Faith Journey - Northern Singapore

Monday September 2013 :  I had hoped that someone would ride with me on this  somewhat long arduous cycling journey along the Northern Park connectors to visit two catholic churches, Our Lady Star of the Sea in Yishun and St Anthony's Church in Woodlands. But it was not to be and had to do it on my own.  As this ride would be one of the longest, I started from home at 8 am, loading the bicycle on the car rack and drove on the Central Expressway northbound towards Yishun and parked the car at the Lower Seletar Reservoir park.

The former ITE Yishun

This park is quite scenic and I told myself to come back again.  I rode past the Orchid Country Club where years ago I had first learned to swing the golf club - now, there were new condominiums built with the lake view.  Riding along Yishun Ave 6, I  soon reached the old ITE Yishun campus which was unoccupied now and left with little maintenance.

I rode on to look for Our Lady Star of the Sea Church on Yishun St 22.   This church had its humble beginnings in the British Naval Base  in 1949.  It was later built in Yishun in 1992.  The church was quiet on a Monday morning and I went to the office to talk to the lady who told me that the church was locked but I could go to the Adoration Room.

Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea

  As I left the office I met a familiar face in Fr Pang who at once recognised me and invited me to his office for a chat. I had not seen Fr Pang for at least two years and with a  remarkable memory he at once recalled our past association at St Theresa's Church and at Risen Christ Church where I had sought his advice on the rites of Catholic Church marriages and baptism.  After bidding Father good bye I went to say prayers at the grotto and left for a coffee shop to get a feel of the atmosphere of Yishun Heartland.

After a short rest I rode out in search of the Yishun Park Connector (PC) which would lead me to Woodlands and to the Church of St Anthony. The PC on Yishun Ave 2 was quite lengthy and boring so I decided to side track on Sembawang Drive knowing that I would get back to the PC later on Admiralty Road West.  On the way, I saw the Victory Family Centre which looked like a Community Club but turned out to be a Protestant church - further along the road I passed Canberra Primary School and Canberra Secondary School. 

Victory Family Centre (Protestant Church)

  Further down the road I passed the Sembawang God of Wealth Temple which was next to the Sembawang PC that led to Admiralty Road West.  I rode along the long stretch of Admiralty Road West and came  upon the Woodlands Driving Centre and many other Industrial buildings on both sides of the road.

Sembawang God of Wealth Temple

Republic Polytechnic

On Woodlands Ave 9 stood the Republic Polytechnic buildings  - this road will lead to Ave 2 then to Ave 1 where I rode the whole stretch and could not find the Church - I then rode again along this road a second time and still no signs of the church so I called my friend Joe who was quite knowledgeable on church locations.  He told me the exact location and soon I was looking at the Church of St Anthony of Padua on Woodlands Ave 1. The Church doors were open and I spent some quiet time inside and noticed the Chengal pews were still in good shape after 20 years.  These pews were made by students of Boys' Town Vocational Institute where I was the Principal in 1993.

The old Church of St Anthony (1927) was in Stephen Lee Road ( named after Fr Stephen Lee) .  It served the  small catholic village in Mandai especially the new arrivals from Swatow.  As the Catholic community in Woodlands and Marsiling grew, a new church was built at the present site at Ave 1 Woodlands in 1994.  Fr John Khoo supervised the construction of this church which had a seating capacity of 2000, one of the largest.  Today, the church offers a variety of services for the community and worthy of mention is the free medical clinic for the poor.

Church of St Anthony of Padua

 Church of St Anthony

 It was already 1 pm and I was a long way from where my vehicle was parked, so off I went back to Ave 2 and lost my way a second time and had to double back to find the Ulu Sembawang PC which was quite scenic .  Along the way I  passed the Innova Junior College and the Singapore Sports School.  For a short stretch I was riding beside the Seletar Expressway (SLE) .  At the end of the PC was the long Mandai Road and it was a breeze to cycle downhill for most of the way until I reached the car park at the Lower Seletar Reservoir at about 2 pm - this was indeed a long faith journey to the Northern part of Singapore - but it was full of surprises  - I learned a lot of new places and well worth the effort.

Church of St Anthony

Faith Journey - East

After today I would have completed visits to 24 of the 31 Catholic churches in Singapore.  This morning (Mon 16 Sep 2013),  I started at 9.30 am  - with the bike on the rack, I drove to East Coast Park to cover 4 churches; Holy Family in Katong, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Siglap, St Stephen's Church in Aljunied and Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Tanjong Katong.  After leaving the car near the Road Safety Park, I rode to the underpass to emerge at the Chinese Swimming Club on Amber Road.

Church of the Holy Family

Holy Family Church

 After a short ride, I was at the Church of the Holy Family at around 10 am,  the office was locked and I wandered to the church proper to say my prayers for family and friends - the huge round stained glass at the altar was awesome. The Holy Family church was built in 1923 on land donated by a certain Mr Sheerder.  The present new church was built on the same grounds in 1999.

St Patrick's School

I rode along East Coast Road stopping at Martia Road- the Katong Convent and also the residence of the Infant Jesus ( IJ ) sisters where my daughter used to attend speech and drama classes.  Further along the road, I came across another famous Catholic Institution, St Patrick's School.

Residence of IJ Sisters Martia Road

Siglap PCN

 From here I crossed over to the Siglap PCN riding towards Kembangan on Upper Changi Road  -  then to the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour better known as OLPS.  On the walls were 15 mosaic panels depicting the 15 mysteries of the Rosary of the Catholic Church  - I thought they were very well done.  Then I stepped into the activity hall for seniors - the lady in charge told me there would be activities all week - mahjong, carrom, chess and card games - there was also a small library - lunch would also be served daily to all the senior visitors. - As usual I had to go inside the Church to say my prayers.  OLPS was built in 1961 when the Holy Family Church in Katong could not accommodate the growing Catholic congregation in Katong area.  Further extensions and renovation were made in 1999 for the congregation of over 8000.  I walked to the front of the church on Siglap Hill  - it was so peaceful and quiet - this will not be so on Sunday mornings - where the whole area becomes a headache for parking wardens.

OLPS

OLPS- Activities for Seniors

I left OLPS church at 11.30am riding along Upper Changi Road towards Paya Lebar - on the way I stopped at Lorong Sarina to drop by my brother's house - as no one was home I rode on - stopped a short while at the former Geylang Serai Vocational Training Centre, where my good friend, PH Tan, was the Principal for many years.  The buildings were a sorry sight - some had no roof and the grass and shrubs were overgrown.  Obviously the whole place was not maintained and would probably be demolished soon.
Being in Geylang Serai area at lunch time - I must not miss the new Food Centre where many good Malay food could be found.  My personal favourites are Nasi Padang and Nasi Bryani - I decided to go for the Nasi Padang stall that had the shortest line - I was fifth on line and waited patiently to be served.

OLPS

 After a satisfying meal of fried fish and sayur lodeh, I rode along Paya Lebar Road to Lorong Bengkok -  Circuit Road into Cannosian School for Hearing Impaired where my wife, Grace was a volunteer for half a day to help children in Oral English .  I spoke to her on the mobile and she said she was very busy and unable to get away from class.

Mosaic painting - Agony in the Garden - OLPS

Blk 59 Circuit Road

I pressed on to Blk 59 Circuit Road the apartment block that I had lived in the mid 60s.  I stopped to recall some of the memories in this area.  St Stephen's church was not too far away in Sallim Road. St Stephen's Church built in 1966, was quite deserted at 1.30pm, I was told by the lady in the office that the Parish priest was very busy so I climbed some steps to the church proper to say my prayers .  As I started to leave the car park, I met my friend Chay HK who said he was helping his neighbour in the photography business.  He was as much delighted to see me as I was him.  The next church on my list was not far, so I rode along Paya Lebar Road towards Geylang and within 10 minutes there it was the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace on Tanjong Katong Road.

St Stephen's Church

St Stephen's Church

Queen of Peace church was built in1954 and renovated in 1985.  Further renovation to put in the air condition was done in 2010, and the extension David's House was built in 1996.  I went inside this beautiful church for some quiet moments before heading back to the East Coast Park where my vehicle was parked .  This car park at East coast Park is one of the last few places in Singapore where you need not pay for parking on a weekday.  Although it was a long day, the time on the saddle was not that long - most of the churches on this route was relatively close to each other - showing that the catholic population in the Eastern part of the island was quite large.

Our Lady Queen of Peace Church

Canteen area of Queen of Peace Church

Queen of Peace Church

Faith Journey - Central

Holy Spirit Church

I woke up on Monday 9 Sep 2013 with the sun shining brightly and I was all set for the ride to the Central part of the island to cover four catholic churches.  I decided to load the bicycle on the car rack  and head towards Venus Road car park which was off Thomson Road near to my first stop - the Church of the Holy Spirit where not so long ago, a famous Singapore Olympian (Tan Eng Yoon) was killed as he was crossing the road outside the church.   This church built in 1960 and probably rebuilt in the 90s has a convenient car  drop off area and large stairs up one floor to the church proper.

Church of the Holy Spirit

Although it was a Monday, I could feel the vibrancy of this church.  There were several people including some convent students walking around, and the church doors were open unlike many other churches where all the doors were locked tightly.   I was quite inspired by the stained glass altar area and the internal layout - so I stayed for about 15 minutes inside to say my usual prayers for family and friends.

Ang Mo Kio

Next stop was the Church of Christ the King in Ang Mo Kio Ave 8.  I had estimated that it would take me about 20 minutes but I lost some time when I made a wrong turn going in the opposite direction on Ave 8, but one cannot get lost in Singapore as people are so willing to help lost souls.  The church grounds were exceptionally quiet compared to the Church of the Holy Spirit - and all doors appeared to be double-locked.

Christ The King Church

Christ the King

  Fortunately the Adoration room was open and I spent some peaceful moments inside. I saw two persons walking around the grounds, one was an elderly lady who was engrossed in silent prayer at the grotto, the other - the janitor and he questioned if I had permission to take photographs of the church building.  I told him that there was no one around in the office and most doors were locked.  As soon as he found out that I was from St Theresa's church we became the best of friends.  Fr Stephen Yim ( now at St Theresa's)  had been in Christ the King church for many years.  The janitor then helped me take a few shots on the bike.

As storm clouds were gathering, I took off for the Church St Francis Xaviour  riding along AMK Ave 1 towards Chartwell Road.  It was already 12.30 pm - I took a short cut and rode against the traffic in Burghley Dr and had to push the bike up the steep slope near the CHIJ Lady of Good Counsel.

CHIJ Lady of Good Counsel

Built in 1959 with significant renovations in 2000, St Francis Xaviour Church served residents of Serangoon Garden and vicinity.  The  church exterior looked looked like it needed a paint job  - I headed to the office to get permission to take pictures as I did not wish to be questioned again.  The office lady told me the priest was out and that there was no necessity to ask  permission for taking pictures of the church building after all the church doors were locked.  I walked around the grounds and spoke to the

St Francis Xaviour Church

St Francis Xaviour Church

chief cleaner who seemed to be working hard.  he complained to me that the food caterer for the wedding the day before had placed left over food in the bins, and he should not be clearing this garbage - I then helped him make a telephone call to the caterer to come and carry away half a garbage bin of "mee siam"which was going rancid.

Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 Rain drops started to come down fast,  and I still had another church to visit - the church of The Immaculate Heart of Mary ( IHM - 1953). 

IHM

Before I could get to the church the rain came down hard and even with a raincoat, I was half drenched and felt miserable especially as it was already past lunch time.  I did not walk around the premises as I was quite familiar with various parts of the grounds  - my last visit was only two weeks ago for a half day retreat and evening mass.  I remember meeting my old friend Victor who was a warden there. Caught in the rain, I remained in the church grounds for half and hour before braving the drizzle riding along AMK

Sky Fruit

Ave 1 towards Upper Thomson Road.  Along the way, I stopped at the entrance of Pathlight
School - a school for autistic children - I also noticed several sky fruit trees just at the school gate. The seed of the sky fruit is known for its medicinal qualities, but it has the most bitter taste on earth - as the saying goes "no pain-no gain".  Soon I was enjoying the leisure ride in the new Bishan Park  - and  told myself that I will need to come back again.  At the end of the park was Thomson Road and within minutes I was at Venus Road car park and reac
hed home within 25 minutes way past lunch time at 2.30 pm.

Bishan Park

Faith Journey to the West

August 26 2013, a sunny morning at last after two wet days  -  I had planned for three church visits in the western part of Singapore - St Francis of Assisi in Boon Lay Ave; St Mary of the Angels in Bukit Batok and St Joseph's in Upper Bukit Timah .  I started from home riding towards Pasir Panjang at 10 am after lubricating the bicycle.  The ride to West Coast Park was pleasant and easy, when I arrived at  Pandan Garden Coffee shop PG 416, it was already 10.45 am.  Ah Mei worked here and she would not take payment for the much needed 100 Plus drink, after all she is my sister.  After a short rest, I rode past the Sheng Hong Temple to the new clover shaped steel Arc Bridge across the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).

Sheng Hong Temple

 I had been to this bridge during its construction and I thought it was an engineering marvel.  It had a two-way bicycle tracks and separate jogging paths - connecting Pandan - West Coast - and Bukit Batok/Jurong park connectors.  It must be the only bridge that allowed   bikers to stay on the saddle throughout.  I continued on the Bukit Batok PCN exiting at Boon Lay towards the Chinese Garden - then towards the Church of St Francis of Assisi built in 1976.  The church doors were locked, so I said my prayers at the grotto.

Arc Bridge

Church of St Francis of Assisi

Church of St Francis of Assisi

In 1990, when I was working in JVI ( school in Boon Lay area), there was a case of a young male student who went into a trance and behaved like a wild animal, moving around on all fours, growling and threatening to kill anyone who came near.  One of the teachers who knew this catholic boy called the priest from the Church of St Francis of Assisi to help contain this bizarre behaviour.  We left the young boy prancing and growling along the office corridor.  The staff  barricaded themselves in the office in full view of the young lad through glass panels.   The drama began when the Catholic priest in white cassocks appeared - the animal-boy froze in fright as the priest walked briskly towards him saying prayers and sprinkling holy water whereupon the boy retreated rapidly to the corner cringing in fright and when more holy water landed on him - he passed out and laid curled out peacefully, such a contrast to his wild behavior in the past 30 minutes.  This happened in full view of more that 20 staff including myself.

Time to move on to St Mary of the Angels in Bukit Batok which was about 6 km away.  But I need to stop by my friend Teo SK's apartment which was 5 minutes from the church.  I spent 20 minutes with my old friend just reminiscing over the good old times.  So I pushed on towards Bukit Batok, again I could not help but called up another friend Lee, who was out of the country every time I called, but today I caught him at home - we spent another 20 minutes chatting away in Blk 207 coffee shop - then storm clouds told me to hurry on to the Church 10 minutes away.  As I reached St Mary Church the sky opened up and I was half drenched.

Church of St Mary of the Angels

St Mary of the Angels was built on high ground in 1970.  I thought it was well designed, with an underground car park and a large space in front of the majestic entrance.  The interior was beautifully laid out and within the church grounds there was a peaceful columbarium.  The rain continued for 40 miinutes and I spent some peaceful time inside the church,  As it was already 3 pm and the roads were wet and slippery, I decided to call it a day and cycled home in a drizzling rain.  St Joseph's Church would have to wait for another day. 15 minutes on, the sun came out - and by the time I got home I was all dry.

Church of St Mary of the Angels

Got to finish this part of the journey - so Sat 31 Aug 8 am, I started towards the Alexandra PCN  -  Pandan PCN towards Clementi Road getting there in 45 minutes non-stop.  I continued on Clementi towards Ngee Ann Polytechnic and on to the familiar Old Ford Factory Museum -   Hume  Park condominium and Rail Mall shops.  Soon I was in St Joseph Church grounds taking a few photos and asking a young lad to shoot me on the bicycle.

The Seventh Station at St Joseph Church

I then telephoned my friend Joe - he was the person who knew everything about the Church, he worked in the church 24/7 maintaining the premises and looking after the security.

Joe was doing some cleaning inside the church  when I got in.  He then showed me the recent changes in the interior and the new decor and statues.  Built in 1847, St Joseph church was indeed a magnificent church with a rich history of conversion of many farmers and residents in the area..

St Joseph Church

I was told that for many years there would be huge crowds on St Joseph Feast Day. Devotees of St Joseph would come from Malaysia and would camp on the church grounds overflowing to Boys' Town next door.

Statue of St Joseph

 After prayers in the church,  I went to Boys' Town  which was just next door to the church.  I had worked in Boys' Town for 10 years so I was quite familiar with the surroundings and the staff who were still there.  First I met Arumugam who was the cleaner in Assumption Vocational Institute now known as Assumption Pathways School.  In the office building I met Aman the clerical officer who was supervising work done by contractors.  I felt very at home and in many ways missed the environment and the friends there.
 

St Joseph Church

 I rode up the hill to Boys' Town Office and spoke to some boys  - a happy lot - even though it was not home leave day.  Many familiar staff were off on a Saturday but I found Harry, a very pleasant personality in Boys' Town and chatted with him for a while.  I told him that it was the influence by Br Roger who used to ride 80 km a week way into his 70's,  that I took to bicycling now.  It was already 10.20 am and I was a long way from home - probably around 15 km .

Boys' Town's New Dormitories