BIG THANK YOU

On behalf of the St Ann Feast day Committee (SAFD), I want to congratulate and thank everyone who was actively involved (Kampungs/Tamans/Individuals) in the Feast day sales on 25 July 2010 and the Feast-day dinner on 25 August 2010.

The good news is:
WE HAVE ACHIEVED OUR TARGET

This year, the parish has started a new initiative whereby a certain sum of money will be set aside to help with the development of some of the village chapels. These chapels do not have the means or resources to be able to complete their chapels for example the chapels in Kg Batu Gong, Kg Semeru and Kg Petag.

This gesture by the other kampungs together with the parish shows a united effort to help the sister chapels in need which is very much in line with Christian spirit of helping another community in need to build God's kingdom.

This will not be possible without the donations from our well wishers and benefactors.

May the good Lord continue to bless you abundantly.

When in doubt - pray, pray, pray

Just before the feast-day of St Ann, there was a pattern observed about the weather that is it rained heavily in the afternoon or sometimes in the morning. One is not able to predict anything concrete about the weather nowadays.

And one parishoner with great confidence mentioned that it will surely rain over the weekend and his bet was 99.9%. Looks like a gloomy statistics especially for an important day for the parishoners of St Ann.

However, I made the decision to pray and ask the Lord for fine weather over the weekend because there was alot of efforts, personal sacrifices, blood sweat and tears put in by the St Ann Feast day committee members and volunteers.

Imagine the surprise, when the dawn broke forth on both days, there was not even a single drop of rain felt. Not a miracle for sure because the Lord truly takes care of his people and their needs in a generous and overflowing manner and wants his people to celebrate.

The important thing is "Do not doubt",

Because the Lord has a wonderful plan for all of us in every particular situation that also include challenging and difficult situations.

SOFT LAUNCH - PART 3

SOFT LAUNCH - PART 2

SOFT LAUNCH - A MILESTONE IN ST ANN'S HISTORY

GOOD NEWS FOR THE NEW ST ANN CHURCH BUILDING PROJECT

On 22 July 2010, feast-day of St Mary Magdalene, a small group of parishoners from the Village and Housing Estate, members of the SACC and SABMC committee and well-wishers gathered to witness the soft launch at the St Ann new Church site. The ceremony began with a paraliturgy, with a Franciscan flavour, prepared and assisted by the three friars in formation from Singapore namely Clarence, Esmond and Don Don. After the prayers, the land including the machinery, loaned by our parishoner Mr Sylvester Wit, was blessed so that everything will go on smoothly.

This historical moment was an important milestone in St Ann's history after the parishoners had waited for nearly four years. The parish of St Ann received news regarding the approval from the State Planning Authority (SPA) on 16 June 2010. This was made possible by the efforts of another parishoner, Francis Jiee, who was persistent to pursue the matter with the SPA.

At the end of it all, we are able to see the fruits of the long wait and many of the parishoners who witnessed the ceremony know that there is more work to be done. However, we have achieved a small step for a start and hope for more good things to come, in accordance with God's will.

The next step is to begin with the landfill by RJ Reality and we hope to see this happen at the new site within the next couple of weeks

SAYANG OUTING - Part II

FIRST OUTING BY SAYANG GROUP

The SAYANG group of St Ann organised an outing for the youths of St Ann to Mt Sentah on 18 June 2010. Even though there was a light drizzle in the morning, this did not dampen their spirits as they made their way up Mt Sentah. They participated in the mass celebrated by Friar William Lee followed by a fellowship potluck together.

GOOD NEWS – SPA APPROVAL

The parish of St Ann received good news that the State Planning Authority (SPA) has finally approval the submission of the St Ann new Complex, after a long 4-year wait.

The design and plan of the new St Ann Complex was submitted in 2006 and there was nothing further heard with regards to the progress of the SPA approval.

In October 2009, the St Ann Building and Maintenance Committee (SABMC) was formed to look into this matter and other matters pertaining to the construction and design of the new Church. Mr Francis Jiee took up the matter and pursued the matter as best as he could. Finally his persistence paid off, when we received news on 16th June 2010 of the approval by SPA.

This means we have to start the groundwork and gradually work towards making our dream come true for the parishioners of St Ann

Father's day Celebration at St Ann

The Children Liturgy of the Sunset Mass celebrated Father's day by dedicating the song "You Raise Me Up" to their fathers present in the congregation.

A small performance by our "little ones" but it must have touched and melted the hearts of the fathers hearing their dedication to their SPECIAL ONE in their lives.

Fr William Lee was also privileged to be part of the celebrations and witness the powerful "St Ann-style" performance.

New member at St Ann - Fr William Lee

Fr William Lee returned to Kuching to celebrate the Sunset Mass, as an ordained friar, at St Ann Baruk on 19 June 2010. He also took the opportunity to thank the parishoners for their continual prayers and support in his priestly ministry/journey.

Corpus Christi Part III

Corpus Christi Part II

Corpus Christi Procession at St Ann Parish

Here are some of the pictures taken during the Corpus Christi Process on 6th June 2010 at St Ann Parish:

A Big Thank-you for the Corpus Chrisri Organising Committee that had planned this event and also the St Ann Wardens who controlled the traffic and movement of parishoners along the procession route and our 2 parishoners from the police force who helped to direct the traffic at the roundabout before St Ann and Jalan Landeh road.

Miracle at Zone Ziburan?

On 5 June 2006, one of the friars went to Kg Seratau to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi together with the parishoners under Zone Siburan. Upon arrival at the kampung, people were greeted with a downpour and dark clouds in the sky.

This meant that the Corpus Christi procession at the end of the Mass had to be called off and instead Plan B was formulated. Even the Chairman of Kg Seratau felt that Plan B was the best option.

What was God's message for his people who came to participate in the Corpus Christi celebration? Perhaps for 2010, the procession will be limited to the church's grounds only.

However towards the end of the Mass, a miracle happened. The rain had stopped completely and we had to revert to what was originally planned. There was a certain enthuasism to begin the procession and the parishoners were waiting in anticipation to begin the Corpus Christi procession.

What struck me at the end of the whole celebration was this text from Scriptures "Lord I believe, help my unbelief". One simple yet outstanding miracle that happened on 5th June 2010 at Kg Seratau.

Pre-Gawai Celebration at St Ann- Part IV

Follow the story and view more pictures here.

Baptism of Visually Impaired Couple in St Ann

After a long journey of perseverance, both Clement Egoh and his wife, Mary Peny, who are visually impaired, were baptised on 22 May 2010 at St Ann parish.

The faith journey for Clement Egoh began in 1999 but he was not sure as to how to go about in his search. However his good friend the late Victor, from Kg Seratau, came into his life and brought the couple and his family by taxi, for the Sunday mass at St Ann in 2007.

The faith journey was not an easy one especially after the loss of their friend Victor, who suffered a massive heart attack. However Victor has planted the seed of faith and this helped the couple to preserve and finally make the decision to get baptised. Joseph Juni, the catechist from St Ann, continued their faith formation and prepared them to become members of God’s family through Baptism.Besides, the daughter was also baptized on the same day and this was truly a happy occasion for the whole family.

The Lord certainly works in many mysterious ways to draw others closer to his abundant love and compassion. The Church needs more “Victors” to come forward and become Christ Light for others so that our whole world can be filled with God’s infinite love for every individual seeking his Presence.