic group: Every 1st Monday, 8pm
Mandarin Mass: Every Sunday, 8.15am
[edit] Liturgical Music and Worship
Every weekend, parishioners gather together for Sunday Mass to thank and praise God through psalms and hymns. Led by the Choirs in the Church, the congregation is able to participate in the celebration more meaningfully. Parishioners are exposed to a wide range of hymns and songs, from the contemporary works to the traditional hymns and chants. The choirs like all other parishes' choirs, fall under the jurisdiction of the Liturgical Music Committee, which is a branch overseeing all maters pertaining to Liturgical Music under the Archdiocesean Liturgy Commission.
The Pipe Organ is the Principal Instrument of the Catholic Church. The Parish is blessed with 2 Allen Digital Church Organs to provide support for congregational and choral singing. The Organ in the Choir Loft was purchased in the early 1990s for use during Sunday services and choir accompaniment. Another Allen Organ was purchased in 2001 to replace the ageing organ in the Sanctuary used for weekday services.
[edit] Organisation
The church has a parish population of 8000 served by 3 priests:
- Rev Fr John Simand (Parish Priest)
- Rev Fr Louis Loiseau MEP
- Rev Fr Adrian Yeo
[edit] Ministries
- Liturgical Committee
- Board of Wardens
- Lector Ministry
- Altar Servers Society
- Eucharistic Ministers
- Choirs
- Cantate Domino Choir sings at the Sunday 11 am Mass under the direction of Bernard Goh
- Christus Laudatur Voce Choir sings at the Sunset 6pm Mass under the direction of Stephen and Mona Sayson
- Shalom Choir sings at the Sunday 9.30 am Mass under the direction of Ester Leong
- Pastoral Care Committee
- Society of Saint Vincent De Paul
- Sodality of St Joseph Prayer Group
- Ministry to the Sick
- Divine Mercy Prayer Group
- Legion of Mary - Praesidia
- Mary, Shrine of the Spirit
- Mother of Chaste Love
- Mother of the Risen Christ
- Our Lady of Immaculate Conception (Malayalam Praesidium)
- Mother of Peace
- Mother of Our Saviour
- Mother of Youth (Junior Praesidium)
- Youth Committee
- Mustard Seed
- Catholic Youth Fellowship
- Risen Christ Children’s League
- Faith Formation Committee
- Cathecists
- RCIA Planning Committee
- RCIY (Youth)
- Charismatic Prayer Group
- Library
- Bible Sharing & Study Group
- Children’s Liturgy
- Family Life Committee
- Family Focus Group
- Vocation Promotion Team (VPT)
- Natural Family Planning (NFP)
- Cana Ministry
- Church Services Committee
- Canteen Group
- Willing Hands
- Media Committee
- Publicity Ministry
- Mandarin-speaking Committee
- Chinese Lay Apostolate Organization Committee
- Voices of the Risen Christ
- Chinese Dance Group
- Legion of Mary
- Mandarin RCIA
- Wardens
- Catholic Family and Social Movement
- St. Rosa Chinese Bible Sharing Group
- Indian Committee
- The Indian Catholic Movement
- Indian Catholic Youth Movement
