Fr Simon Kontou heads the Bible Commission

Soccom

Sandakan : Fr Simon Kontou, the parish priest of St Dominic's Church, Lahad Datu was made the Chairman of the Diocesan Biblical Commission as announced by Rt Rev Julius Dusin Gitom DD, the Bishop of Sandakan during its inaugural meeting held  at Ulu Dusun Retreat Centre on Saturday 25th February 2012

Front  L-R: Sebastian Francis, Richard Lobinjang, Ezechiel Kunti, Bishop Julius Gitom, Fr Simon Kontou
Back L-R : Anthony Kassim, Dominic Sintar, Marily Labasing, Mary Lee Esporton
Not in picture : Teodulfo Rosalia Jr.

The nine-member commission led by Fr Simon assisted by Richard Lobinjang of St Martin Telupid comprises of two members each from the four parishes of the Diocese. Mary Lee Esporton and Maryly Labasing, both of Holy Trinity Parish Tawau were appointed Secretary and assistant secretary respectively of the Commission..

 

In his welcoming address after the proclamation of the word, Bishop Julius extended his appreciation to all who had made the commitment to be present at the meeting. The commission, though planned very much earlier was not able to be formalized  due to unforeseen circumstances. He said that parishes should plan their activities in line with the program outlined by the Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei Regional Biblical Commission where Fr Simon had attended a few of its meetings.

The prelate called on the members to organize awareness programs within the parish to instill on parishioners the importance of the Word, the living bread - reading, hearing and living it. He said, 'Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ'. Activities need to be relevant and interesting so that parishioners will have the urge to want to know more and read the Bible.

Fr  Simon shared on what the other dioceses are doing to promote the reading of the Word and representatives from the various parishes shared on Bible related activities held in their parishes. Much effort is needed to promote a healthy habit among parishioners the passion of reading the Bible for in Jn 6:68 says 'Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.' Several activities for the year such as the Bible Sunday and sharing on the Pope's message in conjunction with Bible Sunday would be the main focus of all parishes. Other related activities will depend on the creativity of each parish.