Some of the participants and religious brothers and sisters in the online vocation seminar
By KKRVPT
Jul 7 2021
THE pandemic brought the world almost to a standstill where many activities are not allowed, especially those involving big gathering. Working from home seems to be the desired option for many people. The world economy is going down but the health of the people remains a priority. Social distancing is the daily word spoken and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) becomes the standard norm.
As the precarious situation continues to grind on, the organizer of the annual Religious Vocation Awareness Seminar began to brainstorm on how to proceed with the seminar. Meetings to organize the seminar were held via Zoom and eventually the Virtual Religious Vocation Seminar became a reality.
The seminar was held on Jun 4-6 via Zoom. Though 160 participants registered, but only about 100 managed to log in during the three-day seminar.
The theme for the seminar “St Joseph, the Dream of Vocation” challenged the young people to dare to dream of a religious vocation and to respond and act as St Joseph did.
The seminar, which was organized by the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese Religious Vocation Promotion Team (KKRVPT), saw many religious from Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines join in. Over 40 religious, including Kota Kinabalu prelate, Archbishop John Wong followed the sessions from the first day.
Two invited speakers, namely, Bro Dominic Yeo-Koh (SG) and Friar Robin Toha (OFM) were from Singapore, while another speaker, Fr Roberto Dalusung (P.Sch) was from the Philippines. The hosting was done by the Franciscan Friars in Singapore, where all the technical supports were rendered to ensure the smooth running of the seminar.
The young people who participated in the first-ever held virtual Religious Vocation Awareness Seminar came from all over Malaysia. However, most of them from Sabah.
The local event that used to be held in the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu went international. It became the Religious Vocation Awareness Seminar Borderless as dubbed by Bro Thomas Paul (SG), the organizing chair.
The highlight of the program was the interesting Forum in which members of the panel were asked various questions pertaining to their religious life.
Archbishop John Wong presided the closing Mass (via zoom) and in his closing address, he encouraged the participants to be daring in finding their path. He said that that it may not be smooth but with courage they would persevere. He also thanked the organizing team for organizing the virtual seminar and commended the team for finding alternative ways to plant the seed of vocation. A birthday song was also sung at the end of the Mass for the Archbishop as it was his birthday.
From the feedback, the organizing team was much encouraged by the positive remarks and expressions of gratitude from the participants.
It is worthy of mentioning that Sr Susan Thomas (FMM) was also present during the seminar. She is the current chairperson of the Conference of Religious Major Superiors for Malaysia-Singapore (CRMS).
Bro Thomas in his final address thanked his team, especially Friar Aiden Peter and the Franciscan Friars, for their tireless work in ensuring the smooth running of the seminar. He also thanked the Archbishop for availing himself and all the speakers for their beneficial input.
A short video was produced to brief participants on the Spirituality and Charism of some of the Religious Orders and Congregations in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, which can be viewed on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ck2yXFmTAo
The three-day sessions could also be viewed on YouTube Channel under Virtual Religious Vocation Awareness Seminar.
