Monday, May 18, 2015

sixth Bishop today

First Kadazan to be made Anglican Bishop Published on: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 Daily Express Kota Kinabalu: A Kadazan clergyman will be installed as the first indigenous bishop to head the 90,000-strong Anglican community in the State under the Diocese of Sabah on Tuesday. Bishop Melter Jiki Tais who was actually appointed the bishop of the diocese on Feb 20 will be replacing the late Bishop Albert Vun who passed away on July 15 last year. The 50-year old Melter was born in Kampung Nangoh, Labuk and was ordained into the Anglican priesthood in 1993 and had served in various capacities in many parts of Sabah, including Priest-in-Charge of St. Margaret's Church in Keningau and St. Peter's Church in Tenom, Rector of St. Mark's Church in Lahad Datu and St. Luke's Mission District in Telupid. The father of four will be the Anglican Diocese of Sabah's sixth bishop and the first native of Sabah to be installed to the highest office in the church in Sabah. "I believe that God calls people at the right time. I need to seek clearer guidance from Him over what He wants me to do and not what I want to do. I believe there must be a purpose that God appointed me at this very particular time. "When a time comes when there is a need to speak up objectively and constructively to the government, then as a bishop I need to do that, to protect the rights of not only the indigenous Christians in Sabah and Sarawak but also in the whole country," he said. Due to the rising problem of certain groups trying to convert or entice Christians to their religions, Melter said he would hold discussions with leaders of the diocese on how to handle some of the issues and how to help the members who have been forced to embrace other religions. "There is no easy answer to it but definitely we will look into this matter. As we all know, under the Constitution, we have freedom of religion, that we are free to choose our own religion and express our worship. "But of course when it comes to practise, that is a problem. However as a church, we will continue to express our worship in ways that we feel it should be without allowing certain parties or quarters to dictate us how to express our faith to God," he said. Regarding the church's policies and what the Anglican community could expect during his tenure, for example women ordination, Melter said while other Anglican dioceses and provinces have decided to ordain women to the priesthood, the province of Southeast Asia has not taken the step yet. "For the time being, we are not ready yet. Whether we will be open to the idea or not, we do not know but the stance now is, we are not ready for it. In terms of the so-called same-sex marriage, we are totally against it. We do not allow for it to be carried out in the church," he said. The installation service will be held at the All Saints' Cathedral in Kota Kinabalu on Tuesday at 5pm. The service will be conducted by Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Anglican Church in Southeast Asia Datuk Bolly Lapok who is also the Bishop of the Diocese of Kuching. He will be assisted by the Bishop of the Diocese of West Malaysia Datuk Ng Moon Hing and the Bishop of the Diocese of Singapore Rennis Ponniah. About 1,500 people are expected to attend the service which will be followed immediately by a thanksgiving dinner at 8pm at the Hakka Association Hall. BORNEO POST Home - News - Sabah First local Anglican Bishop to be installed today Posted on May 19, 2015, Tuesday Share this: Facebook Share Email KOTA KINABALU: The Right Reverend Melter bin Jiki Tais will be officially installed as the sixth Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Sabah today (May 19), the first native of the Kadazan community in Sabah to be installed to the highest office in the diocese. The installation service will be held at the All Saints’ Cathedral here at 5 pm today, where 1,500 people are expected to attend. Melter was appointed as the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the State on February 20 this year, after his predecessor, Rt Rev. Datuk Albert Vun Cheong Fui passed away on July 15, 2014. On his vision for the diocese, Melter said that he believed there was a reason and purpose for God to call him to be the first bumiputera Kadazan Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Sabah at this particular time. “My vision is supposed to be the vision of the Lord. I really need to seek clearer guidance from God on what He wants me to do, not so much on what I want to do.” Having said that, Melter acknowledged that there have been many issues affecting the Christian churches in Malaysia today. In West Malaysia, for example, many Christians are either Chinese or Indian, he said. “When we open our mouth to say something, sometimes they tell (Christians in Peninsular Malaysia) to go back to China or India. So I believe there must be a purpose that God appoints me at this particular time, a time that if there is a need to speak up objectively and constructively to the government, then as a Bishop, I need to say that to protect the rights of not only natives or indigenous Christians in Sabah and Sarawak, but also the rights of Christians in Malaysia as a whole,” he said, at a press conference here yesterday. On a similar note, Melter said, he would discuss with his fellow clergy and leaders of the Anglican Diocese, including members of the diocese standing committee, on how to handle issues like Islamization, and how to help Christian members in the interior who were so-called forced to embrace the other religion without their consent. “There is no easy answer to it, but we will definitely look into this matter.” When asked about his views on the extent of freedom of religion in Malaysia, Melter said, the freedom of religion and freedom to express one’s worship are enshrined in the Federal Constitution. “When it comes to practice, that is the problem. As a church, we will continue to express our worship to God in a way we feel it should be without allowing certain parties or quarters to dictate us how to express our faith in God.” Nonetheless, Melter said, the Anglican Diocese of Sabah would seek to establish good relationship with the government without compromising its biblical stand for the well-being of the city and State. On other matters, Melter said, the Anglican Diocese in the Province of South East Asia is not ready for the ordination of women yet. He added that the Anglican churches were also against same sex marriage. “We totally oppose it (same sex marriage). We do not allow it to happen in our churches.” At present, there are more than 26,000 active members who attend Sunday service at Anglican churches throughout Sabah every week, while the total number of Anglicans in Sabah is expected to be around 90,000. The installation service today will be conducted by the Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia, the Most Reverend Datuk Bolly Lapok, who is also the Bishop of the Diocese of Kuching. Bolly will be assisted by the Bishop of the Diocese of West Malaysia, The Right Reverend Datuk Ng Moon Hing, and the Bishop of the Diocese of Singapore, The Right Reverend Rennis Ponniah. The service will start at 5 pm followed by a thanksgiving dinner at 8 pm at the Hakka Hall, off Tanjung Lipat. Melter was born in Kampung Nangoh, Labuk in 1965. He is presently serving as the Assistant Bishop cum Vicar-General of the Diocese of Sabah. He was called to God’s service and began his ministry as a parish worker in 1988 and was subsequently ordained into priesthood in 1993. As a priest, he has served in various capacities in many parts of Sabah, including Priest-in-Charge of St Margaret’s Church in Keningau and St Peter’s Church in Tenom, Rector of St Mark’s Church, Lahad Datu and Rector of St Luke’s Mission District, Telupid. He was collated as a Canon of All Saints’ Cathedral in 2006 and appointed as Archdeacon of the Central Archdeaconry in 2007. On August 14, 2009, he was consecrated as a Bishop and appointed as the Assistant Bishop of Sabah. Melter is married to Angeline Wong Moi Yin, and together they have four children. He created history by being the first native of Sabah from the Kadazan community to be consecrated as a Bishop of the Anglican Church of Sabah in 2009. His installation of the Bishop of the Anglican Church of Sabah will be another first, being the first native of Sabah to be installed to highest office. The Anglican Church in Sabah began as a chaplaincy work in Borneo in the late 19th century among the then European expatriates. Its first church was established in the Federal Territory of Labuan in 1855. The work expanded to include the Hakka Chinese from China and Hong Kong. Later, mission work was initiated among the natives of Sabah. It was only in 1962 that the Diocese of Borneo, as it was known then, was divided into the Diocese of Kuching and the Diocese of Jesselton, now known as the Diocese of Sabah. Today, the Diocese of Sabah has more than 120 parishes, churches and worship centres all over the State with mission work in the northern part of Kalimantan, Indonesia and in Thailand. Also present were dean of All Saints’ Cathedral, Chak Sen Fen; diocesan treasurer of the Diocese of Sabah, Michael Tong; diocesan chancellor, Datuk Stephen Foo; Assistant Bishop, John Yeo, and standing committee members, Canon Lidis Singkung and Roland Ng. Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/05/19/first-local-anglican-bishop-to-be-installed-today/#ixzz3aXcrJp5M

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