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!
