By Nasuha Badrul Huzaini
A whole year is coming to a close, and Christians of different backgrounds in the country and around the world come together to celebrate Christmas day.
Last year, Malaysians had welcomed the festive season differently as the Covid-19 pandemic and movement restrictions had impeded the usual gatherings of friends and families.
As the country is moving towards the recovery phase, many believers have looked forward to this day to reunite with their loved ones.
In conjunction with Christmas, Selangor Journal met with the parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Klang to find out more about their preparations for the festive season in the midst of the pandemic.
Reverend Father Frederick Joseph said Christmas was celebrated modestly and on a smaller scale since Covid-19 reached the country.
Though the spread of the coronavirus and social restrictions had affected the celebratory ambience, Frederick said that the joy of the festive event remains while strictly adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“As the oldest church in Klang, we would conduct a misa ceremony (a spiritual gathering) in three different sessions on December 24 and 25.
“Each ceremony lasts for about one and a half hours, and each session is carried out in three different languages, namely English, Tamil and Malay.
“The church would also set up canopies that could accommodate up to 150 people at one time. As no mass gathering is allowed, the believers could only visit the church to pray here,” said Frederick. He explained that the church is visited by locals and believers from Sabah and Sarawak as well as Indonesians.
Like any other house of religion, the priest said that the church had played a significant role in the community as people would come and visit to seek help, be it financially or spiritually.
“Every month, the church would help some 100 families in Klang by providing necessities such as cooking ingredients, baby diapers and formula milk. Even before the movement control order (MCO) period, the programme has been ongoing.
“Apart from that, we have also channelled some financial aid to those in need on a case-to-case basis where the money would be used to pay hospital bills and house rentals.
“Sometimes there are those who are cash strapped and require immediate financial assistance, so we would give them about RM20 to RM50, enough for them to buy food,” he said.
Frederick said the church also lend support to people facing depression, especially during the MCO.
“Not only do we listen to their stories, but sometimes we give some advice on how to resolve their problems and continue in giving support to them,” he said.
Frederick, a priest of 21 years, had also shared his viewpoints on efforts to promote inter-religious dialogues in the country.
He said the church and its administration had always been open to such dialogues as it could help to improve clarity and understanding among the beliefs in Malaysia.
“We are always aware of the controversies surrounding the church, for example, issues related to the believer of other religions seeking help from the church.
“Most of the time when this happens, our intentions are only to make things easy for them. We treat them just like any other human being and we do not touch about our beliefs at all. We know our boundaries,” he concluded.
