EF3 Easter Celebration
By CMI SOCCOM
May 23 2022
BUKIT PADANG – The new hall of Church of Mary Immaculate (CMI) came alive on Sunday, May 8 during an event organized by the Family Life Ministry (FLM) in collaboration with the Youth Ministry (YM), sub-committees of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC).
The event was called EF3, which stands for Easter Family Fun Fellowship with the objective: To celebrate the oneness in our faith, through the togetherness and essence of a family, of this church.
As it happened to be Mother’s Day, it was also marked in the celebration which took place from 4pm to 6pm.
This would be the first social event organized in the new hall which saw a crowd of 200 after the recent relaxation of the SOP. Among those present were parish priest, Fr Paul Lo, his assistants Fr Saimon William, Fr Russell Lawrine and Fr Joshua Liew, seminarian Jerry Muhamat and three religious sisters.
The program started off with an opening prayer led by Fr Paul. The first performance was a duet by YM members with their rendition of ‘Can I make you feel my love?’. The performers, Janelle Michael Lansing and Victor Perete also serve in the English choir. They were accompanied by Victor’s father, Leo Perete who played the guitar.
In her welcoming address, PPC chairperson Catherine Engsun touched on the importance of family, a valuable gift from God. Family is where we feel secure and can count on during good times and bad. Family is all about love and no matter how we argue, fight or even stop talking to each other, in the end family is family and love prevails.
She took the opportunity to thank seminarian Jerry for his contributions to CMI during his pastoral immersion in the parish, which has come to an end as he moves on for his final year studies. Engsun presented him with a token and wished him well.
Jerry was invited to say a few words. He thanked God and the parish for his memorable time serving them. He felt welcomed by the hospitality offered and was grateful for the opportunity to join the recent parish Lenten visit to Kiulu.
In his turn, Fr Paul congratulated the organizing committee for the inaugural CMI Easter family event, which was a good start to bring people back to the church after two years living in uncertainties caused by the pandemic.
He noted that more people are attending weekend Masses now, which is a very good sign. He commended the parishioners for making time to join the parish Easter celebration.
To round up the formal part of the event, a cake was cut with the clergy, religious sisters, members of PPC and the newly formed PFPC (Parish Finance and Property Council).
The program continued with a duet by the junior members of the church, Ava and Caelan, who played the ukulele, as they sang the song entitled ‘Butterfly Baby’.
This was followed by a quiz session which gave the crowd the chance to participate in answering 12 questions from the categories ‘How well you know your parish priest?’ to ‘How well you know the Bible?’, drawing much laughter and competitiveness from the crowd.
Two awards were given away for the occasion. One was the biggest turnout by a family, which was won by Joseph Lee who brought 10 family members with him, and the other award was for the Best Dressed Child.
The youth duet came back on stage once again for a final performance with the number entitled ‘Lucky’, before making way for the final segment of the program, the lucky draws with the beautiful statue of our Lady as main prize.
In closing the event, organizing chairman, Joseph Selestine quoted Pope Francis ‘Let the church always be a place of mercy and hope where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.’
He maintained that the priest, and the parish council who assists him, are working continuously towards converting the parish into a place where everyone is made welcome.
He said the idea of having this fellowship stemmed from the Synodal consultation process conducted last December where one of the feedbacks received was the lack of fellowship and spending time together as family of this church.
He thanked all who have supported and contributed towards the success of the Easter event, namely, the parish priest and his assistants, PPC, organizing committee, sponsors and donors for the cakes and gifts/prizes, other individuals, and the parishioners, without whose presence and support all the efforts would be meaningless.
Selestine hoped that by the end of this event, it would have given EF3 another meaning: Entire Family of Faith and Friends. He ended with a song ‘Give Thanks’ sung by youth leader, Melanie Chin, and invited Fr Russell to say the closing prayer and blessed the food. Everyone adjourned to the canteen for hi-tea and to continue with the fellowship.
