Penang Cathedral reviews her past to plan her future

Nov 29, 2019

By Gregory R Warrier
A total of 247 parishioners represented and participated in this year’s Parish Pastoral Assembly (PPA) of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit (CHS) Nov 10.

Before the assembly began, the parishioners, together with their pastors, gathered at the Cathedral for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a time of prayer and reflection. Then they adjourned to the Dewan Holy Spirit where the moderator, Fr Michael Raymond Ofm Cap, welcomed them and briefed them on the day’s programme.

The first part of the Assembly  was spent reviewing the different activities held in 2019. First, the chairman of the PPC, Pedro Geronimo, listed out all the events that were held throughout the year including the events of the Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Then, Iruthaya Das, the PAT chairman reviewed the evaluation through the feedback from the various ministries and BECs, of the activities and events based on the themes of Growth, Community Building, Generosity, Self-Giving and Being a Prayerful Community. Iruthaya reiterated that in most of  these areas, there was better interaction and improved participation, especially for the events of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. There was also good interaction between the different language groups.

After a short tea break, Fr Joachim Robert initiated the second part of the Assembly, the “breakout session” based on the text Acts 2:42. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” He said that the parish needed to model itself on the early Church  and its growth.  He touched on the pillars of Unity in Diversity, Invitation, Encounter and Mission and how we should model ourselves around these four aspects. It is within these structures that we would lead the parish as a community to achieve the core values of Hospitality.

Four breakout groups worked on the “HOWs” to achieve the four pillars in our planning for 2020 activities: Youth, Parish Renewal, Family and Mission.  The response was overwhelming and full of enthusiasm.

All the feedback and proposals from the group presentations will be prioritised according to the needs of the parish and will be taken into consideration for the planning of the parish for 2020.

At the end of the session, Fr Joachim thanked all parishioners who had participated during the Assembly for sharing their insights and reflections in the group discussions. He also thanked the various committees who worked in the initial stages of preparation towards the day of the Assembly.