St Andrew’s Cathedral, the site of numerous historic events since Sir Stamford Raffles established its location in 1823, hosted yet another milestone service tonight (December 13).

The Bicentennial Christmas Carols Service, jointly organised by the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS), the Diocese of Singapore and the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Singapore, tonight commemorated 200 years of God’s blessing on Singapore.

The special service was attended by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and 800 guests including government leaders, leaders of various faiths, as well as clergy and lay leaders of Christian denominations.

PM Lee urged all present to make sure that 50 or 100 years from now, a new generation “will once again have many reasons to give thanks for the bountiful blessings of the Lord and for the results which we have been able to bring about together”.

PM Lee, speaking at the end of the service, said he was “moved by the beautiful service, beautiful music and beautiful singing”, adding that the Church’s take on the Singapore Bicentennial is “one of the strands of many strands which has come together to make Singapore today, 200 years after Stamford Raffles. It’s what makes Singapore rich, makes our history meaningful, and gives us a sense of purpose to go ahead and do great things for Singapore”.

He urged all present to make sure that 50 or 100 years from now, a new generation “will once again have many reasons to give thanks for the bountiful blessings of the Lord and for the results which we have been able to bring about together”.

Rev Canon Terry Wong, Vicar of St Andrew’s Cathedral, which organised the event, told Salt&Light: “We are grateful for God’s providence and blessings on our nation. Christmas and her carols are celebrated and enjoyed by all in our society and it is only appropriate in a bicentennial year that the Church celebrate with the rest of the city.

“We commemorate Sir Stamford Raffles and his colleagues’ efforts at establishing a church and facilitating the practice of the Christian faith.

“We also remember the contributions of many Christian missionaries and leaders leading to the establishment of, not just the Cathedral, but a nexus of Christian centres – the Armenian Church and the Mission Chapel (the first churches) and so on.

“The early missionaries and leaders from various countries and church streams cooperated and served together. This unity was enhanced significantly during the war years, with both Changi Prisons and the Cathedral being hubs for this.  

“A combined Church choir (mostly Asiatic as most Westerners were interned then) including gifted children, actively sang in the Cathedral throughout the war years, attended by Christians from all streams and nationalities.”

Heart songs

This evening’s celebration commenced with prelude performances by pipe organists and the ringing of the recently-restored bells of the Cathedral.

“When we worked at refurbishing the Cathedral bells in 2019, we did not plan for how they would add to an occasion like this,” a Cathedral spokesperson told Salt&Light. 

The Combined Church Choir of Singapore presented familiar carols and popular folk songs in English, Mandarin, Tamil and Japanese, against a poignant backdrop of photos showing 200 years of Singapore history.

The Choir of Sidney Sussex College Cambridge kicked off the musical with a soaring rendition of William Byrd’s Vigilante. Their programme featured traditional carols commonly heard at services in Oxford and Cambridge in the Advent season.

The Combined Church Choir of Singapore presented the second part of the celebration, which included familiar carols, popular folk songs in English, Mandarin, Tamil and Japanese, and a poignant original verse, Red Dot, It is Not “Apologia pro Patria mea” (“In defence of my country”), composed by Dr Peter Low, the Bicentennial Service choir conductor.

The youngest singer was five-year-old Sophie Ho, who delivered a plaintive solo against a backdrop of WWII photographs.  

“The eclectic mix of songs for Part 2 (Telling the Singapore Story) was carefully chosen,” Rev Canon Terry Wong told Salt&Light. “For Christian Singaporeans, the mix of our ‘heart songs’ of hymns and classic SG favourites carried our unique dual and integral identity in a moving way.

“During the Liberation Service held after the war, The Hallelujah Chorus was sung by a combined 120-choir. It was a very moving experience for those who were there. Tonight the combined 120-strong full choir did likewise. May we be grateful as, unlike the war survivors, we have been blessed beyond our expectations.”     

(L-R) PM Lee, Mdm Ho Ching and Anglican Bishop Rennis Ponniah meeting guests at the Bicentennial Service. The Bicentennial Service, attended by various religious leaders, affirms that in Singapore, people of different faiths can live and work together as well as participate in each others’ religious festivals, said a Cathedral spokesperson.

A celebration of faith

The service was not the first attended by the Prime Minister and different faith leaders.

In December 2017, NCCS organised “Christmas at Bishopsbourne” to celebrate the peace and goodwill of Christmas with people of other faiths. 

It was a gathering to affirm that, in Singapore, people of different faiths can live and work together as well as participate in each others’ religious festivals.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was the Guest of Honour. NCCS subsequently decided to hold this event biennially.

As 2019 is also Singapore’s Bicentennial, NCCS leaders took the opportunity to enlarge the celebrations, a spokesperson from the organising committee told Salt&Light.

Separately, a few individuals within the Diocese of Singapore conceptualised a Bicentennial celebration, as they felt that a commemoration of Singapore’s 200-year history “should not exclude the role which faith has played in the building of our nation”, said the spokesperson. 

The Right Reverend Rennis Ponniah, Bishop of the Diocese of Singapore, conveyed the idea to NCCS leaders, who readily agreed to the concept and supported the event as joint organisers.

The Bicentennial Service organiser, St Andrews Cathedral, intended that tonight’s celebration be one that embraced the whole Christian community, including Roman Catholics.

“When it comes to nation-building, we need to acknowledge the role which every stream of Christian faith has played,” said the spokesperson. “There is more that unites than divides us and an occasion like this celebrates that. The Singapore Combined Church Choir is unique in this sense.

A wefie by various faith leaders at the Bicentennial Service.

“Even as we acknowledge the role which Christians have played, we also want to honour the role of other faiths and it is fitting that we invite leaders from other faiths, too, to this Christmas Carol Service.”

Rev Canon Terry Wong added: “St Andrews Cathedral (SAC) has always played a role in hosting historical events, especially during the colonial era. This won’t be the first time a Prime Minister or other politicians have participated in official Church events. Not long after Singapore became a nation, SAC played an important role in SG’s 150th celebration in 1969.”

In this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world, Rev Cannon Wong hopes that the Church will “continue to pray for world peace (even if elusive) and do our best to light up whatever corners we are in with His love, peace and forgiveness”.