10-YEAR FRANCISCAN PRESENCE IN KUCHING - 7TH JANUARY 2011

7th January was a significant date for the Franciscan friars based in Kuching.This date marked the 10th anniversary where the Franciscan friars from the Custody of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei was given the responsibility to look after St Ann parish in Kota Padawan.

During the 10-year period, there were changes brought about to cater to the needs of the people in the parish such as:

(1) The frequency of Mass on weekends was increased,
(2) New infrastructures were built for example:
(a) Classrooms for Sunday religion classes;
(b) St Ann Gift Shop;
(c) A Canteen area for fellowship and bonding
among the parishioners after Mass;
(3) Plans are underway to build a new Church on the vacant plot adjacent to the present Baruk;
(4) 3 new Catholic villages have been established so far and more new housing estates are beginning to mushroom around the parish.

There is a good indication that the community in St Ann is growing over the years and these are the on-going challenges to be faced by the current friars. However, the friars live in hope as God's instrument to sow the seeds of God's presence and love amongst the people in their ministries.

The building of the new St Ann's Church remains a real challenge in the coming years as Archbishop John Ha had mentioned that the people in the housing estates around St Ann need a proper place of worship and therefore the friars have embarked on this initiative since 2006 to design and build a new Church in 10th Mile.

One notable friar who served in St Ann was the late friar Alban Mitchell from Australia. He was ever ready to go out and serve the people despite his lack of proficiency in the local languages. A trademark of Alban that is still visible at the St Francis of Assisi friary is the bottle brush tree, that was planted by him in 2001.

Other friars who served close to 10-years in Kuching are friar Michael Goh and Joseph Lee. Friar Michael was involved with the formation of the Sisters of St Francis Sarawak sisters (SSFS) while friar Joseph Lee was involved at the parish. Both of these friars have taken up new appointments in Singapore for the coming term.

We pray that the good Lord will continue to bless our presence here in Kuching and more importantly to share our lives and spirituality as Franciscans in the Kuching Archdiocese

2010 ST ANN CHILDREN CHRISTMAS PARTY

The Children Christmas party was held in St Lucas Center on 18th December 2010. The Confirmation candidates and others were involved in the Children Christmas Party so as to understand the reason behind Christ coming amongst us as his People and showed us the way and love of the Father.

The Christmas of Bethlemen celebrated 2000 years ago has to to be retold again in a way that our modern generation can understanding the meaning of Christ birth for our modern times.

CHILDREN CHRISTMAS PARTY ...... continued

CHILDREN CHRISTMAS PARTY

The party goes on ..............

REPAIR OF ST ANN BARUK ROOF

Over the past few months, the roof of St Ann Baruk was subjected to strong winds and heavy rainfall. This has taken a toll on the roof and it is beginning to leak badly at certain areas.

The roof is unique in nature and one of its kind - the roof is made up of "Erau" leaves sewn together to give a distinct "Kampung-style cultural" look.

However, the supply of Erau leaves has diminished and there is not many skilled persons in this trade anymore.

Some years back, there were linoleum sheets placed upon the Erau leaves to protect them from disintegrating more rapidly. However this has been temporary measure to "save the roof".

The next option is to change the roofing material so that there is no major leaks inside the Baruk and the electrical wiring and equipment are protected from the natural elements.

The replacement of the roofing material by PVC material will amount to RM 38,900 - the roof will be stripped and strengthened and covered with PVC material.

I like to appeal for your generosity this Christmas season to help in this pressing need.

All cheque can be made to "St Ann's Mission"

May the good Lord bless you and your loved ones abundantly for your kind thoughts and care

GOODBYE 2 AND WELCOME 1

After the Custody Chapter in October 2010, the friars elected to serve in Kuching are as follows:

1. Friar Gerard Victor
2. Friar Kenny
3. Friar Moses Yap
4. Friar William Lee

Friars Michael Goh and Joseph Lee will leave for Singapore to serve their appointments there.

NEW ST ANN PARSIH COUNCIL

The office bearers for the St Ann Parish Council elected on 12 December 2010 is as follows:

Chairman: Mr Sebastian Ramek
Vice Chairman: Mr Francis Jiee
Secretary: Joseph Rebus
Vice Secretary: Patrick Buln
Treasurer: David Madek
Vice Treasurer: Puan Mida

We pray that this new team will continue to lead and guide the parishioners of St Ann for the coming 3 years.

COMPLETION OF LANDFILL (22 NOV 2010)

The land filling of the new St Ann Church site was completed after 48 days.The project began on 5th October and had to endure heavy rain for some of the days

Nevertheless, the project was finally completed on 22nd November 2010 and we now await for the soil to settle down over 6 - 8 months.

There is still more contribution needed to make this dream for the St Ann parishioners a reality and so be generous and keep us in your thoughts this Christmas and the years to come.

CONFIRMATION AT TENG BUKAP

The pictures speak of the 135 candidates present at Teng Bukap to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation:

CONFIRMATION AT ST ANN

A total of 97 candidates were confirmed by Archbishop John Ha on 26 September 2010 at St Ann Baruk.

The Confirmation programme for 2010 was conducted in a different style where the candidates had to do social projects for the seasons of Christmas and Lent and personal reflections so as to understand their identity better as soldier of Christ.

The receiving of the sacrament of Confirmation meant that they are ready to serve their community and make the Kingdom of God present in today's time.

LADIES GUILD GET TOGETHER DINNER 2010

These were the images captured from the Ladies Guild Get Together Dinner on 30th October 2010:

LANDFILL UPDATE - 5 (13 NOVEMBER 2010)

The progress on the far side of the property .......

LANDFILL UPDATE - 4 (10 NOVEMBER 2010)

The progress on the site ......

LANDFILL UPDATE - 3 (8 NOVEMBER 2010)

The next set of photos on the progress:

LANDFILL UPDATE -2 (5 NOVEMBER 2010)

The progress goes on .....