ABEng FCG Meeting
05 Sep 2000, Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf, Ngee Ann City
Present at meeting:
Freddy Lau
Brandon Yuen
Cheryl Lin
Sharon Syde
Ivan Teo
Arthur Yap
Randall Wong
Norman Lee
Elisa Tan
| The meeting started at 1630 hrs | |
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| Issues Arising From Action Items |
Action |
| P & W by Year 1s |
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| Sharon and Cheryl reflected that they had gained some idea on how to plan for a P & W session. |
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| P & W by CGs |
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| Ivan highlighted that for the coming P & W session, it would be planned solely by Dominic. |
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| He said that while CGs are free to decide the manner in which to conduct the P & W session, it is best that, in the interest of building a close relationship among the CG members, the P & W should be done by the whole CG. |
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| Fred directed that this should be told to all CGLs. |
Ivan |
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| Retreat venue |
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| Brandon, in a previous email, wrote that FMM was taken up for the dates 4-6 Dec, and he reported that he had not yet booked the venue for 11-13 Dec. |
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| Other FCG CG Visits |
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| Ivan said that the details of the Arts and Science CGs were for the info of all, and we were free to visit if we wished. |
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| Outreach-Email |
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| Sharon said that the email informing members of the next FCG session will be sent by the Sunday before the session. |
Sharon |
| Ivan suggested, in an earlier email, that if any comm member needed to disseminate information to FCG members, it should be forwarded to Sharon to be sent out. |
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| Norman said that it is to present the news/information in a single email, for easy reference. |
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| All agreed, and Sharon said that the news/information should reach her through email by Friday. |
All |
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| Outreach-Calling |
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| Randall noted that phone calls to invite people to FCG sessions should not be made too late. Fred directed comm members to make their invitation phone calls on Sunday. |
All |
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| Feedback On Previous FCG session 29/8/2000 |
Action |
| Attendance |
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| Attendance for previous FCG session was 21, as counted by Fred. Brandon felt that it was a comfortable number. |
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| Starting Time |
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Fred enquired why some FCG members do not come on time, at 5.45 for FCG sessions. Ivan replied that some members have lessons until 6. |
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| It was also noted that even so, the session did not start at 6 sharp. Randall observed that we waited for enough people to turn up. |
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| Fred suggested that FCG sessions start with the rehearsal for songs to be sung in the session at 5.45, and the session proper shall start at 6. |
Ivan, All |
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| Seating Arrangement |
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| Fred received feedback that sitting in a circle is quite odd. He suggested that sitting in rows would be better. Randall opined that sitting in rows while listening to the presentations given by CGs would give the feeling of listening to sermons. |
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| Fred then suggested removing the desks, and just arranging seats in rows |
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| Brandon suggested sitting in a semicircle arrangement (like in a theatre) and Cheryl suggested that when singing songs, members should stand up. |
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| P & W Format |
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Fred received feedback that between the bible readings, the short prayer that follows and the song that comes after, there is little or no link. |
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| Sharon suggested that stories from bible-reflections publications could be used. |
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| (Background: P & W format done by yr 1s were in the form of bible-reading, short prayer, song) |
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| Fred also observed that Arthur was not really confident in flashing the transparencies. Arthur mentioned that at that time, he did not know the order in which the transparencies were to be flashed, and depended on cues from Ivan. |
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Norman received feedback that in the opinion of the person, the P & W did not follow the course of human emotions, ie. lead the session towards a climax , before easing off. In the P & W, a prayer was made about humans being sinful, and this led the feedback-giver to comment as above. He was of the opinion that P & W should be upbeat, reflecting the meaning of the words 'Praise' and 'Worship' and should not dwell on negative issues for too long. |
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Arthur asked two persons about how they felt about the 2 P & W sessions so far, and one preferred the earlier one(22/8), while the other person preferred the later one(29/8). Background: 22/8 session was done with slow songs and a quiet and prayerful manner, while 29/8 session was done with lively songs. |
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| P & W Songs |
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Arthur asked two persons (on another occasion) about how they felt about the 2 P & W sessions so far, and one preferred the earlier one(22/8), while the other person preferred the later one(29/8). Background: 22/8 session was done with slow songs and a quiet and prayerful manner, while 29/8 session was done with lively songs. |
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| Fred received feedback from a new FCG member that all the songs were unfamiliar. Ivan then said that the rehearsal for songs at 5.45 would address this problem. |
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| The same member preferred fast songs. Ivan said that there would be some who would prefer slow songs, and Randall mentioned that therefore to please both categories of people would be impossible. It would however be possible to have a good mix of slow songs and fast songs over a few FCG sessions. |
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| A song was taught at the FCG session, and feedback was received that Ivan, who was teaching the song, did not seem to know the song too well, thus unable to pass on the song to the FCG session. |
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| Ending Time |
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| Fred reported that the ending time was 7.15 for the last FCG session, and sought the opinion of the comm members if it was too early. |
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| Brandon felt that it was too early, and Fred felt that ending at 7.15 gave little time for CG sharing.Arthur highlighted that the time needed for CG sessions varies with the depth/difficulty of the topic. |
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| Ivan suggested to fix a guideline time. Fred enquired what the ending time in the past was, and Brandon replied that it was usually 8. |
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| Fred proposed an ending time of 7.30 pm, and Ivan suggested having a range of 7.30 to 8. |
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| Dinner |
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| Cheryl brought up the fact that if the FCG sessions end earlier, it will be possible for some members (who otherwise have to rush home) to join the FCG for dinner. |
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| Songs File |
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| Fred enquired if the songs in the file were sufficient. Brandon mentioned that songs were usually added to the file after they were taught to the FCG members. Hence, Sharon proposed teaching a new song once every 2 weeks. |
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| Retreat |
Action |
| Starting Time |
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| It was agreed that the retreat should start in the morning of 11 Dec. |
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| Theme for retreat |
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| After a brainstorming session(see Appendix 1) a few ideas for themes were put forward, and Fred suggested that the CGs and comm members decide on the theme of the retreat based on the ideas given to them. |
All |
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| It was suggested to have a daily theme for the retreat, govered by an overall theme. |
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| It was also suggested to include regular Catholic devotions, eg rosary into the retreat routine, in the hope that members would bring it into their daily lives. |
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| Attendance/Budget | |
| Fred wondered if it was possible to have 50 persons attending the retreat, given the capacity of FMM. Norman replied that it would be quite difficult, given that last year's retreat attendance was 34. However, the comm could pray for more people attending, as Brandon highlighted that the fixed cost components of the retreat (eg function rooms) could be divided among more people, resulting in a lower cost per person. |
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| Brandon reported that a rough calculation of the retreat cost for 50 persons would be 1300 bucks, or 36 per person. |
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| Noticeboard |
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| Sharon asked for a poster displaying the FCG's website URL and contact email address, as well as a poster showing the location of the FCG sessions, as she had received feedback that someone could not find the venue. |
Norman |
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| Fred decided that the noticeboard revamp (as part of the outreach programme) would be done in December. |
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Other Matters |
Action |
| Book Barrow |
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| A suggestion from Samuel for the FCG to purchase books from a list of recommended books was received. |
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| Brandon noted that while having a list of recommended books was good, it would cost a lot to buy them. Arthur noted that response was weak in the past year. |
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| Cheryl suggested disseminating extracts from the books instead. Brandon suggested having a 'show-and-tell' for the books. |
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| Conclusion was that a book barrow would be too expensive.(tell Samuel) |
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| Growing Together Spiritually |
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| Ivan suggested attending Novena on saturdays. |
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| Brandon suggested rosary sessions in school and daily mass. |
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| Fred directed the comm to go home and think about the suggestions. |
All |
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| Roles |
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| Mentioned in meeting on 17/8 by Brandon, the issue of having a written list of roles and responsibilities of each comm member was brought up again by Norman, and each comm member was to present the list by the next meeting, as directed by Fred. |
All |
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| Contact List |
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| The FCG contact list will be passed around in the next session for members to verify their particulars. |
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| Next Meeting |
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| Saturday, 9/9, 11 am, United Square Macdonald's, to discuss the retreat |
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| With no further matters, the meeting ended at 1805. |
<signed> *meow*
Norman
Action Items
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Inform CGLs of the following: P & W and presentation of
material should be done by the whole group |
Ivan |
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| Consider and write down opinion on retreat theme | All |
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| Make calls to invite members on Sunday | All, CGLs |
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| Posters for noticeboard | Norman |
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| Consider the ways to grow spiritually as a comm | All |
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| Consider and write down your roles | All |
Appendix 1 - Suggestions for themes of retreat
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Theme/Idea/Aim |
Suggested By |
| Journey | Ivan |
| Build up CG | Ivan |
| Focus on Word Of God | Brandon |
| Themes of Christmas | Brandon |
| 7 effective habits | Ivan |
| Life In a fast changing world | Norman |
| don't get blinded by earthly things | Arthur |
| Retreat theme song: Spirit Wings(concurrently with above idea) | Arthur |
| what's the big rush? (Song: in his time) | Arthur |
| Make each individual feel important | Arthur |
| Highway to God/Heaven | Arthur/Brandon |
| Introduce routine to carry on in lives | Ivan |
| do you know where you are getting to? | Arthur |
| Finding Oneselves | Arthur |
| CG to be closer | Fred |
| Christ-centred life | Brandon |
| Comic Slogan | Ivan |