Bible characters come alive in SFA

Aug 02, 2019

CHERAS: It was a radiant and colourful Sunday at the Church of St Francis of Assisi (SFA)when some characters of the Bible came alive.

In conjunction with the annual Bible Sunday celebration, the Bible Knowledge team from this parish dedicated the whole month of July to Bible related activities.

Sunday July 21 saw more than 40 participants walking in the entrance procession, dressed as their chosen Bible characters.

It was as if these characters were brought to life to participate in the Holy Eucharist together with the congregation.

After Mass, John Paul’s Hall was packed with the participants’ families and enthusiastic parishioners who came in full force to support the event.

The competition was phased into three age-groups with a panel of judges consisting of Fr Michael Teng OFM Cap, Kevin Lawrence and Amanda Lee.

For the Primary category, children from 5 years to 12 years old, bravely stood on stage to introduce the names of the characters they represented.

To name a few, there was the crucified Jesus who came with His cross, there was Jonah who presented from inside the whale’s mouth, there were many Moseses who sashayed on stage with the tablets containing the 10 commandments, and even Samson who managed to break through the pillars he (she) was chained to.

But it was Joel J. Winson who won the hearts of the judges for this category with his convincing portrayal of St John the Baptist, presented with a monologue convincing everyone that it was him, the chosen one who baptised Jesus.

The Secondary age group saw many confident youths between 13 to 17 years of age presenting their characters in various creative ways.

Some acted out a tiny part, some charmed with a short storytelling and some sang melodiously.

But Elisa Faith Inbaraj, dressed as Miriam, won the hearts of the judges with her graceful tambourine dance and a beautiful rendition of Whitney Houston’s When You Believe, winning this category outright.

The crowd’s attention peaked when the Adult age group took to stage with their convincing acts.

Paul Henry, who came as King Saul, was greeted with the loudest cheers from the audience who were very impressed with his majstic manner.

The character of Lydia of Thyatira was made famous by Melissa Fernando who won the first prize, as she sang to sell her Tyrian purple dyed fabric to the tune of Edelweiss and then told the story of Lydia’s conversion, engaging the crowd with her purple fabric sales.

The second prize was grabbed by Jaclyn Sharmelee, who was radiant in her gold attire and accessories as Herodias. The crowd cheered as Jaclyn presented a monologue and shocked the crowd when she brought out the bloody head of John the Baptist on a silver tray.

The final challenge was when the main winners of the three categories had to battle it out for the grand prize of a 3 days and 2 nights stay in Penang.

They had to answer a question from the Bible and to parade in their characters on stage. Elisa Faith Inbaraj won the hearts of the judges and the crowd in the final battle and emerged as the overall winner.

Parish priest, Fr Andrew Manikam OFM Cap, in his speech said, “I am very happy to see these characters from the Bible brought to life today; the parents and catechists definitely played an important role.”

The emcees for the event, Joel Imbert Nesan and Adeline Anpanandan, dressed as a Centurion and Queen Esther respectfully, further captivated the crowd with their jokes and antics.

Christine Patrick, a fellow parishioner who came to show support said, “It was a really good event that opened my eyes, about some of the characters from the Bible.” Margaret Cecilia and Bertha D’Silva were very impressed and have plans to participate in the adult category next year.

Although he didn’t win, Alric Jonah Sinbad, 7, was still proud that he represented a Superman-like modern St Michael the Archangel, saying “I am a very powerful and important character!”