Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Singapore's Sojourn

I was thrilled and honoured to receive an invitation to participate in the online Induction service today for the 12th Principal of Trinity Theological College, my former place of ministry and employment. It's not easy to forget 6 years of residential college community with several stints as Warden and also one Semester as Acting Dean of Students. Friendships with colleagues were especially cherished and it was not for anything that I waited for the new Principal to take up the reins of leadership before I sent a copy of my "Departure Points" to two of my former colleagues there.
There was nothing particularly controversial that I wrote but if not for one or two events during my time there, I could have stayed on as a faculty since I was granted Singapore Permanent Residence in 2012, just two years before I left TTC. If there was any injustice, it is already forgiven and the former Principal whom I had served under and it was him who employed me in the first place, deserved his retirement after nearly 20 years as Principal. In fact, I was honoured to be invited for the TTC's 70th anniversary in 2018 and I attended Trinity Lectures last year when I made a trip to Singapore to withdraw my CPF (earned over my 2 years as SPR). The new Principal is a friend who joined TTC after his PhD in 2013 in my penultimate year there and over many lunches and fellowship I got to know him fairly well and had a chance meeting with him during the 70th anniversary dinner. God's leading in our lives is unique and His timing is perfect (I taught about Jesus' saying "my time is not yet" in John 2). I am proud to see a much younger colleague taking up huge responsibility in leading one of the most prestigious Colleges in East Asia while as for me, I am looking after a few sheep like Moses in the wilderness of Midian - "My hour is not yet".

No comments:

Post a Comment