By Annie Munjan
TATAU — On the evening of 30 March, some 50 parishioners gathered at St Peter’s Church and kicked off the workshop event with a spiritually uplifting praise and worship session. The workshop was delivered by the Miri Creation Justice Commission team led by Mgr Joseph Ding on the invitation of the parish rector, Fr Alex Anantharaj.
Over the evening and the next two days, they would experience an ecological conversion. I was one of them.
The first session was a slide presentation on “State of The World”. It was an eye opener to many present there that night. Some couldn’t believe that the pollution and degradation affecting the oceans, seas and rivers are already this serious. By the expressions on many faces, I could tell that we could identify with some of the bad habits that contributed towards polluting the earth.
A role-play with the participants demonstrating how human actions affect the environment provided much amusement for the participants. Mgr Joseph Ding liken our human life in this world to a tree of life and a tree of death. Therefore, to have a healthy and fruitful tree, we must care and nurture it and it will bear good fruit of life.
To all of us participants of the 3-day workshop: this has been an awakening call from God. The workshop made us realise our role in being the good stewards of this earth, our common home.
During the reconciliation prayer ritual: we further searched our souls and asked ourselves whether we have been good stewards of HIS creation?
In response, one of the participants gave a heartfelt testimony: in his words, “Setelah mengikut bengkel ini, saya baru sedar yang saya telah banyak menyebabkan pencemaran alam sekeliling saya. Saya telah meneroka hutan secara berleluasa dan membakarnya secara terbuka, membuang sampah sarap di sungai dan di darat tanpa mengambil kira apa pun akibatnya. Sekarang saya rasa berdosa, dan menyesal atas perbuatan kejahilan itu. Saya tak akan buat lagi,” and he broke down in tears. I felt such sorrow in my heart too when I thought of the kind of world my grandchildren will experience 20 years from now if we don’t change our ways now.
Many others expressed similar sentiments – feelings of regret and remorse and the need to do something. We all vouched to change; to be a good steward of God’s creation, this land and our common home for our future generations, just as He commissioned us to do. The parishioners developed an action plan for their parish to work towards an ecological parish. Five people were commissioned to form the Creation Justice Ministry for St Peter’s Parish, Tatau.
It has been a fruitful and enlightening 3-day workshop for all the participants.
