Faculty Development Days Reflections
At the end of each semester, EAST faculty come together to learn and grow as educators. The recent so-called Faculty Development Days was held with a dual focus on “Distance and Online Theological Education Competence” and “Nurturing a Disability-Inclusive Seminary” for the two days respectively. Below are some reflections by two of EAST faculty who were in attendance.
Reflection of day one by Rev Derek Atkins
I found the Distance and Online Theological Education Competence (D/OTEC) session very insightful. Ever since the Covid pandemic, there has been an explosion of distance and online classes of every kind, including among theological schools such as EAST. As we work toward utilizing this teaching method more effectively, it is helpful for us to consider what methods will help us deliver effective theological education in an online environment.
MG Ministry Weekend Reflections – Part 1
Praying for the needy in Cambodia, September 2024
This past September over a period of three to five days, various EAST Mentoring Groups (MG) fanned out to neighbouring countries for cross-cultural ministry in partnership with local agencies and churches. The purpose of EAST MG Ministry Weekend is to engage our faculty and students in ministering to the field needs of EAST local partners located within those countries. Below are three reflections shared by Dr Mona Bias, Dr Alvin Tey and Ms Su Panum from their experiences in leading three of these groups.
1. Ministry Among the Refugees – Dr Mona Bias
Imagine for a moment that you are without citizenship in any country. There is no chance for a good education, employment, or even of a promising future. On a daily basis, there is no certainty of food for the next meal. Along with being considered illegal, there is a constant fear of repatriation to the country that you have deliberately left behind.
Hopeless and helpless. That is exactly how one father felt over their situation. His family has been waiting for 25 years to be relocated to the USA. The same feeling of displacement and uncertainty enveloped the other refugees.
Alumna Elizabeth Li: The Most Important Amazing Thing
L-R: Dr Lau Ying Kheng, Dr Roland Tan & Alumna Elizabeth Li
Hello. My name is 「感恩姐妹」”Grateful Sister”, and I am glad to be here to share about my life. I would like to share my journey through two major surgeries, in which I experienced something amazing and totally unexpected!
It started eight years ago. I broke my right thigh at home in 2015. A steel plate was mounted in my thigh and I recuperated at home. While recuperating, I discovered that my ability to express myself was compromised. I could not express what I wanted to express and I thought I was beginning to have amnesia.
Field Supervisors Tea & Field Education Reflections
“What is your impression of EAST at the recent Field Supervisors Tea?” we asked a Field Supervisor (who personally oversees the field education aspect of EAST student).
Here are some reflections by Ms Faye Hohaia, OMF International Assistant General Director who is a Field Supervisor to an EAST student, Thanawat “Off” Wichaphon (Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies [MAICS], 2025).
Having never been to East Asia School of Theology (EAST) before I was not sure what to expect on my first visit, but what I discovered about EAST is worth sharing. EAST is not only based in Singapore and carries East Asia in its name, but it engages in God’s mission in East Asia. Students from all over East Asia are being trained and equipped to be Jesus’ hands and feet wherever they are placed. Students from even further afar in our world are coming to be trained and equipped there too so they can share the good news of our good God in East Asia and beyond.
This is not just a school that simply teaches their students head knowledge about God. Their focus on the whole person and the whole gospel was very obvious from the moment I walked in. The day I visited EAST they were focusing on generosity in hospitality. The students had invited their supervisors to come to a special afternoon tea. They had cooked delicious dishes from their home countries and took great joy in sharing their combined efforts with their supervisors. Hospitality was not just restricted to food; they lead us in a time of worship through song and prayer and then we heard testimony of how God is leading them into a variety of ministries.
Dr Alvin Tey: Teaching (and Learning) to Transform Lives
A blessed Teacher’s Day to all! And I do mean to all, as I am sure that all of us are teachers in one way or another!
Teaching is a calling. It is a calling not merely to impart knowledge and experiences, but to transform lives. Mirroring the Great Commandment (Mark 12:30) to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and the Second Commandment (Mark 12:31) to love others as ourselves, teaching is meant to be holistic in nature. The aim of teaching is firstly to transform the whole life, to love God more and more with our heart, soul, mind and strength, and secondly to transform us to love and serve others. Importantly, even as we are individually called to teach in our different capacities and different seasons of our lives, we are also called to learn and grow in our walk with God (see Deuteronomy 4:10 and Proverbs 9:9).
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