Bishop urges people to live the love, peace of Sarawak
SIBU: Bishop of Sibu Right Reverend Joseph Hii from the Catholic Church calls on all Sarawakians to live the love and peace of Sarawak by being people of peace.
In the preaching of the word session during the ‘ Sarawak Independence Day: A New Dawn’ celebration on Thursday night at Sibu Gateway, he regarded Borneo Island as the ‘Garden of Eden’.
“Tonight ( Thursday) we are celebrating Sarawak’s birthday and we give thanks to God for the fruitfulness of this land and the many blessings He gave us,” he pointed out.
He enthused that Sarawak was the land of peace because she was born from peace.
He said July 22 was a day to remember the struggles of those in the past so that peace would come to the people.
Today, despite the many blessings, no one could deny the cloud of darkness overshadowing the people due to human weaknesses.
He thus assured all that hope and light would always be there, and that was what all Sarawakians were called to be.
“We look around us, some people might be angry, but God wants us to be the people of peace. Let the history be passed, this is not the time to be angry with our own people and our ancestors.
“We must not come with anger but with humility and with prayer and thanksgiving,” he pointed out.
Organised by the Prayer United Central Zone ( PUSCZ) in conjunction with Sarawak Day celebration, the four- hour event was attended by 1,000 Christians from various denominations.
Part of the highlights of the event was the lighting of candles from the ‘ Seven Mountains of Culture in A Society’ to symbolise hope for the people.
The seven mountains include religious body, the government body, the media, business, education, family and entertainment and arts.
Tonight (Thursday) we are celebrating Sarawak’s birthday and we give thanks to God for the fruitfulness of this land and the many blessings He gave us. Right Reverend Joseph Hii, Bishop of Sibu
To usher in the Sarawak Day celebration, there were the hoisting of the Malaysia and Sarawak flags as well as cutting of the ‘ Sarawak 53th birthday cake’.