Kampong Stenggang
Village Mass
All photographs were taken by Kron Aken who holds the copyright.
This photo is typical of a Sunday Mass in the village. The villagers are all Roman Catholics. The four men dressed in green gown are the village catechists. They lead the congregation in prayer. Why isn't one of them a priest you may ask?. Well priests are in short supply in Malaysia. In the past the Church have relied on foreign priests but this have now been curtailed to encourage local people to enter the priesthood. However, even with the restriction on foreign priest there is only a trickle of people entering the priesthood. The village prayer leaders or catechists do all what the priest do except that they do not hear confession or give Holy Communion.
The nearest church where is a priest celebrating Mass every Sunday is at Bau town which is about 15 km away. The priest do come on his round to celebrated Mass in the village once every 2-3 months.
Trivia about the Cross in the picture
See also: Church