Lutheran Prayer Retreat 6 – 7 March 2023
Several Lutheran TTC students, a pastor, a preacher, two parish workers, and an applicant to TTC, together with Rev Dr Samuel Wang, gathered at the House of Prayer and Formation, a retreat centre run by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, on the second week of Lent. We were attending a two-day, one-night retreat which had been offered to all TTC students and staff under the Lutheran Church in Singapore, outside the usual hustle and bustle of seminary life and ministry for a quiet retreat for worship, prayers, and rest. Setting the stage for our God-focussed days ahead, we first surrendered our mobile devices to detach ourselves from the digital realm.
As it was the Lenten season, participants were encouraged to fast from daybreak until sunset though plain bread was offered to those who were unable to fast. We prayed the Daily Office (morning, noon, evening, and before sleep), with chanted prayer responses and the Psalms. After that, Dr Wang would explain the significance of each daily prayer flow and its relevance. Amidst the Daily Office, we could receive absolution and dwelt in quiet personal prayer and rest.
On the afternoon of the first day, we also journeyed with Christ through the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrow) —fourteen stations in total, where alumnus, Preacher Mark Lai, read biblical passages meant for deep reflection upon Jesus’ suffering on his way to the cross and burial.
The House of Prayer and Formation is simple, quiet, and, most importantly, a place that can offer rest. It provides a regulated prayer life, a respite from the mayhem of Singapore life. It felt like stepping to the past, to a simpler time, forcing us to slow down, be refreshed, and be restored.
(By Admond Tan – Year 3, MDiv)