Brendan Chong of Upper Hutt is the only winner in the recent ‘vocations’ writing competition organised by the Knights of the Southern Cross (Porirua Branch).
Archbishop John Dew, who supported and encouraged the branch in its first attempt at a writing competition, presented Brendan with the prize cheque for $200, and thanked him for giving thought to a very important issue facing the Church and all Catholics.
Brendan (18) is studying computer technology Weltec. He said his mother showed him the advertisement in Wel-com and encouraged him to enter.
Brendan thought that he would give it a go to please his mother and said he is glad he did, particularly as he now has $200.
Now the not so good news
Brendan’s entry was the only one in any of the three categories, though the competition offered prizes totalling $1000.
Despite this disappointing lack of entries, the Porirua knights have agreed, with Archbishop Dew’s encouragement, to run another one next year.
One of the organisers, Ray Harriss, summed up the competition’s goal, saying
‘Vocations are too important for us to do nothing. We all have a role in praying for, encouraging, and fostering vocations; we can’t leave it to someone else.’
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