PORT DICKSON : A simple parish concert — not a competition or a display of professional talent — turned out to be a grace-filled variant of the 1Malaysia theme that is flooding the nation.

The concept behind the concert was in the true spirit of’ ‘unity’ beyond the political overtones that we associate with the world. Fr Francis Tsen, the parish priest at the Church of the Immaculate Conception is from Sabah. He proposed having a simple concert that would bring together anyone at all in the parish… without spending much money, without any element of competition but rather fellowship as a community — as is done in Sabah.

So, on Sept 20 a good turnout of parishioners aged from six years to 70 years, danced, sang, and wished Fr Tsen well on his 68th birthday which happened to be on the same day.

There was Tarian Ngajat, Tarian Tampi and Tarian Sumazau from the significant Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Apostolate of those from Sabah and Sarawak. Among other contributions, our small but really talented choir sang Regina Caeli, with some of its members contributing solos too. The Tamil-speaking Apostolate did a lively stick dance and the young children of the Tamil Catechism classes sang a hymn to drums and movement. There was a song in Chinese, there was a Hawaiian dance, and Fr Francis gave a solo performance of Tai Chi Chuan. One of the most outstanding contributions was from our small Orang Asal community who did the Sewang dance. Yes, there were stumbles, a few gaffes… but also such enthusiasm and talent!

As is obvious from the description above, our parish is richly diverse. This means, however, that the parish is also segregated by language, catering to the needs of the different groups who meet on their own; and we have masses in specific languages too. Therefore, it was delightful to experience our parish coming together in a spirit of ‘unity’ sharing enthusiasm for our diversity, laughing with and at each other, and thanking the pastor who has cared for us, endured us, and will be leaving us in December. Truly 1Malaysia through Church and God’s love. — By Dr Patricia Martinez