Welcoming The New Year Of The Rooster

The Church of Our Mother Of Perpetual Help started the New Year with a Mass on the 1^st morning of the year.

The mass was very cultural as it incorporated honoring their Ancestor, wishing each other as well as the tradition of offering the ang pow and giving of oranges.

The rite of honoring the ancestors is not a contradiction as Pope Pius in his Encyclical on 8^th December 1939 stated that “ the Liturgical ceremony of bowing in respect to the photographs or the tablets of our ancestors is both reasonable as well as permissible” as long as they do not have the idea of worshiping them as idols.

The flowers represent LOVE and the three cups of wine represent REMEMBRANCE while.....

..the two trays of fruit represent ADMIRATION for our ancestors

The congregation then bow to the priests before to each other.

The last is the giving of ang pow's and the traditional oranges . It is a way of inculcating the Chinese culture into the local Church.

The organising comittee.

The Reunion Dinner

This is annual tradition from time immemorial. On New’s Eve of the Chinese New Year the family get together for that Reunion Dinner

Shops leave a 'red carpet' outside their shops. In a housing estate if  you see car lined up they are home for dinner.....

..or if favorite stall has gone home early.

This is a time when children come home and also the time when shops close early solely for that once a year dinner.

Happy New Year.

Preparing For The New Year In The Year Of The Rooster

The Chinese speaking community came together last weekend to prepare Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church for the Chinese New Year celebration.

Their effort is certainly commendable as they did an absolutely wonderful job of decorating the church.

JAG

Wet, wet, wet...Ipoh

Its been raining 24 hours now and it doesn't show any signs of stopping...but the temperature is cozy. Its been misty the whole day long along the hillside....

At Ipoh Garden East...

The hills of Sunway......seen from Bercham

The Haven....like its in the clouds

The Lost World of Tambun

Bandar Sunway

....and all way to Gunung Rapat

...wet, wet, wet.

Year Of The Rooster

I had gone to Woody Handy Art Gallery at 12A Prsn Klebang Tasek 1, IGB Park to take a photograph of a HUGE Rooster but got more than that.....

 There was Miss Perak Earth present and.. ..

…a family of dog lovers where even the dog got wheeled around...a wonderful morning.

Cheers!

KOHIJAU-iCYCLE Comes To Bercham

YB Cheong and Dr Richard Ng at the launch,

Recycling has come to Bercham in the form of KOHIJAU-ICYCLE its eight outlet that has adopted the system.

The assemblyman for Bercham YB Cheong Chee Khing together with Dr Richard Ng and Dr Tan Chin Seong from KOHIJAU-iCYCLE and members of Ipoh City Watch and Persatuan Keselamatan Sukarelawan  Kawasan Bercham came together to launch the system at PKSKB premises.

Bercham with a population of over 200,000 people or 1/3 of the population makes it the largest Taman in Ipoh.

YB Cheong said that Bercham had a problem with cleanliness but with this system it is hoped that the residents will embrace recycling in the long run.

JAG

Orang Asli Christmas Gathering At St Michaels Church, Ipoh

Some of the Orang Asli servers at the Bahasa Malaysia mass. (back row from right) Fr Jude Miranda followed by Fr Stephen Liew. Hubert Thong is at extreme left in white shirt. 

Over one hundred and sixty out of close to 350 Orang Asli from Kampar, Cameron Highlands and Tapah attended an ‘Orang Asli Christmas Gathering’ held at St Michael's Church, Ipoh on December 11 2016.

The evening began with a Bahasa Malaysia mass held during the 5.30pm evening Sunday Mass and carried on with a dinner and concert held at the church hall later.

Another 200 Orang Asli from the Temenggor Dam area was unable to attend due to floods affecting their locations.

Co-organiser for the evening Hubert Thong said the Temenggor Orang Asli were supposed to attend but floods during this monsoon season had upset the plan.

Thong added that the Orang Asli Christmas gathering was annual event.

“For the last two years we held it at their villages. This year we decided to bring the congregation to St Michaels Church. 

"It is much easier to coordinate than to have to bring the celebration to their villages and it will give the Orang Asli an opportunity a change to have an outing away from their village”

Fr Jude Miranda concelebrated at the Bahasa Malaysia mass.

The mass had a strong Orang Asli presence

The evening began with a Bahasa Malaysia mass which was concelebrated by Fr Jude Miranda from Taiping Catholic Church and St Michaels Church Parish Priest Fr Stephen Liew.

Orang Asli presence in the mass was very strong with six youth from Kampar serving during the mass and additional youth participating in the offertory ceremony.

During the concert groups from St Michaels Church and Orang Asli did their presentations. 

After mass, the evening continued with a dinner and concert held at the Church hall.

Above, Sam Tet school band and below Orang Asli youth enjoying the evening.

It was a nice scene as the congregation that gathered together portrayed a lovely 1 Malaysia image with various races of Malaysia sitting together for a meal and participating as one big family in the evening activities.

The concert started with the Sam Tet School band's rendition of Christmas carols and an appropriate and popular Chinese tune ‘Pang Yau’ or Friend.

This was followed by presentations from the various groups from St Michaels Church and the Orang Asli with the audience urging them on by cheering and clapping.

At dinner, Christmas Carols with healthy servings. 

A Christmas to remember when whole families have a meal together. 

Young, innocent and happy faces. 

It was a wonderful night of joy where the congregation of St Michaels Church came together with Orang Asli community to help usher in the spirit of Christmas.

Merry Christmas 2016.

Merry Christmas.

JAG