November Gathering

It's the last sunday in the month of November! And yes, it's our gathering day!
This sunday, we celebrated "Christ the King", and eucharist was held in St Anthony Chapel.

As Christmas is around the corner, St Anthony Chapel and Friary have been beautifully decorated by the friars. We happily had a peek while joyfully preparing our hearts as we await for the coming of Our Saviour into our world!

Recollection Day

SCDC-SMOTA held its first recollection day on Saturday, 17 November 2007. About 20 of its members participated in this recollection, where we came to learn, share and deepen our faith as one family.

The morning was started with Praise & Worship. It was then followed by a session by Fr John Wong: "Love Each Other as I have Loved You", in which we washed each others' feet as gestures of love.

Afternoon session was enriched with presentation by Fr Joe Nathan on "The Eucharist Gathering Transforms Me" and sharing session in small groups.

Evening continued with adoration, penitential service and concluded with eucharist celebration by Fr John Wong.

It was indeed a fulfilling and enriching day!
Our deepest gratitude goes to everyone who had put in their precious effort and time to prepare, share and participate for and on this recollection :)

View the full recollection snapsots on our album.

October Gathering

It's our gathering day in the month of October!
Mass was celebrated by Fr. John Wong at St Anthony Chapel. We then have our fellowship accompanied by pizza and the 'finger licking good' KFC ;)

November Activities

sorry for the delay..we miss you too :)

18
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
we will not be attending 10.45am Mass

25
Christ The King
10.45 am, Mass at St Anthony Chapel
followed by Deaf and Interpreters gathering

The Canticle of Creatures

Recite the famous prayer written by St Francis, the Canticle of Creatures:

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, all honour,
And all blessings.

To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
And no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures,
Especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day
Through him You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour,
Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon
And the stars in the heavens.
You have made them bright, precious and fair.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all weather's moods,
By which you cherish all that you have made.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
So useful, humble, precious and pure.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
Through whom You light the night
And he is beautiful and playful
And robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister,
Mother Earth who sustains and governs us,
Producing various fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord,
Through those who grant pardon for love of you,
And bear sicknes and trial.
Blesed are those who endure in peace,
By You Most High, they will be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Death,
From whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Blessed are they she finds doing Your will,
No second death can do them harm.

Praise and bless my Lord.
Give Him thanks,
And serve Him with great humility.

October Activities

Wed, 3 Oct: Feast of St Francis of Assisi
8.00 pm, Transitus of St Francis
followed by pot-luck dinner with parishioners

Sun, 7 Oct: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
10.45 am, Mass at Church

Sun, 14 Oct: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
10.45 am, Mass at Church
12.15 pm, Class session "The Ninth Commandment" at Assisi Room

Sun, 21 Oct: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
10.45 am, Mass at Church
12.15 pm, Class session "The Tenth Commandment" at Assisi Room

Sun, 28 Oct: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
10.45 am, Mass at St Anthony Chapel
followed by Deaf and Interpreters gathering

SMOTA's Animal Fair

Saint Franciss of Assisi - Patron of Ecology and Lover of all God's creatures
It's Saint Francis of Assisi Feast day celebration!
SMOTA hosts various kind of animals, gorgeous pets brought by their loving owners.

It was a happening sunday with many performances and competitions such as dog obedience show, best dressed pet, and fastest eating dog competition (won by Rowland's very own TRIX!)
And the happy day was finalized with the yearly animal blessings.

Let us all join the Franciscans throughout the world to pray in the spirit of St Francis for God's gift of creation and how we can learn to respect them and learn to live in harmony with them!

A simple prayer we can use during the week:

For all animals and creatures, their habitats and environment, their health and well-being, that they may continue to teach us of your wisdom and grace;
O Lord, our Creator, hear us.

For those who support and care for birds and animals sanctuaries;
O Lord, our Creator, hear us.

For animal companions everywhere, that we may see reflected in them the goodness and love of God;
O Lord, our Creator, hear us.

For those who care for our forest and trees and those involved in reforestation;
O Lord, our Creator, hear us.

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi 2007

Join Franciscan Friars and the Church of St. Mary of the Angels in celebrating "Living the Dream, Feast of St. Francis of Assisi 2007". Francis of Assisi is Patron of Ecology and lover of all God's creatures!

Sunday, 30 Sept 2007
Mass (with interpreting service) : 10.45 am
Animal Fair : 9.00 am - 2.00 pm
Blessing of Animals : 2.00 pm

Wednesday, 3 Oct 2007
Transitus of St. Francis - a creative celebration in prayer and song of the passage of St. Francis into Eternal Life: 8.00 pm (interpreting service available)

International Day of the Deaf

SCDC-SMOTA celebrates the International Day of the Deaf (IDD) on Sunday, 16 September 2007. The day is especially held for fundraising while promoting Catholic Deaf awareness in the Church of Saint Mary of the Angels. On this big day, a special blessing was given by Fr. Jivan Daniel during the 10.45 am Mass for the deaf community.

Booths were setup at the Church's Piazza with members selling various homemade delicacies, Tupperwares, and T-shirt. We are really happy and touched by the tremendous support given by parishioners and visitors on that day.

SCDC-SMOTA would like to THANK YOU for your generous support!

SCDC-SMOTA Then and Now

Still can't get enough of the upcoming International Day of the Deaf (IDD) 2007!
Find a little bit more about us...

Singapore Catholic Deaf Community –
Saint Mary of the Angels (SCDC-SMOTA)

On 1 May 2005, SCDC has 2 locations: one based in the Church of Immaculate Heart of Mary (SCDC-IHM) with Mr. Patrick Anthony, and the other in the Church of Saint Mary of the Angels (SCDC-SMOTA) with Friar Rowland Yeo.

Since then SCDC-SMOTA has been a familiar face in the Church of Saint Mary of the Angels - non-/parishioners, Friars (and hopefully Poor Clare Sisters!) - promoting Catholic Deaf awareness at 10.45 a.m. Mass on Sundays with activities such as:

• after Mass (e.g. pictorial Bible passages using Microsoft PowerPoint slides);
• assisting Deaf members in Baptism, Confirmation and beyond;
• Friar Rowland conducts Religious Sign Language (RSL) classes, from which 5 have joined as members to the 20 over Deaf members of SCDC-SMOTA.
  

We welcome anyone who wishes to join us… We welcome you :)

A Brief History of SCDC

Still in the mood of International Day of the Deaf (IDD) 2007, we present you a brief history of SCDC - What, Who, When, Where, How?
Find out the answers below...


Singapore Catholic Deaf Community (SCDC)

Singapore Catholic Deaf Community (SCDC), formerly known as Singapore Catholic Office of the Deaf (SCOD), was established on August 9, 1978 with a small group of Deaf Catholic members at Canossian School for the Hearing-Impaired (CSHI - former Canossian School for the Deaf), Jalan Jurong Kechil together with three interpreters Magdalene Chan, Betty and Teresa Tan who were from the Legion of Mary, Church of the Holy Family. There were two locations: one in the east at Church of the Holy Family and the other in the west at CSHI. In 1985, both groups merged at Church of St Alphonsus (Novena Church). In late 1988, the group moved to its new premises at the Archdiocesan Religious Education Centre at Queen Street. In 1994 SCDC moved to Singapore Pastoral Institution at Highland Road.

Since then Sr. Angela Garavaglia, Bro. Jeffrey Chan, Bro. Derek Lazaroo, Fr. Thomas Coughlin, Fr. Cyril Axelrod (England), Fr. Harry Stocks (Canada), Bro. Bernard Heaney, The Sowers, ex-Chaplains SCDC Father Edward Lim, Fr. Brain Russell and Father George Bertrand and 'advisor' Friar Michael De Cruz - to name but a few - helped SCDC to grow through the years.

A Brief History of IDD

Look forward for the coming of International Day of the Deaf (IDD) 2007!
What is it all about?
How was it started?
Find out its brief history from the compilation below...


World Federation of the Deaf (WFD)

The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) was established in Rome, Italy in September 1951 at the first World Deaf Congress, under the auspices of Ente Nazionale Sordomuti (ENS - Italian Deaf Association). It is an international non-governmental organisation, representing approximately 70 million Deaf people worldwide.

WFD is recognised by the United Nations (UN) as their spokes-organisation, working closely with the UN and its various agencies. WFD priorities include the right to sign language; and equal opportunity in all spheres of life, including access to education and information.


WFD Launched International Day of the Deaf (IDD)

On 28 September 1958, WFD launched the International Day of the Deaf (IDD) in answer to 1957's proposals by various European organisations for the Deaf. Since then IDD has been held on the fourth Sunday of September each year ranging from a day to week's celebrations and promoting Deaf awareness to all parts of the world. This event is also known as Deaf Awareness Day/Week.

Activities range from performances - for example dance and mime - to hiking among the Deaf or together with the Hearing (not Deaf). Various seminars and camps may include learning Sign Languages and how to strengthening family relationships, thus dispelling the myths about the Deaf, for example, pen and paper can be used to communicate with a Deaf if one does not know Sign Language.

Representing the Deaf in Singapore for WFD is the Singapore Association for the Deaf (227 Mountbatten Road, Singapore 397998). For more details, please visit their website .

SCDC Reunited

It is a reunion day for SCDC members! We visited our brothers and sisters at the Church of Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) together with Fr. John Wong and three Novices: Fr. Sylvestre, Fr. Desmond, and Fr. Mario.

We attended the 11 am Mass at IHM, which was celebrated by Father Luke Fong and co-celebrated (and interpreted) by Fr. John Wong.

We then headed to SPI for gathering and fellowship accompanied by sumptous meal prepared by our lovely hosts.

..and just before we said goodbye, here's a shot taken to commemorate our gathering day:

PS: It was an exciting return journey to sit in the Friar's big van where 14 of us can fit in!

Visitation on Feast Day..

St. Mary of the Angels parish celebrated Feast Day on Sunday, 29 July 2007.
It was also a special day for SCDC-SMOTA, as we were honoured to have our brothers and sisters from Johor Bahru deaf community that came to visit us ;)

Eucharist was celebrated by Fr. John Wong at St. Anthony chapel..and after we were all off to have fun and enjoy plenty of food at our parish very own FuNfaIr!

Happy Feast Day SMOTA!
and to our JB friends, Thanks to visit us, we hope to see you again somedays :)))

by scdcsmota

Happy 50th Birthday Brother Rowland!

Bro Rowland’s 50th Birthday

hip hip hooray....
Happy 50th Birthday to our dear Brother Rowland Yeo!
ssssh....the celebration was meant to be a surprise, and yeah we made it (didn't we?)
May God's abundant blessings of love, joy and happiness always be poured out to you Bro ;)

July Activity

Sun, 29: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
10.45 am, Mass at St Anthony's Friary
Fellowship with our friends from JB and enjoy Parish Feast Day Funfair ;)

June Activities

Sun, 10 Jun: Corpus Christi
10.45 am, Mass at Church
Ordo & Daily Prayer Book

Sun, 17 Jun: 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
10.45 am, Mass at Church
12.15 pm, Bible and Prayer

Sun, 24 Jun: Birth of John the Baptist
10.45 am, St Anthony's Chapel (St Anthony Friary)
Celebrant: Father John Wong
12.15 pm, Father's Day Pot Luck

New Photos!

May 2007 Activities
Check out our photos, taken in the month of May 2007!
Happy Viewing :)

Lunch Outing at Lot1

One fine Sunday, 22 April 2007:

Walk... walk... till we reach MRT (yeah, we went on foot from Church)

Eat... eat... till we're filled ;p

Shop... shop... till we're satisfied ;)

May Activities

Sun, 6 May: 5th Sunday of Easter
10.45 am, Mass at Church
12.15 pm, Class

Sun, 13 May: 6th Sunday of Easter
10.45 am, Mass at Church
(Fr. Rowland away for Retreat, no Class)

Sun, 20 May: 7th Sunday of Easter
10.45 am, Mass at Church
12.15 pm, Talk for Deaf Community by Fr. Joseph Nasanathan followed by short session by Fr. Rowland

Sun, 27 May: Pentecost
10.45 am, Mass at Church
12.15 pm, short session by Fr. Rowland followed by committee meeting

Note: Fr. John Wong will be away in May-June

Easter Potluck Party

On the first Sunday of Easter, 15 April 2007, we celebrated Mass with Fr. John Wong at St. Anthony Chapel. The Mass was followed by Potluck Party at St. Anthony Friary. The highlight of the celebration is to welcome the newly baptized Catholics to the family. We happily eat, chitchat and watch our very own videos: RCIA Retreat and Easter Vigil.

View some of our photos slideshow above, or visit our album to view the full photos or to download!

Happy Easter

SCDC-SMOTA would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter!

RCIA Retreat

On 24-25 March 2007, our four Deaf Catechumens went for RCIA Retreat at NACLI together with all elects from St. Mary of the Angels Church. The Retreat was lead by Fr. Joseph Nasanathan, ofm.

View more photos below!

by scdcsmota

April Activities

Sun, 15 Apr: 2nd Sunday of Easter
10.45 am, Mass at St. Anthony Chapel
12.15 pm, Potluck (celebrate our newly-baptized Catholics) at St. Anthony Friary

Sun, 22 Apr: 3rd Sunday of Easter
10.45 am, Mass at Church
12.15 pm, Class at Assisi Room

Sun, 29 Apr: 4th Sunday of Easter
10.45 am, Mass at Church
After Mass, Shopping at Lot 1 Shoppers' Mall - Choa Chu Kang

Holy Week

Lent Season almost come to an end, and soon we will be entering the Holy Week. Join us as we journey through this Holy Week! Please find the schedule of sign-interpreting service availability as follows:

(Palm) Passion Sunday - 1 Apr 2007 :
10.45 am Mass

Holy Thursday - 5 Apr 2007 :
8.00 pm Evening Mass of the Lord's supper
Please come and be seated at Church by 7.30 pm

Good Friday - 6 Apr 2007 :
5.00 pm Service, followed by Station of the Cross (outside at the piazza)
Please come and be seated at Church by 4.30 pm

Holy Saturday - 7 Apr 2007 :
9.00 pm Easter Vigil Mass, Baptism of four Deaf Cathecumens*
Please come and be seated at Church by 8.00 pm

* Julie Eng, Bernard Chong, Diana Lim and Moses Koh will be baptized on Easter Vigil. Please come join us and support them :)

Committee Formation

Witnessed by 19 adult members of the community, we officially formed SCDC-SMOTA Committee on Sunday, 17 March 2007:

Main Committee

• Leader : Fr. Rowland Yeo, ofm
• Leader Assistant : Martina Yang
• Secretary : Yohana Aleta
• Treasurer : Felicia Woon
• Sign Language Coordinator : June Ang
• Sign Language Assistant Coordinator : Jenny Lim
• Event Planner : Brenda Lee

Sub-Committee

• Event Coordinator : Diana Lim, Julie Eng
• Logistic : Moses Koh, Bernard Chong

May the Committee humbly render their service for the growth and wellness of the community with the full support from all members

It's a Green party!

It was a happy saturday evening for the parishioners of St. Mary of the Angels on 17 Mar 2007. We join them for the party at Piazza in celebration of St. Patrick's Day! Green was all over the places....and all were entertained with the Irish dances, songs, and mini orchestra performances. Not to forget the good Irish food and beverages too!

But....the most important of all is....the company of our brothers and sisters! That's why we had a great time together :)

Notice: Change of Service Availability & Venue!

Sun, 25 Mar: 5th Sunday of Lent
As Fr. John Wong will be away, please take note of the following changes:
- There will be NO Lenten Penitential Service for Catholic Deaf
- Sign Interpreting Service will be available at Church for 10.45 am Mass

We apologize for any inconvenience caused..

Please join the Parish Lenten Penitential Service at 8.00 pm. Here is the schedule for the Churches in West district:
Mon, 26 Mar - Church of St. Mary of the Angels
Tue, 27 Mar - Church of St. Ignatius
Wed, 28 Mar - Church of St. Franciss of Assisi
Thur, 29 Mar - Church of the Holy Cross
Fri, 30 Mar - Blessed Sacrament Church

March Activities

Sat, 17 Mar: Party at the Piazza - St. Patrick's Day
7.00 pm onwards, Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with SMOTA parish family Party at the Piazza. It's free and all are welcome. Bring your own picnic mats and food if you prefer, or get a $5 meal ticket from Fr. Rowland. A meal ticket gets you a main course, drink and dessert!

Sun, 18 Mar: 4th Sunday of Lent
10.45 am, Mass at Church

Sun, 25 Mar: 5th Sunday of Lent
10.15 - 10.45 am, Lenten Penitential Service for Catholic Deaf by Fr. John Wong at St. Anthony Chapel
10.45 am, Mass at St. Anthony Chapel

Mon, 26 Mar:
8.00 pm, Lenten Penitential Service for all at Church

Note: Fr. Rowland Yeo away for RCIA Retreat on 24-25 Mar at South Buona Vista

Reunion Day: Full photos uploaded!

Additional photos of the 2007 Lunar New Year Reunion Day are completely uploaded. Please visit again our album to check out the full release ;)

Children Baptism

Three children of deaf parents were baptized by Fr. Joseph Nasananthan at the Church of St. Mary of the Angels on Sunday, 4 March 2007. The three newly baptized are Mendel, Delace and Jamie.

Mendel and Delace are the son and daugther of Moses and Diana, their God Mother is Martina.

Jamie is the daughter of Bernard and Julie, her God Mother is Victoria.

It's our joy to welcome the children in our family! May these little ones grow stronger in their catholic faith as they grow up.

Click here to view more photos on their baptism day!

Deaf Cathecumens on the 'Rite of Election'

Four deaf cathecumens were attending the Rite of Election at the Church of Holy Spirit on Saturday, 24 February 2007. We are verry happy to accompany them in their RCIA journey and looking forward for witnessing their baptism at the Church of St. Mary of the Angels on this coming Easter!

From left to right on the above picture: Moses Koh, Diana Lim, Victoria, Julie Eng and Bernard Chong.

Click here to view more photos of some special events on their RCIA journey!

Reunion Day

It's our 2007 Lunar New Year Reunion Day!

We celebrated it with Fr. John Wong, seven Franciscan brothers and our friends on a sunny Sunday afternoon, 25 February 2007.

It was started with a prayer, welcome speech and blessing of oranges by Fr. Rowland, followed by the blessing of food and oranges (again, it's a double blessings) by Fr. John Wong. Everybody then participated in 'Lo-Hei', may all our wishes come true this year!

It's then time to enjoy the sumptous buffet lunch, accompanied by the beautiful music with lyrics on the big screen, there were some live performances too!

Wait...that's not all, there's still the most awaited session: the Lucky Draw - Tikam Tikam! Each of the 20 lucky winners got to choose a red-packet. What's inside? sssst... it's a top secret ahahah, ask our lucky winners (Fr. John Wong was one of them)! What about the rest who were not that lucky? Not to worry, everybody went home with the blessed oranges and a specially prepared red-packet!

What a memorable day, too bad we forgot to take a group picture! We hope that everybody had a great time together on that day. Special thanks to Fr. Rowland, the organizers, the music ministries for all their effort and contribution! Thank you our brothers and sisters that join our celebration (also those who couldn't make it that day), once again: Happy Lunar New Year!
Click here to see our photo album, it's the first release! -still to come... the second release of our photos-

February Activities

Sun, 18 Feb: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
It's Chinese New Year, sign-interpreting service will not be available during 10.45 am Mass. We wish all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Wed, 21 Feb: Ash Wednesday
8.00 pm evening Mass

Sun, 25 Feb: 1st Sunday of Lent
10.45 am Mass at Church with Fr. John Wong as the Celebrant!