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 8 Issue 11

2 FROM THE DESK OF REV SURESH DIAS BANDARANAIKE My dear friends, The other day, I was reading a publication I received from the National YMCA of Sri Lanka. It was making a call out to all YMCAs and YWCAs to observe the second week of November as the World Week of Prayer, with the theme of Be the Voice of the Voiceless Stand Up and Speak Up! I believe this is very relevant to us at a time when we see injustice, hatred, jealousy, raising their heads all over the world. Today, the voice of prophecy is silent. We need to hear the voice of the prophets, whereby they spoke out without fear, saying: Thus saith the Lord! My dear people of God, God challenges us to confront the powers that silence people. As a church, we must speak up against policies that continue to impoverish and oppress people, and deny them their human rights. We must speak up against the pollution of our waters, our air, and our soil. We cannot remain silent, as God wants us to be a voice to the voiceless and to bring liberation to God s people. Are you willing to be that voice for God? May the Lord use you as His channel to bring that change in the world. Let us all join hands and work for the liberation of God s people and bring them out of darkness into the light of Christ, the Light of the World. Your loving pastor and friend Fr Suresh 2 Poya Day Prayer Walk And Drive II 3 rd November 2017 (Friday) 7:00am to 9:00am

3 Parochial Church Council (PCC) Proposals and Decisions MEETING HELD ON 24-SEPTEMBER-2017 PROPOSALS WORSHIP 1. CAROL SERVICE - Traditional, Non-traditional, Missional 2. PARISH DINNER - An act of service to the community - An act of mission to our congregation+ DISCIPLESHIP Projects in the pipeline: Teens 14-20: Delani (coordinator) Youth 24-30: Viranga (coordinator) Young Adults 30+: Viranga (coordinator) WHAT PCC CAN DO = support + encourage (e.g. by word don t discourage, by deed open your homes, etc.) + expect change and conflict, be open to different worship styles/preferences, accommodate teens and youth responsibly to keep them within the community, increase participation (including that of parents in worship services+), seek parental + home support), IMPORTANT to change mindsets and traditional expectations FELLOWSHIP The believers had all things in common (Acts 2:42ff); The common good (1 Corinthians 12:4, 7, 11) TOOLS: Parish calendar, website, notices/ announcements (to build a sense of community) inter and intra communications BUILD AWARENESS in the community of as well as about us MINISTRY Caring and Sharing Sub-Ministry A. Church Community Visiting the sick/needy/lonely/elders and children s homes B. Wider Community Children s Library, English Classes, Interactive Community Projects (like Med Clinic), Pastoral Care (prisons/hospitals/outreach to unreached), Large-Scale Projects (e.g. eye camp, medical camp for general check-ups) MISSION A. Alpha B. Bible Study C. Zonal Cottage Meetings D. Poya Day Prayer Walks and Drives DECISIONS PCC received idea positively Vicar and Wardens as well as the relevant Coordinators to continue planning and implementing for these events on 17 th December PCC received idea positively Vicar and Wardens to continue planning and implementing strategies presented by our Youth Coordinators Other comments/suggestions SS children to be exposed to the traditional Anglican service; Ideas to explore: a. bringing the children into the 8.00 am service b. having SS on a Saturday c. strategies for getting SS kids parents to attend service [NOTE: The SS Superintendent shared how some of these had already been tried in the past ] PCC received the idea positively Vicar and Wardens to continue planning and implementing for these events on ongoing basis NOTE: imperatives of this pillar: To connect with. To communicate to. To build a sense of family. PCC received the idea positively Warden-in-charge and respective Sub-Ministry Coordinators to continue planning and implementing the respective activities and programmes PCC received the idea positively One observation about cottage meetings was made and some questions about the prayer walks and drives were asked clarified 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, homecooked food prepared by Shanthi, our Sexton W J Arul Das wife. Even if you aren t hungry for grub, come and savour the taste of fellowship, which is truly great when all of us live and worship God in spirited unity! 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 ever-dedicated teachers. Youth and Teens Meeting: 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm The Teens and Youth of the parish meet for a joint programme every 3 rd Sunday under the guidance and care of their mentors. Fellowship Evening: 7:00 pm A fellowship evening is held every 3 rd Sunday after the 5:30 pm 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! WEDNESDAYS 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! 5 th (Sunday) All Saints Sunday 12 th 18 th (Sunday Saturday) YWCA/YMCA Week of Prayer 19 th (Sunday) Remembrance Sunday 30 th (Thursday) Confederation of Christian Churches 4

5 Parish Activities THURSDAYS BIBLE STUDY: life after Alpha: 6-8 pm Come and See! We ran the Alpha Course after ten years, with two objectives: a) To strengthen our small church in our own spirituality; and b) Begin to reach out to the larger world to bring others into the Good Shepherd s sheepfold and into the arms of Jesus the Great Sheep-herder and our Saviour. We continue with our mission this month too, meeting every Thursday in the church as on Alpha to build better biblical understanding on the theme Time, Talent, Treasure. 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! Cottage Prayer Meetings: A NEW MISSION FOCUS As discussed at our Parochial Church Council Meeting month before last, it is time to get serious about The Great Commission. In keeping with our church s vision and mission statements, we hope to open our homes now to be grouped into zones to share the good news. Contact Wijith DeChickera for info, etc. Details at PCC on Sun., 26th Nov. A Secretary for the Board of Wardens. Contact the Vicar ASAP! 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, Wijith), or our Priest-in-Charge, Rev Suresh Dias Bandaranaike. 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 NOVEMBER 2017 DATE READING SCRIPTURE PASSAGE READER NOVEMBER 5 TH PROPER 26 NOVEMBER 12 TH PROPER 27 NOVEMBER 19 TH PROPER 28 NOVEMBER 26 TH PROPER 29 Psalm Psalm 34:1-10 1st Lesson Revelation 7:9-17 Dulan Goonewardene NT Lesson 1 John 3:1-3 Manique Karunatilleke Gospel Matthew 5:1-12 Yohan Lawrence Psalm Psalm 78:1-7 OT Lesson Amos 5:18-24 Sunday School NT Lesson 1 Thess. 4:13-18 Sunday School Gospel Matthew 25:1-13 Sunday School Psalm Psalm 123 OT Lesson Judges 4:1-7 Delani Jayasinghe NT Lesson 1 Thess. 5:1-11 Lorette Weeraratne Gospel Matthew 25:14-30 Kusum Wickramaratne Psalm Psalm 100 OT Lesson [S] Ezek. 34:11-16, Michelle Ponniah NT Lesson [T] Ephesians 1:15-23 Ridesh Devakumar Gospel (E) Matthew 25:31-46 Mishael Algama Mothers Union CHRISTMAS FIESTA Sunday 3 rd December 2017 after the English Service Food items, Christmas crafts, and much more! Don t miss this opportunity to pick up some early Christmas gifts!! Proceeds in aid of outreach projects. 6

7 INTERCESSORS AND OFFERTORY-BEARERS FOR NOVEMBER 2017 DATE INTERCESSOR OFFERTORY-BEARERS NOVEMBER 5 TH Wijith DeChickera Dallas Wijeyesinghe Nalin Gunasekera NOVEMBER 12 TH Sunday School Sunday School NOVEMBER 19 TH NOVEMBER 26 TH Nilani Seneviratne Varunika De Silva Pamela Silva Savitri Jayawardene Sironmani Selvakumar Shanti Joseph WARDENS AND SIDESPERSONS DUTY ROSTER FOR NOVEMBER 2017 DATE WARDEN (a.m. and p.m. resp.) SIDESPERSONS (AM SERVICE ONLY ) 1 ST SUNDAY November 5 th 2 ND SUNDAY November 12 th 3 RD SUNDAY November 19 th 4 TH SUNDAY November 26 th Thomas Ponniah (am) Lalith Dassenaike (pm) Nalinie Wanigasekera (am) Thomas Ponniah (pm) Wijith DeChickera (am) Nalinie Wanigasekara (pm) Lalith Dassenaike (am) Amala Cumaraswamy (am) Nalin Gunasekera (am) Delani Jayasinghe (pm) Tamani Dias (am) Dorothy Philips (am) Minal Ranatunge (pm) Mallika Dedigama (am) Susheela Gunaratnam (am) Minal Ranatunge (pm) Dharshani de Silva (am) Dallas Wijeyesinghe (am) PRIEST-IN-CHARGE REV SURESH DIAS BANDARANAIKE , cogslk@sltnet.lk Vicar s Warden MR THOMAS PONNIAH thomasp@lankaorix.com People s Wardens MRS NALINIE WANIGASEKERA padnal83@sltnet.lk Hony. Treasurer MS TAMANI DIAS tamani.dias@sc.com MR LALITH DASSENAIKE lalithdassenaike@gmail.com MR WIJITH DeCHICKERA wijithdc@sltnet.lk 7

8 Week Date Birthdays Anniversaries 1 1 st Nov Manique Karunatilleke Mihiri Paul Nethanya Wickramaratne Malisha Welikala 6 th Nov Yanina Botejue Niroshana and Rajindra Daniel 8 th Nov Dilendra Daniel 10 th Nov Mavintha Perera th Nov Niroshana Daniel 16 th Nov Tatiana De Mel 17 th Nov Denali Jayasinghe Tamara Perera 18 th Nov Tamara and Suren Perera 3 19 th Nov Geraldine and Pradeep De Silva 4 20 th Nov Ravindran Gunaratnam Chandra and Ajit De Silva 25 th Nov Kusum Wickramaratne 26 th Nov Malkanthi Peiris 27 th Nov Varunika and Darshan De Silva 30 th Nov Mark Direckze Sean Lalith Silva 1 st Dec Chandar Kantha Ashok 2 nd Dec Ajith Hapugoda Anil Wickramasinghe Ernest Daniels Chitra Simithraaratchy