Three-in-one celebration at Holy Trinity Parish

Aug 06, 2015

TAWAU (Herald Malaysia): The Parish Day of the Holy Trinity Church was celebrated on July 26. The Eucharistic celebration of the 17th Sunday in Ordinary time, themed The multiplication of five loaves and two fish was presided over by Fr Johnny Raju, the assistant parish priest, concelebrated with Fr David Garaman and assisted by Deacon Stanley Matakim.

Together with the Parish Day celebration, the parishioners also celebrated the 13th Sacerdotal Ordination Anniversary of Fr Johnny Raju and the birthdays of both Fr David A. Garaman and Fr Sunny Chung with a fellowship at the Parish Hall. The event began at 10.30am, right after the Sunday Bahasa Malaysia Eucharistic celebration. More than 800 parishioners attended the function.

Gilbert Jack, the Chairman of the Parish BEC Core Group, expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone who had contributed to the success of the event. He appreciated the efforts of the BEC members, the Youth Apostolate, PPC members and lay leaders who work together for all the parish events to run smoothly.

A priest is a gift from God to guide, lead and to journey with us towards eternal salvation. Without them, there will be no eucharistic celebration. Every priest has different styles and approach, yet they are the chosen and anointed ones and we, as parishioners, are obliged to respect and obey them.

Philip Lee, the vice chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council, in his address said, “As parishioners, we must always give our support and work closely with our priests. They are chosen by God to lead us on the right path.”

Fr Johnny Raju shared that a priest is for everybody. “We do not have any favourite individual, community or group. We see all of you as equal in the eyes of God. Wherever we serve, we see you as precious children that need to be guided and led on the right way of life. As a community of God, we need to belong to a good team, working spiritually and physically to build the wonders of God’s kingdom on earth. Through this, we develop as mature parishioners, willing to serve God and each other to become truly one Church,” he said.

Also in attendance were the members of the Main Organizing Team of the Sabah Youth Day-4 and Deacon Stanely William, who were in Tawau to prepare for the upcoming event scheduled for next year.

The event ended at 1.00pm with a closing prayer by Fr David Garaman.