On the afternoon of Thursday 27 April, the Minister General Br Massimo Fusarelli, Definitor General for Asia-Oceania and President of the Order’s General Commission for Service for Dialogue Br John Wong, and Custos for Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei Br Derrick Yap visited the Harmony Centre at An-Nadhah Mosque in Singapore as part of the Order’s engagement in the Service for Christian-Muslim Dialogue, in the ongoing spirit of Damietta.
The visit was organised by Custody Secretary BrAiden Peter and the group of friars were very warmly and graciously welcomed by Ustazah (“religious teacher”) Liyana Rosli Asmara, the Director of the Harmony Centre. In September 2019, Ustazah Liyana had participated in an interreligious pilgrimage of 22 young Singaporean and Malaysian adults together with Br Aiden and Br John to Istanbul, Cairo, Mount Sinai, Hebron, Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem, as a special commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of the encounter between St Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik Al-Kamil.
The Harmony Centre promotes the learning journey, engages in research, organises initiatives of respectful encounter and deep dialogue, and publishes materials to help build a more peaceful world. During the meeting, the Minister General and Director of the Harmony Centre shared on some common concerns, including the challenges of being persons of faith in societies that are secularised, pastoral care concerns, and how religious leaders can communicate with the youth in a relevant way in places that are now post-religious.
In addition, Br Derrick and Br John spoke with Ustazah Liyana about some possibilities for upcoming concrete collaborative initiatives in the service of dialogue.
Br John Wong Definitor General for Asia-Oceania and President of the Order’s General Commission for Service for Dialogue
Join the webinar on ‘The Refuge Crisis in Asia’ via Zoom on Saturday, 2 April 2022 10am – 11am. Hear from the personal experiences of the speakers & learn how you can make a difference organised by UNHCR. Friar Esmond Chua, OFM will be one of the speakers in this event.
Our Mother Earth is in peril and save Her we must! …
So, this Lent, let us, together with our Franciscan Friars of St Mary’s, join forces to make amends for our sins against God’s Creation – by embarking on this Lenten journey of conversion from Cosmic Dust to an Easter Garden!
As part of the Season of Creation (1st Sept-4th Oct) ,Friar Esmond Chua, OFM challenges three youths to a 72 hours Eco-Friendly Challenge. Will they be able to survive their individual challenges? Watch the video to find out how our youths did on this challenge and learn how our faith plays an integral part in living a sustainable lifestyle and caring for our common home.
Why do we, as Christians, have a share in the responsibility of caring for our common home? How are we praising God through the caring for creation?
Friar Derrick sheds light on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, helping us to understand the heart of our faith. It is through our identity as God’s creation, that we recognise all of creation are our brothers and sisters, for God is our Creator and through Him we were made.
As we celebrate the annual Season of Creation every September, may we truly realise how caring for creation is an integral part of living out our faith.
