Catholic Archbishop Simon Poh of the Archdiocese of Kuching, and Chairman of the Association of Churches in Sarawak, sends his Christmas Message with an advice to adhere to the SDMC UNIFOR SOP for Christmas.
It is good to remember that Sarawak is currently in National Recovery Phase 3, with the news of the more infectious COVID-19 Omicron variant that has reached our land. It is in this context that we should view the SDMC UNIFOR SOP for Christmas.
Traditionally, the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church would have Open Houses where state leaders as well as various spiritual leaders would join us for the celebration. However, both Bishop Datuk Danald Jute and I have decided that the Anglican and Catholic Churches will not be hosting Christmas Open House this December, to help minimise social circles of contacts.
For the same reason, on 21 November last month, ACS Heads of respective Churches had also agreed that churches would not be promoting house-to-house carolling as such movements from house to house, even by smaller groups of carollers, would increase contacts between houses on those evenings in December.
To fill this Christmas vacuum, we decided to organise our Joint Christmas Service virtually as we are unable to celebrate physically this December. We officially launched this service on 22 December – with the theme “HOPE”. It is our sincere desire that this message of HOPE will be carried into the Christmas celebrations.
I am thankful to UNIFOR for discussing the SOP for houses of worship so that with proper compliance to safety SOPs, Churches can remain open for the celebration of Christmas. ACS supports the SOP issued on 17 December 2021. We believe that this restriction has been thought through to ensure safety for all the people in Sarawak.
At the same time, I give credit to all the heads and leaders of respective Churches in Sarawak for the collaboration and support in adhering to the SOP issued by SDMC and UNIFOR over the last two years. This has effectively prevented churches becoming the source of outbreak for new clusters. In this way, I am thankful that Churches have contributed greatly to help contain this pandemic in Sarawak.
I further exhort all Christians, close family and friends, to adhere to the SOP from SDMC and UNIFOR. As Christians, we are committed to ensure the safety of everyone in the fight to contain this pandemic. Accordingly, I would like to request that as individuals or when we are in Church, workplace or in the community, let us be aware of the safety SOP of wearing facemasks in public, reducing circles of contact, to always maintain a minimum of 1-meter physical distancing and that our hands are regularly sanitised and washed properly with soap and water.
Christmas is a season of Caring and Giving. I would like to appeal to everyone to always remember families, the elderly and those who are in need who are living amidst us in our neighbourhood. Let us be ready to give a helping hand to bring hope and the joy of Christmas.
With the recent news of flooding in Semenanjung that has devastated many family homes, let us donate to these victims who will need to rebuild their lives. “God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause.” (2 Cor 9:8). When we believe that God has generously given Jesus to us and that God has blessed our lives, we too are invited to be generous to share and bless others in need. Let us make a difference in our society this Christmas.
On behalf of ACS, Bishops and heads of Churches throughout Sarawak, I wish all Christians and friends of goodwill a blessed Christmas, filled with Hope, Joy and Peace.
+ Archbishop Simon Poh
