Altar servers deepening their faith together as one family

Apr 10, 2014

By Aaron Lim
During the March school holidays, the City Parish Altar Servers organized their annual camp. This year, it was held from March 27 to March 29 at the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus (HNJ), Balik Pulau. There were about 45 altar servers, including the new female servers.

The altar servers’ faith formation was given by Fr Julian Leow of College General. He spoke about Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Fr Leow explained the order of the Masses which will be celebrated in the coming Holy Week. He mentioned that this entire period is the climax of all liturgical seasons and that servers should be attentive during Mass. He also urged the servers to prepare themselves spiritually as their serving brings them closer to Christ’s final journey on Earth.

Fr Leow also talked about Discipleship as the theme of Penang Diocese for this year is Called, Chosen and Sent. He emphasized that everyone is called by Jesus to be his disciples and chosen to do his work in different ways. He also said that all of us have to strive to be better Catholics through our prayers and sharing of our faith.

What was the most exciting part in the camp for most of the servers? The games, of course! The servers were divided into groups for the station games. All of them participated wholeheartedly.. At night, there was a treasure hunt and they had to look for clues to answer the questions. In every game, it was evident that the servers showed great cooperation and teamwork.

The servers also presented a mini talent show within their groups. They acted out short skits based on the Bible and true life stories and drew applause from everyone.

Fr Martin Then, CDD (parish priest of HNJ) took time to drop by and say hello to everyone. At the end of the camp, the servers left Balik Pulau with a heavy heart as all of them had an enjoyable time together. They are looking forward to next year's camp.

Lastly, the camp would not have been successful without the assistance of Fr Dominic Santhiyagu (our parish priest), sponsors, volunteers and parents of the altar servers.