Pastoral Message: Parish Family Day 2021

Parish leaders and parishioners of St. Michael, Penampang,

Greetings in the Lord Jesus.

Every  year we celebrate the Parish  Family Day on July 26. We have been doing this since 2010, thanks to Rev. Fr. Alex Sipanul for the brainchild. However, at that time, it was known as the Parish Day and each time the celebration was hosted by Penampang Zone (Zone 5). It was only in 2016 that the then Parish Priest, Fr. Fundes Motiong made it a Parish Family Day incorporating all the zones under the parish.  Each zone will take turns to host the event.

The Parish Family Day celebration this year will be next Monday but it is  going to be very different. There will be no hosting parish, no celebration of Mass in the Church, no meeting of His Grace Archbishop John Wong with the parish leaders and no meals fellowship with the parishioners. Understandably, the current pandemic is the reason for this way of celebration. What we are going to have, instead, will be a live streaming mass from  the Chapel of Transfiguration (Rectory) at 7.00 pm with His Grace Archbishop John Wong. However, the attendance of the Mass will be limited to 12 pax only. In other words, only those invited will be physically participating in the Mass. 

There will be a brief zoom meeting with His Grace the Archbishop at 6.00 pm but again, it will be limited to those who have been invited. Our parish secretary, Datin Tracie Gom will be sending out the invitations sometimes this week. I will be giving some updates on the parish pastoral, financial and administration situations to His Grace Archbishop  John Wong during  the zoom meeting and hand over  to him the Compilation of the Parish Land Titles.

I must thank  Mr. Justine Lim and Mr. Hector Jintoni for their tireless efforts in compiling the Land Titles under Penampang Parish. Both of them are members  of the Parish Finance and Property Council. This project was started about 3 years ago. It  was quite a tedious job because it involved a thorough study of each land and a proposal for its best potency. We have in mind to develop those lands under Penampang Parish in the near future in line with our parish aspiration to utilize all possible means for the benefits of the parish.

We are also planning to hand over to His Grace the Archbishop, the Parish Policy but due to some unforeseen circumstances it would have to be postponed to the next Parish Family Day celebration. The Parish Policy would have to be a guideline compilation of all existing committees in the parish. It would include the nature and purpose of existence, composition, tenure, accountability, functions and responsibilities, among others.

Prior to the Parish Family Day celebration, there will be live streaming Triduum starting at 7.30 pm on July 23 2021 to July 25, 2021. The three-day preparation aims  to conscientize our parishioners on our parish organisation from pastoral, finance and administration perspectives. Each session will start with spiritual exercise. The following is the scheduled program for the  Parish Family Day Triduum:

July 23, 2021 (Friday)
The first day will start with Rosary Prayer, then there will  be a briefing on the parish pastoral situation. Catechist Lewis Juit will introduce the pastoral structure of the parish, zones, Kampung Catholic Community and KKD. He will also highlight some pastoral activities we have been conducting and also the parish future pastoral planning. Some pastoral challenges will also be brought into light during his presentation.

July 24, 2021 (Saturday)
The second day will be an input on the parish financial and property. Preceeding that, there will be a Divine Mercy prayer. Catechist Earnest will give the introduction of the Parish Financial and Property Council and Zones Committee. He will distinguish the different accounts and funds we have under Penampang Parish. He will also explain the sources and usage of those accounts. Apart from that, Catechist Earnest will also be presenting some financial challenges that many parishioners probably are not aware of. He will also be highlighting the parish future financial and property planning.

July 25, 2021 (Sunday)
The third day will be conducted by Mr. Ephraim Kouju. It will be a session incorporated with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. Mr. Ephraim is  the Chairman of the Parish Human Resources Committee. He will explain the administration structure of the Mission Office. He will also introduce his committee members and their roles and functions. Next, he will brief us on the Parish Website, Parish General Procedures that every parishioner should be aware of when he/she comes to deal with the Mission Office. Finally, he will give us some ideas on the challenges the HRC are facing and also the future planning as far as administration is concerned.

I would like to take up this opportunity to encourage all of you, my beloved parishioners of St. Michael, Penampang to join the Parish Family Day Triduum. I am pretty sure that many of your questions on how the parish has been managed will be answered. You will see the inter-connection of zones that make up the parish. If all this while  you have been wondering why there are two collections on every Sunday Mass, it will be answered after the Parish Family Day Triduum. The least you could expect from the Triduum would be to get  to know the Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance & Property Council members. So, join us in this three-day preparation for the Parish Famil Day celebration.

“Towards and amazing parish ….”

Fr. Wilfred Atin
Parish Priest of Penampang
July 20, 2021