Kota Samarahan Anglicans to have bigger church
KOTA SAMARAHAN: The dream of Anglicans in Kota Samarahan to have a new church is almost a reality following an earth-breaking ceremony held at the compound of the old St Francis Church here yesterday.
Officiating at the groundbreaking was Anglican Bishop of Sarawak and Brunei, Rt Revd Danald Jute who used an excavator to dig out some soil from the compound of the old St Francis’ Church.
He said he was happy to see Anglicans in Kota Samarahan have a better and bigger place to worship in the not- so- distant future.
“I hope all Anglicans here in Kota Samarahan have a church that serves them well. The construction of this new church just goes to show how much the church in Kota Samarahan has grown,” Danald said during the ceremony.
Priest-in- charge of St Francis Church Revd Dennis Gimang thanked everyone for helping realise the dream of Kota Samarahan residents.
Dennis said Anglicans here need a new church as the old church is overcrowded on Sundays.
“It’s about time we build a new one. The number of Anglicans in Kota Samarahan who come to our church every Sunday is ever growing,” he added.
Present at the ceremony was Association of Churches Sarawak (ACS) secretary-general Ambrose Linang.
The new church will be able to accommodate more than 700 worshippers at any one time.
In recent years, the old church faced space constraint from the growing Christian population in Samarahan and rise in number of parishioners. The new St Francis Anglican Church will be another landmark for Kota Samarahan once completed.
It was revealed last week that at least RM3 million is still needed.
Church members are currently using the church’s hall to conduct weekly prayers while they wait for the new building to be constructed.