Celebration of Sub-Parish of Teng Bekap

The area under the pastoral care of St Ann is so HUGE that a sub-parish was created many years ago for a vast majority of Catholics living in the Padawan Area (en route to the Indonesian border of Sarawak!). Here, special functions are held, meant for Catholics who would otherwise find it somewhat difficult to drive down to St Ann's at 10th Mile. The sub-parish is under the patronage of St Michael the Archangel. This year, the nearest Sunday to the feast fell on 1st October. More than 200 Catholics from the Padawan vicinity, including many chairmen of the Village Church Committees attended a celebration of Holy Mass presided by Fr Joseph Goh OFM, which began at 8.300 am. During the homily, Fr Goh spoke about the existence of angels, and their role in the life of Christians. A cake cutting ceremony was also held after the Mass.

Catholics of Kampung Keromboi celebrate Feastday

The Catholic community of Kampung Keromboi, off Kuching-Serian Road, which is under the pastoral care of St Ann's Parish celebrated the feast of its patron, St Jerome, in an evening celebration of Holy Mass on Saturday, 30 September 2006. Photos show an appreciation speech delivered by the Chairman of the community, Mr Breder, as well as the blessing of food and feastday cake after the Mass.

Some Images of our Church at Work

Now you can have a window to our world! Catherine is busy at the sink preparing our meals. The catechists, Sr Hilda and Stephen Jawum are slogging over their desks, preparing lessons for the catechumens at the villages in the evening, our clerk Alina is pondering over a 'mysterious' document, and Sr Mary Julia is arranging flowers for Mass.

Car Shed Roofing

As you can see, the zinc roof for the car shed, which has been in existence for years and years, is rusty and eroding very quickly. We are thinking of making this area into an additional area for people to gather, using of course, bits and pieces and scraps of material....whatever we can find. This zinc roof is just opposite the Baruk.
If you would like to help us rebuild Christ's church, don't hesistate to drop us a line stann10@streamyx.com

See update on the latest development in St Ann Baruk

Faith Formation on Family Issues

A special faith formation course was held in the afternoons of Saturday, 16th September and Sunday, 17th September 2006, at St Ann's Baruk, focusing on familial issues. The speakers included Friar Joseph goh OFM, Mr Martyn Patit and Mr Paul Dampo. Topics covered included Marital Spirituality, Family Spirituality, Prayer in the Family and also Conflicts and Problems in the Family.
Approximately 120 members of the KGK (Village Catholic Commitee), prayer leaders, Communion Ministers, Catholic Ladies' Guild and Parish Youth attended the seminar.
The photo features Paul Dampo presenting his talk.

Blessing of Animals - 1st October 2006

In conjuction with the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, patron saint for Animals and Environment, the Franciscan friars from St Ann Parish will be organising the blessing of Animals on 1st October 2006 at 3 p.m. on the grounds of St Ann.

St. Francis had great love for all creatures because he saw God’s fingerprint in them and addressed them as Brother and Sister for eg Brother Sun, Sister Moon etc.

We like to invite all animal lovers to come and join us for this traditional event and to celebrate together the gift of God’s creation.

Come and make it a special occasion for your pet(s) on 1st October 2006.

Parishioner is Newly-Professed Carmelite

A parishioner of St Ann's, Kota Padawan, Sr Florence of the Holy Spirit OCD, professed her solemn vows on 31 August 2006, in the Carmelite Chapel of Kuching, in the presence of some 200 parishioners, including the Archbishop of Kuching, Most Rev John Ha, Archbishop Emeritus Dato' Sri Peter Chung and approximately 10 diocesan and Franciscan priests. Sr Florence hails from Kampung Seratau, 15th Mile Kuching-Serian Road. She joined the Order in 1991. Also professed with her was Sr Margaret of St Joseph OCD, who comes from Kuching. After the Mass of the Profession, parishioners enjoyed themselves to 'high tea', followed by well wishes for the newly-professed at the monastery parlour.

St Ann's Feastday Committee Meets

On the 31st of August, at 8.00 pm, the Feastday Committee of St Ann , which organises its annual celebration, comprising Mass, Sales and Dinner, met to finalise the accounts regarding the amount raised on the 23rd and 29th of July 2006. It was a happy evening when the members realised that they had exceeded the target. Deo Gratias!

Merdeka Day Mass at St Ann

It was a joyous occasion for some 100 parishioners who turned up on 31st August 2006 at 9 am for a special celebration of Holy Mass in conjunction with Merdeka Day 2006. The Mass was presided by Friars Gerard Victor and Joseph Goh OFM.

Catholic Community Celebrates Feastday

On the evening of Saturday, the 26th of August, the Catholic community of Taman Desa Ilmu, Kota Semarahan, celebrated the feast of its patron, St Clare of Assisi. It was also a celebration of the founding of this community, which is under the jurisdiction of St Ann's Parish, Kota Padawan.
After the celebration of the Eucharist, presided by Friar Joseph Goh OFM, there was food, singing (karaoke) and dancing! Also attending were Srs Maria Julia and Anna Juwin SSFS, the chief warden of St Ann, Mr Alexander Rangeu and his wife, as well as other local leaders of the Church.

Chinese Seminar conducted by Fr Moses

The Kuching Archdiocesan Chinese Apostolate Council every year invites the Mandarin-speaking Legion of Mary to organise an annual Youth Camp to nurture and support both the Catholic and non-Catholic youths in the diocese of Kuching. This year the 4-days Chinese Youth Camp (June 1st to June 4th) was held at the Catholic Centre, Sri Aman. The organising committee had to rent 3 full-loads of buses to transport about 65 youths from different parts of Kuching to Sri Aman, and the camp fees of RM25 collected from each youth were all spent on transport. The theme of the Youth Camp 2006 was “Family and I” and there were 4 talks delivered by Friar Moses Yap, a Franciscan priest appointed to St Ann's Parish, Kota Padawan, who was invited to work in the Archdiocese of Kuching last year.
Fr Moses explained the different ways of affirming oneself in our family and community. For example, he encouraged us to choose our friends wisely and because friends could either support and build us up or depreciate and destroy our sense of value and dignity. Fr Moses emphasised that when we have truly killed the root of our sinful self, that is, our selfishness, the Spirit of our Risen Lord would live in us and our physical bodies truly transformed and become the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and we would bear the fruit of humility, gentleness, kindness, chaste, endurance, patience, obedient, forgiveness, respect and peace.

Prayer of Hope

Dear friends
I chanced upon this prayer a couple of weeks ago, and I'm posting it here as a prayer of hope. It has a very positive, joyful, hopeful ring to it. I offer it to all of you.

"O Lord, only you can count all the blessings of my life. I give you thanks for the gifts of memory and expectation, for pleasure that comforts and pain that brings needed change, for deep meanings revealed and for that which remains unknown because I may not be able to accept it, for variety and difference in my world, for melody and silence, for all my senses…and above all for the overpowering feeling that somehow I am loved and accepted by You and that nothing can separate me from that Love. In Jesus name I pray. Amen."

Info on the painting:
The Girlhood of Mary Virgin
(1848-983.2 x 65.4 cm) (oil on canvas)
The lily, a flower symbolising Mary's purity, is here being grown in a pot and carefully tended by a child angel. This refers to the Angel Gabriel who will later announce to Mary that she is to bear the Son of God. Rossetti gives us a snapshot of Mary as a child, seated with her mother St Anne and embroidering a lily while her father St Joachim prunes a vine in the background. The painting is rich in Christian symbolism: the dove alludes to the Holy Spirit, the vine to Christian truth, the rose on the windowsill is another flower associated with the Virgin, and the lamp is a symbol of piety. Even the colours of the books that the lily pot stands on refer to Christian virtues, such as gold for charity and green for hope.

A Word of Thanks

Dear Friends:
Just this month alone, many good people have dropped by St Ann's , just to hand in a donation for the new Complex project. Some have given little, others have given more. But to all of you there, please accept a word of thanks from us, accompanied by a prayer for many blessings.
All those who donate to this project are remembered and prayed for in a special way at a Holy Mass on the second Friday of every month at St Ann's.
In fact, we make it a point to pray for anyone who asks for prayers, regardless of whether they make a donation or not. So many people have found solace just by asking us to remember them in our prayers.
So, please drop us a line if you need someone to accompany you in praying for a particular need.
Thank you dear Friends, and may God continue to bless you!

Remit via Telegraphic Transfer

For those who'd like to donate TO THE ST ANN'S COMPLEX PROJECT via Telegraphic Transfer, here are the relevant details! Thanks!

Swift code: SCB LMY KXXXX

Name: St Ann’s Church Building Fund
Address: Gereja Katolik St Ann, Pasar Batu 10, Kota Padawan, 93250 Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia.

Account number: 420-1-5662713-0

Bank:
Standard Chartered Bank,
Wisma Bukit Mata Kuching,
Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman,
93100 Kuching, Sarawak,
East Malaysia.

(PO Box 12, 93900 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia)

Attention: Remittance Officer
Tel: +6 (082) 205121 or +6 (082) 205104
Fax: +6 (082) 256552

Launching of Project of New Complex

KOTA PADAWAN-A Celebration of the Eucharist to mark St Ann's Feast Day at St Ann's Parish, 10th Mile, Kota Padawan, Kuching on Sunda 23rd July 2006 was attended by about 2500 parishioners. The Mass was presided by the Minister Provincial of the Franciscan Friars, Friar Stephen Bliss OFM. Concelebrating with him were Friar Michael D'Cruz OFM, the Custos of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, as well as visiting friars and priests. Notable was Rev Fr Terry Burke, MHM, who had served at St Ann many years ago. Activities held in conjunction with St Ann's Feastday included a sale of sorts-mainly donated food items, clothes and toys, which was held at the 10th Mile Community Hall. At the conclusion of the Mass, the proposed new St Ann's Complex project was launched. The model was unveiled after a multimedia presentation which explained the reason behind this new endeavour. The parish of St Ann is appealing to generous hearts to support this project through prayers and financial aid.
-Ani Solep

Donations in the form of crossed cheques may be made payable to "St Ann's Church Building Fund" or "Majlis Paroki Kota Padawan". Receipts are issued upon request. Please furnish us with details of your full name, address, contact, etc. Thank you so much, from Fr Goh, Fr Gerard and Fr Moses, the parish team of St Ann.
For more info, contact us: + [6082] 611757 or 610306. Email us: stann10@streamyx.com Fax us: +6[082]616757

A Pressing Need

In this tiny corner of the universal Church, many needs have made themselves felt. Chief among them is the cry of the faithful for a more comfortable setting to gather and worship.
Most of us may take Sunday masses for granted, as Sunday worship may not demand more from us than a prayerful attendance and participation in the Liturgy.
At St Ann’s however, wiping and arranging hundreds of plastic chairs, lugging and setting up heavy equipment, as well as sweating it out in searching for a place to park in a small vicinity is a weekly event. Catechism classes are held with groups not more than 6 metres from each other within the same ‘baruk’, as classrooms are non-existent. Even the Children’s Liturgy room is a modified walkway.
The friars have realised that in the process of building the faith of the people, they also need to provide physical places.

What the Friars Do

The friars are actively engaged in different ministries in Kuching. At St Ann’s, the majority of the faithful whom the friars serve are Bidayûhs and Ibans, with some Chinese and Indian parishioners. The main languages used for the Celebration of the Eucharist, devotional prayers and the administration of the Sacraments range from English and Bahasa Malaysia to Bidayûh Biatah and Iban...no small feat! While two Masses are celebrated over every weekend (Sunset Mass in English and two Sunday Masses in Bahasa Malaysia), the friars also travel to the villages and schools to celebrate the Eucharist in the main languages of the people of the area: Biatah, Iban and Bahasa Malaysia.
Apart from the celebration of Masses and the Sacraments, the friars are also involved in many faith formation activities, as well as contributing to the Archdiocese of Kuching and the local congregation of Franciscan sisters.

A Special Moment

On the feast of the Epiphany, the 7th of January 2001, the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei were entrusted with the pastoral care of the parish of St Ann, a semi-rural parish situated 10 miles away from the city of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
At a Sunday Celebration of the Eucharist, in the presence of the then Auxillary Bishop Rt Rev John Ha and the Minister Provincial of the Province of the Holy Spirit, Friar Stephen Bliss OFM, the rector of St Ann’s, Fr Simon Poh handed the care of the parish to Friar Arul Sagayaraj OFM, the first Franciscan rector of St Ann’s.
In his homily, the Auxillary Bishop mused that "the handing over of the parish to the friars will be an ongoing process of pastoral care of the friars for the parishioners of St Ann." It was an historical moment for the Custody, for it was the first time that the friars branched out from Singapore and accepted an offer by the Archdiocese of Kuching to care for some 16,000 parishioners

Welcome Everyone!

Welcome, brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus. We are a Catholic Christian community tucked away in a corner of the globe: 10 miles away from Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. This Blog is our way of reaching out to you...