What did you have for Christmas Dinner?

No Turkey here!
After the Christmas Day service at 8am, followed by communion for the housebound, I went to a friend's house for Christmas dinner.
Delicious Sri Lankan fare: Yellow rice, chicken, white potato curry, salad and fried fish, with a dessert of chocolate cake, 'Christmas cake ice-cream' and 'wattalapan'.

Spot the fool with the Santa hat!

Sat 22nd & Sun 23rd Dec saw a dozen hardy souls in a hired van going carol-singing round the homes of the housebound- those who I see on a monthly basis for Holy Communion.
Guess who brought the Santa hat! Ho Ho Merry Christmas!

On a more serious note the elderly lady I am standing next to wearing the white blouse and pink pattern skirt was more than pleased to see us. Her name is Chandrani and she feels unable to come to church due to the fact that she has to wear a colostomy bag. She first had the colostomy 11 years ago and since then has had to buy her own bags! Problem is that the Sri Lankan made bags are cheap, but leak, whilst the Australian imported ones are better, but way too expensive.

Please pray for her, her family have had some difficult times in the past.

It's just not Cricket

Had a day off to go see a day of the test match in Colombo, Sri Lanka plays England. Who to cheer for? Accompanying me were 2 friend's children, for an early Christmas treat.

Introducing...

Let me introduce to Anthony and Soma, who are some of the oldest members of our parish. Both of them try to attend church on a regular basis, however Soma's health is not good and she faints quite often during the service.
They are both blind and were familiar on the streets of Colombo as they begged for a living. They are now 'retired' and have a small dwelling. Our Mother's Union is raising funds to fix their roof and repair the concrete flooring in their 'bathroom'. I use inverted commas, as it is 4 walls and open to the skies, with a squat latrine and a tap fixed high up on the wall.
We are all going to be spending Christmas Day with a church family!

Sunday School Christmas Party

Chaos descended upon the elders of a local residential home as our Sunday School Christmas Party arrived! Carol-singing, games, stories, more singing, refreshments and a visit from...........
nattal siya (Father Christmas).
Great fun!

O Christmas Tree...

In case you wondering, yes we do have Christmas trees in Sri Lanka! Thanks to those who sent tree decorations!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Update on Mirihana Detention Centre

Just to update you - Ramo is still at the Detention centre, she had been told that if she can get her birth certificate she will be able to stay in Sri Lanka, instead of being deported to India. For some reason she is not being allowed to come to Mirihana Church, literally next door.
We are praying that she may be able to get home and back to her son for Christmas.
Suresh the fisherman is also still at the centre and is feeling quite depressed.

Even though many of the detainees are from other faith groups they all come to listen to the prayers. Today I met a new person- Moses, a Muslim from the Maldives who is being deported because of visa irregularities.

We are hoping to arrange another visit before Christmas, to sing some carols, share the story of Jesus' birth and to give out some gifts of tea, sugar, milk powder, soap, toothpaste and wash cloths. Perhaps, somewhat surprisingly, when I asked Ramo if she needed anything, she replied "No, Reverend, I'm fine."
Suresh came to the centre with just the clothes he was wearing on the day when he went out fishing and got picked up by the Sri Lankan navy. A year later, he is still in custody...

Diocesan Women's Conference

Thursday 22nd November - Sunday 25th November saw the 1st Diocese of Colombo's Women's Conference taking place. Here a few pics of the event...

Mission Partners Get-Together in Little England

Friday 16th November saw me heading off from Colombo Fort rail station clutching my 2nd class rail ticket and heading northwards on a stretch of track which steadily climbs further and further up into the hills of Kandy and the central region. Arriving 3 and a bit hours later I was planning to be a a tourist and visit the famous 'Temple of the Tooth' - a very well known Buddhist place of pilgrimage - it is believed that a tooth of Buddha himself, rescued from his funeral pyre and brought to Sri Lanka in the hair of a princess resides within a '6-box' casket in the Temple premises. Photos show the offerings of flowers that people bring to the Temple and some of the wall paintings. From Kandy I made my way to Peradeniya Botanical Gardens where I was absolutely stunned by this veritable Garden of Eden. Again have included some photos - loved the colours and was quite taken by a plant which had huge spherical translucent green -seed pods? From here I was transported in a van with Rosemary & James, British Methodist mission partners who are both working at the Theological College of Lanka in Pilimatalawa. TCL was inaugurated in 1963 by the Anglican, Methodist and Baptist churches, later being joined by the Presbyterian church. It's the only ecumenical training institute among the Protestant churches of Sri Lanka. See http://www.tclsl.org/ for more info.
Winding our way up through the tea plantations, there was a chill in the air and looking out of the van window I noticed many people now wearing jumpers, hats, gloves and coats. Was this what they meant by Little England? Our final destination was Nuwara Eliya- a modest little town whose numbers are swelled each April when the Colombo elite decide it is just too hot in the city and decamp into the up-lands. They can enjoy a round of golf, perhaps go to the horse-races or just sit and have a nice cup of tea. It was here that we meet up with the Watson family - CMS Mission Partners in Kandy and the Bakers- a Canadian family who run a fairly unique school - 'Beacon Hill' which offers vocational training to young people of the ages 18-24 , for free. http://www.beaconhillacademy.org/
We had arranged to meet and have some worship and an opportunity to get to know one another and the roles that we have. A chance to talk about our experiences and share the difficulties and joys of working here.
Using the Petworth bungalow as our base- we had a picnic, climbed the 10th highest mountain in Sri Lanka, worshiped at Holy Trinity Church and haggled for fresh vegetables - the best in Sri Lanka!

Bomb Blast In Nugegoda

Today there have been 2 suicide bomb attacks - the most recent one at 5.55pm this evening outside the NoLimit clothes store in Nugegoda. Early reports are saying that 18 people have died, but I suspect there will be more, as there is a busy bus stand outside the shop.
I often have to drive through Nugegoda on my way into Colombo city and was actually shopping at this clothes store last Thursday afternoon.
This week has been particularly bad - it was the LTTE's leader's birthday this week and the LTTE 'Heroes Day' when the LTTE leader makes an annual speech. Government forces attacked the LTTE radio station in order to try and stop the broadcast. The Government have vowed to kill Velupillai Prabhakaran the LTTE leader, please check out http://www.dailymirror.lk/. (28th November 2007 edition).
St John's Church, Nugegoda is a few hundred yards down the road, please pray for the priest Fr Devapriya and his congregation.
Pray for those who have died and those injured.

Prayer Requests

The Bishop of Colombo was taken ill a couple of weeks ago with chicken guyana which you get from infected mosquitos. It makes you feel very ill, high fever and gives you a lot of muscle pain. It takes several weeks to recover from.
Please pray for Bishop Duleep for his recovery and for Geetha his wife.

The 1st ever Diocesan women's conference was held this weekend - pray for those who have long journeys of 8 hours or more ahead of them to get back to their homes and families.
Give thanks that we have been able to meet up, praise and worship God and learn new things about ourselves and our faith.

Pray for the Junior clergy members this weeks as they meet together for 2 days of training.

Pray for the people of Sri Lanka - the budget was approved this week which means huge price rises in the new year.

God bless, Becky

Harvest Service pics

Here are a few pictures from the Harvest service itself:

• The Procession bowing at the altar - has Revd Becky dropped something???
• Kavishka reading the Gospel with Fr Sidney and Fr Emmanuel looking on,
• The Offertory Gifts of Harvest are presented,
• A flower garland is offered to the Chief Guest,
• Fr Sidney lights the lamp.

Greetings to St Peter's School, Fulwood

Isn't technology a wonderful thing? I'm over 5,500 miles away from Preston but I still get to do school assemblies!
Revd Becky coming to your screen soon!!!! Watch out pupils of St Peters, Fulwood!

Becky's Baubles!

Dear Friends,

As your thoughts are not doubt gearing towards Christmas and the Royal Mail announces the last posting dates for international mail I was hoping you might help me out.

I love anything sparkly and bright - particularly Christmas tree decorations. So I was wondering if you could send me just one bauble for my Christmas tree this year. It can be anything - angel, snowman, snowflake, nativity scene, star etc. Any colour, any material (excluding chocolate - sorry bout that!)! But just one - so that when I look at my tree I can think of all my friends and family this Christmas.

My mailing address is: The Revd Becky Hollis,
35/3 1/1 Old Kottawa Rd,
Mirihana,
Nugegoda,
Sri Lanka.

Thank you and God bless,
Becky

More tea Vicar?

Sorry couldn't resist this old joke!
We have a limited no of these very special 'Mirihana Mugs' for sale with all proceeds to the Vicarage rebuilding fund. Included in the price is some of the best tea in the world!

Please e-mail me at revdrebh@hotmail.com if you would to purchase one. I'm not too sure about the cost of postage at the moment - but if I say £5 plus the cost of post and packaging.

As they were donated by a local business - all proceeds will go straight into the fund!

Harvest Festival & Thanksgiving Service aka Spot the Thambili!

Well today was our big Harvest service followed by a Sale as we tried to raise funds for our Vicarage building project. We had a huge congregation packed into a smaller space then usual as stalls selling fruits and vegetables, garments, food items, crafts, books, Bible Society gift items and ice-cream. Our chief guest was Mrs Leony Seneviratne whose family were instrumental in bringing about the re-opening of Mirihana church. (For those interested in its history I will try to do a special post). We had a guest preacher the Very Revd Sidney Knight who trained in an Anglican theological college in Calcutta who worked alongside Mother Theresa. I have included some of the photos I managed to snap. There is a pic of the oil lamp decorated with strings of flowers which is lit by invited guests. You can see a pic of me enjoying my thambili - king coconut, kindly hacked open by one of my servers. You'll see Mr Sunil holding what looks like a pineapple, but is in fact a 'jack fruit' the biggest fruit in the world. Tragically people have been killed by being hit on the head by one of these monsters. Also featured is Mr Bertie, one of the choir members who always has a big friendly smile. I've also included a pic of the altar with the offertory gifts including the Sunday school's creative art work, fruits and vegetables, rice and dall, bread and milk, and rotti (flat bread) and wine. Standing on the right hand side (again with the thambili) is my right hand man - Mr Jeeva Abraham, my sexton/verger. Jeeva has 3 young sons and lives with his wife in a small flat adjoining the church building. He is always on site and is a great help and support - making sure the church is clean and tidy and cockroach free!
Our readings today were in Tamil, Sinhala and English - with a young boy of 10 reading the Gospel in English. The weather was good for us - no rain despite it being monsoon season!

Latest News from Sri Lanka

http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/10/27/opinion/3.asp
Check out this link - the daily mirror is a non-government sponsored newspaper.

Please note too that in the last 2 months there have been price increases on gas and bread - most people use gas for cooking and many low income families buy bread for an evening meal.
Today it has been announced that there has been an increase in milk powder- a 400gram packet has gone from RS195 to Rs 275! (approx 87p to £1.22). Again those Sri Lankans who do not have access to fridges, who live in areas where electricity supplies are infrequent and the poorest of the poor are the ones who lose out.

Please keep Sri Lanka in your prayers.

Prayer Request

This is Fr Chandran Crispus & myself at Diocesan Council.

Fr Chandran is the parish priest of St Andrews Batticaloa, on the East coast in an area of intense fighting between government and LTTE forces. His parish church is in a high security area and he has helped to set up an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp in the church grounds.

They are in constant need of donations of milk powder, toiletries, ladies underwear, exercise books & pens, sugar, tea, cooking oil, gas and linen.

Please pray for the parish of St Andrew's, Fr Chandran and the people who are having to live in temporary accommodation.

NB- There are instances of LTTE and other members of armed groups entering homes after the curfew hours and literally taking everything, money, jewellery, foodstuffs, clothing and telling the family to leave with a few canned items the clothes on their backs.

These people are literally praying every night that Jesus will be the only person to enter their house that evening.

Diocesan Council 122nd Annual Session

Just spent 3 days at the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of Colombo which includes all Diocesan clergy and then depending on electoral roll numbers, 'x' number of parish lay representatives.

As well as the ordinary business of electing Standing Committee members, Auditors and Trustess, there were a number of resolutions to be debated. One of these resolutions made the national news see: http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/10/20/front/06.asp

Council opened with a tradtional dance by pupils of CMS Ladies College who combined both Tamil classical dance & costumes and Sinhala classical dance & costumes to produce a deeply moving and symbolic presentation of the uniting of the two cultures.

The Bishop's address was well received by council and there was general agreement that the Church needs to be standing alongside and in the midst of the pain and suffering being experienced by all peoples.

I took the opportunity to also take part in a debate concerning a resolution asking council to request the Bishop to take adequate measures for a programe of research and study among the clergy and laity, leading to dialogue between men and women to take their rightful place in the family, church and society. I have to admit it was a bit scary standing before some many people!

As well as the sessions in council we also had morning prayers, Holy Communion each day and a Bible study - 12 separate groups in 3 langauges. I was invited by the Bishop to faciliate and lead a Bible Study and was a bit stunned in the second day to discover him joining my group! (Gulp!) Most Bibke studies in Sri Lanka are led by clergy with little input by the participants - however the Bishop is keen to encourage a dialogical approach to be used throughout the Diocese. I must have done my job well as the Bishop publicly commended me at council!

In case you are wondering there is simultaneous translation availiable at all times, council documents are printed in all 3 langauges and the ballot papers too are availiable in all 3 languages.

It was great to meet some many people at council and hearing their stories. Special mention should be made about those who had come from LTTE governed areas. To travel out of the area they need to obtain special visas and many clergy were unsure if they would be allowed to attend the council.

Also to draw to your attention, the LTTE are now forcibly conscripting one member of a household- usually a teenage child, so many are going into hiding. There are various 'safe houses', but children are at high risk. It is very difficult to get them out of LTTE areas and the problem is once they come into government controlled areas they are forced to 'surrender' and taken into police custody...

Prayer Requests

Last week I heard the news that a clergy widow had been brutally stabbed and murdered in her own home. I think her name was Tilka Mendez. She was found alone in her home and no-one is sure why she was killed -was she a particular target? Was it a burglary that went wrong? Had she managed to get on someones 'wrong side'? Please pray for her family and friends.

At the moment the Diocesan council is taking place so please pray for wisdom and patience as the council gets to grips with various resolutions and issues facing the Anglican communion.

Pray for Adrian & Phil from CMS as they continue to find out a bit more about the island and protect them as they travel onwards to Bangladesh on Monday 22nd October.

Pray for me as I get to grips with Singhala classes.

Pray for the parish - for our Harvest Thanksgiving service & Sale on November 4th. We really need people to pull together to raise funds for the rebuilding of the Mission House.

Aw isn't she cute!

Not me the baby!!!

This is Namaya Daniella Abeyratne born on October 5th 2007.

Her mum and dad are extremely proud of their little girl - their first!

Please pray for baby and parents.

Baptism: TBA

Dinner at the Bishop's House

A chance to dress up!

From left to right:

Phil (CMS), Revd Becky, Robbie (Bishop's friend), Bishop Duleep, Geeta, Adrian (CMS), (Robbie's wife), Archdeacon Christhanta & wife, Fr Jayasinga, Mrs Nesiah & Adam Green.

Housewarming!

Well my house doesn't need warming really! Sunday Oct 14th I invited both Adrian & Phil CMS visitors plus my wardens to come round to my flat for lunch.

Here are the ladies from left to right: Dakshini (Vicar's warden), Cela, Mani, Revd Becky, Marlene (hiding), Ianthe.

Visit by CMS Staff!

The CMS regional manager for South Asia, Adrian Watkins shown on the far right and CMS church fund-raiser Phil Evans tucking into their desserts! Also shown is myself and Lanka Nesiah - the Bishop of Colombo's PA and the man who can get anything done!

Prayer Space -Request

Next door to my church there is a Police station which within its compound also has a Detention Centre for those international persons who do not have valid visas or no papers or passports. Every month a few of the congregation go to the Detention Centre to give breakfast to the people there and to offer advice and support. One of my parishoners also works as an advocate taking individual cases on and visiting relatives, getting papers and legal documents and going that extra mile all the time - paying out of her own pocket travel expenses and legal fees.
She is in her 70s!


Please pray for Ramo (Ramini) and her 16year old son- Denver.
Ramo is from Jaffna, her husband is also a Sri Lankan Tamil. She was taken into police custody 7 months ago and arrived at this detention centre 1 month ago. She was born in Sri Lanka and went to India at the age of 19 illegally on a boat from Jaffna. After spending time in a refugee camp she came back to Sri Lanka this time via a plane and has spent the last 15 years in SL.
The Sri Lankan authorities want to deport her as she has no identity of her birth as a Sri Lankan and no National Identity Card.

Pray for Sinthadurai the fisherman who went to India as an refugee from Jaffna in the 1980s. Granted permission to stay in India, but whilst out fishing he accidentally strayed into Sri Lankan waters and was arrested by the Sri Lankan military. He has been into police custody for over 3 years. He has a wife and 5 children.

Please pray too for the men and women who for various reasons are unable to get back to their home countries to be with family and friends.

Can you teach?

One of the major shortages the schools face here is a lack of teachers who have a good working knowledge of English. On reaching a certain grade children are allowed to choose what language to be educated in and many opt for English.

The Diocese desparately needs more teachers for its Church Schools. If you have a teaching qualification or know someone who is perhaps looking for something for a sabbatical please, please get in touch.

The Diocese can't offer a full wage, but will give you full board and lodging.

Please pray for those who may be considering doing some overseas work.

Let me know if you require any further information.

God bless,

Becky

Guest Book

Hi this message is for those who might like to sign my virtual guestbook - just leave your name in the comments box at the bottom of this post!

It's like being at the zoo!

Waiting outside church this afternoon waiting to be taken to the local hospital to visit one of my parishoners. A 4ft long igauna exploded out of the bushes and ran up the wall of the church. I'm not sure who was the more afraid! I nearly beat it up the wall! It stopped to look at me and then disappeared into the guttering at the top.... 20ft in less than 10 seconds!

Prayer Space

• Please pray for the country of Sri Lanka as the conflict continues to escalate and more people are becoming displaced.

• Please pray for St Andrew's church in Batticaloa as they can no longer have services in their building due to security restrictions. Pray for all churches whose congregations are under continual threat from bombings and landmines.

• Please pray for the Diocesan Council to take place from 18th Oct to 21st Oct.

• Please pray for the visit of Adrian Watkins, CMS Regional Manager for South Asia. (13th-22nd Oct).

St Ippolyts Link Church

July 2007

A photo of myself and the Vicar the Revd Ann Pollington standing next to the pulpit at St Ippolyts Church.

This church is famous as a place where the knights on their horses came to receive a blessing before they set off for the Crusades!

St Christopher's Link Church

June 2007

Revd Becky & Revd Dave Thompson in the sanctury at St Christopher's.

CMS Link Churches

I am a Mission Partner for the Church Mission Society.

Here are some of the churches who are currently fundraising and offering prayer support towards my ministry here in Sri Lanka.

Many thanks to:

St John Baptist Broughton with St Martin's & St Peter's Chapel's Fulwood. (Blackburn Diocese)

St Christopher's, Ashton, Preston. (Blackburn Diocese)

St Andrew's, Ashton, Preston. (Blackburn Diocese)

St Ippolyts, St Mary the Virgin Great Wymondley, St Mary the Virgin Little Wymondley.

(St Alban's Diocese).

St Mary the Virgin, Ashwell. (Diocese of St Albans)

Artist in residence: Celebrating the Ordination of Women as Priests in the Church of Ceylon

September 2007

Here are a few pics of a well known Sri Lankan artist putting together a large mural on the walls of the Lady Chapel in the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour in Colombo.

The artist is in fact a Buddhist, although educated at an Anglican school: Trinity College, Kandy.

The mural is to celebrate the first year anniversary of the ordination of women to the priesthood in the Diocese of Colombo.