By Stephen Chin
KUCHING — The first English language post Covid-19 physical Alpha for the Archdiocese of Kuching was organised from 18 April to 4 July 2023.
It brought together the different parishes in the Archdiocese, and the collaboration with guidance from the Holy Spirit ensured that the programme went smoothly each week, with participants being touched by the fellowship and sharing of each other’s experiences in everyone’s life’s journey.
While there were online faith formation programmes during the pandemic, this physical programme was very much welcomed, as it enabled us to engage in our age-old human behaviour of physically interacting with one another in a community setting; old relationships rekindled and new ones ignited.
There were a few non-Catholics and we had four being committed to RCIA and one with interest in the priesthood at the end of the programme.
Initial apprehension and anxiety slowly turned into blossoming relations as the weeks went on. Each week we had about 60 persons attending the programme session which was held at the ACCPC on Tuesdays at 7.30 pm.
A typical Alpha session each Tuesday started with praise and worship, followed by the viewing of the Alpha video. After the video, participants would be organised into little groups of between eight to 10 persons. There the leader of the group, known as the Host with a helper, would lead the sharing of the week’s topic based on life experiences.
Perhaps it had been more than two years since we last gathered, and all groups were engaged in lively exchanges exceeding the time allocated for each week’s session. Everyone seemed to want to carry on into the night. Praise the Lord.
After eight weeks came the highlight of the Alpha programme, a Holy Spirit weekend away, where we all get to know who the Holy Spirit is and how to build a new relationship with Him or in many cases how to be in an even deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit.
However, instead of a weekend away, due to health concerns of the sharing of rooms, it was decided that the Holy Spirit ‘weekend away’ was to be a Holy Spirit ‘day away’. The venue selected was Gethsemane Pilgrimage Centre at Bunan Gega.
Early on Saturday, 17 June, a group of 60 people travelled by bus and private cars to Bunan Gega for the day retreat. Along the way on the bus, prayers were recited and singing led by our praise and worship team.
On arrival at Bunan, all hosts and guests viewed the three videos on the Holy Spirit, gathered in small groups and shared among one another. After lunch, Fr Galvin Ngumbang (Archdiocese of Kuching) led the infilling of the Holy Spirit—where he asked each individual to open his or her heart to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Then each of the hosts and guests of the small groups prayed for each other and the day concluded with a Eucharistic celebration and dinner before all headed back to Kuching.
Another three weeks followed after the Holy Spirit retreat and the final session was a fellowship dinner on 4 July. This was well attended by about 90 persons at the Old Courthouse.
The programme of the night started off with a praise and worship session and after the makan session, there were sharing of testimonies. Pauline Kon shared how in one of the weekly sessions, it was impressed upon her the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. After that session, she went on to do a reconciliation and was uplifted for the first time after 20 years over an incident that she could not forgive herself.
Then, Charlotte Ang shared her recent experience of undergoing eye surgery and expressed how she felt the Holy Spirit healing her over the weeks after her operation.
Monica Ng shared on her outreach programme helping the less fortunate in our community with food items. At the same time, she also journeyed with them in their daily lives bringing conversion to a number to know Christ in their lives.
These are such heart-warming stories and it is in sharing stories that lives are touched and converted. We pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to use us as God’s instruments to bring more to know Christ and that in our own little steps to be closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.
We would like to thank all who served, participated and sponsored so willingly for the glory of our GOD.
“Just a closer walk with thee each day, dear Lord Jesus”, we pray.
