CDM Penang to focus on unity and faith in 2023

The Church of the Divine Mercy (CDM) will focus on unity and faith for 2023. Parish priest, Fr Michael Raymond OFM Cap unveiled the 2023 parish focus on the theme, “Stand United, Ignite Our Faith” during the Parish Pastoral Assembly (PPA) on November 20.

Dec 02, 2022

The parishioners during the group discussion.


By Ng Wai Queen

The Church of the Divine Mercy (CDM) will focus on unity and faith for 2023. Parish priest, Fr Michael Raymond OFM Cap unveiled the 2023 parish focus on the theme, “Stand United, Ignite Our Faith” during the Parish Pastoral Assembly (PPA) on November 20.

Fr Michael reminded everyone of the three key words of the Synod on Synodality, namely, communion, participation, mission. He said that the pandemic had created in parishioners a new habit and a new fear. Some had gotten out of the practice of churchgoing and into the habit of following Mass online. Others stayed home out of fear of possible exposure to COVID-19. Our challenge as a community was in finding ways to draw them out again so that we could all participate in parish life together and be in communion once more.

Roland Victor, the chairman of the parish animating team, presented the events planned for the coming year. In keeping with the “unity” theme, a Parish Renewal Experience seminar will be held on the topic “Love One Another”. A day-trip getaway for BEC coordinators is also on the cards. A series of formations for catechists, ministry leaders and youth are in the pipeline, aimed at deepening our understanding of the Catholic faith. The homegrown BEC reflection paper, KampungKu, will carry the parish theme throughout the year; focusing on apologetics; each monthly topic has been specially chosen to help us know, celebrate and live the Catholic faith. Also in the line-up are a parish-level healing Mass, a day of prayer for the sick, and holy hour for children. To top it all off, we will be celebrating CDM’s 10th anniversary next year.

Prior to that, the parishioners viewed the highlights of the year. Many felt a slight sense of awe at the sheer number of events that had been organised in the short space of just one year.

The financials for the year-to-date were presented by Suresh Chandra who also gave an update on maintenance projects and online payment capabilities. The Learning Centre building updates were presented by C.K. Lim, detailing the progress and challenges faced by the committee and consultants in getting the necessary approvals, especially the hill slope approval from the relevant state agencies.

In his opening address, PPC Chairman Zeckry Chan remarked that 2022 had been a year of transition and adaptation.

Ever since the church threw open its doors to welcome back parishioners, many had returned, transiting smoothly into post-pandemic mode and adapting to the new normal. However, there remained a significant number who were still struggling to make the transition from being online to being in-person. As a result, BECs and ministries had had to work hard at re-connecting with their members and the effort was still ongoing.

After the presentations came a breakout session to discuss the following questions:

1. How do you feel we have grown as a church this year?
2. How can we, as parishioners, uplift our community of believers?
3. How can we encourage participation and commitment in ministries?
4. How can we help pilgrims in their spiritual journey?
5. Share ideas on the 10th Anniversary celebrations next year

The last item on the agenda was a Q & A session. The questions posed covered a wide range of concerns, including parking problems and difficulties faced by hospitality ministers. Fr Michael took the opportunity to also give an update on the adoration room which would be built next year.

The assembly ended with a prayer led by Fr Michael, after which everyone joined in to sing the song, We Are Called.

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