Staff from the three offices of the Council for World Mission (CWM) came together physically and online on 21 April to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in an Easter service led by the Singapore office.
The staff devotion that included a communion segment was opened with a prayer by CWM Mission Secretary for Education and Empowerment and the Pacific region, Rev. Dr Amelia Koh-Butler who also noted with sadness the death of Pope Francis and commented on the poignancy of the fact that hours before his passing he was still able to pronounce the Easter blessing from St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City.
“It seems fitting that blessing the world would be Pope Francis’ final act,” she observed.
Koh-Butler also preached on the aftermath of Jesus’ resurrection in a sermon taken from John 20:19-29 that recounted Jesus’ appearance to the disciples to His eventual second appearance to Thomas who needed to physically encounter the Lord in order to believe the account of His resurrection.
The encounter would lead to Thomas’ restoration of his faith and his eventual establishment of the Church in India and his martyrdom whilst being steeped in a belief in Christ that was unshakeable. Koh-Butler reminded the staff that Thomas’ legacy was something that believers should aspire to.
“Death does not have the final say. We are to be the signs of life in the world. We are to be signs of Jesus’ resurrection and the Kingdom of heaven in the here and now,” said Koh-Butler, who challenged the staff on how they could live so that they could testify to and espouse life, what kind of seeds they would plant in their lives and of others, and how they could support the flourishing of life.