For Vocations Awareness Week (Nov 8–13) six priests were asked by Generation S’ what was their dream for the Archdiocese in 2021. Here are three responses.

Fr Robert Christo: For 2021, my  dream is that we reflect more deeply on the cause for this pause globally. I believe that God is speaking to the need for more dialogue, community, and encounter in our culture.

I hope that we will open up to the rich opportunities that come with any crisis: behavioural and lifestyle transformation; sacred balance between lives and livelihoods; being  Church in a new digital milieu.
The potential is there for a real awakening to a deeper love for parochial and domestic Church with emphasis on its Eucharistic, symbiotic and incarnational  distinctiveness and last but not least, health (including safe and efficacy COVID-19 vaccines) for all not for many – those who can afford and hoard.

There is an opportunity as well, for mission and service to others ensuring especially that those affected by the pandemic, including our migrants and refugees who should never be allowed to lose their identity and culture in their efforts too for survival.

Fr David Khan: My vision is driven and sustained by my desire to know and serve God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and to make Him known to all. It encompasses a holistic approach with a focus on the Universal Church.
My conviction is that the Church is called upon to proclaim and live the historic and eternal gospel in a rapidly changing world and society. Intentional discipleship beyond encounter and conversion are key. There is a necessity for the Church to be a place of catechesis and discipleship, where the people of God are equipped through scripture and the sacraments, in the power of the Spirit, to be ambassadors for Christ in His world.

As 2021 approaches, it is of paramount importance that we establish and achieve benchmarks for a comprehensive youth ministry. The youths are the future of the Church.
It is my vision to have one or more young persons on every committee working alongside the senior and experienced church leaders who can provide servant mentorship while being open to their opinions and vision. I firmly believe that as a blessed community, we are to share the extraordinary gifts that God has bestowed on us by reaching out to others both within and outside of our parish boundaries.
This will enable us to create a network of Christians and foster a sense of unconditional love where every person is accepted for who they are and know that they are loved and they are enough just the way they are.

Pope Francis urges us to seek a “friendship with Jesus Christ”.  In her writing, St Catherine of Siena challenges us to “be who God created you to be and you will set the world on fire”.
With the wisdom of Pope Francis and St Catherine, we will indeed deepen our relationship with Jesus and become who we are intended to be as a church of disciples.

Fr Leslie Tang Kai: My dream for the Church in 2021 is that we all become a Sacrament of God’s Salvation to the world by truly becoming lovers of God, Creation, ourselves, and one another in this our twin-island state.