by Soo-Inn Tan | Dec 21, 2017 | 2017, Articles, Death & Grief, Life Issues
I am writing this in the quiet of my room in El Sanctuary, a quaint retreat centre near Alor Gajah, Malacca, Malaysia. I am here to speak to a group of bright young adults from Orchard Road Presbyterian Church. I am enjoying my interaction with them. But I came to...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Dec 14, 2017 | 2017, Articles, Christian Living
Mum has lost most of her short-term memory as she journeys down the path of Alzheimer’s dementia. When I drop by to visit, she will smile and yell my pet name, “Ah Chye”. I will go upstairs to put away my stuff and, when I come down again, she will...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Dec 7, 2017 | 2017, Articles, Church, Corporate Worship
You noticed her because she was different. She sometimes sang off key. She sang certain words louder, for emphasis. But her raising of her hands, her body language, were all appropriate. She was really worshipping her God in song. She inspired my own worship. I...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Nov 30, 2017 | 2017, Articles, God, God's Love, Jesus, Jesus' Birth, Jesus' Death, Life Issues, Meaning & Purpose
Love and death shouldn’t be in the same universe. A few weeks ago I was having lunch with Bernice when a Chipmunks song came on (The Chipmunk Song — Christmas Don’t Be late). Suddenly my dad came to mind. (He passed on in 2003.) I remembered that he had...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Nov 23, 2017 | 2017, Articles, Growth, Meaning & Purpose, Young Adult Ministry
I don’t do transitions well. In 1981 I left Malaysia/Singapore to commence my studies in Regent College, Vancouver. It was a dream come true. I would be studying with faculty I highly respected at a school whose unique philosophy I really believed in. And...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Nov 15, 2017 | 2017, Articles, Christian Living, Loving Others, Spiritual Friendship
… friendship is a relationship of mutuality and intimacy rooted in shared interests, loves, or goals and characterized by genuine interest in the other person as a particular other. –James Calvin Davis Last Saturday night we had the privilege of once again...