The glutton speaketh forth

My trip home has a beginning not really befitting one of which study should be my main concern. (Though I have already finished my Foundation 2 revision, and am now starting on my systems revisions. Hallelujah!) Each night since I came back I have gone for protracted dinners with great food, as well as yummy breakfasts, lunches and snacks. The highlights are my church's 20th anniversary dinner on Friday night; laksa and durian for lunch, then Stef's brother's wedding dinner on Saturday; and today it was kampua mee in the morning (one dish down, lots more to go!) and a whopping dinner at Li Garden at night. The menu included Peking Duck - its crispy skin dripping with fat eaten with some kind of popiah skin, and its meat stirfried and served separately; pomfret served 3 different ways - its skin deepfried, its meat raw and steamed; and slabs of WuXi-style pork ribs (that's served in a thick red sauce) looking like 2 bright red bricks, eaten with fried mantou. I'm currently stuffed to the brim and too uncomfortable to study, therefore giving me an excuse to write this.
My church, Trinity Methodist Church Kuching (TMC) had a new building built behind its old premises and it is BIG. It is rather tastefully done except perhaps for the "alien-like" blue backlights for the cross. But it feels impersonal. The walls tower above heads, leading to the sloping ceiling somewhere up there; the chairs are no longer my favourite wooden pews but the kind of chairs IMU uses to seat students for exams. The preacher looks down from his high perch that is the pulpit and seems small. Eeriely his face looms larger-than-life behind him, thanks to the camera and projector, so that you can see his face clearly. Up in the annex, this comes in handy, but when everyone is standing like during worship, or when there are performances onstage, it's hard to see.
But perhaps my grouses come because I'm used to worshipping in a small cosy church. Other than that I'm quite pleased with what the church has done. The design is simple, and now both English congregations can worship under one roof at the same time, with ample space for the church to grow. Uncle EH is still playing the old trusted organ, but they got a new baby grand piano, drum set and other instruments I think. I think they upgraded their keyboards as well, and used it to great effect in the choir's rendition of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus in conjunction with the church's 1st combined service this morning. The choir was great, but I don't think they were worthy of Rev. Hwa Yung's comment of their rendition being the best local interpretation - the female parts were too drowned out. Oh, and the live string section was kind of drowned out too. :P The sound system was definitely upgraded, and although not massive like some other churches the soundmen have been doing a great job in controlling it - no eardrum-splitting feedbacks so far! The church was filled to the brim for the combined service today, and people were heard worshipping in 3 different languages. Amazing.
Rev. HY talked about the role of the non-Western churches in the world today, and how they could play a pivotal role now in the furtherance of the Kingdom. I was kind of shocked to hear that the Korean church has more than 100 Protestant denominations, and that its growth is stagnanting, as is also the case in Singapore. What gives? He postulates that the foundations, not properly laid, gives. So, the challenge to the church is to build good foundations to endure and reach out. And only time will tell if this can be done. I'm not in any position to rate the spiritual growth of TMC now, and all I can say is that I think the leaders have. I hope everyone in the congregation today, me included, take heed of his timely reminder that Christian growth needs commitment and sacrifice and unity. And hopefully the leadership will continue to steer the church in the right direction, and the facilities and assets God has provided will be used wisely. One pastor said "We will not be a mega-church!" I say amen to that.