City Parish, Penang
(Our Lady of Sorrows, The Assumption, St. Francis Xavier, St.John Britto)
Parish house and Secretariat is at Church of Our Lady of Sorrows:
33 Jalan Macalister, 10400 Pulau Pinang
T: 04-2261502
F: 04-2284519
Email: cityp2@tm.net.my
Parish Priest : Rev. Michael Thoo
Assistant priest: Rev. Dominic Santhiyagu
Secretariat Opening Hours
Mon - Fri:
9.30 am - 11.30 am (Christine Choong)
3.00 pm - 5.30 pm (Margaret Sim)
Satiurday:
10.00 am - 6.00 pm (Lucia Lai)
1.00 pm - 6.00 pm (Margaret Sim)
Sunday:
10.00am - 6.00 pm (Margaret Sim)
1. (Main Church) Our Lady of Sorrows (1888)
33 Jalan Macalister, 10400 Pulau Pinang
T: 04-2261502
F: 04-2284519
cityp2@tm.net.my
Tue/Wed : 7.30 am
Thu/Fri : 6.00 pm
Sat. Novena: 6.10pm
Sat. Sunset Mass: 6.45 pm (English)
Sunday Masses :
8.30 am (English); 10.00 am (Mandarin)
Filipino Mass : 11.15 am (1st & 3rd Sunday)
Bahasa Mass - 11.15 am (2nd Sunday)
2. (Mass Centre) The Assumption (1786)
3 Lebuh Farquhar, 10200 Pulau Pinang
T: 04-2610088
Sat. Novena: 6.00pm
Sat. Sunset Mass: 6.30 pm
Sunday Mass : 10.00 am (English)
3. (Mass Centre) St. Francis Xavier (1957)
52-K, Penang Road, 10000 Pulau Pinang
Sunday Mass : 6.00 pm (English)
4. (Mass Centre) St. John Britto (1969)
139 Sungai Pinang Road, 10150 Pulau Pinang
Sunday Mass : 8.00 am (Tamil)
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City Parish PHDC members participate in 'Street Walk' |
| Posted by Diocese of Penang (pgdiocese) on Sep 12 2008 |
3 August 2008
PENANG: The ‘Street Walk’ is a regular project of the Lighthouse Feeding Centre. It is where volunteers get together to cook, pack and distribute food to the homeless people on the streets.
On 5 July, the Parish Human Development (PHDC) members of City Parish decided to take up the Street Walk as part of their project in 2008.
The PHDC members prepared 100 packets of rice with canned sardines and hard boiled eggs.
At 10.30pm, with the packed food and mineral water all ready, it was time to take to the streets to look for vagrants and homeless street people. Before hitting the streets, Belevendiran Joseph (better known as Bele), The Lighthouse Drop-in Centre’s manager, gave a short briefing on what to do and what to expect on the streets. Then he led everyone in a prayer.
The first place the group went was the area around the Goddess of Mercy temple and the Indian Muslim mosque in Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling.
Walking along the streets, with bags filled with the food packs and bottles of mineral water, they approached the people asking them gently if they wanted something to eat. Many who were approached were very eager and happy to accept the food and water.
The areas where the majority of vagrants and homeless people are found are at the bus terminals at Komtar and Prangin Mall. Several approached the group when they saw them giving out food packets.
While handing out the food and water, the members made it a point to inform them about the existence of the Lighthouse Drop-in Centre, and that they are welcome there. Free meals, bath and even a clinic are available for them.
Bele said that the original objective of the Street Walk project was to look for homeless people on the street to inform them about the Lighthouse Drop-in Centre, where they can drop in for free meals, bath, relaxation and medication.
“Street Walk was first started as a publicity campaign for the Lighthouse Drop-in Centre,” said Bele, “but eventually it evolved as an exposure programme for Lighthouse volunteers and donors. We want the volunteers and donors to get a first hand personal experience meeting the homeless people on the streets, so that they are aware who they are helping when those people turn up at Lighthouse. In this way, the volunteers will be able to empathise with them.”
Bele said that the Lighthouse has been networking with other Christian Churches in this Street Walk project, where each group takes different weeks to be out on the street.
Patricia Loo, a SSVP member, who joined in the Street Walk was surprised to find that the homeless people on the streets looked just like any ordinary people.
“When I was asked to go on the Street Walk to meet vagrants on the streets,” she said, “I expected to see them, dressed untidily, in very poor condition but I was surprised to see that they are decently dressed and look just like us. It is a joy to be able to give out food to these people.”
“Going out on the streets, meeting these people,” said Molly Mak, PHDC member, “made me realize how thankful I am to be able to go home and sleep in a comfortable bed, under the roof of my own house, while these people have to sleep out in the open, with no shelter at all.”
Everybody adjourned to the Lighthouse after the walk, and Bele led everyone in a thanksgiving prayer to wrap up the project that night.
City Parish PHDC members felt very privileged to be able to join in the Street Walk as this was the first time they had first-hand experience meeting the homeless on the streets face to face. This experience has imbued in them the need to work harder towards human development.
— By Lucia Lai
Last changed: Sep 18 2008 at 9:19 AM
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