Plenary Session 1: Spilling the Wine During the Storm

Rev. Fr. Terence Pereira, Episcopal Vicar for the New Evangelisation

A priest after the Good Shepherd’s heart, Fr. Terence’s great desire is to see all lay faithful learn and grow to be disciples of Jesus Christ. As the Episcopal Vicar for the New Evangelisation, he leads ONE in promoting the work of evangelisation and disciple-making in Singapore.

Plenary Session 2: Adapting Our Parishes to the Signs of the Times

Leonard Koh

Leonard is the Formation Manager at ONE. He was previously on staff at the Catholic Spirituality Centre, first as its Youth Ministry Director and then as Senior Manager of Programme and Pastoral Care. Leonard had his world turned right-side-up when he personally encountered Jesus at the age of fifteen. Since then, the purpose of his life is to make Jesus famous. Leonard is passionate about leading people in a growing relationship with God, bringing the Word of God to life and helping ministries flourish. He holds a Masters in Theological Studies and was working as an art director in advertising before being called into full-time ministry.

Plenary Session 3: Leading in Times of Disorientation

Cassilda Lim 

Cassilda is the Assistant Executive Director at ONE. Together with her husband Leonard Koh, she spent more than a decade at the Catholic Spirituality Centre, where she was involved in various capacities, from conducting retreats and formation programmes to leading the Centre as its Executive Director. A teacher of the Word, and a leader of teams, Cassilda’s passion is to help others experience the goodness and greatness of God. She holds a Master in Theological Studies obtained from the University of Divinity in Melbourne, Australia. 

Panel Discussion

Nick Jarvis Tan (Moderator)

Nick Jarvis is a bi-vocational Catholic. He runs a corporate training and executive coaching business, and serves as the Evangelisation Strategist at the Office for the New Evangelisation. For him as a lay Catholic, there is no divide between church and corporate work. All is Kingdom work. Nick Jarvis celebrates a decade of marriage with his sweetheart. On the weekends, you may spot him at playgrounds, monkeying around with his two daughters.

Breakout Session 1

Arthur Goh

Arthur, academic director of the Catholic Theological Institute of Singapore (CTIS) is dedicated to help the lay faithful bring their faith to life and life to faith. His clear, succinct teaching and explanations helped many lay leaders to understand what the Church is and what the Church does. Since the time in the Singapore Pastoral Institute, many lay leaders have benefited from this. Over a cup of freshly brewed coffee, you can engage Arthur on the topic of the church and the role of the laity.   

Reframing the Lenses of Parish Pastoral Leadership

Come this October, Pope Francis will inaugurate a meeting of the bishops from across the world  to examine the topic “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission”. This implies that it is pertinent for parish leadership to rediscover the gifts God endows the Church when we pray and discern together, act together, and participate in Christ’s saving mission as one body. The Catholic Church cannot afford to lose focus on what matters for Christ’s gospel and his mission. In this session we will discuss what synodality in the community means for enabling parishes to remain meaningful to the lives of Catholics today, in the light of God’s Kingdom. If you have been thinking about how parishes can engage the baptised Catholics in meaningful ways, you do not want to miss this discussion. 

Breakout Session 2

Charles Lim

Charles, aficionado in the art of Christian hospitable living, is a loving husband and a proud father. While making living Christian hospitality his goal, Charles is also an EMHC, a member of the weekend wedding team and a member of the Kanektas Youth Community in the Church of St Joseph, Bukit Timah. He is also currently serving in the formation wing of Singapore Archdiocesan Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Schools@SACCRE. 

Rethinking Hospitality: Making our Parishes a Welcoming Home

Mention hospitality in the church and the immediate association is the ‘wardens’. When we use the word ‘hospitality’ outside of church, we think of hotels, customer service, etc. Yet, true hospitality as a way of life is really fundamental to our identity as Christians since we are commanded to love God and love neighbour.  One of the best places to practice hospitality is in the parish.  During this period of distancing, welcoming is ever more needed to comfort and restore hope for people who have become estranged from each other. How can we have an attitude of hospitality that will help to draw and connect people to our Lord? Let us explore together how we can make our parishes into a welcoming home.

Breakout Session 3

Khee Shihui

As Programme Director of Common Ground, Shihui is responsible for designing and implementing relevant social innovations for pressing national concerns, and bridging stakeholders across different sectors to build critical partnerships between the people, public and private sectors. She has created tri-sector initiatives to explore and enhance mental health and wellbeing, alleviate poverty and inequality, and development of community and societal leaders. Shihui is an adult convert to Catholicism and is on a lifelong journey to understand who God would like her to be in His community.

Who is our Neighbour? Serving Others Beyond our Parish Wall

In this participatory workshop, we will be exploring together:

• Who are your parish neighbours,
• What is the appetite or readiness within your parish to engage with your broader communities,
• What could be assets and resources within your parish that would support you to discover surprising ways of relating to your neighbourhood!

Regardless of your parish’s current experience, this introductory session is created for you to reflect on where your parish is at and to take the next step.

Breakout Session 4

Lance Ng

Lance is a spiritual director in the Ignatian tradition and has in the last decade devoted his energies in the area of Retreats (personal and group), Spiritual Accompaniment and Formation. He specialises in facilitating the process of human transformation and growth through the practice of listening through group discernment and leadership growth circles. He received his formal training at the Sentir Graduate College of Spiritual Formation (now known as the Jesuit College of Spirituality), University of Divinity (Melbourne) with a Graduate Diploma in Theology and a MA in Spiritual Direction. 

Reimagining Authentic Connections and Presence in a Distanced Church

In this strange season of being physically distanced from each other, how well are our parishioners connecting to self, others and God amidst this mystery (Covid) of life? How can we gift another with our attentiveness and presence in order to live out the call towards authentic community? Perhaps we are invited to awaken to our flawed ways of connecting that only a season as such reveals; or perhaps we are invited to reimagine how God desires to connect with us and each other in this time.

Breakout Session 5

Patrick Tan

Patrick is a business agility coach & media trainer. Using his training and vast experience in Mass Communications, Patrick is currently serving part time as Lead in Digital Communications at St Mary of the Angels. His foundation in media started as he volunteered in Catholic media in his teens. Having ventured and worked in multiple industries and startups, Patrick has come back to where he started, in St Mary’s to be exact. In launching the Digital Ministry in April 2020 he found himself exercising his gifts in meaningful ways.

Starting a Parish Digital Ministry from Scratch

The unprecedented closure of churches due to the pandemic has hastened the adoption of the digital media. The birth of the Digital Ministry in the Church of St Mary of the Angels was during this unusual time. Inspired by the Holy Spirit and powered only by volunteers working remotely, it has gone on to produce over 700 hundred videos, attracting a growing audience of over 2 million views in the first 12 months of its launch.  Come and learn what it takes and how to create a digital ministry from scratch in your parish. 

Breakout Session 6

Sheila Fong

Youthful in nature herself, Sheila is passionate about bringing young people into an intimate relationship with the Holy Trinity. Prior to joining ONE, Sheila was a full time Youth Coordinator for 7 years at the Church of St. Anthony, where she oversaw the growth of 9 youth ministries, and the development of leadership training and mentorship programmes among other contributions. Equipped with a Youth Work certificate by the Social Service Institute of Singapore alongside 19 years of parish experience, Sheila’s vision is to see parishes become a flourishing ground for young people to thrive in loving and serving God.

Relational Youth Ministry: Engaging our Parish Youths in Pandemic Times

In all discussions on areas of concern in a parish, one is often brought up; the youth. We used to see them in Church, we sometimes hear them after the Mass, but we struggle to engage or inspire them. Even more so now. In this time of digital space where the youths are supposedly more inclined towards, many parishes continue to be faced with the insurmountable obstacle of Youth Ministry. The question remains more starkly than ever: “How can we retain or even attract the youths in our parish?” In this breakout session, we will cover the foundations of parish youth ministry and explore how we can reach the young people in this time of pandemic.