The silent untouched
I have been recently thinking about the multi-cultural and multi-racial nature of Singapore. Despite being an active grassroot leader for the past few years, and not being exactly disapproving of what the government is doing in the country, and being supportive of the PAP government, I finally come to the conclusion that despite our government's best effort, Singapore's multi-cultural nature does have its dark side after all. It's not that serious, and does not affect majority of the Singaporeans but this aspect is something I have observed based on my own identity as a grassroot leader.
And this aspect is apparent in grassroot activities more than anything else. And it is that grassroot activities are more than often not Christian-friendly. I understand that it may sound radical and it might even get me into trouble. But I would say that there is justification to this and this is also some reasons why grassroot organisation as a whole, may not be adequate to reach out to the whole Singaporean population.
Firstly, grassroot activities are often held on weekends, either on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings. It is not exactly the GROs' fault as circumstances compelled them to do so. In order to reach out to as many Singaporeans as possible, the GROs, especially the RCs, have to organise their activities during these timings, as these are the timings when most people would be free to attend their activities. One thing I noticed though, as a Christian, is that it excluded the Christian population. Consider this, most faithful Christians would have to attend their weekly services either on Saturdays or Sundays, depending on their own congregations. Most would attend services on Sundays. It means that there would be a timing clash. Even if they want to attend these grassroot activities, the timing of these activities does not permit them to do so. As a result, we find that most of the time, grassroot activities tend to attract more people who are non-Christians generally.
Secondly, grassroot activities are generally not catered with Christians in mind. With this, I have to refer to some activities that my own RC organises. Claiming to be an organisation to gel the neighbourhood together, I realise that RCs would not hesitate to organise temple tours around Singapore for their residents. It is not wrong to do so, but such activities exclude Christians again. Even more so, it sends out a signal to the people that these organisations are more interested to reach out to people whose religion is similar to theirs than to people whose religion they do not understand. I remember some of the brothers and sisters once commented, that if RCs can organise temple tours, then why not church tours? I found that comment a bit absurd, but it does capture the reality that the RC activities are just catering to the majority of the population and the minority population of Christians are not considered. Furthermore, we have several religious festivals in Singapore, and more than often, those are good times when people can learn the various practises of other religions and understand them more. We have Hari Raya, which we get to eat good foods and learn about the important rituals of Islam. We have Deepavali, when we learn more about Hinduism. We have Chinese New Year, Mid autumn festival, the Seventh Month, etc for minority races to learn about Chinese religious practises. We have Good Friday and Christmas, and yet, especially in the case of Christmas, I find that grassroot organisations dun honor the spirit of these festivals, instead they secularise these festivals.
To make my point, I would have to bring in a personal example, and it's not easy to write this down here in this post. As per normal, this year, my RC's YRC is going to have another gift exchange and Christmas celebration. Until I received Christ into my life, I have never thought much about this, but since then, I realise that we are always celebrating Christmas... for what? What is there to celebrate for Christmas, if you are not celebrating the birth of Christ? I felt deep inside that Christmas needs to mean something to us, and it's not just about gift exchange. This year, I got to learn that no religious element is allowed in the gift exchange, and I was wondering, "huh?". It started last year, when I sent in a Bible for gift exchange. So what's wrong with that? If giving a Bible to celebrate the birth of Christ is my way of blessing the people, what's wrong with having religious elements? The spirit of Christmas is therefore gone, in this particular case that I'm talking about. No doubt that Christmas is a time for us to come together for some catching up, but it's not just that. The whole impression I get is that they are wary of Christianity, and there is not religious tolerance in such cases. Of course, it may not mean so, but that's the impression that I get.
My point is that if we can make use of other religious festivals to honor these religions, then why are we not making use of Christmas to honor our Christian citizens? And this is particularly the reason why Christians are not connected to the grassroot as a whole. They may be well connected with their neighbourhood, but with their grassroots.
I am saying all these not to criticise these GROs for not doing anything to reach out to Christians, and I'm not saying these because I'm a Christian. These GROs, I trust, are doing their best to fulfil their duties to connect the people. I work in there, and I know they are doing their best. But the fact remains that it is generally not very Christian-friendly. It's not because of them alone, but also due to the very Christianity itself. My question lies in that if certain religious practises remain sacred to these people, and we need to respect their practises in this multi-religious society, then shouldn't the GROs be willing to cater to these people, rather than continually exclude them?
And right now, let me talk about some experiences of a Christian who happens to be a grassroot leader. Originally, it wasn't that difficult for me to commit myself to help out grassroot activities. That was before I receive Christ. For some time, helping out with grassroot activities is my favourite pastime. That happens because my weekends are usually free. However, after I received Christ, I find that my priorities need readjustment. It's not the case when I initially said that I will place services and grassroot as the same priority. As time goes by, God becomes my top priority, and as I began to start taking on more responsibilities in the church, I realise that I cannot just suka suka go here and there, without considering the consequences. Furthermore, because RC activities are either held on Saturday evenings, I find myself unable to help out (sometimes I got criticised for this). But also because of my Saturday commitments, I sometimes find myself sleeping late on Saturday nights and often unable to wake up the following morning to help out with the weekly brisk walking. Then recently, with the gift exchange incident, I began to question the acceptance of Christians in this particular RC, whether how a Christian can be accepted if he asserts his identity as a Christian. I realise that I can't assert my identity as a Christian without conforming their terms. Is that what I'm supposed to do? Compromising on my own identity as a Christian just to be accepted? And because I can't explain my own position to people without further asserting my own identity, it becomes a case where misunderstandings start to occur.
And so I continue to wonder if there will ever be a a change in mentality. I know that Christianity is a bit misunderstood in that environment... but I still pray that it will change one day.
And this aspect is apparent in grassroot activities more than anything else. And it is that grassroot activities are more than often not Christian-friendly. I understand that it may sound radical and it might even get me into trouble. But I would say that there is justification to this and this is also some reasons why grassroot organisation as a whole, may not be adequate to reach out to the whole Singaporean population.
Firstly, grassroot activities are often held on weekends, either on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings. It is not exactly the GROs' fault as circumstances compelled them to do so. In order to reach out to as many Singaporeans as possible, the GROs, especially the RCs, have to organise their activities during these timings, as these are the timings when most people would be free to attend their activities. One thing I noticed though, as a Christian, is that it excluded the Christian population. Consider this, most faithful Christians would have to attend their weekly services either on Saturdays or Sundays, depending on their own congregations. Most would attend services on Sundays. It means that there would be a timing clash. Even if they want to attend these grassroot activities, the timing of these activities does not permit them to do so. As a result, we find that most of the time, grassroot activities tend to attract more people who are non-Christians generally.
Secondly, grassroot activities are generally not catered with Christians in mind. With this, I have to refer to some activities that my own RC organises. Claiming to be an organisation to gel the neighbourhood together, I realise that RCs would not hesitate to organise temple tours around Singapore for their residents. It is not wrong to do so, but such activities exclude Christians again. Even more so, it sends out a signal to the people that these organisations are more interested to reach out to people whose religion is similar to theirs than to people whose religion they do not understand. I remember some of the brothers and sisters once commented, that if RCs can organise temple tours, then why not church tours? I found that comment a bit absurd, but it does capture the reality that the RC activities are just catering to the majority of the population and the minority population of Christians are not considered. Furthermore, we have several religious festivals in Singapore, and more than often, those are good times when people can learn the various practises of other religions and understand them more. We have Hari Raya, which we get to eat good foods and learn about the important rituals of Islam. We have Deepavali, when we learn more about Hinduism. We have Chinese New Year, Mid autumn festival, the Seventh Month, etc for minority races to learn about Chinese religious practises. We have Good Friday and Christmas, and yet, especially in the case of Christmas, I find that grassroot organisations dun honor the spirit of these festivals, instead they secularise these festivals.
To make my point, I would have to bring in a personal example, and it's not easy to write this down here in this post. As per normal, this year, my RC's YRC is going to have another gift exchange and Christmas celebration. Until I received Christ into my life, I have never thought much about this, but since then, I realise that we are always celebrating Christmas... for what? What is there to celebrate for Christmas, if you are not celebrating the birth of Christ? I felt deep inside that Christmas needs to mean something to us, and it's not just about gift exchange. This year, I got to learn that no religious element is allowed in the gift exchange, and I was wondering, "huh?". It started last year, when I sent in a Bible for gift exchange. So what's wrong with that? If giving a Bible to celebrate the birth of Christ is my way of blessing the people, what's wrong with having religious elements? The spirit of Christmas is therefore gone, in this particular case that I'm talking about. No doubt that Christmas is a time for us to come together for some catching up, but it's not just that. The whole impression I get is that they are wary of Christianity, and there is not religious tolerance in such cases. Of course, it may not mean so, but that's the impression that I get.
My point is that if we can make use of other religious festivals to honor these religions, then why are we not making use of Christmas to honor our Christian citizens? And this is particularly the reason why Christians are not connected to the grassroot as a whole. They may be well connected with their neighbourhood, but with their grassroots.
I am saying all these not to criticise these GROs for not doing anything to reach out to Christians, and I'm not saying these because I'm a Christian. These GROs, I trust, are doing their best to fulfil their duties to connect the people. I work in there, and I know they are doing their best. But the fact remains that it is generally not very Christian-friendly. It's not because of them alone, but also due to the very Christianity itself. My question lies in that if certain religious practises remain sacred to these people, and we need to respect their practises in this multi-religious society, then shouldn't the GROs be willing to cater to these people, rather than continually exclude them?
And right now, let me talk about some experiences of a Christian who happens to be a grassroot leader. Originally, it wasn't that difficult for me to commit myself to help out grassroot activities. That was before I receive Christ. For some time, helping out with grassroot activities is my favourite pastime. That happens because my weekends are usually free. However, after I received Christ, I find that my priorities need readjustment. It's not the case when I initially said that I will place services and grassroot as the same priority. As time goes by, God becomes my top priority, and as I began to start taking on more responsibilities in the church, I realise that I cannot just suka suka go here and there, without considering the consequences. Furthermore, because RC activities are either held on Saturday evenings, I find myself unable to help out (sometimes I got criticised for this). But also because of my Saturday commitments, I sometimes find myself sleeping late on Saturday nights and often unable to wake up the following morning to help out with the weekly brisk walking. Then recently, with the gift exchange incident, I began to question the acceptance of Christians in this particular RC, whether how a Christian can be accepted if he asserts his identity as a Christian. I realise that I can't assert my identity as a Christian without conforming their terms. Is that what I'm supposed to do? Compromising on my own identity as a Christian just to be accepted? And because I can't explain my own position to people without further asserting my own identity, it becomes a case where misunderstandings start to occur.
And so I continue to wonder if there will ever be a a change in mentality. I know that Christianity is a bit misunderstood in that environment... but I still pray that it will change one day.
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