The St. Alfred Guitarists held their first thanksgiving celebration at the parish hall in Shatin on July 9. The theme for the day was Showcasing Our God Given Talents. The programme featured a mixture of Christian songs, love melodies and rock.
 
It was an afternoon of praying while playing, as the strings of the guitars spelled out the prayer of the fingers that plucked them.
 
The three guests of honour, Father Rey Amancio, Sister Corazon Liwanag and Nida Abaya gave an inspirational message which motivated the musicians to higher levels.
 
Our parish priest, Father Slawomir Kalisz, likened the event to a famous television talent programme, dubbing the day, St. Alfred’s Got Talent, an acknowledgement that the parish has plenty of talented guitarists.
 
St. Alfred Guitarists has the aim sharing hidden talents and using them to spread God’s beautiful songs of worship and praises. The group started three years ago with just six students in Batch One.
 
Many got interested to join, so I started Batch Two. And as the numbers increased, now I have started Batch Three for newcomers.
 
The group grew bigger so we decided to have this thanksgiving programme and were supported by our beloved parish priest and our officers at the parish.
 
We called our programme a thanksgiving, because we would like to express our gratitude for the opportunity God has given us to learn and to share his great love for us.
 
The community at St. Alfred’s was singing together with the guitarists, who prepared their own songs and practiced a lot to put their best foot forward on the stage.
 
There were surprise songs from the teacher and from Father Rey Amancio, who is a professional musician.
 
Under a beautiful and solemn song, we were later invited to pray individually and build up our own relationship with God.
 
It was a lot of fun that everyone enjoyed. The guitarists were given certificates by our parish priest to honour their dedication in learning and to others for sharing their abilities.
 
The programme was a huge success because of the generous people behind the scenes who helped us with the preparation of tarpaulins, uniforms, decorations, food and certificates. We are so thankful to them. We thank God for this memorable day in our lives as guitarists.
 
A guitar lover’s journey has no end. The group will only be the start of using our talent to glorify God as we serve him every Sunday with our whole heart.
 
It is not easy to be one, as our fingers strum together with our heart and mind. But as you learn to play by yourself, you will produce good songs and tunes. Then you will proudly say it was worth all the sacrifice.
 
• Eimee Velarde
   St. Alfred’s Church