Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (1968)
1 Tingkat Besi Satu, 11600 Pulau Pinang
T: 04-6584909, 04-6566681
F: 04-6564309
email: pgspirit@tm.net.my
Parish Priest : Rev Francis Anthony
Asst. Priests : Rev Henry Louis Rajoo (Tel: 012-4361681) and Rev Fabian Dicom
Sat. Sunset Mass: 6.00 pm (English)
Sunday Masses :
7.00 am (English)
8.20 am (Mandarin),
10.00 am (English)
5.30 pm (Tamil)
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Spirituality, evangelism main concerns at Holy Spirit Cathedral |
| Posted by Diocese of Penang (pgdiocese) on Jan 19 2009 |
November 30, 2008
PENANG: The Parish Assembly of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit was held on Nov 16. The Chairperson, Gregory R. Warrier said that they were there to build the cathedral as a Christ centred community and to plan and deliberate the steps to take for the year 2009.
Anthony Dass was invited to present an analysis of a survey conducted by the Diocesan Pastoral Team on the success/failure of BECs in the parish.
Although there were 60 BECs with 42 leaders, only 26 BECs had participated in the survey. The survey was to gauge how many of us truly valued the BEC and how important the BEC was in our parish.
Anthony Dass reported there was feedback from only 26 BECs or 9 zones. Some forms were returned late and not included in the analysis. Some BECs had as many as 14
atherings while there were some with none. On the average there were 8 gatherings throughout the year. Average attendance of these gatherings was put at 50 per cent
With reference to the three parish events, he explained that for the World Day for the Sick, there was integration between the BECs and the welfare groups. This resulted in better understanding for the caring of the sick.
The second event was the 9-Day Novena which was a success. The third event, BEC/Merdeka Handball Competition whose main aims were team-building and understanding, there was low representation and attendance. It appeared to have little support from the BECs. Some suggestions for future activities were for less injury prone and non-competitive events like telematches.
Joachim Xavier in his presentation reinforced the strategy of the Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Convention III (PMPC III) to chart the course and direction of the Peninsular Malaysia Catholic church for the next 10 years. He mentioned the two parts of Holiness and Spirituality and the Six Strategies, explaining how they would contribute toward the future growth of the church.
The parishioners were divided into groups to find answers to three questions.
After some deliberation, many values were forwarded which included a sense of belonging, caring, understanding and solidarity. There was mention of spirituality and the need to evangelise and communicate.
As to strategies, there was a call to heed the needs of the various language-speaking groups so that they would not be isolated from the dominant English speaking group. Priority should be given to spirituality. There were suggestions to do more service orientated community projects, a need for families to visit families, a concern for the faith journey of private college students, counselling services for parents as well as youth, Bible sharing with accompanied commentaries for better understanding of the faith and proper monitoring of all events and projects. There was a need for seminars, forums and talks and soft skills training of priests to meet the challenges of the times.
Fr Francis Anthony expressed gladness that there was a sense of urgency to see the parish grow and make parishioners more committed to strengthening the church. The three events organised by the parish had gone well, with people coming forward reflecting a sign of belonging. He mentioned the great concern for the youth who are functioning independently. The challenge was to bring them together to have a sense of family.
— By Dr Ivan Filmer
Last changed: Jan 19 2009 at 4:41 PM
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