By Peter Zeter
KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Regional Pastoral Assembly (SRPA) is the first ever assembly that will gather faithful from the three arch/dioceses in Sabah to celebrate our catholic journey thus far; to listen to each other’s success stories and challenges; and to discern together our way forward as Church of God in Sabah.
SRPA will be held from May 11-13 at Sacred Heart Cathedral Kota Kinabalu where about 500 delegates from Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu, Diocese of Keningau and Diocese of Sandakan will come together as ‘clergy, religious and laity to express oneness and celebrating richness of diversity and uniqueness’. The SRPA is a step towards the Malaysia Pastoral Convention (MPC) in 2026, a pre-taste of the coming together of the Malaysian Church.
Coming together, a trait that is so ingrained in the community of various ethnics in the three arch/dioceses; have all along been practicing ‘togetherness’. In the past years, the three dioceses have been holding joint programs depicting the spirit of ‘walking together’ such as joint Annual Clergy Retreat, Sabah Youth Day, Sabah Women Conventions, Inter-diocesan Catechetical Program, joint Program on Migrant Issue (AMOS) and joint Vocation Retreat or Seminar.
Started as a single prefecture of Kota Kinabalu, then elevated to the Diocese of Kota Kinabalu and then established into three different dioceses, the Catholic Church in Sabah grew out from one common historical root, where the seed of the Gospel was planted by the foreign missionaries. The seed grows and immersed in the local cultures and ways of living. Having lived the faith thus far, the people will now come together to celebrate, to listen, and to walk together more closely in SRPA.
The assembly will focus on celebrating the history of each dioceses and listening to each one’s stories including the four areas of Family, Church, Social and Ecological. After listening, comes the sharing through Spiritual Conversations which will be the fruits of the assembly.
In SRPA, the three respective bishops will also come together, to gather and discern the fruits of the assembly – the voice of the Catholic Church in Sabah- which will be one aspect to be presented during the MPC in Johor next year. The central question to this assembly will be, ‘As a Church, are we reaching out in mercy, are we communicating the fullness of life, and are we growing in holiness?’
