Commissioning of first Catholic Boys and Girls Brigade in Kuching

KUCHING – The 11th Kuching Company, The Boys Brigade (BB) and The Girls Brigade (GB) were officially commissioned by Fr Felix Au, rector of Blessed Sacrament Church (BSC) here, as another initiative to reach out to its community on 12 August 2018.

In his resolve to promote faith formation and discipline at a tender age, Fr Felix gave his blessings for the setting up of both a BB and GB Company at BSC. A recruitment drive for helpers and officers began late December last year.

In March 2018, the only existing Catholic Boys Brigade Company in Sarawak conducted their first BB meeting at BSC. The GB, a separate organisation, held their meeting the following month.

There are currently four Catholic Boys Brigade Companies in Malaysia. The other three are in Sabah. The Church’s Girls Brigade stands on record as the first ever Catholic GB company in Sarawak.

The objective of the Boys Brigade is the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom among members and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-Respect and all that tends towards a true Christian Character.

It upholds the motto – Sure and Stedfast, taken from Hebrews 6:19. The original Old English (King James Version) spelling of ‘Stedfast’ has been retained.

Meanwhile the objective of the Girls Brigade is Seek, Serve and Follow Christ with the aim to help girls become followers of the Lord Jesus Christ and through Self-Control, Reverence and a sense of Responsibility to find true Enrichment of Life.

There are different levels of recruitment into both the Boys Brigade and Girls Brigade, which may vary slightly. However, both the BB and GB are currently collaborating to focus only on the Junior Section, which is open to boys and girls aged 9-12 years old. There are plans to start a Senior Section for youths of 13-18 years’ age group next year.

The 11th Kuching Company Boys Brigade now has seven Officers and 20 boys, with Clement Sii as their Captain. He was from the 2nd Kuching Company Boys’ Brigade at Trinity Methodist Church.

The 11th Kuching Company Girls Brigade has four Officers serving 14 girls. Its Captain is Julita Chen from 3rd Kuching Company Girls’ Brigade at Trinity Methodist Church. – Ivy Chai

Boys’ Brigade in Malaysian Catholic Church:

1. 1st Binatang Company (Bintangor), Sarawak, formed in 1974 at Church of Christ The King. But after that closed down in 1980.
2. 4th Kota Kinabalu Company, formed in1982 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sabah.
3. 11th Kota Kinabalu Company, formed in 2015 at Stella Maris Church, Tanjung Aru, Sabah.
4. 13th Kota Kinabalu Company, formed in 2018 at St. Simon Church, Likas, Sabah.
5. 11th Kuching Company, currently the only Catholic BB in Sarawak. Formed in 2018 at Blessed Sacrament Church, Kuching, Sarawak.