Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1935)
3972 Jalan New Ferry, 12100 Butterworth, Penang
T: 012-5227233, 04-3249635
F: 04-3243067
Email: nbvmpg@yahoo.com
Parish Priest: Fr. Victor Louis
Sunday Masses :
8.30 am (English)
5.00 pm (1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays in Tamil)
5.00 pm (2nd & 4th Sundays in Mandarin)
(Cp) Chapel of Sts Jacques Chastan & Laurent Imbert (1995)
106A Jalan Kurau, Taman Chai Leng,
13700 Perai
T: 04-3249635
Sat. Sunset Mass : 6.30 pm
Monday: 6.30 pm
Wednesdays :6.30 pm
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Frank and open dialogue during parish assembly |
| Posted by Diocese of Penang (pgdiocese) on Dec 19 2005 |
BUTTERWORTH: About 55 leaders and representatives of church organisations from the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary came together for the Parish Assembly to review and evaluate the year’s events.
The session was chaired by Mr Sandhanasamy the chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council. Fr Edmund Woon and Deacon Francis Andrew were also present. The evening started with a prayer by Deacon Francis and a reading from the Gospel Lk 13: 10 - 17.
In his sharing Fr Woon (picture) pointed out that Jesus noticed the woman who was suffering and reached out to her in the crowd. He healed her but some of his adversaries were angry that Jesus did not observe the Sabbath. As we come together, we must have the gift to recognise the people who are burdened in our community and to appreciate the good that is being done in the church. It is always a choice to be appreciative or be critical of the good that others have done. Fr Edmund said that “the presence of so many parishioners at the Parish Assembly was encouraging and that it was indicative of your interest in the growth of the church — the people of God”.
Mr Sandhanasamy then went through the feedback submitted by the BECs and church organisations on the various Diocesan events that were carried out in 2004 and 2005 with the aim to Celebrate Eucharist and Live Community. To the question, “Have we achieved our target through the various events?” Many of those who were present differ in their opinions. Some felt that the events were carried out with little emphasis on the aim.
Gabriel Lee said that on the whole, parishioners have grown ‘cold and indifferent’. The same people organised the events and the same people attended the events. He suggested that more people should be involved in the organisation of the various events. Little growth has been observed among the parishioners. There has been less interaction among the various language groups in the parish. He questioned too if there was real conversion among the parishioners through celebrating the various diocesan events. Did we put our differences behind us and forge ahead?
Allan Chen also echoed Gabriel’s sentiments and called on all present to address this issue of ‘indifference’ in the parish. Xavier Dass said that “we have been at maintenance mode this year. The parishioners worked together to carry out the projects but it was always the same people”. Joseph Sinnappan, on the other hand, felt that the target had been achieved as the participation was all right. After much debate, those present felt that the events did help to a certain extent to achieve the aim of celebrating Eucharist and Living Community.
As to the reflection papers, many were of the opinion that they were not very helpful in bringing about a change in the attitude of the people.
However, all present felt that parish priest, Fr Woon, has done much to bring about changes in the church. It has been an uphill task. With the help of Deacon Francis, the youth group has taken off the ground. Some young people have come forward to serve in the church. The LCD project has brought many parishioners with ICT knowledge to work together to bring about more participation in the liturgy. Many parishioners have come forward to render their services in the ‘coffee morning’ and the recycling projects.
However, what is still lacking is the poor attendance at the various formation programmes. Gabriel Lee commented that there are still many good and committed people but there is a need for the parishioners to work together with parish priest Fr Woon and Deacon Francis to bring about more unity and life in the parish. Fintan Ooi expressed his desire to see a concerted effort on the part of the PPC to groom more leaders to serve the church.
In conclusion, Fr Woon thanked those who were present for their views and commended many of the good parishioners who have been carrying out their duties quietly, without counting the cost. He said that he would look into the grooming of leaders and address the issue of indifference and unity in the church. The meeting came to an end at 10.00 pm with a prayer in Tamil by Vincent and a blessing from Fr Woon.
It was an evening well spent. Gabriel Lee and Daisy Chen, when asked for comments, felt that it was “a frank dialogue session where parishioners were free to express their opinions that were welcomed and noted by our parish priest”. The task that lies ahead of us now is to put on our thinking caps to plan for the year 2006 and to address the issues that have been raised.
— By Anne Marie Teh
Last changed: Dec 19 2005 at 11:07 AM
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