Archdeacon Michael Lim – A good Christian soldier

LAST Saturday (Oct 5), Reverend Ivor Lim launched his book entitled ‘Archdeacon Michael Lim’, which was about his father who had served 38 years (1955-1993) in the Anglican Diocese.

The 214-page volume filled with over 200 photographs, in colour and black-and-white, was ceremoniously launched by the Right Reverend the Bishop of Kuching and Brunei, Datuk Danald Jute, at the 55th Anniversary Patronal Dinner of St Faith’s Church, witnessed by over 1,000 parishioners.

The book is available for sale at the St Thomas’ Cathedral Bookshop, St Faith’s and Tabuan Jaya Anglican Church offices (early bird’s price, till this Oct 15, is RM40 per copy; thereafter, it is RM50 per copy).

Bishop Datuk Danald, in his foreword, had revealed that as a young seminarian enrolled at the Anglican Diocese’s House of Epiphany in November 1983, he and fellow students were ‘jealously guarded against and protected from being influenced by Michael Lim and St Faith’s’.

“In the mid-1980s a ‘Great Revival’ was taking place. God was mightily at work with signs and wonders at St Faith’s Kenyalang. Many were coming to hear, receive and experience God’s love and power, with their faith emboldened and lives transformed. Michael Lim was clearly leading a renewal movement in the power of God the Holy Spirit.”

Bishop Datuk Danald also recalled: “While same might remember him by his huge booming voice and infectious laughter, Father Lim was certainly much bigger than that. He was a man of genuine faith and deep prayer, a humble servant of the Lord, and a loyal friend and faithful pastor of the people.

“He could have been a bishop, yet chose to relinquish his position as Dean/Provost of the St Thomas’ Cathedral in order to take care of the then new parish of St Faith’s Kenyalang (which he founded in 1969).”

During my primary school days at St Thomas’ School, from 1956 till 1962, Father Lim had occasionally taught us the ‘Scripture’ in class, during the time when it was a compulsory subject.

My very first impression of him, as a boy of eight, was that he was of a small stature (he stood at four feet, 10 inches) but appeared sturdy and smart with his thick rimmed spectacles.

What caught our initial interest was his loud booming voice and straightforward nature. He appeared kind and approachable, and did not stand for any nonsense.

My classmate Philip Yong, writing a ‘Commendation’ in the book, had this personal experience to share: “Diligent in his pastoral duties, Archdeacon Lim made frequent family visits to his parishioners, fostering a close and healthy relationship with his flock.

“Aware of his own limitations, he encouraged others to be involved in different church ministries according to their gifts and calling, always ensuring they adhered to biblical vision.

“Many answered his call to service.

“The fruit of Archdeacon Lim’s labour and efforts is clearly demonstrated in the growth of his congregation – from a mere 10 people in 1969 to an impressive 5,000 before his retirement in 1993.

“This remarkable expansion stands as a testament to his dedication, vision and the impact of his ministry on the community of Sarawak.”

Like Philip, I too was ‘swept in during a mini-revival period in the 1980s’, through a ‘Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS)’ held at St Faith’s. Prior to this, my parents and my siblings Edric in Kuching, Professor Edmund in England, and Edrea in Switzerland, had already been ‘born-again’ Christians for some time.

It had taken a medical emergency on the life of my youngest daughter Debra, at age four in 1988, for my spiritual life to change forever.

Prior to this, the first 38 years of my life, my family was Buddhist/Taoist following our grandfather Ong Kwan Hin’s footsteps.

Father Michael Lim and his niece Eleanor Goh (later Deaconess) were instrumental in evangelising my wife, myself and our three children: Dylan, Dyan and Debra.

The Lims had both made us feel very welcomed and the entire church community had received us warmly with unrelenting fellowship, and had taken us into the fold of their home-cell bible study groups where bible-study and communal socialising had meant regular weekly meetings in the homes of our church leaders.

We had quickly grown in our faith and knowledge of the ‘Good Book’.

The Lim and Ong families have been intricately linked from the very early days even before the first Ong of my father’s generation had converted from Buddhism to Christianity.

Father Lim’s second son, Reverend Ivor Lim, author of the book wrote of my father’s conversion: “Archdeacon Lim met (Ong) Kee Bian at the door of St Faith’s one fine Sunday morning (in the early 1980s). After Kee Bian’s brother Ong Kee Hui became a Christian and joined St Thomas’s Cathedral, Kee Bian and his wife Gloria had already begun their journey of personal faith in Jesus.

“Kee Bian later described it as ‘God-sent’ as Lim invited them to join St Faith’s. He offered to baptise them the following week during a scheduled baptism service, with confirmation classes to follow afterward.”

My entire family and myself were baptised and confirmed during Father Lim’s tenure as the Vicar of St Faith’s in 1988.

As a matter of fact, my witness was Ivor Lim (now Reverend) himself, and Eleanor Goh had witnessed for my wife and children.

Father Lim’s eldest daughter Christine was my sister Edrea’s classmate at St Mary’s School and a very close friend. Tragedy struck when Christine passed away during her Form 4 class, at age 17 in 1967.

Her passing marked a turning point in Father Lim’s ‘divine prompting’, which led to him asking the Bishop for a new assignment to establish a new parish in Kenyalang – namely, St Faith’s Church.

Councillor Barbara Mendu Bey then generously donated her own land on which the church and school were built in 1967, and completed in 1969.

Reverend Ivor had spent over five years researching and working on the voluminous biography of his father, which is reflected on every single page – chock full of details, information, events and stories, punctuated by dozens (in fact, over 200) photographs in colour and black-and-white.

It is a monumental work of love written in a way that is both devotional in spirit and conversational in language, with never a dull moment.

The book is filled with the many signs and wonders of the ways of how Jesus Christ had influenced, affected and uplifted one man’s and indeed, one entire family’s, life in their walk with God.

This is one inspirational piece of writing which delivers on every single word that’s tagged on the book cover itself: “Archdeacon Michael Lim – God’s faithful shepherd who answered the divine call to cultivate a vibrant and transformative church community.”

I know it to be true as I was humbly very much a part of it all.

If not for St Faith’s and Archdeacon Lim, I would still be a lost soul.

Praise be to God for the life of Michael Lim, and thank you Reverend Ivor for a most touching and inspirational biography of your dad.

Amen.

* The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the newspaper.