The New Normal English forum of The Presbyterian Church in Singapore (PCS) – the first of its kind – gathered 75 PCS church leaders and staff virtually in August. The English Presbytery’s Moderator Rev Vincent Lee gave the opening address, followed by discussions on making the transition between online and onsite church services; rethinking church; fulfilling the mission of the church; and what it means to be a Presbyterian church.

One of the churches was part of the pilot project by Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) to re-open physical services with congregations up to 100 persons. They shared about usage of an online ticketing system for church members to sign up for these services, and a concern brought forth was the extra workload from video production for online services.

Discussions on fulfilling the church’s mission included evangelism, where they spoke about the need to truly empathise with and understand the needs of those they reached out to, as well as equipping themselves in theology and self-reflection.

PCS General Secretary Rev Teo Yew Tiong reported on the Synod Solidarity Initiative (SSI), through the COVID19 Solidarity Fund provided by Council for World Mission (CWM). He invited churches to apply for support as they began housing rough sleepers in their church compounds through their Homeless Ministry; purchased equipment for live-streaming services, provided needy families with Wi-Fi and devices to attend online services.