2nd Parish Event
On 19 October, about 150 parishioners along with Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Dominic and Assistant Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Louis Loi from Churches of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Sts Chastan and Imbert, gathered at Taman Kimsar Park from 7 am to 12 noon for their 2nd Parish Event- A Social Gathering with Nature. It was part of heeding the call of the Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si- a call to conversion to protect and appreciate God’s creation. The event was also aimed at a mission on fostering a ‘family-like’ bond of love, trust and mutual respect among parishioners. The event included morning praise and worship, fellowship and appreciation of nature.
The event began with a prayer by Fr. Dom and praise and worship led by Fr. Louis. Inspired to get fit and have fun, everyone both young and old joined in the Zumba dance. After about 15 minutes of dancing, the parishioners gathered for a pot-bless breakfast. Following that, was the nature walk- a group activity which included solving puzzles on nature along the trek with the purpose of creating awareness and gratitude for mother-nature. The walk also included cleaning the environment and the groups collected litters along the trek. For those who decided not to participate in the walk, station games were prepared for all age groups. Taman Kimsar’s beautiful Tecoma trees along the river provided a great shade for the picnickers and a private peafowl farm close to the park presented a colourful and mesmerizing sight to both young and old.
At the end of the event, the participants commented that they had a challenging task during nature walk but it was fun. They felt comfortable bonding in a relaxed and fun filled activity. They also shared that the activities made them more aware of the fauna and flora in their surroundings and the need to protect the environment for the future generation. Fr. Dom was happy with the ‘community spirit’ to come together to bond beyond the compounds of the church and empower each other and appreciate the creation of God. He hoped that such social gathering will inculcate the love for our ‘common home” and remind us of our ‘vocation to protect God’s handiwork”. The organizing committee felt motivated with the overwhelming support and participation from the parishioners especially the elderly.
