living water started on 15 Jul 2005 as a support group for gay men who want to find out more about what the Bible says about homosexuality. since then living water has gone through 6 cycles and the members from the first “trilogy” has gone on to form a cell group.

we are starting on living water vii (yes 7!), and we are inviting guys who are interested join us.

many of us are still struggling to reconcile our sexuality with our faith. many seek to escape from this struggle by not confronting it, and burying it deep within. some of us stop attending church. some of us lead double lives.

it is not an easy journey, and there are no simple answers. i know, i am still journeying too. but being a Christian is not a destination; it is a journey, a pilgrimage.

If you are a gay Christian and keep wandering in a wilderness wondering whether God can ever accept you, we welcome you to join us. Please also extend this invitation to struggling gay Christians you may know. They need a safe space to work through their questioning.

We have named the group Living Water in honor of the warm and honest encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

Session Info: For the first six sessions, we welcome new members to join in. As the topics from Session 7 onwards are more private, we will not take new members into the support group. If you want to go through the fundamentals - the six Biblical passages and the various areas we are going to touch on, we welcome you.

we meet every friday at zion road, near great world city at 7:30pm.

please contact me at miak@pacific.net.sg for details

miak
living water

Jason and deMarco in Singapore

(by JD)

When I see you,

In a moment, everything around us falls away

And all I see is you

And I feel you

Right beside me

And everything familiar now feels new

Whenever I’m with you.

This Is Love

It took 2 years, a lot of planning and heavenly intervention, but eventually it happened: The HOPE concert to raise awareness and funds for HIV – with many local acts and Jason & deMarco.

Before this concert, I had not been aware of JdM, so when I met them on Wednesday night at the rehearsal, I was impressed with how nice, cute and … together they were. It’s always heartwarming to see a gay couple that is not shy to express its affection, and if they can sing and are Christians on top of that, it’s almost too much to ask for.

For those that missed it: The concert was a great success, with 900 people attending, amazing acts including Chua En Lai, MiStevious, Alan Lau, John Lee, Eunice Olsen, Hossan Leong, Selena Tan, the HOPE dancers and of course JdM. It was a success because everybody in FCC helped out for the SafeHaven ministry – with writing, producing, ticket sales, ushering, playing, video production, backstage. It was possible because Dr Balaji came along as the GOH and allowed the message to reach the gay community.

At the concert and again in church on Sunday, Jason and deMarco came across as friendly, humble, devoted people (they even helped set up the chairs in church), very very talented and blessed. Their songs in church brought tears to many peoples’ eyes, and we all felt a bit sad when they went through immigration at Changi airport to fly back to L.A.

The concert was important for many reasons: Not only was it SafeHaven’s biggest event, and the biggest gay non-party event in Singapore; it also showed that it is possible to work with the government to get the Safer Sex message across. It is a milestone, and it happened due to the drive and determination of a few people at SafeHaven/FCC.

Listening to their latest CD, I have to think about how rare this is: A gay Christian couple singing about up and downs of relationship. Music that goes straight to the heart. No more translating “she” into “he” in our minds. No more pretending. Just the good feeling that we’re ok. Normal. Like everybody else. Same same. But different.

Thank you, Jason.

Thank you, deMarco.

Safehaven and FCC have done it again!

They put together a blockbuster event which wowed the audience throughout.

I can’t say I’m surprised though, after witnessing the impressive variety show they organised around Christmas last year. However,

this time, it was a paying crowd and there was no buffet spread to help entice the GLBT community out of the woodwork.

The aborted spectacle several years ago must have served as a dry run that helped make this year’s event slick as butter. Having a

different angle finally persuaded the MDA to give it the A-OK. Presumably, the reason why the censors refused to grant a permit in 2003 was because it was considered to be “promoting the homosexual lifestyle”, i.e. promiscuity, although the organisers intended, by featuring long-term couple Jason and de Marco, to foster monogamous gay relationships.

The aim of this year’s charity concert was to promote awareness of HIV amongt GLBTs in Singapore, so the authorities let it through.

Unbelievable mindset. The performances would probably have been the same whatever the spin.

The venue was the Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre, smack in the middle of Chinatown - not easy to find if you’ve never been there before. It has thankfully been renovated. One of my Oogachaga mates said that he had attended charity performances there many years ago and at that time, it was rather run down and the seats made you itch. This time, it seemed almost spanking new.

FCC volunteers were everywhere, manning their respective posts like a well oiled machine. The logistics of running such a show boggle the mind. These people can really take stress!

It was lovely to have socialite Miak and cutie Kok Wei handing out the free-seating tickets in exchange for our Paypal computer printouts.

I was worried that I would not have a good view of the stage as the first 15 rows or so were not inclined. But my fears were put to rest as the performance began on the elevated stage which everyone could catch sight of between the heads of the people in front of you due to the staggered arrangement of the seats.

FCC vice-chairperson Peter Goh made the introductory comments to a packed audience which were probably largely his flock. Of course, non-Christian GLBTs there were aplenty in the crowd, including myself.

The guest-of-honour was none other than former Minister of Health, Dr. Balaji Sadasivan of “Nation parties spread AIDS” and “one-fifth of you are probably going to die of AIDS” fame, uttered at the Life! Theatre Awards many years ago. Actually, I was very grateful that he deigned to show up with his wife. Interacting with AIDS and gay activists can only foster understanding between our community and mainstream society.

And it shows. Dr. Balaji commended the organisers for holding the event and stressed the importance of the Health Ministry working hand-in-hand with the MSM community, citing the case of Sydney, Australia which successfully reigned in the spread of the HIV epidemic using such an approach. The words “MSM” and “homosexual” rolled so matter-of-factly off his tongue that one would be inclined to conclude that the Government already regards us as mainstream. Now that’s what I call education! In fact, the uninitiated could be forgiven for thinking that Dr. Balaji was one of us.

AfA president, the evergreen Prof. Roy Chan was also spotted in the VIP front row.

The hosts for the evening were odd couple, the mischievious, devious Miss Stevious and well known theatre personality Chua En-lai.

Miss Stevious was her usual over-the-top self, spewing her trademark battery of raunchily delicious innuendos, while En-lai seemed like he was having an internal struggle about how much of the woman in him he was going to let out. They both did a great job though,
being quick-thinking and witty in what was mainly impromptu banter. I’m glad Miss Stevious flirted at the boundaries of acceptable public ribaldry in front of a PAP Minister as that helps no end in loosening up official anal constriction.

The performance ball was rolled off by John Lee from Singaporean acapella group Vocaluptuous who sang his contemporary, Anglicised update of the Malay classic “Geylang, si-paku Geylang” (I think), making it cool and poignant at the same time. He may intend to release this as a single, following the footsteps of Dick Lee’s “Rasa Sayang”. Is he related to Dick? Anyway, he impressed
with his piano playing, emotive singing and vocal range.

The performances were interspersed with video interviews of personalities from Safehaven - Chee Meng, Miak, Shawn and Rev. Yap, projected on a large screen at the rear of the stage. I thought it was a creative touch that made the HIV message of acceptance, compassion and safe-sex all the more personal and Singaporean. However, the audience was fed a healthy(?) dose of Christian paradigms.

Next up were the stars of the show, imported all the way from the City of the Angels, Jason and de Marco. Bleach-blond Jason blew me away with his voice. It really had that superstar quality, and I’m not exaggerating - high on treble without any tweaking from the mixer, ranging from tenor to alto, and running the expressive gamut from plaintive to soulful to funky as the phrasing required.

His spouse of over six years, curly brunette de Marco was no slouch either, but he was overshadowed by Jason’s brilliance, which he gladly acceded to.

They performed a series of orginal compositions and covers, both fast and slow to showcase their versatility. At times I hoped that they would hold hands or even kiss on stage, but they were rather restrained in their PDAs. An MDA precondition, perhaps?

Their band was made up entirely of Singaporeans, five of them to be exact. It must have been no mean feat to rehearse with complete strangers before a major performance. I don’t know how many rehearsals it took to get everything to gel.

Our very own Hossan Leong followed their act with a Singaporeanised rendition of Barry Manilow’s songs, “Copacabana” with humorous Singlish interjections, and “Mandy”, which he devilishly mangled to “Andy”, “Randy” and “Candy”.

Hossan is truly a talented performer, being able to sing, dance, do stand-up comedy and play the piano with panache. And people tell me he’s straight? Come on, I wasn’t born yesterday.

Selena Tan seemed to be the only other straight performer there that night. Need I say more?

The HOPE dancers were a group of 5 guys, put together just for the event. They were pretty energetic and put up a spirited performance but there was no breakdancing nor gymnastics.

I was really surprised when nominated MP and former Miss Singapore-Universe Eunice Olsen took to the stage with an operatic-sounding solo male singer whose name I can’t recall to play beautiful and technically adept accompaniment on the piano. Not only is she good-looking, she is also immensely talented. And she’s straight! Wonder of wonders.

It was refreshing entertainment and also good psychology to have the hosts interview Jason and de Marco on a plush red couch about their relationship. From what the pair described, the straight members of the audience could not but learn that our relationships
face mostly the same problems as theirs. In the process, we become a rung more mainstream and less deviant in their eyes.

Another surprising revelation was that the duo’s MTV video was voted number one, beating the competition from Christina Aguilera, Justin Timeberlake and other pop icons.

SiGNeL list owner and Singapore’s best known gay activist Alex Au was invited onstage to give a speech. I thought it was very uncharacteristic of Alex to read from a prepared script as he always presents his material off-the-cuff with flair, but as he later told me, it was written by someone else. This was also the first time I’ve seen Alex in a suit. Well, this completes the cycle then because I think I’m one of the few people who’ve seen ALL of Alex, during his Rairua days.

Alex, already a Utopia award-winner himself, in turn presented PLU’s award to Rev. Yap Kim Hao of FCC for his immeasurable contributions to the GLBT community, achievements made all the more astounding in view of the fact that Rev. Yap is a straight family man of the cloth and the immense opposition he faces from other leaders of the clergy. Alfonsus, head organiser of the event, hugged Rev. Yap as he rose from his seat and led him onstage where he made a short speech to a standing ovation from many members of the audience.

The evening ended with a rousing finale of “We are family”, the Sister Sledge classic, sung mainly by Jason, guided by lyrics projected onto the screen, but also the rest of the line-up of performers.

The star duo waited outside as the audience filed out, ready to chat with them and sign copies of their CDs which were on sale.

I saw and said “Hi” to many stalwarts of the gay community there before proceeding home, satisfied with a most enjoyable night out.

Roy.

The HOPE concert is now online at www.hopeconcert.com! The organizers are pleased to announce the concert’s online presence where you will be able to purchase tickets via credit card, and read performer and organizer bios.

Plus, Chua En Lai will be hosting the event while John Lee (from Singaporean acapella group Vocaluptuous) will be singing a yet-to-be-released single!

So be part of Singapore’s history as this event goes down as the first ever concert featuring openly gay duo Jason and deMarco in one-night only song and dance extravaganza!

Tickets at $28 and $68 (inclusive of pre-event cocktail reception) are available from www.hopeconcert.com. Pick up your tickets today!

Press Release to Fridae.com and Trevvy.com

SAFEHAVEN & Action for AIDS (AFA) join hands to raise funds and increase HIV awareness in the Gay Community

HOPE Concert

(HIV Outreach : Prevention & Empowerment)

Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre

13 Dec 2007

(Rated R18)

For the first time in Singapore, a gay-identified organisation – SAFEHAVEN (a ministry of Free Community Church to LGBT) is taking the lead, together with Action for AIDS (AFA), to raise funds and increase the awareness of HIV in the gay community, in particular amongst gay men.

The HOPE concert represents a self-help initiative by the gay community in Singapore to address the escalating HIV infection rates amongst gay men. The organisers hope to send a clear message to the gay community of the seriousness of the HIV epidemic, and that gay people can and must take the lead in helping their own community.

“26% of the 357 new cases of HIV infection reported in Singapore last year were attributed to MSM (men who have sex with men), of which gay men constitute a large proportion. We assess that MSM infection cases are under reported, and 60% infection rate of all new cases is probably more realistic. It is critical that gay men in Singapore realises that safe sex is not an option. It is totally non-negotiable if we do not want the HIV epidemic to devastate the community as it did in the US in the late 60s/70s. If we do not intensify our prevention work today, we certainly will find ourselves in the same situation sooner than we think.’’

Mr Paul Toh

Director Fundraising & Programme, AFA

The concert seeks to send the message that safe sex is an individual as well as collective responsibility. Every single act of safe sex is a contribution to the well-being of the community. The concert hopes to communicate this via the soft approach of comedy, theatre and music.

MDA has granted the HOPE concert the public entertainment license with R18 classification. Dr Balaji Sadasivan (Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Information, Communications and the Arts) will be the guest of honour.

“We are very excited that the MDA has given us the green light to proceed with the concert. The message of HIV is not a new one, and it’s never easy to make it fresh and effective. We hope the audience at the concert will be entertained, yet at the same time take home the message that together we can combat the HIV challenge, through fundraising, education and the collective practice of safe sex.”

Mr Alphonsus Lee

Chairperson, SAFEHAVEN

The concert will be helmed by a cast of local and international artistes. This includes popular local personalities such as Hossan Leong and Selena Tan. Medicorp artiste Chua Enlai will be the MC (master of ceremony) for the concert. International billboard artistes Jason and deMarco (JDM) will fly in from Los Angeles to give the concert a boost. JDM have done many HIV/AIDS awareness concerts in the US to sold out crowds.

Tickets are priced at $68 and $28. Proceeds from ticket sales and goodwill donations, after cost-recovery, will be contributed to Action for AIDS Medical Subsidy Fund that provides subsidies to HIV+ patients in accessing their HAART (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy).

Contact Persons : Mr Alphonsus Lee, Chairperson SAFEHAVEN

               Email: fonsus@gmail.com

               Mobile: 93848587

               Mr Paul Toh, Director Fundraising & Programme, AFA

               Email: pdafa@singnet.com.sg

I entertained a call from the Today paper two days ago asking about the concert, so I knew that they were going to run a story. But imagine my shock when I saw that it made it to the FRONT PAGE!!!

Looks like the concert is going to getting a lot of exposure. Hopefully, this is a good thing

Now that the concert is just around the corner, some of you might be thinking “yes, the concert is for a good cause, but who the HECK are Jason and deMarco?”

Well, Jason is this cute American boy who grew up in Christian family background, went to church where he was part of the gospel choir ever since he was a little boy. But when he came out, he was thrown out of church. Sound familiar?

Jason went on to sing pop songs, where he met deMarco and the two have been together since 2001. They are in a relationship with each other, and who better to pass on the message of HIV prevention and safer sex than a out-and-proud and responsible committed couple.

Listen to their interview with IAMGAY.tv at Atlanta Gay Pride 2007.

Here’s a little tidbit of what you can expect at the concert.

This concert is a group effort. It’s a enormous task to put together artistes, both local and foreign, all the logistics, including a cocktail reception at the beginning, involving the church worship band, negotiating with MDA on the license… it’s HERCULEAN, and as you can tell from the love handles rolling off my waist, I’m anything but!

So I need your help! To push the tickets, to inform others about it, to chip in your two cents worth on the message boards, etc. And it’s all for a good cause. We need to EDUCATE ourselves about HIV and safe sex.

So watch the clip, have a laugh, and please pick up some tickets!

For ticket information, please email information@oursafehaven.com. This concert is rated R18.

The HOPE Concert (short for HIV Outreach: Prevention and Empowerment) represents Safehaven and FCC’s greatest outreach event to date, simply because of the audience number (Kreta Ayer can hold a maximum of 1100 pax), and the involvement of so many different performers (Hossan Leong, Selena Tan, Jason and deMarco, and others).

The purpose of the concert is simple. To raise HIV Awareness and to get people talking. Which is also the theme of the concert: Conversations. To raise awareness, we need to get everyone talking about this strange, and often taboo, creature called HIV. We sweep the topic under the carpet so much so that no one dares to admit they are HIV positive to friends and family, when what they need most is support and encouragement.

Please note that this concert is rated R18, and is restricted to patrons above the age of 18 years.  

So start by replying to this message, or copying and pasting this message and poster on your blogs, so that others might read it and start talking about it. Over the course of the next couple of weeks leading up the concert, more tidbits of HIV trivia will be put up and discussed.
Hope to hear from everyone. Remember we have to talk about this, so any reply even if you just say that you think this idea is great, will go towards starting conversations.

To buy tickets, please email information@oursafehaven.com for the time being while a payment portal on Fridae.com is currently being prepared.