MIRI — The Christmas season in Miri saw eventful happenings with Bishop Richard Ng and the priests in the diocese celebrating the birth of Christ with the parishioners.
There were childrens’ parties, house visits, hospital visits, house-to-house carolling and Christmas lunch for the blind.
Fr Philip Empalah visited the hospital and delivered Christmas presents to 220 patients. Patients who were non-Christians were not left out in being given the gifts.
The Christmas Masses in the various parishes were packed with church-goers.
The day after Christmas, the altar servers renewed their pledge to serve God and the church faithfully and with dedication. They vowed to emulate the example of their patron saint St Stephen the First Martyr who defended the teachings of Christ even to the extent of being stoned to death.
Parishioners in Miri ended the year 2017 with a gathering and new year countdown on 31 December at the Mater Dei Lutong church.
Stephen Then
Today’s Catholic Vol.29 No.10 January 2017
