The German-Speaking Catholic Congregation of Singapore
“If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; / Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (Ps 139: 9-10) For Christian expatriates all over the world, these wonderfully comforting and reassuring words taken from the Book of Psalms are a beautiful poetic expression of God’s loving presence that surrounds them wherever they go, regardless of how far away from home they may be. To them, the promise of God’s nearness is one of the few stable constants in a life, in which little is permanent. Most of these modern day nomads rarely stay in any one place for more than three to five years. Not only do they have to readjust to different climates and cultures at regular intervals, they also have to cope with the emotional strains of constantly having to leave behind old friends and to make new ones all over again. Feelings of uprootedness and even full-blown identity crises are therefore not uncommon among expatriates. Consequently, there is a larger openness towards the church and the services of the church community that strive to offer those global wanderers a spiritual home.
Since many Christians feel most
comfortable worshipping in their native tongues, foreign language congregations
have sprung up in all the world’s major cities. Singapore is no exception. Our
local German-speaking Catholic Congregation has been around for almost a decade
now and is one out of presently 166 such communities worldwide that are being
looked after by the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference. It offers fellowship
and spiritual guidance to all who want to base their lives and values on the
teachings of Jesus Christ and at the same time functions as a social network for
Christians of German-speaking background who - by moving to Singapore - face the
challenging situation of starting a new life in an unfamiliar and culturally
diverse environment.
High fluctuation is a fact of life in every expatriate community. Rather than focussing on the downside of this phenomenon, we should however look at its upside and trust in the Holy Spirit to continue to provide our congregation with a warm and welcoming setting for others to join us.
We are grateful for being blessed with a parish priest of our own, Father Hans-Joachim Fogl, who came to Singapore in October 2004 from Rome, where he had been the parish priest of the German-speaking Catholic Congregation for three years.
Our vibrant community consists predominantly of young families who faithfully fill the pews every Sunday morning, rain or shine - something many priests back in Germany (and the rest of the Western world for that matter) can only dream of... Apart from this focal point of our parish life, the weekly Eucharist celebrated at Maris Stella Chapel off Holland Road, our activities include preparation classes for First Holy Communion and Confirmation, youth activities, pastoral counselling for individuals, couples and families as well as so-called ‘open evenings’ that can take on various forms.
We also closely collaborate with the German-speaking Protestant congregation by jointly offering ecumenical children’s bible classes and by organizing an annual Children’s and Youth Bible Day. Our two congregations furthermore celebrate holidays such as Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving together, share a very active church choir which recruits its members from both parishes and jointly publish a monthly newsletter called ‘Gemeindebrief’, which can be subscribed to free of charge by anyone interested.
(by Annika Walter-Schantz, on behalf of the church committee)