St Paul’s multi-purpose hall officially opened

May 08, 2014

By Dalius LL
On April 20, about 1,200 Catholic lay faithful residing within the vicinity of St Paul’s Church, Ulu Dusun, had every reason to celebrate Easter with joy and happiness. For on that day they also witnessed the solemn blessing and official opening of St Paul’s multi-purpose hall. The newly constructed hall is another landmark for St Paul’s Church, which is a sub-parish of St Mary’s Cathedral, located some 50km away from town. It is situated beside the Church itself, up on a hill with a magnificent view of the surrounding palm oil plantations.

The large hall has two badminton courts, with a further extension for an elevated stage with a seating capacity for some 500 people.

The event commenced with the rite of blessing at 6.00pm at the porch by Rt Rev Julius Dusin Gitom, Bishop of Sandakan, assisted by Fr Thomas Makajil, the Parish Priest of St Mary’s Cathedral.

Bishop Julius, accompanied by Fr Thomas, released hot-air tanglungs to mark the occasion. The guests of honour, invited guests and parishioners then adjourned to the hall for dinner.

In the opening remark, the Chairman of the Building Committee, Michael Ibau extended his sincere appreciation to the guests of honour, invited guests, parishioners and well-wishers from Ulu Dusun, Sandakan and Beluran for their support and prayers. He shared that the local Catholic community had waited some 14 years for their very own church hall, which could only be realized this year. He acknowledged Fr Thomas for his fervent support, guidance and persistency that had made their dream possible.

The cost of the building alone amounted to some RM350,000, of which RM250,000 was funded by St Mary’s Cathedral and the balance of RM100,000 by John Tan, the contractor. According to him, more funds are needed to complete phase 2, which will include a by-pass road to the hall, toilets, concrete parking space at the back portion of the hall and a proper drainage system. Michael Ibau shared that for a start the proceeds from the dinner will go towards the second phase fund. He was grateful that some parishioners have pledged to towards the cause.

In his thank you speech, Fr Thomas conveyed his appreciation to David Chung and Peter Thien, the chairmen of the Parish Finance Committee, and the Parish Property and Maintenance Committee, respectively, for their support and commitment in realizing the aspiration of the local community. He also thanked William Gabriel, the Chairman of the Pastoral Committee for his continous involvement in building the local community. In a lighter remark, he said that the hall is not only beautiful but also the biggest in the Cathedral Parish. He hoped that the multi-purpose hall will not only be seen as a centre for physical activities but also serve as a centre for spiritual and community development.

In between courses of the dinner, guests and attendees were entertained to a host of activities. The local youth performed two community dances: Igal-Igal, a traditional dance of the Bajau community; and Sayau Labuk, a traditional dance of the Labuk-Sugut Dusun community.

The priests and the religious sisters took to the stage to delight the audience with some favourite songs. John Tan, the contractor also sang an oldie. All songs were sponsored, with the proceeds going to the 2nd phase fund.

The event concluded with prizes for lucky draw winners followed by Fr Sunny Chung leading those present in the closing prayer.