Christine Jack

Next - well, some replies to the last blog indicated that there is an interest in the work that has been going on - as well as the holidays! So, here goes. Most of the focus for my work here for the Diocese has been in the area of Religious Education , or rather Christian education/Christian nurture. Having travelled alongside the Global Citizenship programmes as well as Church linking programmes up until this year, this new focus has been both narrowing and insightful. Christianity here is a minority faith - Sri Lanka is 70% Buddhist, 17% Hindu, 8% Muslim and 8% Christian - so this is Christianity in a post-colonial,south Asian context of pluralism and multiculturalism - a Christianity which lives in the context of religious plurality, multiscriptures and also in the context of poverty, struggle ... read more

Christmas Eve! We hear that in some parts of England the temperatures are well below freezing. Here it is a little different. However, even in the tropical climate there are Christmas trees with flashing lights, Santa hats - and wonderful Christmas cribs. November saw the close of the four month programme during which time, I was able to visit many churches and parishes in the Kurunegala Diocese. This has been a truly amazing time, both challenging and fruitful - and culminating in the opening of the Kurunegala Diocese Religious Education Resource Centre in the Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe Centre in the Cathedral Compound. This will provide a useful base for future work. November also saw the ordinations of three deacons to the priesthood and two layworkers to the diaconate. The service took place at Trinity College Chapel ... read more

The Hill Country is the name given to the central part of the Diocese, which are part of the agricultural areas of Sri Lanka. The main agricultural areas can be divided into two main sections. Firstly, the paddy and other crops cultivation rural areas and secondly the tea plantation areas introduced by the British Empire in the 19th century. The tea plantations are in the Hill Country - areas of breathtaking beauty where many live well below the poverty line. In the tea plantation areas many of the workers live in educational and economic poverty. My journey from Kurunagala to Nawalpitya and then to Pussillawa took two buses, from Kurunagala to Kandy and then onto my destinations. Travelling by bus is exhilerating in some ways, as the buses are usually crowded so you get to see ... read more

From my not-work diary: August is the month of the spectacular two-week Esaka Kandy Perehera. As the country is now officially at peace, the historic city of Kandy was lit up with the fire crackers and lights of the religious and cultural festival of the Esala Perehra, complete with Kandyian dancing, majestic tuskers and the golden casket bearing the Sacred Tooth relic of the Buddha. The ceremonies include some rites such as the Cutting of the Waters, and echoes of rain storms - all appropriate at this time of the second rice harvest. A young jak tree is planted in each of the four Devales (Temples) dedicated to the four guardian gods:Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama, and the goddess of Pattini. Whatever the story, the final night is a great social occasion. Onlookers line the streets from 10am ... read more