Kakanwil Klemens Taran attends the Jayapura City KKM Christmas Celebration Service

Jayapura, 7 December 2023 Head of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Papua Province, Rev. Klemens Taran, S. Ag., was also present in the atmosphere of the Christmas celebration, Ma'iting Family Harmony (KKM) Jayapura. In the Christmas celebration service that took place at the Tongkonan Kotaraja building on Thursday, December 7, 2023, Kakanwil Taran invited the people to strengthen a sense of harmonious and peaceful kinship in the Land of Papua. In his speech, Kakanwil Taran emphasised the importance of celebrating Christmas as a momentum to strengthen religious relations and build peace in the community.

He invited the people of KKM Jayapura to revive the spirit of togetherness by raising the theme of worship, "Glory to God and peace on Earth," taken from the book of Luke 2:14. Also present at the celebration were the chairman of Dharma Wanita Persatuan Kepala Kantor Wilayah Kementerian Agama Provinsi Papua, Efrida Worumi/Taran., and the young expert section of counselling and empowerment of people in the field of Christian Religious Affairs, Regional Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Papua Province, Joni Tande, S.Th., M.Si. According to Kakanwil Taran, the date or month is not the main thing in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

He reminded us that the most important thing is the meaning of the birth of Jesus, which brings peace and positive change to humanity. "The birth of Jesus is important because his birth brings peace," said Kakanwil Taran. He also affirms that the birth of Jesus Christ has a deeper mission, which is to reconcile man with God through his sacrifice on the cross. In closing his sermon, Kakanwil Taran conveyed the next mission of Jesus Christ, namely to reconcile fellow human beings. "We cannot say we have made peace with God if we have not made peace with our fellow human beings, because Christmas is a message of peace, which means that God wants to make peace with us," he concluded excitedly. The Christmas celebration in the city of Jayapura is expected to have momentum to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and the spirit of togetherness among religious communities.