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

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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 9 Issue 4

2 FROM THE DESK OF VEN JAYANTH JEYAVEERASINGAN My dear friends and children, I take this opportunity to wish all of you a very blessed Easter Rajitha, my sons Stephan and Louis, together with both my sets of wardens, join me in wishing you a very peaceful Easter. In St. John 20:19 and following, Jesus appears to the disciples who were frightened about the situation in the country and were sitting in a room behind locked doors. Then, Jesus comes and tells them: Peace be with you. What does this mean to us in today s context? When we go back to the book of Genesis, God created the earth, the creation, and made man and woman in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). So, at that time, when God created all beings, there was peace. However, due to our avarice, all that was peaceful was made chaotic. The human race forgot to be kind to their neighbours, and as in Genesis 4:9 and following, God has given the stewardship to every human being to look after his neighbour. He asks us the question: Where is your brother/sister? and, as Cain answered God in relation to Abel, are we going to say: Am I my brother s keeper? Hence the Easter message, as in St. John s Gospel already quoted, is the renewal of our relationships with our neighbours. God in Christ, in His newness, gives us the responsibility of looking after all human beings within the church and also the community. Are we ready to be a part of this mission? 2

3 .. continued from page 2 As in John 20:1 and following, we must have the courage of Mary of Magdala to turn away from the tomb, recognize the resurrected Christ and say: Rabboni! As we go into a postresurrection period, may we be mindful of the challenge the new and risen Christ gives us. I take this opportunity to thank both sets of wardens and all who help me in running this parish smoothly. I also thank Simone of the English congregation and Kala of the Tamil congregation for their immense help in maintaining all documentation. I also take this opportunity to thank each and every organisation of the English and the Tamil congregations as well as Aruldas, Shanthi, and their sons James and John, for their silent ministry to us, not forgetting their nephew Roshan, the computer expert who helps us when things go wrong. May God bless all of you! With affectionate prayers, Yours sincerely, Fr Jayanth Jeyaveerasingan. 1 st (Sunday) Easter Day 9 th (Monday) Annunciation of the Lord 14 th (Saturday) National New Year 16 th (Monday) Arrival in Sri Lanka of the Baptist Mission (1812) 24 th (Tuesday) World YWCA Day 28 th (Saturday) World Day for Health and Safety at Work 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 usually, home-cooked food prepared by Shanthi, our Sexton W J Arul Das wife. Even if you aren t hungry for a meal, come and savour the taste of fellowship, which is truly great when all of us live in unity according to the word of God! Sunday School: 10:00 am to 11:30 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 churchfamily 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! 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! 4

5 Parish Activities 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! 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. A LISTENING EAR An initiative of the Caring and Sharing Ministry The following members have volunteered their time to lend a ear and to pray with those who are facing challenges in life. You may contact them to set up a mutually convenient time and place to talk/meet: Nalinie Wanigasekera ( ) Sharmila Perera ( ) Angela Seneviratne ( ) Please contact Angela (Coordinator Listening Ear) for further details. 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 USHER badge), one of our Wardens (just ask for Thomas, Nalinie, Lalith, or Wijith), or our Vicar, 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 2018 DATE READING SCRIPTURE PASSAGE READER 1 ST RESURRECTION DAY / EASTER SUNDAY 8 TH EASTER 2 Psalm Psalm 118:1-2, OT Lesson Isaiah 25:6-9 Thomas Ponniah NT Lesson Acts 10:34-43 Lalith Dassenaike Gospel Mark 16:1-8 Dyan Seneviratne Psalm Psalm st Lesson Acts 4:32-35 Nejan Gunewardene NT Lesson 1 John 1:1 2:2 Avanthi Seneviratne Gospel John 20:19-31 Tatiana Benedict 15 TH EASTER 3 Psalm Psalm 4 1st Lesson Acts 3:12-19 Githa Algama NT Lesson 1 John 3:1-7 Dharshani de Silva Gospel Luke 24:36b-48 Simone Botejue 22 ND EASTER 4 / GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY 29 TH EASTER 5 Psalm Psalm 23 1 st Lesson [S] Acts 4:5-12 Lalinka de Silva NT Lesson [E] 1 John 3:16-24 Angela Seneviratne Gospel [T] John 10:11-18 Angela Ramesh Psalm Psalm 22: st Lesson Acts 8:26-40 Mishael Algama NT Lesson I John 4:7-21 Upekha Wickramaratne Gospel John 15:1-8 Delani Jayasinghe JUMBLE SALE A fundraising initiative of the Mothers Union If you have any jumble that is in good condition and reusable, please hand over items to Nilani or Simone any time after 1 st April th April Parish Hall 6

7 WARDENS AND SIDESPERSONS DUTY ROSTER FOR 2018 INTERCESSORS AND OFFERTORY-BEARERS FOR 2018 DATE INTERCESSOR OFFERTORY-BEARERS 1 ST Viranga Wickramaratne Minal Ranatunga and Family 8 TH Deepika Dassenaike Graeme Tissera and Family 15 TH 22 ND 22 ND Dhayamani Ashok Ven Jayanth Jeyaveerasingan Thomas Ponniah Barbara Wijesinghe Kusum Wickramaratne Susheela Gunaratnam Malar David Dorothy Philips Nalinie Wanigasekera DATE WARDEN SIDESPERSONS 1 ST SUNDAY April 1 st 2 ND SUNDAY April 8 th 3 RD SUNDAY April 15 th 4 TH SUNDAY April 22 nd 5 TH SUNDAY April 29 th Thomas Ponniah (am) Lalith Dassenaike (pm) Nalinie Wanigasekara (am) Thomas Ponniah (pm) Wijith DeChickera (am) Nalinie Wanigasekara (pm) Lalith Dassenaike (am) Thomas Ponniah (am) Wijith DeChickera (pm) Sunil De Alwis (am) Surinder Kumar Ashok (am) Delani Jayasinghe (pm) Amala Cumaraswamy (am) Sharmila Perera (am) Minal Ranatunga (pm) Susheela Gunaratnam (am) Dorothy Philips (am) Jennifer Latiff (pm) Dharshani de Silva (am) Dallas Wijeyesinghe (am) Nalin Gunasekera (am) Sharmila Perera (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 MR LALITH DASSENAIKE lalithdassenaike@gmail.com Hony. Treasurer MRS TAMANI DIAS tamani.dias@sc.com MR WIJITH DeCHICKERA wijithdc@sltnet.lk 7

8 Week Date Birthdays Anniversaries st April Viranga Wickramaratne 4 th April Chrisantha De Silva 5 th April Charmaine Dahanayake 6 th April Rowena Mendis 7 th April Minal Ranatunga 2 8 th April Kishan Kirtisinghe Shevaan Jayasinghe 9 th April Anne Rambukwelle 11 th April Vimala Ganeshananthan Monica Charles 14 th April Simone Botejue 3 15 th April Nilani Seneviratne Emmanuel James Daniel 17 th April Tania Dirckze Gabriel de Silva 19 th April Romesh De Silva 20 th April Christine Walbeoff Nalinie and Padma Wanigasekera 21 st April Dilranjan Jacob Cindy and Dilranjan Jacob 4 22 nd April Manique Ratnayake 23 rd April Deepika Dassenaike Navaneetham Gnanam Zain Jedd Davidson 27 th April Suresh Perera 28 th April Sandra Sridharan Shenaya Wijesundera 5 29 th April Jayaseelan Gnanam 30 th April Sharon De Silva