Last Saturday, the elders and the pastoral team of CPC had our annual session retreat. Before the session retreat, I was thinking to myself – the retreat was scheduled from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon; it would be quite tiring after a whole day of meeting.
We arrived at the meeting venue at Christ College around 9am, and the retreat commenced after singspiration and devotion. We had a very fruitful time of sharing and going over the various agenda items tabled for discussion that day.
A big thank you goes to Roxan and Bethany for having kindly prepared morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea for the retreat. The food was delicious and beautifully cooked it was a real treat for all of us!
Time passed quicker than I had anticipated, and the retreat came to an end. I had a strong feeling that a distinctive feature of the session is our “league of elders”. This league of elders is made up of brothers and sister who are faithful and willing to serve the church. Not only do they offer up their time and energy; more importantly, they serve brothers and sisters with love. Thank God for His grace in calling this league of faithful and dedicated servants to serve Him; it is such a blessing to our church.
Indeed, in order to build up the church, we need such a group of brothers and sister who are committed and dedicated over a long period of time. The saying “It takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred to rear people” is true. Nevertheless, the elders and the pastoral team are not perfect; we are only sinners saved by grace.
If people are committed to the Lord, whether in the role of an elder or one which is less visible, they should be respected and admired. It is my wish that there will be more and more brothers and sisters who are willing to take up the baton, faithfully serve the church and pass on this legacy in generations to come, bringing glory to our Lord.
前一個周六，教會的長老、傳道同工以及牧師，一起参加了長老議會年度退修會。我之前在想，開一天的會，從早上10點到下午4點，一定會很累。
我們9點多便到達開會的地方--長老會神學院。在唱詩及靈修後，便開始會議。當天的氛圍很好，大家有說有笑，在融洽美好的氣氛下，討論了很多議題。
陳師母Roxan及女兒Bethany為我們預備了早茶、午飯及下午茶。真是做得特別美味，(可能當天就增胖了一點點)，感謝Roxan及Bethany的愛心，為我們預備了當天豐富的食物。
時間比想像中過得要快，一天的會議，感覺很快就完結了。在會議中，感受很深的是，在長老會中，其中一個很好的特點，就是有"長老團"。這是由一群忠心服事教會，願意長期付出的弟兄姊妹組成，大家都是用心服侍的僕人，勞心勞力，不但付出時間、精神，更帶著愛心服侍。感謝神的恩典，有這樣一群忠心服侍神的僕人在我們當中，我們的教會是蒙福的。
教會的建立的確需要一群長期忠心為教會付出的弟兄姊妹。"十年樹木，百年樹人"，這是很真實的。
雖然，長老及牧師傳道同工，也不是十全十美的人，然而，和所有信主的人一樣，我們都是蒙恩的罪人。
長期為神擺上的人，無論是長老，或是在一些不被人注意到的崗位上服侍的同工，都是值得被敬佩和尊重的。
希望我們教會，會有越來越多的弟兄姊妹，愿意效法教會在129年的優良歷史中谦卑服事主的眾多僕人；我們一起建立更多，願意忠心並且長久服侍教會的僕人，把這美好的傳統繼續傳承下去，讓神通過我們，擴展神的國度，造福更多屬神的弟兄姊姊，將榮耀歸給我們的主。
