By Pr Alexandrea William
KUCHING — On 17 September 2023, the Blessed Sacrament Church (BSC) parish youth ministry, represented by the 11th Kuching Girls’ Brigade and 11th Kuching Boys’ Brigade participated in a roadshow to promote the St Joseph’s Family Of Schools’ (SJFS) production, “A Story Of Ours: Us and Them”. The SJFS staff and students who were part of the production were also involved in the roadshow.
The parish priest, Fr Leonard Yap, gave his full support to the event. Ticketing and merchandise booths were set up on the deck at the BSC ground early in the morning with the help of the brigades. Colourful balloons were hung around the area, giving it a very festive atmosphere. With much hospitality, the brigades, along with the other student helpers, gave out flyers as they welcomed the parishioners.
Concurrently, teachers and students in charge of ticketing and merchandise had their plates full as they attended to the inquiries of interested parishioners before and after the two Masses. Among the many production-related merchandise on display were t-shirts, plush toys, pins, tote bags and cookies. The item that was sold out the quickest was the sheep plush toy—an item too adorable to resist. Besides that, the pins, cookies and stickers were also a hit among the parishioners.
The masks of characters related to the play were also used to attract the parishioners to come and have a look at the booths. The masks had mostly caught the attention of the curious children who found the characters eye-catching and amusing.
“A Story Of Ours: Us and Them” by the St Joseph’s Family Of Schools was held on 29 and 30 September 2023. It included an adapted play, “Us and Them”, and enthralling musical performances that complemented the play. The play itself depicted scenes that bring light and give hope to the oppressions and injustices currently faced by many around the world. The production conveyed a meaningful and thought-provoking question that the audience could reflect upon, “Why build walls when we can learn to accept and live together despite our differences and values?”
Fr Stanley Goh, SJ was the celebrant for the English Mass that morning. In his homily, he stated that it is important that we forgive others and not hold grudges against others. This is because keeping that resentment and hate within ourselves will eventually lead us to avoid others and build barriers between ourselves and others, as was depicted in the scenes in the play. This would block out the possibility of God’s grace working between us. Forgiving someone is an act of compassion and love. Therefore, it is important that we nurture the habit of forgiving others for we will be able to have peace of mind and stop a conflict from getting worse.
All in all, it was a triumphant day for everyone as the team had managed to attract many customers and ended the day with a good sale.
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