Archives - 2024

For photos of events from 2019 onwards, kindly refer to our parish's official Facebook page.

For updates on Sahabat Orang Asli (SOA) outreach mission, click here.

ANNOUNCEMENT - 14TH JULY 2024

Announcements for 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

VISITATION OF PADRE PIO RELIC AND DELEGATION FROM THE PHILIPPINES- 13TH JULY 2024

Fr Anthony Heng welcoming delegation from the Philipines

Speech by Ms Jennifer Duarte, PPC Chairman

Fr Oscar presenting Padre Pio statue to Ms Gwen Ng, Chairman of Padre Pio Group

Speech by Filipino Group representative Ms Cecilia Wong

Our parish of St Michael's Ipoh, was privileged to be graced by the presence of His Eminence Cardinal Dato' Seri Sebastian Francis and the Most Rev. Gilbert Armea Garcera D.D. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lipa together with 6 priests (Fr Oscar Andal, Fr. Glenn Cantos, Fr. Jessie Pentinio, Fr. Marco Paulo Lajara, Fr. Manuel Lucero, Fr. Jayson Alcaraz) and 32 pilgrims from the Philipines. The Filipino delegation came bearing a first class relic of St Padre Pio from the National Shrine of Padre Pio in Batangas, Philipines in their continuous efforts to promote the devotion to Padre Pio and his powerful intercessory role for all those who are sick and in need of physical and spiritual healing. SMC parish administrator, Fr Anthony Heng, CDD, the SMC Padre Pio Group, PPC Chairman Ms Jennifer Duarte and SMC Filipino Group were on hand to welcome our esteemed visitors in the afternoon of 13th July 2024.

Before the sunset mass, which was preceeded by the Padre Pio Novena, Fr Oscar Andal, parish priest of the National Shrine of Padre Pio in Batangas, expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome and hospitality received. He then presented the Chairman of SMC's Padre Pio Group, Ms Gwen Ng, with a statue of Padre Pio. The veneration of the Padre Pio relic and healing liturgy continued after the sunset mass which saw hundreds of parishioners and visitors queuing in an orderly manner throughout the evening to venerate the relic and receive anointing.

ANNOUNCEMENTS - 6TH & 7TH JULY 2024

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39TH NOTIFICATION & UPDATES FROM THE DIOCESE OF PENANG - 1ST JULY 2024

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39th notification and updates from Penang diocese

ANNOUNCEMENTS - 29TH & 30TH JUNE 2024

Announcements for 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

ANNOUNCEMENTS - 22ND & 23RD JUNE 2024

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Announcements for 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

CONCLUSION OF OREMUS PROGRAMME - 22ND JUNE 2024

Thank you to all participants and facilitators of SMC's Faith Formation team for journeying together these eight weeks to seek growth in our prayer lives. Read more about it on our official Facebook page.

Conclusion of Oremus Programme by SMC's Faith Formation Team - Group Picture

ANNOUNCEMENTS - 15TH & 16TH JUNE 2024

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Announcements for 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

ANNOUNCEMENTS - 8TH & 9TH JUNE 2024

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Announcements for 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

FAREWELL LUNCHEON FOR FR ANTHONY LIEW - 3RD JUNE 2024

Visit our official Facebook page album 1 and album 2 to view scenes from the luncheon for Fr Anthony Liew.

TRIBUTE TO FR ANTHONY LIEW - 2ND JUNE 2024

Fr Anthony Liew celebrated his final mass as Parish Priest of SMC for the solemnity of Corpus Christi. His journey with SMC comes full circle to a close, just four days shy of the 10th anniversary of his sacerdotal ordination at SMC on the 6th of June, 2014. Fr Anthony thanked all parishioners for their support and for giving him the opportunity to walk with them in their journey of faith through the years. He reminded all present to support each other in the journey of faith and that no one was ever alone as long as they have the love of God and support of the spiritual family of SMC.

From the day he was first assigned to be parish priest of SMC, Fr Anthony displayed a steely determination to draw people to God through the church. He constantly emphasized the importance of receiving the eucharist and attending mass as a source of spiritual nourishment. The phrase "SMC Our Home" was drummed into parishioners' ears repeatedly, for he wanted the church to be a loving refuge for all, and not function like a hotel where people check-in and check-out without any care. Fr Anthony believed that actively participating in masses (weekend as well as daily masses), formation programmes and social activities in church would deepen parishioners' relationship with God and strengthen the bonds of our faith community. This would in turn empower parishioners to go on to share the Good News with others. In his last parish event, the Parish Ministry Day 2024, he actively encouraged parishioners to use whatever God-given talents they had to serve the church and its mission through the various ministries within the church.

Under him, a number of new parish ministries were formed to cater to the diverse needs of the parish congregation, (for e.g. the Ministry for the Deaf, the Faith Formation team, the Gardening group etc). Fr Anthony had a knack for spotting newcomers and making them feel welcomed in SMC. Indeed, some from the migrant community testified that his friendly demeanour and concern for their welfare, was instrumental in making SMC truly a refuge and "home away from home" for them. The senior citizens of the church also seemed to draw strength from his youthful exuberance and the church saw increased activities for the seniors in his time.

No tribute to Fr Anthony would be complete without delving into the Covid experience. In March 2020 when the pandemic hit our shores, Fr Anthony wasted no time in galvanizing the church to meet this challenge. Together with a dedicated team of parishioners (the MCO teams and Emmaus team), he steered our parish through one of the most difficult periods in the history of the church. His tenacity and innovative ideas kept the teams constantly on their toes and even tested their patience on occasions. At the height of the contagion, when churches were prohibited from having public masses, Fr Anthony kept in touch with parishioners via phone calls and platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook. He devised online games on SMC's Facebook to keep parishioners informed and involved with SMC. Fr Anthony also volunteered himself as one among the few clergy, to be on call, for helplines set up by the diocese to provide spiritual guidance for individuals under mental distress due to the harsh lockdowns. With the Emmaus team, he organised and delivered food aid for those who could not work when movement controls were implemented by the government. Driven by his strong belief in the importance of education, the team also procured free handphones from the YTL Foundation and laptops from private donors to assist students in their online studies during the lockdowns.

When limits were imposed on the number of church attendees, he worked with SMC's multimedia and sound team to produce live broadcasts of weekend masses and prayer videos, so that parishioners could still connect spiritually and visually to the church. Not contented with online masses, he even conducted hybrid Zoom masses so that more parishioners could participate in masses and receive the eucharist physically.

Parishioners were regularly sent weekly personal reminders for masses and updates by Fr Anthony. While some may have found his methods slightly excessive, even overbearing at times, they undeniably bore fruit. Attendance and participation for masses and other activities in SMC often exceeded expectations largely thanks to Fr Anthony's unique style of promotion and personal invitation either through WhatsApp or Facebook messages, in addition to the usual announcements in church and the bulletin. Indeed SMC had become the church to go to for social and spiritual programmes after the pandemic period ended and Fr Anthony often led by example and fully immersed himself in all these activities.

In solidarity with Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si, Fr Anthony had recycling bins erected at the grounds of the church so that parishioners' unwanted paper, plastics and electronics could be recycled. He encouraged the Gardening group, to transform the patch of land at the back of the church into a delightful garden where parishioners could enjoy. He also had solar panels installed for the church and made many structural repairs to the church.

We, the parishioners of SMC, thank Fr Anthony for his great zeal and dedication to God and for journeying with us through our sadness and our joys, all these years. May God continue to sustain him and help him grow in his priestly vocation and may the Holy Spirit's gifts of wisdom, knowledge and understanding serve him well in his further studies and all future postings.

WELCOME TO FR ANTHONY HENG CDD - 1ST JUNE 2024

Parishioners and outgoing parish priest Fr Anthony Liew, warmly welcomed Fr Anthony Heng CDD as our parish administrator. Fr Heng will help manage and undertake pastoral duties for our parish of St Michael until the appointment of our new permanent parish priest by Cardinal Sebastian. We pray that Fr Heng will have a pleasant and fruitful stay with us.

ANNOUNCEMENTS - 1ST & 2ND JUNE 2024

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38TH NOTIFICATION & UPDATES FROM THE DIOCESE OF PENANG - 1ST JUNE 2024

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38th notification and updates from Penang diocese

ANNOUNCEMENTS - 25TH & 26TH MAY 2024

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ANNOUNCEMENTS - 18TH & 19TH MAY 2024

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ANNOUNCEMENTS - 11TH & 12TH MAY 2024

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ANNOUNCEMENTS - 4TH & 5TH MAY 2024

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OREMUS PROGRAMME - 4TH MAY 2024

The eight-part Oremus Programme had its first session on the morning of 4th May 2024. SMC's Faith Formation team who organised the programme, were pleased to report a total of 89 participants for the programme and this number also included parishioners from SMC's Chinese Apostolate and parishioners from OLOL and OMPH church. Oremus is the Latin translation for "Let us pray" and this programme aims to help Catholics and anyone who is interested to learn how to pray effectively. Topics covered include "what is prayer?", "what do we do before prayer", "how to deal with distractions in prayer", "desolation and consolation in prayer" among other things. The two-hour sessions will run for eight Saturdays until 22nd June 2024. May this programme bless all participants with a greater appreciation for prayers and rejuvenate their prayer-life.

37TH NOTIFICATION & UPDATES FROM THE DIOCESE OF PENANG - 1ST MAY 2024

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PARISH MINISTRY DAY 2024 - 27TH TO 28TH APRIL 2024

St Michael's church's Parish Ministry Day 2024 opened with a "bang", literally, with the popping of balloons by Fr Anthony Liew on the evening of 27th April, 2024 after the sunset mass. The many ministries plus one booth showcasing the BECs in our parish put up an interesting and informative array of pictures and details about what they do. Fr Liew also reminded all present during the sunset mass, that all are called to serve God, the church and its people with their God-given talents. We pray that parishioners who have not yet answered God's call to serve will be inspired to volunteer their time and talents after having had the chance to view and engage with the various ministries' representatives over these two days.

To view the Parish Ministry Day in pictures, kindly refer to our official Facebook page for Day 1 and Day 2.