June 1818 –June 2018
A thousand and more people arrived in the morning of Saturday 30thin the little town of Baddegama to join the parish of Christ Church, in rejoicing and giving thanks to God for 200 years of outstanding witness and contribution pioneered by Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries who arrived from England in this backwater village in 1818.
The people came from neigbouring parishes in Galle, Matara, Elpitiya and Deniyaya, from Colombo and its suburbs, from other former CMS Mission stations such as Cotta (Kotte), Mirihana and Liyanwela. There were also Old Girls and Boys of Christ Church Boys’ and Girl’s schools as well as friends of Baddegama, from near and far.
The impressive thanksgiving service was preceded by a colourful procession of dancers, drummers, parishioners Christ Church, Baddegama and children from the two church schools, ‘pilgrim visitors’ from other parishes, clergy and invitees. They proceeded from “Winter’s Ferry, named after one of the original CMS missionaries, crossed the “Gin Ganga’ river and then walked up the steep hill to the church.
The service itself was enriched by the traditional chants of the ‘Deva Suriya Sena’ setting of the liturgy, drumming, dancing and the use of indigenous forms and symbols. Rt. Rev. Keerthisiri Fernando, Bishop of Kurunagala presided and preached at the service, with the Archdeacons of Galle, Ven. Sunil Ferdinando, Colombo, Ven Perry Brohier and other clergy assisting. Bishop Keerthi in his sermon spoke of the great contribution to education of the early missionaries and particularly of Revd. Robert Meyor in the Baddegama area. He also highlighted the efforts of the late Metropolitan, Lakdasa de Mel, who when he was serving as a young priest here, pioneered the ‘localization’ of the architecture of the church, use of local cultural forms, liturgy and worhip in a bid to make the parish and the people of Baddegama aware that Jesus was not a European but a West Asian Jewish man.
At the conclusion of the service, British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, James Dauris and Ven. Baddegama Samitha Thero who were special invitees, addressed the gathering.
Photos
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(05-07-2018 09:24AM)
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