Appeal for Sri Lankan Churches struggling with refugee crisis

The Methodist Church’s Fund for World Mission is working with local churches in Sri Lanka to deliver immediate aid and relief.

The Church is appealing for people to help alleviate the suffering caused by the conflict by donating to the Fund.

A £15,000 grant from the Fund for World Mission will be sent to Sri Lankan Church leaders to help assist victims affected by the Sri Lankan humanitarian crisis and to take initiatives to build peace. The gift follows an earlier £20,000 Fund for World Mission grant made in October after around 200,000 residents in the Wanni region in the north of the country became trapped by heavy shelling and aerial bombing.

Revd Ebenezer Joseph, President of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka, said: “The willingness of the Methodist people in the UK really strengthens us. The demands are increasing as the number of refugees rises. Our needs for the next six months may be something around Rs 20 million (£113,000) at least.

“Please continue to pray specially for the people who are caught in between. It’s God grace alone that enables us to continue with what could be done without just giving up.”

Stephen Poxon, President of Methodist Conference in Britain, wrote to Church leaders in Sri Lanka last week.

“As I travel around Britain you and your nation are mentioned and upheld in prayer in almost every church and fellowship meeting I attend,” he said.

“We pray for an end to violence and hatred, for healing and reconciliation to come and that lasting peace which is born out of there being justice for all. We continue to stand alongside you and seek to respond to your growing needs as we are able.”

David Bennett, Fundraising Coordinator, said: “People’s generous giving over the years has enabled the Fund for World Mission to respond immediately to the crisis in Sri Lanka with support totalling £35,000.”

“This, however, is just the start. Donations are still needed by our Partner Churches to continue this vital work and we now need to top up our reserves so that we can respond just as quickly to similar situations. Please support our work with Partner Churches by making a donation to the Fund for World Mission. You can do this by sending a cheque to the below address (quoting the reference SR59) or by making an online payment through www.justgiving.com/mcfworldmission.”

Source: Methodist News Service 22/05/09

Methodists in war-torn Sri Lanka appeal for help

The British Methodist Church urges people to pray for displaced Sri-Lankans on February 19.

As fighting in Sri Lanka reached a climax this month, the Methodist Church in Britain has urged people to pray for hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.

Reports from the President of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka have revealed the extent of the devastation. Rev Ebenezer Joseph said that 95 per cent of the seven congregations in the Wanni region had been trapped in an area now under control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

“The Methodist Church of Sri Lanka has received reports of civilian causalities in the Mullaitivu District, which seems to take place even in areas disclosed as ‘safety zones’,” said Rev Joseph.

“Therefore, we appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka to take all measures to prevent civilian causalities in the present military campaign. We appeal to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to allow free movement of civilians to safer areas without forcibly detaining them or using them as human shields. “We make this appeal to both warring parties purely on humanitarian grounds keeping the innocent civilians foremost in mind.”

All seven Methodist Churches in the region have been displaced, but relief work has continued. The Methodist Church in Britain called for people to use day 19 of the Methodist Prayer Handbook to pray for an end to people’s suffering in war-torn, northern Sri Lanka.

Rev Joseph said: “The conditions for the ordinary civilians are very, very difficult. We also extend relief to those families who have managed to come out of the Wanni and who are now in various camps in the Mannar and Vavuniya areas and the Jaffna Peninsula.

“We also need to be ready to reconstruct the Churches and help with settlement of the people once the people are allowed to return back to their dwellings in the cleaned areas.”

Further aid from the Fund For World Mission, which gave £20,000 in October, will be sent out to the Church to help people rebuild their homes and their lives.

Anyone wishing to donate to the Fund For World Mission’s aid relief to Sri Lanka can do so online at the World Church page www.methodist.org.uk http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentoworld.content&cmid=1492 or contact Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, at the Fund For World Mission on 020 7467 5161 or via email pearces@methodistchurch.org.uk


Source: Methodist News Service 17/02/2009

BAPTISTS RALLIED TO ‘EVANGELISE THE CHURCH’

While thoughtful non-Christians should be encouraged to ‘change their beliefs to fit their practices’, the Church also needs to be evangelised so its members ‘change their practices to fit their beliefs’, Sri Lankan theologian Vinoth Ramachandra told delegates at this year’s Baptist Assembly. Taking Matthew 5.43-48 as his text, Dr Ramachandra said, ‘The Gospel is not about my need and how God sorts it out. It is about the world and what the triune God will do for the world – heal it, restore it, and reconcile the world to himself.’ Dr Ramachandra also called on delegates to build friendships with neighbours of other cultures and traditions and to be aware of the impact of the world’s economic systems upon the global climate.

Source: The Baptist Times (8/5)

Illegal Custody in Sri Lanka

I am printing this letter which has come to me so that you may be aware of the tense situation in Sri Lanka and to give you the chance to help by your action and/or prayers.


“I am a ministerial candidate of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka and am presently studying at the Theological College of Lanka, Pilimatalawa. I was shocked to hear of an incident concerning my brother and brother-in-law.

On 30/1/2008 my brother, Mr. Thevaraj Pakiyarasa, and my brother-in-law, Mr. Sudarshan Selvarajah, were taken into custody by the Narahenpitiye Police on suspicion while they had gone to collect the passport of Mr. Thevaraj at the Passport Office in Borella. They had both come out of the Passport Office as they had been asked to collect the passport in the evening. So my brother-in-law suggested that they visited one of his friends who is working in Colombo. Unfortunately, they were then taken into police custody on suspicion.

They have shown their identity cards and explained to the Police why they had come to Colombo. But the Police keep on asking what has happened to the other person whom the Police believe had travelled with them, even though the two travelled on their own. The two have told the Police that only they came to Colombo to get a passport. However, theya re still kept in Police custody without any further interrogation. My brother is married and they have one son aged just six months.

These two men are entirely innocent and are being kept in custody without any accusation or charge. I feel that keeping people in custody in these circumstances is a violation of their human rights. My paents are unable to travel such a distance to visit every week because of financial difficulties. I humbly request you to take the necessary action to get them released without delay.”

Brother P. Arulraj