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July , August , September 2015

OF THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH OF SRI LANKA

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E D I T O R I A L by C.N.J.

ANNUAL Subscription Local - Rs. 250/-

Overseas - U.S. $ 10/-

IN THIS ISSUE Editorial ............................... 2

Meditation ............................ 3

The Elder of a Shephard... 4

Youth Page .......................... 5

Children’s Page ................... 8

Ministries ............................. 12

Family Page ......................... 17

Church News ....................... 19

Jesus Wept .........................21

Making Disciples ..................23

Vol CIII Nos.07,08,09July - August - September

2015

The Herald

Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka.

REVD. CHARLES N. JANSZ Editor

2, Mudaliyar Avenue, Kohuwala, Nugegoda.

Telephone Residence : 2852835

: 2360861 : 2582469 (Fax)e-mail : cnj@eureka.lk

Front Cover

LEADERS WHO SERVE !

The Annual Leadership Seminar held this year was on the theme “Good Gov-ernance For Sustained Church Growth.” It has received great feedback. Led by former National Director

-formation and many challenges. Whilst a good number of our Leadership turned up, there were many who were missing – some for good reasons and some for reasons only known tothemselves! Sadly some of those missing are missing most ofthe time – not just from Denominational programmes and eventsbut even from ministries of their local churches. One must wonderwhat “leadership” means to them!

- In the light of all this, I thought that this editorial should supple-ment what we did hear that morning and focus on “Leaders Who Serve!”

Today the Church also seems to be fascinated with titles! In this, like so many other areas, it has embraced the attitudes and tradi-tions of the world. We may say that we live in a democratic So-ciety where all are equal, but we make the pecking order by the titles that people bear and wear.

The Church is really no different. It is Bishop, Archbishop, Rev-erend, Right Reverend, Most Reverend, Right Reverend Doctor, Venerable and many more! This is all so interesting in the light of Jesus’ command to his disciples in Matt 23 vss 8 – 11…especial-ly the part where He says that “the greatest among you shall be your servant!”

Many times I have thought about the titles that the Apostle Paul could have used for himself, had he had such an appetite! Prince of the Apostles. Missionary to the Gentiles. Founder of the Chris-tian Church. Author of the New Testament. World’s Greatest Evangelist. He certainly could have, without much exaggeration, claimed any of those high titles for himself. But he did not. There was one title though to which he aspired. One title that he did use over and over again especially to introduce himself to people he didn’t know. Paul was a “doulos Christou” – a servant of Christ. This is the way all Christians and certainly all Christian leaders must see themselves – as “servants of Christ.”

Actually, that is not strong enough; it’s more like “slaves of Christ.” In fact the word translated “servant” in l Cor 4: 1, is not the one normally used in the New Testament for ordinary servants. The word that Paul uses is an unusual word which literally means an “under rower” What a choice of language!

( Contd. on page 21 )

CRCSL leaders who attendedthe annual leadership seminar. (Pic. by Marsha Navamanie)

Stewardship of Technology.... 22

3( Contd. on page 20 )

As I sit to write this devotional, a Presidential and a Parliamentary election has just been completed in Sri Lanka. Now, many elected to be Members of the Parliament are looking for ministerial portfolios. Some of them genuinely want the opportunity to serve the nation with good governance. But many of them are looking for power and position as a sign of prestige. The disciples of Jesus too were no different.

In Mark 10: 35 – 45, James and John came with a request to Jesus asking to let one of them sit at his right and the other at his left in glory. In ancient near east the kings had their chief

authority over them as well. So when these two brothers approached Jesus they had this in mind. However, the other ten disciples were no different to them. When the brothers, made their ambitions known to Jesus, the disciples were indignant with James and John.

.srehto revo ytirohtua esicrexe ot noitisop fo smret ni yadot pihsredael fo kniht su fo tsoMLeadership is considered to be a secure place where one enjoys privileges and lives in com-fort, probably sitting on a rotating executive chair in an air-conditioned cubicle. People

their power over them. But Jesus did not think or act that way. He made a great impact

The mind-set of disciples was challenged by Jesus in more than one way: “You don’t know what you are asking? Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” This means that you are called to suffer with me. Are ready for it? It seems that these two brothers took it too lightly, without knowing the cost and the consequences of their request. Not only do they not know what they were asking for, but also did not know who they are. It is because they were aspiring to sit instead of serving.Jesus says, “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be

not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Cultivating a servant spirit is not an overnight act. It is done by our Master Servant, who

the washing of his disciples’ feet an inferior job. “It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer cloth-

dna nisab a otni retaw deruop eh ,taht retfA .tsiaw sih dnuora lewot a depparw dna ,gnibegan to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” (13: 1 - 5) It was indeed more than an example! It truly dashes our pride to the ground

Our Master is so “Great”! We are called to be “great” too! But we need to understand who we are before we can understand our calling. We are God’s servants! It is in this relationship

NOITATIDEM

by : The Revd: Stanley Nelson.

GREAT LEADER...!

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(Reprinted with permission from “The Banner,” Publication of the Christian Reformed Church of North America, July/August, 2015.)

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In case you haven‛t noticed, things are chang-ing at a frantic pace in terms of leadership in our country! There‛s been lots of gear going down lately regarding good leadership and bad leadership. People Island wide

-ward, so they chucked them out hoping (sincerely!) the new government will do a better job. What makes a good leader good, and a bad leader bad? What we

about good/bad leadership.

What does Christian leadership really look like? Looking to Christ‛s life, actions and teachings is the best place to start. Jesus‛ example of servant leadership outlines a leader as “someone who, out of love, serves others needs before their own.”

If you are already a youth leader you may have an endless number of roles in the life of young people. Friend, encourager, basketball instructor, Bible teacher, prayer partner, motivator, math tutor, guitar teacher…. I‛m sure there‛s more! That‛s cool. What an exciting thing to be involved in so many different ways in young lives! But most importantly you are a model whether you like it or not. When I say “model” I‛m not referring to girls who spend a lot of time falling in love with themselves while looking in the mirror or guys who spend a lot of time at the gym looking in the mirror and repeatedly kissing their biceps! It means modeling to others what it means to follow Jesus.

So if you are involved in leadership it is more important that you take a minute and ask yourself – “what model are you asking people to follow?”

Love, Wish

Model the King who led with a towel!

Youth Page...............

Youth PageEdited By: Wishanka Gregory

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Youth Page............... Contd..............

In his life, Jesus turned the world upside down and he taught the disciples to live and serve the Kingdom of God in that upside down way. This applied to leadership as much as anything else. He taught and modelled Kingdom leadership to his disciples and it was radically different to the way of the world. So what did Jesus have to say about lead-ership?

1. Christian Leadership is not to be Like the WorldIn Matthew 20 we read of James and John asking to sit at Jesus‛ right and left hands. What they were really doing was asking for positions of power and status, being second only to Jesus and over the other disciples. The rest of the disciples were really upset about what James and John had done. Jesus said to them all, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you…”“It shall not be so among you.” Jesus‛ instruction to the disciples then, and therefore to Christian leaders today, was that our leadership is not be like that of the world. As leaders serving the Kingdom of God we are to be different to leaders in the world in how we lead others.

2. Christian Leadership is about Servanthood not Position and StatusSo often in the world, leadership is seen as being about position, status and power,

leader. Nothing could be further from the model that Jesus lived and taught. In Matthew 23, Jesus took the Pharisees to task for exactly this kind of behaviour. They exploited their leadership to gain celebrity and places of honour – the best seats in the house.Jesus turned this on its head and declared “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” The role of leaders is not to serve themselves but to serve those whom

potential. In the Kingdom, this means to be the people that God calls them to be in their service of him. Leadership in the Kingdom is a position of humility not power and status.

3. Christian Leadership Requires the Humility of a Servant HeartAs Jesus and the disciples prepared to share the Passover there was no servant to wash their feet to remove the dirt of their journey and refresh them (John 13). This would have been a huge social blunder, it would have been embarrassing. It was also beneath the dignity of the disciples to wash each other‛s feet. It was beneath them to serve the others in this way. It was even less appropriate for Jesus, as their master, teacher and host to do so.Now, Jesus, knew that he was not simply their teacher but the Son of God and that all things in creation had been made through him (John 1). None the less, he chose humility, which the disciples failed to do, and took the place of the servant, one of the lowest rungs in Jewish society. He washed their feet, then he challenged them. “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another‛s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you…”This was not just about foot washing but about an attitude – having a humble, Christ-like servant heart. He challenged these men, whom he had been growing into leaders of people, to have such a humble servant heart.

Christian Leadership – Three Things Jesus Had to Say About It

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Youth Page............... Contd..............

The Peanuts gang taught us a great deal about life and laughter. They also reveal some great perspec-tives on the art of leadership.

Lesson # 1 : PersistenceNo matter how many times Lucy pulls the football away, Charlie Brown keeps coming back. He simply dusts himself off and tries to kick it again. He didn‛t let his previous failures deter him. Leaders will sometimes fail, but they take action when they encounter new opportunities for success.

leader, but he always managed to pull the group to-gether in a crunch. In “Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown” he gets the kids out of a dire situation by taking charge. Leaders often are individuals willing to take responsibility in a crisis.

Lesson # 3 : LoyaltyLeaders respect their followers and foster loyalty between the group members. One of the most en-dearing traits of the Peanuts gang is their friend-ship. They band together when trouble appears.

Lesson # 4 : Vision

with Camels while shooting at the Red Baron, stop-ping Bobby Hull on a breakaway for the Canadiens, hitting a game winning homer for the Giants or win-

dreams once he actually played his games. Great leaders have an imagination and creativity that can envision what seems impossible to others.

Lesson # 5: CommunicationThe adults in the world of Charlie Brown could not be understood by readers. In the TV specials their voices were represented by the familiar “wah,wah,wah” sound. To effectively lead one must be able to clearly communicate with the team.

leadership lessons: charlie brown

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Dear Boys and Girls

Do you have someone whom you admire and like to imitate? Some of us would like to be like a sports star or a singer or some other fa-mous person. But soldiers have to follow and also obey their captains, especially when they go into battle.

Did you know that all of us Christians are fighting a battle? Our enemies are Satan and the world. But we have Jesus as our Leader and He can help us to win any battle if we follow and obey Him.

So put on the Christian’s armour of God as given us in Ephesians 6:10-18

your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in

that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can

the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Love

Aunty Maxine

Children’s PageEdited by

zsnaJ enixaM

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“TELL me a story about when you were a great soldier. Tell me about one of the battles you won,” said a little boy to his grandfather.

The old man had been a colonel in the Austrian army for many years and could

took the boy upon his knee.

“I will tell you, instead,” he said, “of the greatest battle I ever lost, which was won by braver men than mine.”

The little boy was astonished, for he thought that his grandfather’s soldiers were the bravest in the world. So he listened eagerly.

“I was commanded,” the old colonel began, “to march against a little town in the Tyrol and lay siege to it. We had been meeting stubborn resistance in that part of the country, but we felt sure that we should win because all of the advantag-

prisoner we had taken. ‘You will never take that town,’ he said,’ for they have an Invincible Leader.’

“’What does the fellow mean?’ I inquired of one of my staff. ‘And who is this leader of whom he speaks?’\par “Nobody seemed able to answer my question, and so in case there should be some truth in the report, I doubled preparations.

“As we descended through the pass in the Alps, 1 saw with surprise that the cat-tle were still grazing in the valley and that women and children — yes, and even

“’Either they are not expecting us, or this is a trap to catch us,’ I thought to my-self. As we drew nearer the town we passed people on the road. They smiled and greeted us with a friendly word, and then went on their way. So friendly was their attitude toward us, and so different from the usual reception given us, that my soldiers forgot they were under discipline and returned the greeting.

“Finally we reached the town and clattered up the cobble-paved streets — colors -

smith shop was glowing, and the smith left it to stand in the door with a number of others to watch us pass. Suddenly he waved to one of my soldiers and I heard him exclaim, ‘I knew that fellow when we were boys together at Innsbruch.’

“Women came to the windows or doorways with little babies in their arms. Some of them looked startled and held the babies closer, then went quietly on with

THE INVINCIBLE LEADER

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their household tasks without panic or confusion. As for the boys — little fellows like you, my son,” the old man cuddled the boy in his arms; “they made us feel as though we were taking part in a glorious parade for their special amusement. They swarmed after us, whooping with delight and asking innumerable ques-tions about the weapons we carried. Apparently they had never seen guns and swords before.

“It was impossible to keep strict discipline, and I began to feel rather foolish. My soldiers answered the questions of the children, and I saw one old warrior throw a kiss to a little golden-haired tot on a doorstep. ‘Just the size of my Lisa,’ he muttered.

“Still no sign of an ambush. We rode straight to the open square on which faced the town hall. Here, if anywhere, resistance was to be expected. This is what we

the grass around the fountain as we approached. No cannon or barricade was in sight, and my regiment, as it poured into the square, looked out of place.

“Just as I had reached the hall and my guard was drawn up at attention, an old white-haired man, who by his insignia I surmised to be the mayor, stepped forth,

-abashed by the armed force before them — the most terrible soldiers of the great army of Austria.”

“And what did this old man say, in the face of your guns and your cannon?” asked the little boy breathlessly.

“He walked down the steps, straight to my horse’s side, and with hand extended, cried, ‘Welcome, brother!’ One of my aides made a gesture as if to strike him down with his sword, but I saw by the face of the old mayor that this was no trick on his part.“’Where are your soldiers!’ I demanded.

“’Soldiers? Why, don’t you know we have none!’ he replied in wonderment, as though I had said, ‘Where are your giants?’ or ‘Where are your dwarfs?’“’But we have come to take the town.’

“’Well, no one will stop you.’

“At this question, the old man’s face lit up with a rare smile that I will always remember. Often afterwards, when engaged in bloody warfare, I would sudden-ly see that man’s smile — and somehow, I came to hate my business. His words were simply:

taught men another way.’”

“What did you do then, grandfather?” asked the little boy eagerly.

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“Do you know, son,” the old soldier answered, “there seemed nothing left for us to do but to ride away, leaving the town unmolested. It was impossible to take it.

I knew they would not have obeyed me. Even military discipline has its limits. Could I command the grisly soldier to shoot down the child who reminded him of his Lisa? I reported to headquarters that the town had offered unassailable resis-tance, although this admission injured my military reputation. But I was right. We had literally been conquered by these simple folk who followed implicitly the leadership of Jesus Christ.”

God’s Armor What should you wear everyday? This word search will help you complete your wardrobe. Directions: Find the capitalized words to see what the armor of God looks like. PUT on the FULL ARMOR of God. BELT of TRUTH BREASTPLATE of Righteousness GOSPEL of PEACE SHIELD of FAITH HEL-MET of SALVATION SWORD of the SPIRIT so that YOU may be STRONG in the LORD! Ephesians 6:10-18

“ Annual Leadership Training…..”

Seventy Ministry Workers, Elders, Deacons, Deaconesses and Ad-hoc Committee members comprising the leadership in our Churches in Colombo and out of Colombo gathered together on Saturday the 27th of June, 2014 for the annual Leadership Seminar, organized by the Teaching and Training Committee of the CRCSL, to hear Mr. Yu Hwa Li,

the Governance Consultant for World Vision for Asia and former National Director of World Vision Sri Lanka give an informed and inspiring presentation on Good Governance in the Church. Interspersing his talk with possible Governance Models, the Governance Model of the CRC and what would constitute good gover-nance, he held the attention of all present for almost two meaningful hours.

Being of mixed race (Chinese/Sri Lanka) whilst speaking primarily in English, Mr. Li was able to eloquently communicate the important points in Sinhala,

whilst Parliament Interpreter Prasanthi Krish-namoorthy, of our Wolvendhal Congregation, communicated the message to our Tamil Speak-ing leadership through their head sets.

After a break for Tea, Mr. Li ielded some ques-tions on his presentation and this was followed by a Panel, comprising Revds: Stanley Nelson, Shirley Faber and Pastor Lakmal Wijeratne, moderated by Revd: Charles Jansz who dealt with questions and c based on the CRCSL Church Order. Revd: Jansz gave a brief overview of the Church Order and the White Papers, after which a number of questions from those present were dealt with by the Panel.

The feedback received was great and the consensus was that it was a morning well spent and, if nothing else, those who had no clue of what the Church Order was all about, had a photocopied version to take home in addition to being better informed through the presentation and the panel as to what good Church govern-ment should and would look like.

The morning concluded with a fellowship lunch.

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BAPTISMS AT HATTON….

CRC Dehiwela Mission Visit to Matara…

Wolvendhal Tamil Sunday School National Bible Quiz Winners - Again !”

Sunday the 14th of June 2015, was a momentous day of rejoicing for Pastor Anton Paramasivam and the congregation at Hatton when 5 adults were baptized and 12 made their Public Profes-sion of faith.

One hundred and forty persons of all ages from Dehiwela and Rukmalgama travelled to Matara on a “Mission, Ministry and Fellowship” visit on Sunday 12th July, 2015. Leaving the Dehiwela Church premises at approx 6.00 a.m.

Matara was reached well in time for the bilingual service at 9.00 a.m. The Service was led by Pastor Chaminda Ratnayake with the participation of Pastor Andrew Cottling, Bro.

Chandimal Mendis and a joint praise team led by Rochelle Ratnayake with Anu Mack on the keyboards.

The Wolvendhal Tamil Sunday School won the All Island Bible Quiz Competition for a second year running. In the Zonal Competition, they beat All Saints Church, Pettah and in the Regional Competition the Methodist Church, Kollupitiya. In the All Island Competition they beat St. Michael’s College, Batticaloa. In the Zonal Com-petition, Nathania Sofalas won the Best Perfor-mance award, whilst Yohan Sofalas won the Best Peformance for a second successive year in the All Island Competition.

The Team comprised, Johan Sofalas (Captain), Ashwin Muthukumar, Nathania Sofalas, Steloni-ya Joseph and Nikita Fernando. Mrs. Leela Arul-pragasam was the Teacher in Charge.

Called out of dark-ness into God’s mar-velous light through the power of the Gospel, these new believers desire to continue to walk in that light. Here again is evidence that the Lord continues to open hearts as His Church is faithful to their missionary Mandate. The minis-try at Hatton is one of the newest CRCSL missionary endeav-ours.

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Graduates All !

“ THE SINHALA SUNDAY SCHOOLS PRIZE GIVING…”

After tea and a time of fellowship with the congregation at Matara the journey back began with a stopover for a great lunch and a time of fellowship and relaxation at Koggala.

After afternoon tea it was the journey back to Dehiwela, which was reached around 7.45 p.m. The feedback received by one and all was great and it was certainly a blessed day for those from Dehiwela and Rukmalgama as they were exposed to another part of God’s Church and evidenced what the Lord continues to do in many parts of our Country, growing His Church and bringing in His Kingdom.

The Prize Giving of the General Sinhala Sunday Schools was held in the CRC Dehiwela on the 1st of July, 2015 beginning at 9.00 a.m.

The special effort of this was to bring all the children of the Sinhala Sunday Schools together and develop their friendship and talents. With this objective in mind there was an art competi-tion for all the grades and in addition a drama competition based on the Parables of the Bible. Pastor Reginald Gomas and Pastor Ronald Ama-

At the tenth graduation ceremony of the Colombo Theological Seminary, Mr. Namal Nuwan who gave Leadership to the ministry at Quarry Road and is now involved with the Dehiwela Sinhala Ministry, graduated with a Diploma of Theology.

Mr.Matthew Jeyaseelan our worker with the Tamil Bible Correspondence Course (“Gnana Oli”) and Mr. Muniyandi Saravana of the Regent-Street Tamil congregation obtained their

of Theology. We do thank God for these men whom the Lord has equipped and placed the desire and passion for Ministry. We do wish them every blessing in their ministry and service.

rasekera judged the competitions, while Pastor Amarasekera also gave the message challenging the children and all present to continue to devel-op their gifts and live by the Word of God.

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Another Exposure to Mission andMinistry …out of Colombo… CRC WELLAWATTE TAMIL

CONGREGATION – TENTH ANNIVERSARY… The extended devotions organized by the

Teaching and Training Committee for the month of June,

saw another session of “Mission and Ministry Exposure,” by Pastors Niroshan, Pushpakumara Ratnayake and Andrew Wickremasinghe. Featured were the ministries at Ulapane, Makandura and Kegalle.

The Pastors highlighted by word and presenta-tions what the Lord continues to do and also shared some of the challenges that are encoun-tered. Those present raised their voices in thanksgiving and prayer on behalf of these Pastors and wished them the Lord’s continued empowering on their ministries, as they remain faithful to the task of bringing the good news to those who still are walking in darkness.

The Tenth Anniversary of the Wellawatte Tamil Congregation was held on Sunday the 2nd of August, 2015 on the theme, “Celebrating His Faithfulness.” A gathering of nearly 140 persons joined in praising and thanking God for this milestone.Pastor Ajendran gave the message based on 2 Chronicles 7 verse 16, “ my eyes and my heart will always be there.

The very worship service was held on the 31st of July, 2005 through the vision of Bro. Austen Mascranghe. This pioneer ministry was helped by the Kohuwela, Regent-Street and Wol-vendhal Tamil Congregations.

Pastors Gomas, Niroshan and Ajendran served as student Pastors and since his ordination Pastor Ajendran has served this congregation with great enthusiasm. Today, nearly 70 to 80 persons join in worship. To God alone be the glory !

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“SON SPARK LAB” - VBS Again – at Dehiwela….“Son Spark Lab” was the theme of another Vaca-tion Bible School, conducted by the CRC Dehi-wela from the 24th to the 29th of August, 2015. A total of children attended.

There were 12 classes and the material focused on “Discovering God’s plan for you.” The closing programme saw a full church being blessed by the children with their special items in music, drama etc. Suganthy Simms functioned as Directress and was ably assisted by a dedicated team of Teachers and Helpers.

Great singing, creative crafts and inspirational teaching was all part of a week which motivated the children to choose Jesus.

The Material part of the “Son Series” from Gospel Light Publications was again sponsored by the One Hope Community Church of Wantirna through the initiative of Johan Poppenbeck, whilst the Revd: Crosbie de Kretser was instru-mental in placing in liasing with the Koorong Bookshop and taking care of all the logistics till the material safely arrived in Sri Lanka.

There was much support locally and from former members of the Church domiciled in Australia.

The many children were greatly blessed discov-ering Jesus and were already talking about VBS 2016 !

These pages are now compiled by the Editor the Herald together with the technical help our printer, Mr. Jagath Chandana. and Mr. Jeyaseelan our “Gnana Oli” Office . Any -while “ministry,” information , to be included in these pages could be sent…with a couple pictures and a brief para what it was all about to the Editor for publication according to the criteria practiced. Thank you. – Ed.

(Pics provided by Marsha Navamanie, Anton Paramasivam, Jeyaprakash Sofalas, Ajendran Dhanaraj, Sunil Gunasekera, Dina Mendis.)

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Family / Parenting

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-sion on Prayer, 5th Sept, “Ice Cream Bash” 19th Sept, “Gaming” Day.

NCCSL Sunday. - The ministry and mission of the National Christian Council was remembered

Sunday the 26th of July, 2015. The CRCSL is one of the Constituent member Churches. The offer-tory taken at all our services was donated towards the NCCSL.

“Son Spark Lab” – VBS 2015. Another Vaca-tion Bible School took place at the CRC Dehiwela from the 24th to the 28th of August, 2015 with the closing programme on the 29th of August. (See ministry pages for more information.).

Mrs. Marina Speldewinde It is with sadness that we record the passing away of Marina Spel-dewinde, wife of the late Harold Speldewinde and mother of Michelle and Timothy. Marina was a loyal member of the CRC at Regent-Street and supported the ministry there both by her faithful Church attendance and involvement in diverse ways, especially when her health permitted it. She

-der and later her son who was elected to the same

-ly involved with the work of the Social Service Committee which cared for the needs of the poor and needy and was ever ready to extend a helping hand to anyone who was in need. She was also involved with the work of the Presbyterian Girls

a tower of strength to her family, extended family and Church family. We extend our sympathies to her dear family and do thank God for her life and witness.

Mrs. Valerie Liyanage - The sad news was also received of the death of Mrs. Valerie Liyanage in England. Mrs. Liyanage was Principal of the Pres-byterian Girls School Regent-Street for many years and was an ardent member of the Regent-Street Church. Whilst domiciled in England she contin-ued to show active interest in both the School and the Church at Regent-Street, which she support-ed in different ways. She was also an avid reader of the Herald and always looked forward to news of the Church and her people. In England too she took an active part in the work of the Local Church and served in many areas of its ministry. We do extend our sympathies to her family and pray God’s comfort upon them all.

Pastor James Kulasena - Pastor James Kulasena who served the CRCSL through many a Sinhala congregation in Colombo and out of Colombo also went to be with the Lord following a pro-

+ + + CHURCH NEWS+ + +

Bro. M. Balakrishnan – 10th Death Anniversary – The 10th death anniversary of Bro. M. Balakrish-nan was commemorated with a thanksgiving service at the CRC Dehiwela on Sunday the 21st of June, 2015. The late Bro Balakrishnan served as an El-der of the Regent-Street and Dehiwela Churches and was actively involved both locally and with the Denomination, seeking to motivate the CRCSL in ministry and mission. Bro. Balakrishnan also served as Director of the International Bible Society of Sri Lanka and was mainly responsible for the publica-tion of the Tamil translation of the NIV. The ser-vice was attended by his son Nigel, now domiciled in Perth, Australia and some members of the family. A time of fellowship over light refreshments fol-lowed the service.

Custodians Transfers. The GCEC decided to im-plement the transfer rule involving the Church Cus-todians and the following Transfers and appoint-ments took effect from the 1st of August, 2015.

Wolvendhal – Mr. M. Reginald.Regent-Street – Mr. Sarath Wickremasinghe.Bambalapitiya – Mr. R. Pathmanathan.Wellawatte – Mr. N. SivakumarDehiwela – Mr. Muniyandy Selvarajah.Kohuwela – Mr. Sampath Ruston.

“Little Lambs” Annual Sports Meet - The an-nual sports meet of the “Little Lambs” Montessori took place on Saturday the 25th of July 2015, in the Dehiwela Church Premises. As usual, the “Fan-cy Dress Competition,” and the Parents race were greatly appreciated, while the kids enjoyed the cre-ative events which were keenly contested. Amidst the large gathering were the students, past students, parents and well wishers. Mr and Mrs. Jerome Ro-drigo were the Chief Guests and distributed the prizes.

RYM - The Redeemers Youth Ministry continues to meet under the leadership of Marlon Jansz and Michael Heyn supported by a young and enthusi-astic committee. The following events were held during these past few months – 13th June – “What’s your supplement?,” 27th June, “The Washout,” 11th July, “Who is your foundation?,” 18th July, Annual Father/Sons Table Tennis Tournament, 1st Aug,

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longed illness. Pastor James was one of a group of young men who received their initial training for

the Revd: Aubrey Van Hoff. Since his ordination he served many of the Sinhala congregations in Colombo and went on transfer at different times to serve the Mission stations and Churches in Ka-hatagasdigiliya, Makandura, Ulapane, Galle and Matara. A humble and sincere Servant of God, Pastor James shunned position and power and was content to faithfully serve the Lord and His

many physical challenges as his health declined. He has now been called to his eternal rest and he rests from his labours. We extend our sympathies to his wife, Rosie and the rest of the family and thank God for his faithfulness in ministry and ser-vice.

Kids Choir Day Out - The “Kids Choir” en-joyed another day out – more or less a “reward” for all their hard work, weekly practices and bless-ing the worship with their singing – with a “day out” at “God’s Little Acre” in Moratuwa. It was a day of fun, games and a great time in the pool – not forgetting the sumptuous food. The “Kids Choir” which is a brain child of Maxine Jansz has brought out the musical and dramatic skills of many kids and continues to be a blessing at wor-ship as well as during the Church seasons.

CRC Womens Federation Prayer Morning – The Women’s Federation was invited by the Ko-huwela Sinhala WMU for their monthly prayer morning on Saturday 31st July, which was a Poya

day. A group of approximately 25 ladies repre-senting the Sinhala and Tamil Kohuwela congre-gations were present. Mrs. Vino Schubert led the time of prayer beginning with Isaiah 6: verse 1 and thereafter challenged the ladies to follow the examples of the women of the Bible focussing

Mother of Jesus. A time of sharing and prayer was followed by the scrumptious lunch provided by the Kohuwela ladies.

CHURCH REGISTER.

Deaths.

“Forever with the Lord...”

Marina Speldewinde – of the Regent-Street congregation on 18th June, 2015.

Maureen Lewis – of the Dehiwela congrega-tion on 20th June, 2015.

Eric Van Twest – of the Dehiwela congrega-tion on 23rd June, 2015.

Elaine Weinman – of the Kohuwela congrega-tion on 8th September, 2015.

Ordination.

“ Serve the Lord with gladness...”

Anuranga Biroshan Chandimal Mendis to the

on Sunday 26th July, 2015.

(The “News” in these pages is gathered from the Bulletins published by the respective local church-

sent directly to the Editor of “The Herald,” for publication according to the established criteria. – Ed.).

( Contd. from page 3 )

( The Revd: Nelson, is the President of the CRC SL and pastors the Tamil and English congregations of Regent-Street. We are thankful to him for this piece of writing – Ed.)

God is our Heavenly Father. As His sons and daughters, serving Him is a privilege. Moreover this relationship with Him brings us to another reality. That is, we are brothers and sisters in one family. So becoming slaves to one another is no more a challenge, but another privi-

too will be a matter of joy, as it is done for the Master. It is like the elder brother kissing his baby brother’s feet.

sense of belonging to Him!

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To understand this terminology we need to picture the mighty ancient warships. They were also called “triremes” because they had three tiers or banks of oars along each side. Its real strength came from those oars. Of its crew of around 200 men, only 30 or so were soldiers or sailors. The rest were slaves; chained below decks to their oars. When they rowed together they could send their ship hurtling forward at an incredible speed to ram and sink enemy vessels with the trireme’s iron prow.

Can we understand this? Who are we? As Leaders? Pastors? Elders? Deacons? As ordinary lay-

slaves down below. We are not even in the top tier of slaves. We are Christ’s under rowers, says the Apostle, right down in the bottom of the ship.

minds and stir our imaginations. We are nothing more than under rowers. It is not a glamorous position. It certainly does not sound appealing. There was only one requirement. And that was obe-dience. All an under rower had to do was to start rowing when the captain said start and stop when he said stop.

So let us remember, especially as those in Leadership – we are not in this business of ministry and Church Leadership to get all we can out of it. The point is not whether our ego needs are being met. We are not expected to chart the course for the church’s future, we’re just supposed to keep on row-ing even when we don’t understand where the Captain is taking us. This means of course that our lives will henceforth be dedicated to carrying out His will rather than our own.

The church needs leadership that serves! Leaders with the mind, attitude and spirit of a servant and “under rower” – rowing together to take the Church forward. Sadly, many times we have Leaders who only are interested in serving themselves. Leaders with such big egos that they think that the Church and the Lord is in debt to them! It is only when our Pastors, Elders, Deacons and all those in Leadership see themselves as “under rowers”, servants and slaves of Christ, that the Church would rise to the heights that the Lord expects and His Kingdom would come or as someone once said, it is only when we pray “our kingdom go” that His Kingdom will come!

( Contd. from page 2 )

JESUS WEPT !

For years there has been debate on this verse and exactly why “Jesus Wept.” Perhaps you have a theory of your own. Some say it was because His friend Lazarus had died. Others will tell you that it was because His friend, a righteous man had gone to glory and Christ wept because He was now going to bring him back from that glorious reward. Still others would say that He wept simply because He was caught up in the emotion of the moment and wept as everyone else does.

All of these, I believe, miss the clearest and simplest point of the concise and pithy statement “Jesus wept.” Jesus wept because “Jesus cared.” He cared about His friend. He cared about his soul. He cared about Mary and Martha. He cared about the lesson He was teaching them. This is abundantly illustrated for us, time and again in His ministry. When He healed the leper He cared. When He spoke to the woman at the well, offering guidance and rebuke, choked in words that were soft as that of a dear friend, He cared. When He withstood the stiff-necked Pharisees and called them hyp-ocrites, He cared. As His followers, we must be sympathetic and have the ability to put ourselves in another’s shoes, rather than simply trying to impose our will and experience on them and personally create expectations of them.

If we can do that, if we can embrace every person where they are and help them see their way clear of trials, cir-

each person as if he or she were the only person in the world at that moment. If we can listen and not talk, if we can understand and not condemn, if we can see a person in pain and care enough to reach out to them, we will weep as Jesus wept.

In this day, care enough to consider others before self. Serve and make a difference in your life and theirs.

-Lorraine Hannibal

( Lorraine is a member of the CRC Dehiwela. We are thankful for her submissions from time to time. – Ed.)

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(Reprinted with permission from “The Banner,” Publication of the Christian Reformed Church of North America, June 2015.)

(Reprinted with permission from “The Banner,” Publication of the Christian Reformed Church of North America, January 2015).

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Tail lights

THE HERALDof the

CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH OF SRI LANKA

No. 363, Galle Road, Colombo 6.

Registered as a Newspaper at G.P.O.

Whilst on a recent visit to Perth, I read a news paper article regarding the sentencing of a per-son who had broken the law. The Judge in sentencing him to prison for a period of time said that he hoped that the person concerned would “ come out better than when he went in ! ”

When I read that, I immediately thought of the Church and how true that should be of all those who enter. Funnily, the end result must be the same as desired by this Judge in Perth! Isn’t that the goal of our worship and particularly our sermonizing!

Sadly, sometimes, Prisons do better than Churches! Even better than churches that are theo-logically “reformed” ! For a greater percentage have come out “reformed” from Prison than they do from the Church. Some have mastered a craft. Others have learnt languages. Some have written books. Others, inspirational poems. And some have been born again in Christ and have come out with “new hearts” to live brand new lives. The prison has made a difference!

I thought of what a difference it would make if the church had such good stats of those who came out better than they went in! Better in their talk. Better in attitude. Better to have a better spirit. Better to be better people. Formed and reformed by the Word and Spirit. Transformed by God’s amazing grace.

The parable that Jesus once told of the Pharisee and the Publican who went to the Temple to pray can speak to all of us in this context. Both went in. Both worshipped in their own way. One came out far better and blessed. The other came out just the way he went in! No change. No blessing. This parable is enacted every Sunday in all Churches. That’s why we need that word from that Judge repeated in all Churches. And that’s why Pastor’s should not feel guilty even to repeat sermons that call people to go out better than when they came in !

C H U R C H E S AND P R I S O N S !

by CNJ