Author name: Tammy Lam

“I couldn’t get Coldplay tickets” I moaned to a friend. “Why do you want to go? Aren’t you afraid of Covid?” she retorted. “You don’t even want to participate in church events, yet you want to go to a concert?” she remarked, exposing my hypocrisy. This Coldplay concert also turned into a political issue, with […]

Have you ever read a book and said to yourself “I wish I could meet those characters in that book. I wish they can come to life and chat with me.” I’ve just read one such book. It’s “Heavenly Vision, the story of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore 1952 – 1991” by Warren

John Nelson and his wife Betty Lou came from America to Malaya in 1955. They came as missionaries. They came during the Malayan Emergency.  How I came to know and meet them in person is close to a miracle.  I was asked by Nelson Leong to do some research on LCM. Rev John Nelson’s name

Editor’s note: 12 March 2024. This column was published in order to recognize the unease of many about gender identity, and to initiate a conversation about transgender persons – against the backdrop of silence of the churches while “the world,” including the Olympics Council and some Muslim groups, made statements concerning them. The intention was

It’s Chinese New Year (“CNY”) and we hear shouts of “Gong Xi Fa Cai!” which means “Wishing you Prosperity and Good Fortune!” We hear “Niannian You Yu!” which means “Surplus and Abundance Year after Year!” We hear “Ji Xiang Ru Yi!” which means “Good luck, Good fortune!” We greet each other with greetings of good

Q1:      What does Chinese New Year (“CNY”) mean to you? Q2:      Do you enjoy CNY? Why? Q3:      What are your hopes for CNY? These were the questions posed to a number of friends who celebrated Chinese New Year, (19 people of Chinese descent (3 living overseas), 1 Korean and 1 Japanese).  Surprisingly, the

1st of January 2023 has come. We’ve bid goodbye to 2022. It’s a new year. How is it that I feel nothing has really changed, yet I also feel that 2022 has come and gone too quickly. Who is the person who determined that the 1st of January is a new year in the first

“I was once expelled from the hostel I stayed in while attending English College in Johor Bahru because I sneaked out with two friends to eat see ham (cockles) on Lido Beach!” R shared with a bashful smile and a twinkle in his eye. “You didn’t!” I laughed, “Why did you do it?” “The food

In Lutheran churches, on each of the four Sundays preceding Christmas, an Advent candle is lit. The four candles have names: hope, love, joy, and peace[1]. But where is the Candle of Faith, I wonder? What is faith, I ask? Hebrews 11:1 comes to mind, and it reads: “Now faith is being sure of what we

I sent these three questions to many friends and relatives. Question 1: Are you looking forward to Christmas? Question 2: Can you explain why? Question 3: What do you wish for this Christmas? I got 44 responses. The answers were interesting! Here’s what I learned. Question 1: Are you looking forward to Christmas? 25 persons