By Shannon L.
Indeed, a church’s sphere of responsibility and contribution extends to its community and its nation. So when Heart of God Church had the opportunity to participate in a post-National Day Rally Dialogue at the Wisma Geylang Serai Community Centre with several leaders of the nation, nine tertiary students from HOGC stepped up to contribute their voices to national issues.
Topics such as Affordability of Education, Climate Change and Retirement Options were discussed. Leaders of the constituency and nation – grassroots advisors of Marine Parade GRC including Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong – were present to lead discussions amongst other community participants.
A lot must have gone on in the two-and-a-half-hour engagement, so we spoke to two of our young participants, Zhongyi and Keqi to get their thoughts on the event.
Keqi: “It was very insightful hearing different perspectives and opinions on different topics. They are highly relevant to me and my friends. Sometimes, we don’t get to talk about such things. The session broadened my perspective on these issues!”
Zhongyi: “I’m so glad we had the opportunity to be a part of this dialogue. It is dialogues like these, between the next generation and national leaders, that creates space for an exchange of ideas and foster mutual understanding.”
So it is with much appreciation that we thank our young people for speaking up, and making a contribution to nation building. We are sure that they have learnt a lot from other participants as well and have come back wiser. In our capacities as a church, as Christians, and as neighbours and stakeholders of the country, we continue to strive to make a positive impact!
