SIC organises Solstice and Christmas party

A heavy downpour in the evening did not dampen the spirit of some 1,000 residents of Kampung Cempaka and parishioners of St Ignatius Church (SIC) at the Solstice and Christmas Party on December 22.

Held at the Kampung Cempaka covered basketball court, this was the first-ever big-scale party organised by SIC in one of its closest neighbourhoods. The date was just days away from Christmas and also coincided with the Winter Solstice Festival celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians.

A group from SIC’s Bahasa Malaysia-speaking community kicked off the double celebration at 7.00pm with some popular Christmas hymns. Then followed various song and dance items performed by ministries and groups from SIC’s English and Mandarin- speaking communities, as well as other groups. Representatives from the Tamil-speaking community performed a play on the Christmas story.

Amongst the delicacies served were six roasted pigs and tang yuen (glutinous rice balls in sweet ginger syrup). Attendees had participated by rolling the dough into round shapes for volunteers to cook and serve.

A particularly meaningful activity took place when cotton wool was passed around for all present to make toys which will be given to poor children in countries overseas as Christmas gifts or sold to raise funds for them. Attendees were also given the opportunity to bring the toys home if they wanted to.

The event ended at 10.30pm with attendees bringing home door gifts and, hopefully, the joy and spirit of Christmas. Besides SIC Parish Priest Fr Andrew Wong CDD and Br Joseph Lim CDD, the VIPs in attendance included Yeo Bee Yin (Member of the Selangor State Assembly for Damansara Utama), Daniel Lee, Councillor, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), Theresa Lim (Kampung Cempaka Village Head) and Pastor Gilbert Wee (Sidang Injil Borneo Kuala Lumpur).

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online