By Anthony Mada
BAU — Sunday, 9.00 am 20 October 2024 marked a historical event for the congregations of St Paulus Church, Kampung Peninjau Baru (formerly known as Ngiramak) and people from nearby kampungs as they came together to witness the blessing of the St Paulus Catholic Church new building by Kuching Archbishop Simon Poh.
The old Church building was first established in 1958, reconstructed with a concrete-wall building completed and launched by the late Fr Joachim Pang in the 1970s. The new Church building committee was formed in 2011 to manage the construction of the new building project.
The earth-breaking ceremony was performed by Fr Nicholas Ng in September 2011. As there were insufficient funds, construction was split into various stages over the years until its full completion.
The people crowded the main entrance of the Church compound to see Archbishop Simon Poh sign the plaque, cut the bouquet ribbon and open the door to commemorate the blessing ceremony.
After the Church blessing, the Archbishop accompanied by St Stephen’s Church rector, Fr Peter Liston, and Fr Paul Herry, came into St Paulus Church together for the first time for the Eucharistic celebration. The Eucharistic Mass was the key highlight of the ceremony where the faithful received the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Mass also included the Sacrament of Confirmation, where during the celebration, 327 Confirmation candidates from 14 village Churches within Serembu Zone, under the patronage of St Stephen Parish Bau, received their sacrament of Confirmation in St Paulus Church, Kampung Peninjau Baru. On this day, the Church committee and the congregation witnessed yet another memorable moment for recipients of Confirmation, who affirmed their faith and received the Holy Spirit.
Among the keynotes taken from the homily of the Archbishop, were the reminder to the confirmands of their obligation to keep their faith in Jesus Christ, living their life as faithful Christians, never to convert to other religions, and they are the future Church leaders. Archbishop Simon also wished for them to excel in their study, be successful in their future and to remember to bring back development to their kampung folks, community and land.
After the Eucharistic celebration, the congregation gathered for a potluck lunch at the community hall next to the Church. The communal meal was a time of fellowship for the community, which upheld the spirit of togetherness and strengthened the bond among the people of the village.
The programme was successfully coordinated, thanks to collective effort and great cooperation from the Church committee and folks of Kampung Peninjau Baru with ‘gotong-royong’ in preparing all that was necessary to ensure the Eucharistic celebration and fellowship lunch went smoothly.
