Vicars Message - St. Paul's Church, Kandy

News letter – September 2024 ………………

From the Vicar’s desk…..

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;(Psalm 24.1)

Dear Friends,

The month of September has dawned upon us. This month we are called to promote and pray for good Christian practices and prayer in homes. The second week in September may be observed as a Christian Home Week and Sunday. And we are also called to work and pray for the integrity of the environment.

The importance of good Christian practices, in the modern day and age, cannot be overemphasized. We all seem to have been caught up in rat races in a society, that heeds little for values and ethics. The society tempts us to treat power and position over humility and service. Secularization and Individualization seem to hold all of us accountable rather than humanity or spirituality. While we may not change everything overnight, what we can do is certainly promote good practices in homes and make sure that we as a parish and a wider Church do the same as Christian family. We should never underestimate that power of a single person or family of prayer and value; can impact on many more persons and families positively. September has also brought us a new season that has been called Creation tide, where we are called to remember the dignity and majesty of ALL creation. This season extends from 1st September to 4th October, the feast day of St Francis, who is the patron saint of the environment and animals. Let us go through this season with wonder and respect for ALL creation and strive to be good stewards of it.

On a Diocesan front, September will be the Diocesan Council, and the committees and office bearers selected would be those who would be in office for the 75th anniversary year. Let us uphold the Diocese in its journey this year. There are many aspects of mission that have been emphasized and a main committee with conveners have been in work for several months to ensure that all sides of this celebration are made possible. Let us hold hands with the Diocese in this venture as one of the oldest parishes in the Diocese and remembering the responsibility that we as a parish have to the Diocese with its unique challenges.

And who can forget the most important secular event that is scheduled for a great showcasing this month? I am sure most of us will not forget the election that is to take place in a few weeks from now. Let us uphold this event and the country in our continuous prayers as we come closer each day. The TV screen and print media seem to have so much to say and so much seems to be happening around us as each candidate and their parties try to claim supremacy over the other. These same political dramas and circuses have clouded our thinking over decades and once in power all of them forget their mandate and leave this country stagnated, where otherwise Sri Lanka would be a much more leading player without its political corruptness. Our hope and prayer would be for a leadership which is transparent, accountable and holistic in development with peace, harmony and respect abounding within the country. Let us voice our concerns in thought and deed while committing unto God this cause.

Message for the Environment Day
Bishops of the Church of Ceylon

(05th June, 2021 | 06.00 )
This year’s theme for World Environment Day is Reimagine, Recreate and Restore and given the crisis that the world faces with respect to climate change, 2021 also marks the launch of the United Nations Decade on ecosystem restoration (2021-2030). The Church of Ceylon calls upon all Sri Lankans to join with the peoples of the world to focus the attention of governments, leaders of all faith communities, business communities and civil society, on the urgent need to heal and restore the earth’s ecosystems.

Sacrificing the care of the environment in the pursuit of human development is depleting and stretching the earth’s natural resources to the maximum. As a result, dramatic changes in climate, pollution, poverty, deprivation and sickness are on the rise; nature cannot endure the abuse and over-exploitation. As Christians, we believe that God gave us shared dominion of the earth with the task of not only using it for sustenance but also to nurture it and manage it responsibly for the benefit of all, including future generations. It is important to note that the creation story in the Bible teaches us that even God rested after six days of work; the principles of the sabbath and the jubilee remind us that the earth and the soil need rest, restoration and rejuvenation. Many religious traditions and the wisdom of first peoples contain similar insights.

We salute youth leaders in various parts of the world who are leading the campaign through education, advocacy and even litigation in courts, to ensure that the world recognizes its responsibility of stewardship and management of the planet.

Major environmental problems in the world, deforestation, the lack of clean water and air, the loss of biodiversity, droughts and floods, increased sicknesses are the result of human beings abusing nature. In most of these situations, it is the poor and the vulnerable that suffer the most. This is unjust and unacceptable to us as Christians as Jesus Christ always was particularly concerned about the poor, the marginalized and the excluded.

In our own country, we have witnessed in recent years a failure in these responsibilities of stewardship. The pollution of the soil, waterways, and the sea, unsustainable soil and mineral mining and denudation of the natural tropical forest cover are a few examples. Policies for development must take cognizance of their impact on the environment. We need to review our economic and development policies and models, our modes of living and consumption and personal lifestyles so as to ensure that we shift to 'greener' methods of economic activity and living. Let us live in harmony with Mother Nature rather than destroying her; let us think not only about ourselves but also those yet to be born. We can start by cutting down on consumption and ‘wants’ and reducing, reusing and recycling waste and conserving water and energy. We can start with ourselves, our homes, churches, and work places.

The Rt Revd Keerthisiri Fernando, Bishop of Kurunagala & The Presiding Bishop of the Church of Ceylon

The Rt Revd Dushantha Rodrigo, Bishop of Colombo

Click to read full Message with Sinhala and Tamil translations