By Susan Teng Yee Ling
PORT DICKSON, Negeri Sembilan – The parish grounds of the Church of the Immaculate Conception came alive with the Galilee Breakfast Corner, organised by Form Three and Form Four Catechism students under the Catechetical Ministry, with the guidance and support of parish priest, Fr Edwin Peter.
More than a fundraising initiative, the program was also designed as a hands-on catechetical formation experience, enabling students to discover discipleship through service, responsibility, and active participation in parish life. Inspired by Galilee — the place where Jesus called His first disciples in the midst of ordinary life — the Breakfast Corner became a symbolic space where faith was expressed through simple and practical action. The students were not merely participants, but young disciples who learned through doing, serving alongside one another with cooperation, joy, and a shared sense of mission.
Through planning, coordination, and service, the students gained valuable real-life experience in leadership, teamwork, communication, and accountability. At the same time, they encountered values that could not be fully taught through classroom instruction alone: patience in serving others, respect in working together, responsibility in carrying out assigned tasks, and the joy of contributing to parish life.
In this way, faith became something tangible — lived through everyday acts of service and shared responsibility.
The initiative was further strengthened by the generous support and encouragement of parents, whose presence and cooperation affirmed the students’ efforts and deepened the spirit of community. Their involvement reflected an important partnership between families, catechists, and the parish in nurturing the faith formation of young people.
What distinguished the Galilee Breakfast Corner from a typical parish breakfast sale was its deliberate integration of catechesis, creativity, practical learning, and community life.
The students brought a joyful and imaginative touch to the initiative through creatively named menu items such as Parish Puffs, Cheesy Blessings, Golden Scrolls, Faithful Franks, Noble Nasi Lemak, Heavenly Tea, Kueh Kasih, and others. Beyond adding fun and character to the event, these creative elements reflected the students’ active involvement and sense of ownership.
Within a real parish setting, the students were given meaningful opportunities to take responsibility, work as a team, serve others, and experience what it meant to contribute to the Church’s mission. The Galilee Breakfast Corner reflected a vision of catechesis that extended beyond classroom instruction into lived engagement with the Church community.
Through such experiences, young people were gently formed as disciples who learned to follow Christ through service, responsibility, and communion with others in the ordinary moments of life, echoing Jesus’ call to the first disciples by the Sea of Galilee: “Follow Me, and I will make you fish for people” (Matthew 4:19). In this same spirit, they were invited to discover that discipleship begins not only in words, but in the willingness to follow, serve, and share in the life of the community. – Herald Malaysia
