AsIPA Training Workshop in Pattaya

The Redemptorist Centre, Pattaya

Pattaya (Thailand): BECs, being the pastoral thrust of the Diocese of Sandakan, announced by Rt Rev Julius Dusin Gitom, the Bishop of the Diocese, some three years back, are a great hope for the life of the local Church. In response to the prelate's vision, there are currently some 120 BECs established across the four parishes of the diocese. Continuous formation and exposure of leaders are necessary in order to sustain and enhance BECs.

Msgr Ong with participants from the Diocese of Sandakan

Msgr Nicholas Ong, the Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Sandakan led a delegation of 7 members to the AsIPA One (Asian Intergral Pastoral Approach) International Training Workshop on ‘Building the New Way of Being Church’ held on October 25^th – 30^th, 2010 at the Redemptorist Centre, Pattaya , Thailand, some two hour drive from the capital city of Bangkok. The training sessions were facilitated by the AsIPA resource team.

The Chapel at the Redemptorist Centre

Msgr Ong presiding the Mass

The seven member delegation from the Diocese included Msgr Nicholas Ong, the rector of Holy Trinity Church of Tawau, Julita Kantod and Magrina Kiah also of the same parish, Leonie Degullacion and George Majawat of St Mary’s Cathedral, Sandakan, Richard Lobinjang and Albert Matussin of St Martin’s Church, Telupid. Msgr Ong was at the centre much earlier to attend the 1^st Bishop’s Institute on Lay Apostolate (BILA) focused on Small Christian Communities (SCC) from October 18^th – 23^rd 2010.

Albert Matussin proclaiming the Word of God

Some 85 participants from across 11 countries were involved in the training workshops. They represented India, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mynmar, Indonesia, Philippine, Mongolia, Macau, and Thailand, the host country.

The participants were exposed to the following topics;

• Foundations for community building
• Participatory church
• Vision of the new way of being Church
• Understanding of Small Christian Communities
• Pastoral tools for SCCs / BECs
  

  

  Mix group - Msgr Ong (standing far right) with Richard (seated), Julita (standing far left) and others

  

  Country group - Msgr Ong (seated far right) with participants from the Diocese of  Sandakan

Participants, placed in mix groups or according to country shared on the current situation of SCCs / BECs and their contribution towards the growth of the local church. They experienced the 7-step Bible sharing and in the practice, they learn from one another the skill of facilitating Bible sharing in BECs' gatherings.

Subsequent to AsIPA One, there will be two other training workshops, AsIPA Two and Three to be conducted in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Julita and Leonie

Sandakan Diocesan Alpha Course for Clergy, Religious and Lay Leaders

Sandakan : The 2 ½ day Sandakan Diocesan Alpha Course tailored for Clergy, Religious and lay leaders attended by 54 participants from across the four parishes held at the Sandakan Diocesan Conference Room, came to an end yesterday,  Sunday 24^th October 2010.

The prayer over session

The second part of the course proper on Saturday 23^rd October 2010 was the ‘Weekend Away Experience’ covering eight topics presented through life talk and DVD presentation. The day’s sessions covered the following topics;

• Who  is the Holy Spirit?
•  What Can the Holy Spirit Do?
•  Repentance and Examination of Conscience
•  How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?
• Ministry Time
• How can I make the most of the rest of my life
•  How and why should I tell others
•  What about the Church?

Bishop Julius addressing the participants

Bishop Julius, who was with the participants at most of the sessions, right after the final talk on ‘What About the Church?’ said that the Church has many programs designed to bring people to Christ. Many were led into the Church, some remained and again, many had left.  The prelate called upon the participants to take a closer look and reflect on the effectiveness of the existing programs.

He went on to say, ‘Alpha is a proven tool to bring Christ to others. I hope you will bring back with confidence what you had acquired to share with the people in your parish’.

Small group sharing

The sessions yesterday, focused on ‘Training and Planning’ giving participants grouped according to parishes, ample opportunity to share on the practicality of implementing the program in their parishes.  Representatives from the four parishes were very positive towards getting the program off the ground.

Suzanna Hon

Suzanna Hon, of the St Mary's Cathedral RCIA team, has this to say about the course. 'I find the Alpha Course simple, easy to carry out with sufficient supporting training materials. I hope to use certain parts of the course content for the RCIA process with the consent of the team members'.

Sharing by parish representatives

Token of appreciation to the facilitators

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120 participants attended the Chinese Prayer Group Seminar

山打根訊 - 聖瑪莉主教座堂華協屬下聖神同禱會為慶祝成立25週年，主辦之2010年“在聖神內生活研習會”，於10月6日至10日圓滿成功舉行。此次研習會邀得砂拉越州美里教區李國興主教主講，及李主教的兩位助手Robert Lo兄弟和Anne Lo姐妹。

研習會於10月6日晚上7時掀開序幕，連日來的講題分別有：天主是愛、救贖、耶穌是主、悔改、寬恕、心靈的治癒、在聖神內受洗。李主教也教導了如何用詞彙去讚美天主。10月9日下午為準備領受堅振及初領聖體的學生們辦告解；晚上是心靈治癒及醫治。

李國興主教為教友們覆手祈禱

10月10日，上午十一時，舉行初領聖體、堅振以及同禱會週年慶典感恩彌撒。

初領聖體及領堅振的學生們與李國興主教合照

當晚7時設宴週年慶，受邀出席的嘉賓有Julius主教、本堂司鐸Fr. Thomas、Deacon David、堂區牧靈會主席John Baptis兄弟、CCR主席Michael Lee兄弟、華協主席陳儀鳴兄弟、Peter Thien兄弟以及Sylvester Ho兄弟。

Julius主教吹同禱會25週年蛋糕

左起：同禱會主席宋燕飛姐妹、李國興主教、本堂司鐸Fr. Thomas、JULIUS主教、堂區牧靈會主席John Baptis兄弟、CCR主席Michael Lee兄弟、華協主席陳儀鳴兄弟及Deacon David

同禱會還特別精心製作一輯由始至今一些有紀念性的照片，彙集成影片供在場的兄弟姐妹們觀賞；影片後，嘉賓們也紛紛握手告別。最後，兄弟姐妹都上前分享他們在此次研習會所得到的恩賜及治癒。李主教最後也語重心長的囑咐所有在場的人，要時時刻刻記得感謝、讚美天主，不會的就要多學習，多練習。

李國興主教為教友們覆手祈禱

2010年在聖神內生活研習會----李國興主教語錄：

• 在天主面前，我是誰?
• 是否敢承認自己過著沒有力量，無精打采的教友生活?
• 我們犯罪，等同再刺傷天主。
• 聖神是屬於信主的人。
• 要為每樣事情，每天“理所當然”的事感謝天主。
• 天主愛我們，我們卻不知道。
• 魔鬼在後頭誘惑，要靠讚美的力量驅逐。
• 罪在人心。
• 一時一刻不愛我，就不是天主。
• 沒有接受耶穌做我的主，我就沒有力量對抗邪惡。
• 祂是主，但是否是我的主?
• 要接受耶穌做我的救主。
• 在寬恕中看到天主的愛。
• 不寬恕，就是邀請魔鬼進來。
• 我們沒有力量救自己，需要聖神指正我們。

Sandakan - In conjunction with the 25^th Anniversary of the Chinese Prayer Group of St. Mary’s Cathedral, a 'Life in the Spirit Seminar' with a theme on 'Discover the Holy Spirit in Your Heart'  was organized, from the 6^th to 10^th October 2010.

Some 120 participants from the Cathedral Parish Chinese community took part in the 4-day seminar, conducted by Rt Rev Anthony Lee, Bishop of the Diocese of Miri, assisted by Robert Lo and his daughter, Anne.

On Sunday, 10^th October, 31 candidates from the Chinese Sunday School of St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Mark received their 1^st Holy Communion.

The 4-day event concluded with the 25^th Anniversary Dinner, attended by all participants and members of the Chinese community, at the Parish Hall. Also attending the function were Bishop Anthony Lee, Bishop Julius Dusin Gitom, Fr. Thomas Makajil, Deacon David Garaman and other Parish group leaders. 

A slide presentation on the history of the Chinese Prayer Group was shown during the course of the dinner.

Bishop Anthony Lee in his speech, reminded the members always to give thanks and praise to the Lord in all circumstances..

St. Mary's Parish Soccom

YouthPrepLink menjangkau Belia Telupid

TELUPID – Program  Persediaan dan Penjangkauan Remaja atau YouthPrepLink yang dikendalikan oleh Unit Belia Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd (PKGS) mendapat sambutan di luar jangkaan apabila menerima penyertaan seramai 80 umat beriman, disini.

Program yang  turut  menadapat  galakan dari Paderi Paroki, Fr. Marcellinus Pongking itu bermula 11:00 pagi pada 17 Oktober 2010, diketuai oleh Sister Jossie Sili (PKGS) dan dibantu oleh tiga kakitangan PKGS dan seorang sukarelawan.

Menurut Sr. Jossie, program seumpama telah dimulakan di Keuskupan Agung Kota Kinabalu dan Keuskupan Keningau selama 5 tahun sejak 2005 dan merupakan yang pertama di Paroki St. Martin dalam Keuskupan Sandakan.

Walaupun program ini tertumpu kepada golongan remaja, para ibu bapa turut menyertainya dengan harapan mendapat input dari program ini.

“Tujuan utama program YouthPrepLink ini diinisiasikan adalah untuk membantu para remaja yang bakal dan berpotensi untuk berhijrah sama ada untuk melanjutkan pelajaran ataupun bekerja di bandar. Ia (program) direka khas untuk memberikan mereka maklumat dan sebelum berhadapan dengan realiti yang sebenar”, jelas Sr. Jossie.

Menurutnya lagi, menyedari majoriti daripada para belia ini kurang bersedia menghadapi kejutan budaya dan perubahan yang perlu mereka lalui untuk hidup di bandar, program ini suatu tindakan konkrit untuk membantu para remaja.

Sr. Jossie (rgs)

Sixtus Pitah

Julita Keliki

Jill Joseph

Deannis Patrick

Selesai sesi taklimat oleh Sr. Jossie, Penerangan Kandungan Program disampaikan oleh Dennis Patrick yang merangkumi semua aspek modul program yang dibantu oleh Sixtus Pitah, Jell dan Julita Keliki.

Hasil program ini, Paroki Telupid telah menubuhkan Kordinator YouthPrepLink bagi membantu para remaja di paroki ini yang terdiri dari golongan tinggal di kawasan pendalaman dan program dijangka dimulai tahun hadapan (2011):

1.             Penasihat                            : Fr. Marcellinus Pongking (Paderi Paroki)

2.             Kordinator                          : Hildy Boy Albert

3.             Urusetia                              : SOCCOM Paroki

4.             Pembangunan Insan             : Helena  Salati

5.             Bahasa Inggeris                   : Anthony Kasim

6.             Makan/minum                     : Arinah Anggatis             

TAMAT

Oleh:     SOCCOM Telupid

Teks dan foto oleh: Lawrence Matusin

Diocese of Sandakan organizes Alpha Course for Clergy, Religious and Lay Leaders

Bishop Julius (centre) with clergy, religious, lay participants and facilitators

Sandakan : 54 participants from the four parishes of the Diocese of Sandakan including five diocesan priests one deacon and five religious sisters  attended the 3-day Alpha for clergy, religious and lay leaders training course which took off today, 22^nd October 2010 at the Sandakan Diocesan Conference Room.

The facilitators, in the persons of Damian Prakash, Karen Tan and Clara Pat Ro are from the Malaysia  Alpha Resource Team. The other facilitator, Marie Therese Sibert will be joining the team tomorrow morning.

The Opening Mass presided over by Bishop Julius

The event began with a Eucharistic celebration at the Cathedral chapel, presided over by Bishop Julius Dusin Gitom and con celebrated by all Diocesan priests.

The prelate took the opportunity to bid the facilitators and participants a warm welcome and urged them to capitalize on the Alpha input sessions. Alpha is one of the many ways to bring people to Christ which is found to be effective.

He said that as faithful we need to deepen our relationship with Christ and that calls for knowing Him personally and not mere intellectually. Knowing Christ closer will make us a much more convicted bearer of the Cross and always putting Christ in the centre of our daily life in all circumstances.

The course proper

Course proper began at 9.45 am with eight input sessions, using express DVD presentations and life talks covering the following topics;

·         *What is Alpha?

·         *Alpha in the Cathoic context

·         *Christianity – boring, untrue and irrelevant?

·         *Who is Jesus?

·        * Why did Jesus die?

·        * Why and how do I pray?

·         *Why and how I read the Bible?

·         *How does God guide us?

Damian and Clara facilitating the session

In between talks, there were three small group sharings comprising eight to nine members per group. Such small groups provide a platform to make friends, prompt members to share, allow them to pray together, create an opportunity to share the Bible and also training others to lead.

Small group sharing in progress

The day’s session ended at 6.00 pm. Tomorrow’s sessions, covering nine topics, will begin at 8.30 am and is expected to end at 9.30 pm

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Block Rosary at Taman Indah Jaya, Sandakan

Statue of Blessed Virgin Mary

Sandakan : Block rosary enters into its 21st day at Taman Indah Jaya today, 21st October 2010. Members of the Taman Indah Jaya BEC provided space for the activity by opening their homes for the gatherings.

Preparing oneself for the Holy Rosary prayer

The sign of the Cross

Each day, beginning October and without fail, about 60 - 70 people, adult and children will gather at one of the member's house at 7.30 pm sharp. Prior to the recitation of the Holy Rosary, the reading of the day will be proclaimed followed by a reflection.

Peace be with you

At the close of the prayer, information about upcoming parish happenings will be announced and members are encouraged to lend support to all parish level activities. Thereafter they will adjourn to a 'pot luck' fellowship meal. The teenagers and the youth will spend about half an hour to practice the hymns chosen for the Eucharistic celebration, coordinated by all Parish BECs, on 30th October, marking the close of the Holy Rosary month.

Stay connected always

Such activity where neighbors gather to pray together will stay together. It fosters love of neighbor and brings Christ in their midst. It is through the  Block Rosary that many were connected to one another and a number of them came forward to offer their homes for the gathering.

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LOM St. Mary Merayakan Misa Kudus Pesta Bonda Maria Ratu Rosari

Sandakan - Legio of Mary Katedral St. Mary telah merayakan Misa Kudus Pesta Bonda Maria Ratu Rosari pada 7 Oktober 2010 lalu bertempat di Katedral St. Mary, Sandakan.


Pada masa yang sama LOM Katedral St. Mary merayakan ulang tahun kedua penubuhan Kuria Bahasa Malaysia, yang mengambil nama "BONDA MARIA RATU ROSARI IBU PENAUNG."

Seramai lebih kurang 100 orang ahli LOM dan umat menghadiri Misa Kudus yang dipimpin oleh Fr. Marcellinus Pongking, Paderi Paroki St. Martin Telupid, yang juga Pembimbing Rohani untuk LOM bagi Diosis Sandakan.

Fr Marcellinus, Pembimbing Rohani LOM

Dalam khotbahnya beliau menegaskan bahawa tugas penginjilan yang menjadi tugas penting LOM adalah keuntungan bagi Gereja dan umat awam.

Pengagihan tugasan mingguan kepada ahli adalah bukti LOM komitmen kepada janji Legio untuk menjadi tentera Bonda Maria dalam membantu Gereja dalam mewartakan Firman Tuhan kepada umat awam.

Terdahulu, ahli LOM berkumpul di hadapan grotto untuk mendoakan Tasera disusuli dengan Doa Rosari.

Selesai Misa Kudus, perayaan 2-dalam-1 ini turut dimeriahkan lagi dengan kehadiran Paderi Paroki Sandakan, Fr. Thomas Makajil, Presiden Kuria Bahasa Cina, Pengerusi Majlis Pastoral Paroki, ahli-ahli SFO dan para umat semasa majlis makan malam kesyukuran dan pemotongan kek ulang tahun dan kek ahli serta umat yang lahir pada bulan Oktober bertempat di Pusat Kateketikal Fr. Mulders.

Fr Marcellinus (tengah) bersama Sr Appollonia fsic (kanan) dalam acara pemotongan kek

Teks: Adaris Moses Sintan, Presiden Kuria BM

Foto: SOCCOM

Cathedral and Diocesan New Labour Line

Sandakan :  The  former St. Mary's Convent Primary School building which used to house the Church workers was totally demolished last month to give way to the construction of the Sandakan Diocesan Pastoral and Worship Center. Currently, the workers are putting up temporary in other places available.

The Cathedral Parish together with the Diocesan Office had embarked on the construction of a labour line sited next to the basketball court. The two-storey semi permanent building with six quarters, each with two bedrooms, is self contained.

The project costing around RM140,000 was awarded to Wong Fook Choi Contractor and the contract agreement was sealed on 15th July 2010. It is expected to complete by early next month. As of date, the project is about 80% complete.

The project is under the supervision of the Cathedral Parish Property Maintenance and Management Committee (PPMMC) headed by Peter Thien.

St. Mary's Parish Soccom

Sandakan