East and Southeast Asia

Music of Diverse Cultures

By:  Anna J. Micklatcher-Peterson

Joseph Prince Ministries

Southeast Asia is the location of my favorite television preacher, Joseph Prince.  He is a very intelligent minister who was called by God to preach the gospel of grace around the world.  His vast knowledge of Judaism and Christianity help him to correctly break down the words of the bible.  Joseph Prince shares this knowledge with his congregation and a multitude of people who receive his “Grace” message all over the world through his books, teaching resources, television ministry and internet.

Joseph Prince (born on May 15, 1963) is an evangelist and the senior pastor of New Creation Church in Singapore.  He has a wife named Wendy and two children.  New Creation Church is a non-denominational Christian church that holds its services at The Star Performing Arts Center.  It has an average Sunday attendance of 33,000 and was founded in 1984.  His television program is called “Destined to Reign” and broadcasts to more than 150 countries including the United States of America.  Joseph Prince does not take a salary from New Creation Church.  He encourages everyone who watches his broadcast to give their tithes and offerings to their local church. 

 Joseph Prince has written numerous books.  Some of which share a very “simple” message about the power of the Holy Communion.  He believes those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior should take the Holy Communion every day so they can enjoy the divine health and wholeness that our Lord and Savior paid for on the cross.  Many people share their testimonies of “healing” through the Holy Communion on his daily broadcast. 

       https://www.josephprince.org/broadcast/on-demand

Mosques of Southeast Asia

There are many beautiful mosques located in Southeast Asia. Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia is the largest that was completed in 1978.  It can hold 200,000 people.  It is also the fourth largest in the world.  This mosque was built to commemorate Indonesian independence.  Its name “Istiqlal” means “independence.”  President Barrack Obama was one of the many world leaders that have visited this mosque during their diplomatic visit.  

One of my favorites is the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkaiah, located in Cotabato City, Philippines.  Even though it is the largest in the Philippines, it is by far much smaller with the capacity of holding only 60,000 people.  Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam funded the construction at 48 million dollars that is said to help the growing Muslim population in the Southern Philippines.  It was completed in 2011.  I love the balance and symmetry of the design with the bright golden yellow domes.

The Baiturrahman Grand in Aceh, Indonesia is one of the oldest mosques in Aceh that survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.  It represents a symbol of religion, culture, spirit, strength, struggle and nationalism of the people of Aceh, Indonesia.  Smaller in size, it has a capacity of 30,000 people.  The construction on it was completed in 1881.  In my opinion, it is the most gorgeous with the seven navy colored domes and the beautiful architecture of the mosque.

East Asia

Chinese culture celebrates the Spring Festival at the beginning of the Lunar New Year.  The dates fall between mid-January and mid-February.  This is a time when the Chinese honor their ancestors.  The celebration lasts for fifteen days and they do something every day to welcome the new year.  One of the things they do during this time is eat rice congee and mustard greens to cleanse the body.  Their celebration during this time includes fireworks and parades that have dancers that are dressed like
dragons.