The Mill Hill
No. 5
For Private Circulation
Fr John McAulay
Welcome to the 2021 Mill Hill Suara Magazine. We are delighted to bring you our annual magazine with all the latest news from around the Mill Hill team in Malaysia. It has been a very eventful past year, dominated by the COVID 19 pandemic, which has affected everything and everyone in some way, including the pastoral activities of the church. In many ways this year has reminded us just how fragile our existence is and we should continue to pray that there will soon be an end to this horrible illness. Our pastoral activities may have been negatively affected by COVID but happily they were not cancelled out completely. In fact, there has been a great deal happening in and around the Mill Hill world and I am happy to bring you in this edition articles from our Society Representative: Fr Mathews Olili, Fr Albert Jacobs, Fr Sudhakar Meka, Fr George Omuto, Fr Liam Durrant, Fr Oniz Kihokolho, Fr Christu Babu, and Fr Philip Odhiambo. Fr Mathews shares some of his thoughts and introduces us to the oldest standing church in Sarawak. Fr Albert reflects on a wonderful, although taxing, Christmas. Fr Sudhakar happily relates his experiences of visiting the Longhouses. Fr George shares with us how COVID has affected his pastoral activities. Fr Liam updates us on his ministry and on becoming Rector of Bukit Peninjau parish. Fr Oniz fills us in on how he and his parishioners have been keep the pastoral fires burning during lockdown. Fr Christu remembers his time in Limbang, while Fr Philip reflects on his personal growth during a time of reduced activity. There is also updates on our students as well as recent appointments involving our Mill Hill Missionaries. We finish with the usual official pages of Bank Acc and Contact details
From the Society Representative: Fr Mathews Olili One day at a time sweet Jesus That's all I'm asking of You Just give me the strength To do everyday what I have to do... Lord help me today, show me the way teach me to take “One Day at a time” The other day, I was listening to the song above, and it struck me that one of the main lessons we could learn from this past year’s experience is the need to take ‘one day at a time with full trust in the Lord’. It has been a year of uncertainties, a year of a ‘new normal’, a year of slowing down, a year of changed plans, although our desire to plan and succeed will never diminish. As Christians, we are a people of hope. Despite the darkness of this past year, we have been able to see light in a myriad of ways. It has been an opportunity to renew ourselves just like mother earth also renews herself. Moreover, we have had the time to deepen our relationship with God, with family members, with others and with ourselves. Many people have learnt new skills, or took time to put certain matters in order, others have ‘grown’ in various ways. We have even learnt to pray, witness to God’s love and evangelize in ‘new’ ways. It was supposed to be a year of pomp and celebration. We especially looked forward to celebrating the ordination of Fr Herman, the first Mill Hill Malaysian priest after 139 years of Mill Hill in Borneo. Unfortunately, Fr Herman’s ordination was rather quiet. Our joy, however, remains undiminished because Borneo is now sending one of her own to bring the Good News overseas.
Fr Albert Jacobse
In early December Diane, my trusted colleague in the Migrants’ Apostolate, had arranged for me to hear confessions in Sejingkat, near Kuching. On the evening of December 22nd we set of for the Sawmills where the migrants were housed. It was raining and it was dark, and on reaching the Sawmills we realized the whole area was nothing more than a mud pool. With an inadequate torch we waded ankle deep in mud towards our goal, stumbling often as we progressed. Not a night nor place for wearing a white cassock. However, what a welcome we received when we arrived. They had even made a makeshift chair for me from which to hear their confessions . While I was hearing confessions Diane was teaching catechism.
After half an hour or so someone tapped me on the shoulder and begged me to follow him. I was reluctant to interrupt the confessions but I duly followed him for what seemed like an age. Eventually I began to hear crying and it quickly became evident that someone was in great pain. We knocked on a door and when it opened I saw a pregnant woman having real difficulty giving birth to her child. The head of the baby was showing but the two ladies helping her said she had been in labour for a couple of hours and was too exhausted to push any longer. To make matters worse there were no doctors or nurses around to call upon. What to do? I felt so helpless and hopeless. I prayed like never before and I asked the ladies to continue praying for the mother and child. I pondered on the primitive and dirty surroundings the pregnant lady was in and I tried to envisage if this was what it was like for Mary giving birth to Jesus. I returned to finish hearing the confessions after which we sat down for refreshments. Suddenly, while enjoying sweet coffee and biscuits, the two ladies who had been helping the pregnant woman burst in with a new born baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. The baby was clean and healthy. Both mother and child were well. Everyone was euphoric and shouted in joy while praising the Lord, it was like Bethlehem all over again. Six weeks later I visited the same place again and the mother came to me and whispered she was going to have the baby baptized and she was going to call him Albert. I felt so humbled, honoured and joyful all at the same time. I praised God in my heart for his goodness to all people and His unbounded love.
All this was ten years ago and I am happy to say that young Albert is healthy and happy, and a bit of a rascal just like myself. And that Christmas truly was a Christmas I will never forget.
Fr Matthews Olili
To claim that it has not yet been discovered would be wrong. How could it be undiscovered if the locals have been using it since the dawn of the 20th Century? I mean, of course, the oldest Catholic Church building in Sarawak that is still standing today. Welcome to Sacred Heart Church, Bawan. Bawan Church was the third Catholic Church to be erected in Sarawak: built in 1900. The Kanowit Church was built in 1887, and the Kuching Church was built in 1891, but both buildings have long since been replaced with new churches. The original Bawan Church, however, still survives. Across the Rejang river from Kanowit town, after about a ten minute drive, you come to a narrow path which meanders into a beautiful and serene compound surrounded by a majestic forest. And lo and behold there it is, the beautiful Bawan Church situated near the calm and cool Bawan river. It is a Gem in the Jungle. Indeed this place could make for the perfect Retreat and Wellness Centre.
The first chapel in Bawan was built in 1885 as an outstation of Kanowit Mission. However, in 1898 Bawan and Tuah became a Rectorship independent from Kanowit, with Fr. Stotter as the first Rector. He built a school and a new Church and put it under the patronage of the Sacred Heart. The church was completed by Fr. Adrian Klerk and blessed in 1900. Later in 1911, with the transfer of Fr. Klerk to Kanowit, and due to shortage of priests, Bawan and Tuah became once again outstations of Kanowit, which is still the case today. However, It did enjoy one more brief period of independence from Kanowit between the years of 1928 to 1932. It is likely that the Church underwent some renovation shortly before the Consecration of its Altar Stone on 31st Jan 1950 by Bishop William F. Brown of Pella. The Altar Stone contained the relics of the martyrs St. Boniface and St. Pius.
Presently, due to its sorry and dilapidated state, after having weathered many a storm, the Church has not been in use for more than 10 years. It is feared that it could suddenly collapse. A new Bawan Chapel has since been built around 2km away. Yet, this old Church, which cries for renovation, still remains a gem. Being the oldest Catholic Church building still standing in East Malaysia, to lose it would be regrettable.
Fr Sudhakar Meka
“When will you come again?” These are the words I often hear from people when we are leaving a longhouse and I often feel guilty for not being able to stay a little longer with them. Sometimes, due to other pastoral engagements in the Mission, our stay in any given longhouse is relatively short. People are very warm and welcoming when we visit their longhouses. They really appreciate and value our presence, amplified by the reality that many of our longhouses only have the opportunity to receive the Eucharist once or twice a year. This is because we have more than 300 longhouses in Kanowit parish, meaning even with daily longhouse visits it still takes a long time before we can visit the same kampung a second time. By the way each longhouse is equivalent to one outstation. Kanowit mission is always bubbling with various missionary activities. In the last year, just before the crisis of covid-19, our pastoral team, i.e. Fr. Mathews, Ravi, one religious sister, and myself, along with three catechists and some prayer leaders, managed to visit 219 longhouses, sadly falling short of our 300 target . The restrictions brought about by the pandemic along with other commitments in the parish did not allow us to reach out to them as we had hoped. The excellent faith formation given by previous missionaries, who had worked in the Kanowit area, can be seen everywhere and in
many different ways. Even though these people do not get regular visits, most of them still come together at least once a week (especially on Sundays) for community prayers. Most of the time they pray the rosary and give an offering, from the little they have, all of which is a new experience for me. I always thank God for their generosity. They share with us a lot of inspiring stories about the old missionaries and ask many questions about our lives and culture. Indeed, there is a great deal of social interaction when we visit our longhouse communities. Sadly, due to the enormous number of longhouses and the inaccessibility of some, we have no choice but to cluster some of the longhouses for the purpose of our visits, thus some longhouses have not been visited for a number of years. Nevertheless, I find visiting any longhouse strengthens my faith and renews my missionary zeal . Above all, it makes me happy and fulfilled. Finally, it brings home the words of Jesus “the harvest is great, but the labourers are few. Therefore, let us pray that the Lord of the harvest may send more workers.” Amen
A Time to Stick Together Fr George Omuto
The turmoil of the COVID19 pandemic has profoundly disturbed the community of Saint Herbert’s church in Song, forcing us to embrace the required new norms. All the pastoral plans regarding sacraments, catechesis, eucharist with the faithful, outreach programs and faith formation, have been put on hold. However, we continue to hope and believe in the Lord who will calm the storm. It is in times like this I continue to inspire myself with Jesus’ words: “Do not be afraid” (Mk 6:50). I honestly believe Jesus does not want us to perish any more than he wanted his disciples who were caught in the storm to perish. So, what kind of a missionary am I currently? I am a missionary forced into social distancing, cut off from his congregation, which makes this an incredibly challenging time to witness to the gospel. As a parish we descended into fear: from being a loving, hospitable, and sociable community we have suddenly become suspicious and paranoid. Every visitor is viewed as a potential carrier of the unseen virus. If we fall victim to the virus, we become stigmatized and marginalized, much like the lepers were in Gospel times. We seem to behave more like Adam and Eve, blaming one another and pointing fingers, than as followers of Jesus who have embraced the cross and vowed to continue to love one another through its pain. This pandemic requires we take collective responsibility. Every member of Christ’s body must follow the SOP and obey the MCO while they are in force. Health experts have given us simple procedures to follow such as proper washing of hands, social distancing, avoiding crowded places, wearing of facemasks, and the checking of our travel history. As Christians who care for our community it is only right that we follow and respect all these procedures.
Beyond this it is our responsibility to care for those who have been negatively affected by the pandemic. Many people have lost their means of income because of the shutdowns, are we going to stand by and let them suffer? It is the unique character of the Christian that we can not stand idly by while others are in desperate need. Finally. We should never doubt the power of prayer. Through prayer we beseech the Lord of all for his divine mercy. Through prayer we ourselves find hope, become renewed strength, and when praying as a family we become more closely bonded. As saint John Chrysostom once taught: prayer is a place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness and a protection against sadness. We continue to offer Masses for our longhouses, spend time in adoration every day, pray the rosary and have novenas to the Divine Mercy among other devotions. It gladdens my heart to see more and more families are also praying together and spending more time with one other. We need not worry for everything will be as God wills it.
Four Years This May Fr Liam Durrant
Recently one of my friends in England was surprised to hear that I will have been four years in Malaysia come this May. Time truly passes quickly, just last September (2020) I celebrated thirty five years of Priesthood. Of course our lives have been turned upside down since March last year with the COVID pandemic. However, despite COVID and the subsequent lockdowns, life does continue.
I am happy to share with you that the mission area of Bukit Peninjau, which I have been looking after every weekend since October 2017, has been reestablished as a parish as of January this year (2021). I have been made Rector/Priest in-charge of the re-established parish but I shall continue to reside and work in Taman Tunku (Miri) during the week and at weekends go to Bukit Peninjau. When the lockdown restrictions cease, I will resume my weekly visits to the Long Houses. The number of Long Houses is 35 in total and there are about 6,700 Catholics in the Parish. I am excited about my new mission. The new, yet to be built, parish church will be under the patronage of St Bernadette, and will be situated just off the Pan-Borneo Highway very near to
the “Simpang Bekenu”. The old wooden Chapel of Indai Maria {Mother Mary} in Bukit Peninjau, which has served as the main place of worship since the mission area was opened way back in the early 1970’s by a Mill Hill Missionary named Fr. Van de Heist, shall become a Chapel of ease for the local area. Unfortunately, the construction of the new church of St Bernadette has been delayed due to the recent COVID situation. Aside from my work in Bukit Peninjau a lot has happened during my time here. Happily, two young local men were ordained priests for Miri Diocese in December 2020, but, sadly, one younger local diocesan priest died unexpectantly earlier in the year. A number of Mill Hill Missionaries have arrived to work in the diocese and some have returned home to take up other assignments. The last batch of Mill Hill students, from my time as Rector of the Mill Hill Formation Centre in the Philippines, have been ordained. They are waiting for or have already taken up their mission appointments. Also, our first Malaysian member was ordained for our Missionary Society. Congratulations to Fr. Herman MHM. Finally, I want to assure you that I will continue to pray for all the kind people of Miri Diocese and ask God to bless the Friends of Mill Hill. Fr Liam sorting Gifts for Fr Herman
Learning to be a Missionary For All Seasons Fr Oniz Kihokolho What happens when Mission is challenged by unprecedented circumstances? Well, as the English expression goes: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. As a missionary I had to think twice during the COVID 19 lockdown. As a priest, I thought of trying to be functional in some way, despite all the churches being closed and pastoral programs suspended . As a missionary, I realized that a healthy environment makes for a healthy mission. In this regard, my perception of mission has now changed, prompting me to look beyond normal horizons. Mission is not just about proclaiming the Word of God , but rather it is to be steward of creation. Therefore as a missionary priest, I must learn to be in touch with nature, I must pray for the wisdom and insight to read the signs of the times. As a former general secretary to the Episcopal Commission for Creation Justice in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, I had to sit down and find ways to initiate and implement the “Laudato Si” objectives, as prescribed by our Creation Justice Commission, in Julau parish. Even before Covid19, we had started to look for ways to “Ecologise” the different ministries in the parish, with the
aim of making St. Alphonsus a greener parish. The ladies Guild replaced plastic plates with stainless steel ones in the parish kitchen. The Legion of Mary started planting trees, used old tyres for flower gardening, and had started growing organic vegetables in the Garden of Joy. The youth also got involved by collecting plastic bottles and cans etc. and bringing them to the Recycling Centre. On a personal level I embarked on rearing rabbits and local chickens. I use the rabbit urine as a pesticide and their feces as organic manure. The above projects have kept me going during this second lock down. I have worked in the Garden of Joy as part of my personal exercise. I have even started to harvest tomatoes, pineapples, passion fruits and ginger. I am happy to see the Garden of Joy bearing fruit. Despite the Church being closed some parishioners do come to check on the Demonstration Garden and some to harvest flowers from our Flower Garden. This is how I am trying to cope with the Covid-19 crisis and I pray and hope it will end soon. Amen.
My Mission Experience in St. Edmund Parish, Limbang 2018-2020 Fr. Ravindra Babu
On the 1st September 2018 I was appointed away from Lapok parish to St. Edmund Catholic Church, Limbang. I was to be the assistant priest and I was the 12th Mill Hill Missionary to be appointed to Limbang. St Edmund’s has over 60 years of history, although Limbang itself is a relatively small town. The three main language groups are Chinese, Iban and Bisaya. There are 55 Kampung attached to Limbang parish, 53 are reachable by car, the other 2 by boat. Fr Peter Huang and myself made every effort to reach the kampung as regularly as possible. I found great joy in my mission to serve God’s people and I named my mission “Active Mission” as I am a very active person. On top of the usual priestly activities, I was involved with house blessings, farm blessings, expressing God’s Word through Art, and doing online masses, a necessity in recent times. One particular aspect of ministering in Limbang surprised me. Many People still hold on to old superstitions and practice many forms of “black magic”. I came across around 35 individuals who had experienced some sort of “black magic” attack and who were seriously damaged–ill for many years. I thank God that today they are free from all such evils. A more normal area of my work was “sick calls”. I visited many sick people while in Limbang
and it was a beautiful experience to bring God’s healing Word to them. Following on from my own interest in Art, I ran a catechesis through art program in the parish. I am happy to report that over 90 children registered for the program. I also had my own “Mill Hill team”. Three young men called James, John and Dominic, who gave their time and much effort, especially with following me to celebrate the eucharist in our many different Kampung. After all the ups and downs I can truly say I had two great years of priestly ministry in Limbang, and I thank God for it. I now look forward to many more years of priestly ministry as Rector in my new parish of Tatau, and to working closely with my new colleague Fr Alex (a Claretian priest), who like myself comes from India. I am sure we will work closely and well together. I look forward to the future with JOY.
My Focus: Goals or Growth? Fr Philip Odhiambo
Are we not driven by the desire to succeed in our endeavours? No one starts something if they already know they are going to fail. However, although we desire success, sometimes failure is inevitable. Take our pastoral plans for last year: we were set to go, we knew the goals we wanted to achieve and then COVID came along. Needless to say our pastoral plans were thrown into chaos. News of the pandemic dominated the headlines and the plans of so many people had to take second place. We had put in a lot of effort but we could achieve very little. Happily, the lockdown did provide me with one notable opportunity. I was introduced to “Beyond Success”, an initiative by a North-American inspirational speaker and writer named John C. Maxwell, who founded a “Transformational Leadership Movement”, which has reached many countries worldwide. I have done the course and I now feel I have to keep challenging myself to focus not on goals but growth. John C Maxwell writes “if
you focus on goals, you may hit those goals but that does not guarantee growth. If you focus on growth, you will grow and you will also achieve your goals.” Was last year a failure or a success? I am going to say it was a success. I was given the opportunity to grow as a person and as a missionary of Christ. COVID has caused a lot of suffering and death, and loss of livelihood. I cannot change that but I can choose to be a beacon of hope to people, a reminder to them that all is not lost and things will get better.
On the 5th Sunday of Liturgical Year B we heard a reading from the Book of Job. Job had just lost everything, including his family, and he lamented before God: “Is not man’s life on earth nothing more than pressed service, his time no better than hired drudgery?” (Job 7:1). We can hear the despair in Job’s words but we would do well to remember that Job was also a man of hope, he was convinced God would not abandon him, and indeed God did not abandon him. Job ultimately received from God many times what he lost. We should look to the future with hope and trust in the God who will not abandon us, even if all seems lost. We should muster our courage and allow ourselves to grow through our daily encounters, even in the midst of suffering, only then will we achieve our ultimate goal.
An Update on the Mill Hill Students from Malaysia ELVOST LUNCHI Home: Kampung Sabandil, Papar, Sabah
Parish: Holy Rosary Limbahau, Papar Missionary Experience Program: Tando Allahyar, Sindh, Pakistan. CHRISTIAN LEVI ANAK KUMIN Home: Kampung Pichin, Serian
Parish: St. Teresa Catholic Church, Serian Missionary Experience Program: St. Joseph’s Parish, Luanda, Kenya
CRISTIANO SUMBAT
Home: Kampung Linsuk, Tenghilan, Sabah Parish: St. John the Apostle, Tuaran Missionary Experience Program: St. Joseph’s Witu-Kipini, Kenya.
MAVERICK ANAK ALBERT Home: Kampung Merian Bedup, Serian Parish: St. Teresa’s Catholic Church, Serian Formation: Iloilo, Philippines
TIMOTHY ANAK LINGKANG Home: Kampung Sangai Empani, Serian Parish: St. Teresa’s Catholic Church, Serian Formation: Iloilo, Philippines Stage: 2nd Year Philosophy
And Remember we are always on the lookout for new Vocations….
Mill Hill Personnel in Malaysia
WE SAY FAREWELL TO: Ravi Pulagam, who has returned to India to continue with his Studies and Formation. Ravi has been with us since 2018, having his Missionary Experience Program in Kanowit parish, in Sibu Diocese.
WE SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Fr. Herman Menjuan, who was the first Mill Hill priest from Malaysia to be ordained. Fr Herman was ordained on 26th Oct 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya. Fr Herman is from Kampung Duvanson, Putatan, Sabah, which is under the Holy Nativity Parish, Terawi.
He has been appointed to Cambodia. We wish him well in his ministry of love and service.
WE SAY THANKS:
To all our Mill Hill Family (Friends of Mill Hill) for your continued prayers and support. Please be assured of our continued prayers for you.
TRANSFERS & APPOINTMENTS:
Fr. Liam Durrant: appointed Rector of Bukit Peninjau Parish, Miri. Fr. Christu Ravindra: transferred from St. Edmund’s Parish , Limbang to be Rector of St. Peter’s Parish, Tatau. Fr. Ciril John: transferred from Holy Cross Parish , Sungai Asap to Holy Family parish, Lapok.
The Mill Hill Family is part of the love and service that lies at the heart of Mill Hill. They join with the Mill Hill Missionaries in the mission of preaching the Gospel message, not only in our own country, but in the many other countries where the message has not yet been heard or taken root. The Mill Hill Family helps in several ways: By praying for our missionaries and for the people among whom we work, especially in the more difficult and dangerous parts of the world
By praying for our Malaysian Mill Hill seminarians now in training By helping to make it all possible through donations, either via a Red Mission box or a direct offering
The Red Mission Boxes are a great way of supporting missionary work. You place whatever coins you wish in the box and when it is full, or after a period of six months, bring it to the local MHF treasurer. A direct donation which can be made via the Mill Hill accounts listed below: but please remember to add “MHF” to the receipt. Please note we now have a proper Mill Hill bank account in Miri held jointly in the names of Fr Liam, Fr John and Fr Chris
Mill Hill Bank Accounts in Sarawak Bank Account for Kuching:
Standard Charter Bank Acc. Name – Archbishop of Kuching (RC)
Acc. No. - 420156516622 (please add “MHF” to the receipt) Bank Account for Miri:
Public Bank (Pelita) Acc. Name – Liam Joseph Durrant, John Gerard McAulay, Ravindra Babu Kollabaihina Acc. No. - 6-4358329-05 (Plus Savings Acc.)
Contacts Mobile Fr Matthews mhm
+60198064395 (Soc Rep)
Mobile Fr Philip Odhiambo
+60105986486 (Consultor)
Mobile Fr Liam Durrant
+60132802199 (Consultor)
Mobile Fr John McAulay
+60136165138 (Editor of Suara)
Mobile Fr Albert Jacobse
+60168161914 (for Kuching)
Other Information Website:
www.millhillmissionaries.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/millhillmissionaries