Photos
To see more photos, visit: http://jubilatechoir.multiply.com
Hi! We're the Jubilate Choir, of the Church of St Stephen's in Singapore. Welcome to our site!
Feel free to chat with us on the Tag Board or send us an Email.
The blog's been updated:
- Halloween, All Saints & All Souls: Festivals of the Dead
- Parish Mission @ St Stephen's
Check out our Twitter updates. Follow us on Twitter: jubilatechoir
Leaven is the resident youth band, with all it's members coming from the Jubilate Choir. Ages range between 16 - 30 years old.
Yes, THAT old.
While Leaven's main repertoire is mainly Praise & Worship based, the 'youth factor' ensures that Leaven is well received by both young and old. Leaven has performed at various Church events in the past, both in St Stephen's and at other parishes, including Confirmation Camps and Charity Dinners.
Leaven has various setups, ranging from a pure acoustic guitar setup, to a percussion enhanced combo, to a full band, with worship leaders and cheerleaders. =)
If you're interested in getting live music for your Church event or even a worship team to spearhead your special Praise & Worship session, please feel free to contact Aloysius Tang, our band leader. Check out our recordings in the recording section of this site.
Regards,
Clifford Gomes
Music Advisor @ Jubilate
Recently the month of October gave way to the month of November and with it came three special days: Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day. A non-Catholic friend of mine asked me what is the difference between these days. It was difficult for me to give an answer that I felt was accurate. So I did some research.
All Saints’ Day, officially known as the Solemnity of All Saints, is celebrated on the 1st of November in honour of all the saints, as the name suggests. In Christianity, saints have feast days, commemorating the anniversary of that saint’s martyrdom. Eventually, there came a time when the number of martyrdoms became so numerous that it was impossible to have a feast day for every saint. Hence, All Saints’ Day came about; to equally venerate all these saints.
This day was also known as the Feast of All Hallows. The day before 1st November, 31st October, was known as All Hallow’s Eve or All Hallow’s Even. This evolved into the word we know today as Halloween. It has its roots in a festival of the dead, hailing from old Celtic traditions. Its associations with the occult stem from this tradition, although the eventual evolution of the festival to what we know today came in the later part of the 20th century, in an effort to sanitise and commercialise the ‘pagan’ festival. There are little or no Christian links with Halloween, except perhaps, for the origins of the name.
As Catholics, we believe in the afterlife with God in Heaven but we also believe that we cannot go there immediately because we are sinners. Therefore, we remember and pray for the souls of those we love that they can be cleansed and enter into the Heavenly light.
All three days have their differences and their own special rituals and commemorations. They are common in their links to the dead and a celebration and honouring of the spiritual world and the afterlife. They are evolutions from the very old traditions of the festivals of the dead and of the hope of renewal and new life.
Written by: Irene
Sources: New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, All Saints Day: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315a.htm New Advent Cathlic Encylopedia, All Souls’ Day: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315b.htm Wikipedia, Halloween: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
All Souls’ Day is on the 2nd of November and is a day to commemorate the dead who have not yet entered Heaven. It is a day to remember the souls who are undergoing temporal punishment for their sins in Purgatory. This is how it is differentiated from All Saints’ Day. For many cultures, there is a special day in a year for the commemoration of their dead. In the Chinese culture, it is the Qing Ming Festival. For Chinese Catholics, All Souls’ Day has become its equivalent and is just as important to them.
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Wednesday, November 4, 2009
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Jubilate choir
CONGRATULATES
our parish priest, Fr John Khoo,
on the 40th anniversary of his priestly ordination
and
on his 69th birthday!
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Sunday, October 11, 2009
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Join us for a casual fellowship session this week.
Location: Church canteen
Date: Sunday, 11 oct
Time: After 9am mass
We'd love to meet you and chat. No obligations. :)
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Monday, October 5, 2009
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(click the image for higher resolution)
*Venues are unconfirmed at this point in time.
If you are interested to join us for carolling this year, feel free to contact us either by email: jubilate.ss@gmail.com or give us a shout out on the tag board. Remember to let us know how to contact you.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
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For the past few weeks, the Church of St Stephen has been having their Parish Mission conducted by the Redemptorist priests - designed to reach out to its parishioners and bring people back into the Church. It had many aspects to it, including home visitations as well as themed masses all aiming to build a stronger sense of community and membership towards the church.This week marks the grand finale of the Parish Mission with a nine night Novena held in St Stephen's followed by fellowship and mingling.
It has been a major project and a lot of effort has been put into this Mission. Not only did the various priests take the time and dedication to visit every one of the parishioners' homes, they also arranged for announcements to be made in other churches, like Novena Church, to inform others about the Parish Mission at St Stephen's. Having our fellow brothers and sisters keeping us in mind and praying for us was a sign of our potential and the supportive nature of the Catholic church in Singapore.
Internally, members of all the church ministries chipped in to provide logistical support, transport services and putting together the group masses to ensure a conducive environment for this Mission to take place. It was a good opportunity for all ministries to work together as one for the betterment of our church.
It has been a golden opportunity to reach out to members of our community whom we seldom see and let them know that they are welcome and that they have a role to play to contribute to the Church. We hope that this spirit of community and enthusiasm will be sustained and fanned into greater potential that will be beneficial for the church in the years to come.
This Parish Mission has been successful thanks to the effort put in not only from the priests but also from the laity and the parishioners themselves, who sportingly went along with whatever was planned during the Mission. While there will most likely not be a Parish Mission for some time to come, we hope that those parishioners who were touched by this Mission will stay on, and continue to grow and contribute to the Church.
Written by Andrew
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Congrats to the confirmation class of 2009 on their Confirmation!O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling And scatter there Thy cheerful beams.~Saint Augustine
 | Spirit-filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They serve with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They hate sin with fierceness that burns. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the fire of God. ~Samuel Chadwick |
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Sunday, August 30, 2009
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On 25th and 26th July, Jubilate choir held a two day, one night retreat session. Highlights of the retreat included talks by Sister Christina and Brother Derrick, a choral masterclass by Stephen Cleobury and, of course, games by Zac and Auggy.
The retreat opened with Sr Christina's talk, held at the CAYC, entitled "Why we do what we do". The session explored our various values, life goals and motivations in a bid to try to answer the question posed in the title of the talk. While it was too limited a time for answers, it certainly opened up new avenues for reflection and thought for us to think about our involvement in the ministry. As this was an open seminar, we had the opportunity to meet with and talk to youths from other parishes.
Br Derrick's session that night was equally thought provoking. Focusing on selected phrases from 'The Lord's Prayer', the session helped us to examine our relationship with god and each other. Through various ways such as songs, bible sharing and even charades, Br Derrick challenged us to reflect and rethink about our place in the church. Most memoriable was the final task of thinking about what we, as individuals wished for the choir and to write them down to be shared as a communal prayer. Having the chance to hear what everyone's hopes and dreams were meant the ability for all of us to forge a common goal for the choir, whether it be spiritual, musical or communal. It created a better sense of community as we knew that it isn't just the leaders that set goals and direction for the choir , but that it is the individual that makes up the whole.
On Sunday, the choir made its way to the Esplanade to attend a choral masterclass conducted by Stephen Cleobury, conductor of the King's College choir of Camsbridge. We had the opportunity of hearing two choirs - the Singapore Children's Lyric Opera and the Singapore Lyric Chamber Choir - sing and to learn from them as Cleobury gave tips on how to improve their singing and performance. Although the session was quite dry at times, we still managed to learn some things. Tips such as preparation, phrasing and audience engagement were found to be extremely useful.
Of course, the retreat was not all serious seminars and talks. There were quite a number of games organized by Zac and Auggy. Quite unforgettable games such as the Fishball game in which teams had to pick up fishballs with their teeth to find notes hidden inside them. Not as bad as the flying chicken of last year but still destined to go down in Jubilate history. There were plenty if the usual balloon popping games and even a Jubilate Idol session which let us hear the beautiful voices of some of the more quiet singers. Games designed to entertain and to build team spirit and bonds certainly met its goal.
At the close, it was an enjoyable two days retreat. Even though mishaps and sleepless nights happened, overall it was a roaring success. Kudos to Aloy and Tessa who were overall in charge of organising the retreat and managed everything so that things went on so smoothly and enjoyably. Why do we do what we do? Because it enriches our lives and the lives of everyone we touch through our actions or through our music. That's what it means to be a part of this ministry. 
For more photos, please visit: http://jubilatechoir.multiply.com/photos/album/13/Jubilate_Retreat_2009#
Written by: Irene
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Saturday, August 1, 2009
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