KUCHING: The St Thomas’ Cathedral at Jalan McDougall here will hold special services to mark Christmas.
St Thomas’ Cathedral Kuching Dean, the Very Reverend Kho Thong Meng, welcomed Christians to join in the celebration by attending the Christmas services which will be held in multiple languages.
Kho said this year’s Christmas theme ‘Love Came Down’ from John 3:16, is the backdrop of the Cathedral seasonal message.
“Christmas is a joyous time of the year where we celebrate the gift of God’s love coming down for humankind with the birth of his only begotten son.
“This is the true meaning of Christmas, which we can celebrate by coming together in worship,” Kho said in a press release,” he said.
Meanwhile, tomorrow (Dec 21), the Cathedral will hold a Festival of the Nine Lessons and Carols at 7.30pm.
The service will also be streamed live on St Thomas’ Cathedral Kuching YouTube channel, and Christmas carols will be sung in English, Iban, and Bidayuh.
Kho said Reverend Canon Alfred Damu will preach on the Mystery of the Gifts of the Magi – the last topic of the four-part series ‘Living out Our Faith in the Last Days’.
On Christmas Eve, the service in English with procession and blessing of the Crib will start at 9pm, and will also be broadcast live on RTM radio.
Kho will be the celebrant, while the preacher will be the Bishop of the Anglican Church in Sarawak and Brunei, the Right Reverend Datuk Danald Jute.
On Christmas Day, the cathedral will hold five services beginning at 6.30am with the Holy Communion Service in English, where the celebrant will be Canon Alfred, while the celebrant for the 8.30am service in English with Solemn Liturgy and Procession will be Reverend Canon Roannie Woodward Cannidy.
Preaching at both the services will be Assistant Bishop of the Anglican Church in Sarawak and Brunei, the Right Reverend Nelson Ugas.
At 10.30am, there will be a Holy Communion Service in Mandarin with the celebrant being Reverend Tan Kok Kui and Dean Kho as preacher.
Also at 10.30am at McDougall Hall, there will be a Bahasa Malaysia Holy Communion Service with Reverend Nigel Manjan as celebrant and Reverend Wity Kendu as preacher.
At 2pm, there will be the Iban Holy Communion Service where the celebrant will be Reverend Robin Sabai, while Bishop Nelson will be the preacher.
All services except the 6.30am and Bahasa Malaysia service will also be streamed live on YouTube.
On Boxing Day, the Bishop’s Office together with the Cathedral will host the first Anglican Christmas open house at the Cathedral’s Parish Hall from 10.30am to 1.30pm.
Invitations have been extended to local dignitaries, fellow heads of churches, and friends to join in the celebration.
Further details are obtainable from the Parish Office at 082-242526.
