By Ivy Chai
KUCHING — In conjunction with the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the Archdiocese of Kuching, the Anniversary planning team launched “Following Jesus in Mark’s Gospel”, a discipleship formation course featuring a series of talks that invite participants to encounter Jesus Christ through the Word of God.
Chairperson of the 50th Anniversary Planning Team, Perpetua Phang in her welcoming address at the Mater Domini Auditorium, ACCPC Kuching on 11 July 2026, acknowledged the presence of Archbishop Simon Poh, Archbishop Emeritus John Ha, priests, religious and over 170 registered participants of the course.
Perpetua greeted the audience with “We are gathered here, united by our vision: We are the Church, Disciples of the Word in Communion for Mission.” She explained the 18 sessions over nine Saturdays, invite participants to discover who Jesus truly is and to “encounter Him personally in His Word, and to hear anew His invitation to follow Him.”
The phrase ‘Rooted in Christ, Grow in Faith, Live in Gratitude’ was the chosen theme for the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, inspired by Colossians 2:6-7 “You must live your whole life according to the Christ you have received – Jesus the Lord; you must be rooted in Him and built on Him and held firm by the faith you have been taught, and full of thanksgiving.”
The “Following Jesus in Mark’s Gospel” talks are resource materials carefully prepared by Archbishop Emeritus John Ha to help participants deepen their faith and grow as disciples of the Word in communion for mission.
“Through this journey, may we be ever more ROOTED IN CHRIST, may we GROW IN FAITH, and may we LIVE IN GRATITUDE so that, as an Archdiocese, we may truly become what we envision ourselves to be: “We are the Church, Disciples of the Word in Communion for Mission,” concluded Perpetua.
New Chapter after 50 years
In his opening address, Archbishop Simon Poh recalled the launch of the Archdiocese’s Golden Jubilee on the Vigil of the Solemnity of St Joseph on 18 March 2026. St Joseph is the patron saint of St Joseph’s Cathedral and of the Mill Hill Missionaries, who brought Catholicism to Kuching in 1881, resulting in Kuching becoming a metropolitan archdiocese in 1976.
The 50th Anniversary celebrations include a 5-year focus on GRACE (2026), GRATITUDE (2027), GROWTH (2028), GATHER (2029) and GLORY (2030).
Archbishop Simon commended his predecessors, Archbishops Emeriti Peter Chung and John Ha, for their focus on forming priests, religious, parish leaders, catechists, families and youth.
He proclaimed that after 50 years, the archdiocese will embark on a new chapter … a journey to “seek and encounter the Risen Lord Jesus Christ who walked alongside his disciples at Emmaus” as “ultimately, we are all called to be disciples of Jesus.”
Conversation in the Spirit. What is it? What do we do?
Archbishop Simon explained that Conversation in the Spirit (CIS) is a time for discernment. We ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts. What is God calling us to do? How do we respond to what the Holy Spirit is telling us?
Archbishop Emeritus John Ha presented the first two sessions of “Following Jesus in Mark’s Gospel”. Session 1 focused on KERYGMA, while Session 2 introduced PRELUDE … Mark 1:1–15.
Participants then joined small groups for CIS, followed by sharing and a wrap-up of the sessions.
