SHC to host archdiocesan-level Pentecost Rally

KOTA KINABALU – In conjunction with the golden jubilee of the worldwide Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR), Sacred Heart Cathedral will host the archdiocesan-level celebration on 21 May 2017.

The rally will begin at 2 pm at the Sacred Heart Parish Centre followed by a Eucharistic celebration at the cathedral at 5 pm.  The celebration will conclude with a fellowship dinner at the parish centre at 6:30 pm.  Dinner coupons at RM5.00 are available at church entrance and in the parish office.

The event is organised by the CCR Archdiocesan Service Team headed by Hector Jintoni.

The CCR began at a retreat for college students at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) in February 1967. The students had spent much of the weekend in prayer, asking God to allow them to experience the grace of both baptism and confirmation. The students, that weekend, had a powerful and transforming experience of God, which came to be known as ‘baptism in the Spirit’. The account of the weekend and the experience of the Spirit quickly spread across the college campus, then to other campuses throughout the country.  It also spread to other countries.

The renewal came to Sabah shores in August 1974 when eight young people led by Father Tobias Chi, then rector of Sacred Heart Church Karamunsing, went to Bundu Tuhan for a DIY Life in the Spirit Seminar.  As with the first LSS at Duquesne University, it soon spread to other parts of Sabah like “wildfire” according to one member.

The organisers hoped that all those who have been touched by the grace of the renewal since 1974 will come forward to join in the celebration on May 21, to give thanks and praise to God the Author of it all.