Thanks to Mary, I was invited to attend two key seminars by Sister Rose Pacatte on media faith held at the Catholic Archdiocese Education Centre. She is the director of the Pauline Centre for Media Studies in Culver City, California and she gave talks that were both insightful and inspiring.

Here's a Canticle of Praise for the Media in Today's World by which we started off the workshops with:

May you be praised, Lord God,
for the printed word --
bread for our minds,
light for our lives.

We give thanks for the talents
and dedication of all who
serve the truth in love,
and for all whose technical and
professional skills make
possible the production of
books, newspapers,
magazines, and reviews.

We celebrate, Lord,
the modern marvel of television,
which brings into the heart of our homes
the joy and the pain of all human living.
Music, drama, and laughter are shared
in ways undreamed of in the past.

May you be praised, Lord God,
for the radio,
which soars on the wings of the wind
and provides for each nation
an immediate channel for news,
views and entertainment,
and a means of offering to the listening world its
own distinctive voice.

We celebrate, Lord,
the writers, artists, directors,
and all those whose gifts
light both theatre and cinema
and provide audiences
with a heightened awareness
of their human condition.

We celebrate the wonder
of digital communications,
which manifest a new iconography
that link people around the globe
in solidarity of faith, hope and
love.

We thank you, Lord God,
for the unending Pentecost
of your creative Holy Spirit,
which enables your sons and daughters
to be afire with your Truth, Beaty
and Goodness.

May the blind see, the deaf hear,
and the poor receive justice
through the proclamation of the
Good News via today's media.

Together let us rejoice in
the God-given talents and
the creative gifts of those
who promote the dignity of
the human person,
and who build communion
among peoples the world
over through their
dedication and love.

About 2 weekends ago, I spent 3 days 2 nights at this Banyu Biru Villa Suria 1 in Nirwana Gardens Resort at Bintan with some of my DG people from ARPC. It was a fun and relaxing trip that was sort of spontaneously organised because of good deals available at the recent NATAS travel fair.

 

A happy shot of the advance party of 5 on the ferry to Bintan.

Here are some food pics of our first night's dinner:







Thanks to chief chef Shirley, sous chef Xu Chang and kitchen hands Adrian, Mei Qin & Harry... we had the above yummilicious curry chicken, pineapple fried rice and other dishes like black pepper beef, stir fry vegies and fried omelette for dinner the night we arrived.



This is us at dinner with Natalie & Xu Chang joining us... Adrian is the photographer...


 
Fun at Karaoke on Friday night... Sang ourselves silly till nearly 1am...

After breakfast, the party of 5 headed to the resort activity centre. We checked out the view there, the ladies rode some horses and then headed off to play some pool before going for lunch at Cafe Helo Helo located with Pasar Ole Ole with Nat & XC.









Dinner was at a kelong restarant...





After dinner, we actually had a fun time making words with the moonlight with our hands and body...at the beach... it was captured with MQ's camera and I haven't got the pics from her yet... Here's a shot from Adrian's camera of us at the beach at night...



And here's the view of the Bintan beach in the day...



All in all, it was a good getaway... Good food, good fun, good friends and fellowship... I also had some extended time alone with God on the final morning. I was reading this particular message from J.C. Ryle which gave me much food for thought:

"Let us not forget, in the hurry and excitement of our feelings, that none can help like Him, and that He is merciful, loving and gracious. Let us trust Christ entirely with all the concerns of this world, both public and private. Let us believe that He by whom all things were made at first is He who is managing all with perfect wisdom. When we are sick, it is because He knows it to be for our good:when He delays coming to help us, it is for some wise reason."

Today marks EAST 15th Commencement. We had 9 graduates who received their certificates on 9 May 2009 but more than just a piece of paper, they have been commissioned to further God's kingdom work. Lisa, Han Gyu, Eunice, Barnabas, Rina, Siew Kim, James Kang, James Chua and Sang Hyuk all faithfully persevered in their studies at EAST for the past few years, learning more about the God they love so that they can not merely serve Him better but have a closer walk with Him and through that close walk, draw many more into the Kingdom - draw those who are lost, those who are in danger of falling away and keep spurring one another on in this walk of faith and life.

Congratulations, my dear brothers and sisters on your commencement!