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