By Angeline Lesslar
On 21 December, the Christian Federation of Malaysia hosted a Christmas high tea at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Subang Jaya.
The federation brings together the three mainstream Christian groups in Malaysia: the Catholic Church, the Council of Churches of Malaysia and the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship.
Its yearly high tea event heralds Christmas, the birthday of Jesus. The celebration aims to share the love, peace and joy of the season with all those present.
The guests of honour at the high tea were MP Anthony Loke and the heads of the various Christian churches in Malaysia.
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Among the other guests like MPs Hannah Yeoh and Teresa Kok, I expected to see some prominent ethnic Malay-Muslim representation, especially from the Ministry of National Unity, the Islamic youth movement, as well as representatives from Pas, Bersatu and Umno.
However, the only two Malay Muslims who stood out prominently were writer Prof Tajuddin Rasdi and his son Ismail. Apparently, quite a few others had been invited but were unable to attend. Sad indeed!
In contrast, a week earlier, a similar high tea was hosted by the parish ministry of ecumenical and inter-religious affairs (PMEIA) of the Church of St Thomas More. This church is just down the road from the Full Gospel Tabernacle.
The earlier high tea was open to an informal interfaith group initiated by the Church among Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Bahai and other Christians within Subang Jaya.
As it turned out, the Malay-Muslim delegation made up a majority of our friends of other faiths who were present.
They were even open to a walk through the church to see how Catholics worship. They also enjoyed the entertainment, food and friendship, and they were the last to leave at the end.
The PMEIA is a ministry found in all Catholic churches that believes in inclusivity among all faiths and attempts to build bridges with other religions through various forms of dialogue.
The ministry believes that the way forward is to not live in our safe silos but to reach out in friendship and respect and build fraternity with others.
We know we cannot control what happens in Malaysia or the world. But we can make a difference in Subang Jaya. We consider our neighbours to be children of God – irrespective of their ethnicity, colour or creed.
I pondered over what transpired at the two tea parties – one, formal with pomp and pageantry, and the earlier one, an informal gathering of people who genuinely wanted to be there.
I could only thank God for the calibre of Muslims at the grassroots level who are simple and genuinely respectful, unbiased and colour blind.
I am hopeful there is a future for Malaysia, as there are more Muslims at the bottom than at the top! This will make a difference.
May the peace, joy and love of the season touch the hearts of everyone in Malaysia so we can make this world a better place for all.
Merry Christmas and a blessed 2025.
Angeline Lesslar worked in advertising after graduating from Universiti Sains Malaysia. She is passionate about interfaith relations and heads the PMEIA at the Church of St Thomas More, Subang Jaya.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
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