Our Vision A growing family of Spirit-filled followers of Jesus Christ, inspiring all Sri Lankans to find their life-purpose in God.

Transcription

1 118 Jawatte Road, Colombo cogslk@sltnet.lk Our Vision A growing family of Spirit-filled followers of Jesus Christ, inspiring all Sri Lankans to find their life-purpose in God. WORSHIP SERVICES ENGLISH 6:30 am: Holy Eucharist with Sermon 8:00 am: Holy Eucharist with Sermon (Every 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd and 5 th Sunday) 5:30 pm: Holy Eucharist with Sermon (Except 4 th Sunday) 7:00 am: Mid-Week Holy Eucharist (Every Wednesday) TAMIL 10:00 am: Holy Eucharist with Sermon (Every 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd and 5 th Sunday) ENGLISH and TAMIL (COMBINED SERVICE) 8:00 am: Holy Eucharist with Sermon (Every 4 th Sunday) Our Mission To reach out to all Sri Lankans for Jesus, confirm their faith in the Trinity, and nurture them to achieve Christ-like maturity. Volume 10 Issue 1

2 FROM THE DESK OF VEN JAYANTH JEYAVEERASINGAN My dear people of the Church and the community, Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a blessed, prosperous and happy new year for The God of history, who is our father and mother, is also a pilgrim God, domiciled in the journey of life with us. Hence, in the ups and downs of life, may we look to Him as the author and perfecter of our lives. I would like to ask a very pertinent question from us, Shepherdians: What is the challenge of life for the new year 2019? Your response, in simple language, should be: Kind action (mission) towards fellow human-beings, nature, and animals. How do we do this? The most important thing is to dislocate ourselves from the familiarity of life and locate us with and in the unknown and the uncomfortable. How is this done? This can be done through the three following means: (a) the local church, (b) our neighbouring community, and (c) our diocese which encompasses the different provinces and archdeaconries of our country. Rev W S Senior describes the mission of God thus: On every soaring mountain, O er every spreading plain, May all her sons and daughters, Thy righteousness attain. This kind of kind act could be done if we go after the lost as mentioned above. When we talk of the lost, it means the hurt, the crying, the bleeding, and the depressed. Outwardly, all might seem well but we have to go into the depths of the human heart to understand the LOSTNESS of each individual. We see three great examples of this lostness in Luke 15:1 31: 1) the lost sheep, 2) the lost coin, and 3) the lost son. These three parables have something in common that is, the task of searching. In the whole process of searching, the searcher has to leave his comfort zone, leave his identity and uniqueness, and go into the unknown. In doing so (a) the shepherd found one lost sheep; (b) the woman found one coin from her thalla or 2

3 continued from page 2... thali (most precious for a woman); and (c) the father of the lost son had to grapple, in humanity and with dignity, between the return of the younger son and the anger of the older son. There is also another common element in these stories the element of risk, misunderstanding, and hurt. These are brought about by doing the mission of kind acts. Yet, the cross of Christ very clearly tells us that there is no new life without sacrifice. I end this meditation with a poem by Rabindranath Tagore: Go not to the church to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with a fragrance of love and kindness, Go not to the church to light candles before the altar of God, first remove the darkness of sin, pride and ego from your heart, Go not to the church to bow down your head in prayer, first learn to bow in humility before your fellow human beings and apologise to those you have wronged, Go not to the church to pray on bended knees, first bend down to lift someone who is down-trodden, and strengthen the young ones and not crush them. God bless you all With love and prayers Fr Jayanth 1 st (Tuesday) The Holy Name of Jesus 6 th (Sunday) The Epiphany Covenant Sunday 13 th (Sunday) The Baptism of the Lord 18 th 25 th Eight Days of Prayer for Christian Unity 20 th (Sunday) Unity Sunday 27 th (Sunday) Diocese of Kurunegala Sunday Presbytery of Lanka Sunday Salvation Army Sunday 3

4 Parish Activities SUNDAYS A Time of Church-Family Fellowship: After the 8:00 am service A cup of tea is served in the Parish Hall, every Sunday. On 4 th Sundays, the Mothers Union hosts a Combined Congregations Breakfast. On other Sundays, you may buy your own breakfast. Even if you aren t hungry for a meal, come and savour the taste of fellowship. A Listening Ear: 9:45 am to 10:00 am Some parishioners have volunteered their time to lend a ear and to pray with those who are facing challenges in life. While you may contact them to set up a mutually convenient time and place to talk/meet, they will also be available on Sundays in the Parish Hall (Meeting Room), from 9:45am to 10:00am. Sunday School: 10:00 am to 11:15 am Our children are taught God s Word and ways in a fun, meaningful, and innovative manner by a group of dedicated teachers. Their parents are also most welcome to worship with the rest of our church-family and become more involved in parish activities! Youth and Teens Meeting: 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm The teens and youth of the parish will start meeting regularly for worship, study, and a whole host of other fun-filled activities geared towards spiritual growth and maturity. We ask for your prayers as church leaders who guide and mentor these young people in our parish heed God s voice over this next generation of ours Fellowship Evening: 7:00 pm A fellowship evening is held every 3 rd Sunday after the 5:30pm worship service. All are welcome! SPECIAL EUCHARISTIC SERVICES If you wish to have a dedicated celebration of Holy Communion on your birthday, or any other anniversary that is special to you and yours, your Vicar is able and willing to arrange a special service provided that sufficient notice is given. 4

5 Parish Activities TUESDAYS Medical Clinic: 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm A free Medical Clinic is conducted by our Mothers Union, in the Parish Hall. Pass the good news about this ministry around your home and neighbourhood. Also, come by and lend a helping hand! The medical clinic is part of our church s mission outreach in action. Elders Fellowship: Commencing at 10:00 am The senior friends of our parish meet twice a month every 2 nd and 4 th Wednesday for fun-filled fellowship! THURSDAYS Bible Study: 6.00 pm to 7.30 pm This is when we come together to study the Bible in greater depth. All are welcome. SATURDAYS Mothers Union: Commencing at 4:30 pm Meetings of our very active Mothers Union (MU) are held once a month every 2 nd Saturday. Keep in touch with a member of the MU for updates on their plans and programmes, and join them in their many projects! A Very Warm Welcome and a Heartfelt Greeting, in the Glorious Name of Jesus, to all our Visitors! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN OUR PARISH FAMILY, please fill in a Family Card and hand it over to any of our Sidespersons on duty (look out for the SIDESPERSON badge), one of our Wardens (just ask for Thomas, Nalinie, Lalith, or Dyan), or our Vicar, the Ven Jayanth Jeyaveerasingan. Family Cards are available with our Sexton, W J Arul Das the gentleman in white, on duty at the back of the church, after service. 5

6 SCRIPTURE READERS FOR 2019 DATE READING SCRIPTURE PASSAGE READER 1 ST NEW YEAR/ HOLY NAME OF JESUS 6 TH CHRISTMAS 2 THE EPIPHANY/ COVENANT SUNDAY 13 TH CHRISTMAS 3 EPIPHANY SUNDAY 20 TH UNITY SUNDAY 27 TH CHRISTMAS 5 EPIPHANY 3 6 Psalm Psalm 8 OT Lesson Numbers 6:22-27 Pam Silva NT Lesson Galatians 4:4-7 Dorothy Philips Gospel Luke 2:15-21 Romany de Silva Psalm Psalm 72:1-7, OT Lesson Isaiah 60:1-6 Tatiana de Silva NT Lesson Ephesians 3:1-12 Evelyn De Soyza Gospel Matthew 2:1-12 Michael Tissera Psalm Psalm 29 OT Lesson Isaiah 43:1-7 Sunday School NT Lesson Acts 8:14-17 Sunday School Gospel Luke 3:15-17, Sunday School Psalm Psalm 36:5-10 OT Lesson [S] Isaiah 62:1-5 Lalinka de Silva NT Lesson [T] 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Sironmani Selvarajah Gospel [E] John 2:1-11 Dyan Seneviratne Psalm Psalm 19 OT Lesson Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 Sughandi Daniel NT Lesson 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Junita de Alwis Gospel Luke 4:14-21 Nalinie Wanigasekara UNITY SUNDAY 2019 Our neighbouring parishes of St Peter s Church Pamankade and the Presbyterian Church Maya Avenue will join with us in worship at: Church of the Good Shepherd on: 20 th January at: 8.30am

7 INTERCESSORS AND OFFERTORY-BEARERS FOR 2019 WARDENS AND SIDESPERSONS DUTY ROSTER FOR 2019 DATE INTERCESSOR OFFERTORY-BEARERS 1 ST 6 TH Varunica de Silva Rochelle Hakel- Ranasinghe Kusum Wickramaratne Dharshani de Silva Barbara Wijesinghe Zorina de Alwis 13 TH Sunday School Sunday School 20 TH 27 TH Lalith Dassenaike [E] Alex Joseph [T] Nilani Seneviratne Shanthi Joseph Michelle Ponniah Savithri Jayawardena Manique Ratnayake DATE WARDEN SIDESPERSONS NEW YEAR S DAY January 1 st 1 ST SUNDAY January 6 th 2 ND SUNDAY January 13 th 3 RD SUNDAY January 20 th 4 TH SUNDAY January 27 h Lalith Dassenaike (am) Thomas Ponniah (am) Dyan Seneviratne (pm) Dyan Seneviratne (am) Lalith Dassenaike (pm) Lalith Dassenaike (am) Nalinie Wanigasekara (am) Thomas Ponniah (pm) Dorothy Philips (am) Nalin Gunasekera (am) Sharmila Perera (am) Dorothy Philips(am) Minal Ranatunge (pm) Dorothy Philips (am) Nalin Gunasekera (am) Chandra de Silva (pm) Mallika Dedigama (am) Susheela Gunaratnam (am) Dharshani de Silva (am) Malisha Welikala (am) Jennifer Latiff (pm) VICAR VEN JAYANTHAKUMAR JEYAVEERASINGAN ; cogslk@sltnet.lk Vicar s Warden MR THOMAS PONNIAH thomasp@lankaorix.com People s Wardens MRS NALINIE WANIGASEKERA padnal83@sltnet.lk Hony. Treasurer MRS TAMANI DIAS tamani.dias@sc.com MR LALITH DASSENAIKE lalithdassenaike@gmail.com MR DYAN SENEVIRATNE dyan.sene@gmail.com 7

8 Week Date Birthdays Anniversaries nd Jan Upekha Wickramaratne 4 th Jan Tania Sridharan Radhika and Rohan Fernando 6 th Jan Zorina de Alwis 8 th Jan Tehana De Silva 12 th Jan Rhuani Rambukwella 13 th Jan Daphne Dias Bandaranaike Roshini De Silva 2 14 th Jan Sugandhi Daniel Anushka Lewke 17 th Jan Angela Daniels Amanda and Sean Lalith Silva 18 th Jan Thomas Ponniah Tamani Weerakoon 20 th Jan John Paul Aruldas Minal and Rajind Ranatunga 3 21 st Jan Bren Anandage 22 nd Jan Chandini Perera 23 rd Jan Aidan Tissera Tania and Nishan Perera 26 th Jan Felicia and Chris Obeysekere 27 th Jan Radhika Obeysekere 4 28 th Jan Maheeka and Suresh Perera 29 th Jan Mignon and Francis Anandage 30 th Jan Lalinka De Silva Joseph and Monica Charles