nationalCC

Prayers to be offered – In remembrance of the War Victims

The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) takes note of the ‘Call to Prayer’ by the Roman Catholic Bishop’s Council for North and East, scheduled for Tuesday 18 May 2021 in Remembrance of the War Victims. Acknowledging the ‘sanctity of life’, we call upon our membership to offer prayers for all lives lost in the nearly three decades of war and to uphold the families of the departed for divine healing and restoration of life. In engaging with the ‘call to prayer’; we also caution our clergy and the people to be mindful to abide with the COVID restrictions on ‘gatherings’ and for use of ‘virtual technology’ for connecting with each other for Prayers.   The National  Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL)

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ON THE CURRENT NATIONAL SITUATION BY THE HEADS OF CHURCHES OF THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF SRI LANKA (NCCSL) June 2021

The worsening COVID-19 pandemic situation and related deterioration of socio- economic conditions, along with mounting ecological calamities, has prompted the Churches affiliated with the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) to alert the nation and its political leadership to the need to meet the challenge for proper governance and economic and environmental management to resolve the worsening public health crisis.Despite our country possessing many advantages such as a literate society, a comprehensive and extensive public health system, a middle-income country status, and a mass media system that reaches across our island home, after more than a year since the pandemic struck in February 2020, we remain a nation lacking a suitably designed public health response. Our well-staffed and highly skilled health infrastructure does not seem to be at the centre of the pandemic response. Unlike any other country in South Asia, our pandemic response mechanisms and even important parts of our public administration also seem to be dominated by ex-military personnel many of whom lack the relevant expertise for the task. We are a nation long known to have provided the world with quality medical personnel, yet they are not adequately at the helm to meet this health crisis. There should be justice with regard to access to vaccines both locally and internationally. We are concerned at the absence of a rational policy based on equality and devoid of political favouritism with respect to the vaccination of people in the country. We also deplore the vaccine apartheid between the global north and south in the distribution of vaccines and call upon political leaders and church leaders in the developed world to ensure that such injustice and discrimination is ended forthwith. It is not surprising, therefore, that the nation must suffer an increasing trend of ad hoc, autocratic and non-consultative actions of governance across the gamut of national affairs. This has resulted in such anomalous governmental behaviour such as: use of counter-insurgency and sedition mechanisms against civil activists, intellectuals and artistes; attempts to curtail the work of religious and social service organisations; a mounting death toll of suspects in police custody, a deplorable lack of commitment in the investigations into the Easter Sunday tragedy, and the reversal of numerous ongoing judicial actions that seek to redress large scale plunder, maladministration and other mis-governance, among other serious anomalies not expected of a country committed to freedom and the Rule of Law. Meanwhile we note that various less-advantaged social sectors like the urban and rural poor, the agricultural and plantation community and the fishing community all face deteriorating livelihood conditions arising out of the profound failure to manage the health crisis. The fishing community received another serious blow by the incompetence demonstrated in handling the stricken X-press Pearl and the ensuing calamitous environmental consequences. We call for a credible and independent inquiry into how such a crisis could have occurred. We are disturbed that even as we must overcome these calamities, the governmental leadership seems more focused on undermining democratic processes, stifling dissent and rushing through ill-conceived legislation such as the Port City Commission Bill that may endanger national sovereignty and long- term economic prosperity. The nation and its collective leadership must heed the rising call by our spiritual leaderships to rise up and focus on harnessing our best resources and attributes to respond to the crises rather than indulging in autocratic exercises that only serve further to emasculate our island civilisation.The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) 9th June 2021 Download Sinhala Statement here Download Tamil Statement here

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Condolence Message Reverend Vernon Perera

The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka received the information about the ‘calling to glory’ of Rev Vernon Perera with profound shock and sadness. We join the family in mourning as we remember our brother with warmth, love and respect. Kindly accept our heartfelt condolences. The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka remembers Rev Vernon Perera as a committed minister of the gospel who wholeheartedly worked for the growth of the Kingdom of God. He was friendly and supportive of the ecumenical work of the Council. There is no doubt in our hearts that the departure of Rev Vernon Perera is painful; however are confident that God has given Rev Vernon Perera rest from the labours of this life. May the peace of God, which is beyond comprehension, be with you always till the end of time. Rev. Maxwell Doss General Secretary

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STATEMENT ON THE CURRENT NATIONAL SITUATION BY THE HEADS OF CHURCHES of the The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) 30th July 2021

Amid a further deterioration of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Churches affiliated with the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) wish to alert the nation and its political leadership to the burning needs of particularly severely affected social groups as well as certain national challenges that need urgent addressing. After more than one and a half years of this pandemic, the failure to adequately manage this public health disaster has reduced some already disadvantaged social groups of our nation to conditions of bare physical survival. Meanwhile, whole younger generations continue to suffer from extended interruptions of their life nurturing growth due to a continuing lack of alternate educational facilities. In previous news media briefings, the Heads of Churches of the NCCSL have already commented on the main aspects of the current national situation.   Special attention of the government and the whole nation must be drawn to the predicament of the Hill Country Estate Community, isolated as they are, in the plantations. Despite being one of the greatest ever contributors of export income to the nation, the Estate community has remained the most disadvantaged social group of our nation. It is, therefore, most vulnerable to the multiple shocks of the current pandemic crisis. The nation though overall having moved into the ‘middle-income’ bracket in the world community, the Estate community still lacks even the minimum access that all other communities enjoy not only to public health facilities but also to most other infrastructure, be it education, social services, utilities and communications. Thus, discriminated against, marginalised in the economy and lacking educational qualifications, many of the Estate community’s younger generations migrate to low-grade livelihoods in urban areas far from their homes and with none of the protections of formal employment. Unused to multi-cultural and urban environments, they continue to suffer a similar disadvantage even in these new livelihood sectors. The cruellest predicament has been the channelling of under-age children into domestic work in urban middle class homes of all communities throughout the country. This uncivilised exploitation of child labour has often also seen violence against and abuse of these children.  We call on the Government, the Business community and Civil society to respond to the urgent need for special attention to ensuring the Estate community’s access, on an equal level with other communities, to easing economic pressures and severe educational hardships intensified by the pandemic. Greater protections are also urgently needed for internally migrant labour and monitoring of child labour for future eradication. The inequities in access to pandemic mitigation also must be redressed without delay. Special action programmes are imperative to halt more victimisation of the Estate community as the pandemic spreads. We are confident that the UN and the international community will respond to such national initiatives. We are disappointed that in the present crisis of Education, the Government is focussing on a controversial single venture that undermines the University Act; a national consensus on principles of higher education and continues the disturbing trend of militarisation. The proposed Kotalawela Defence University Bill raises many matters of concern that at the very least should be discussed further with all relevant stakeholders. We request the Government to do so. In the context of the country’s prolonged public health crisis, what is needed is that the national education sector includes a full sectoral mobilising and concentration of all relevant resources, institutional facilities, telecommunication infrastructure, equipping of teacher and administrative personnel and medical protection for the student population among other related aspects. All policy and actions must be done in adequate consultation with health and educational professionals. This coordinated effort must include both the State as well as private -sector education systems. Once again, we urge the government and all leadership sections of our island society to ensure that the COVID 19 Vaccination programme is done in the most coordinated and equitable manner possible. We reiterate that full transparency is needed to reassure the nation that vaccine procurements and calibrated distribution are done according to expert advice being tapped nationally and assisted by The World Health Organisation. We pray that our nation overcomes this calamity with the least possible suffering. Signed: Download the Sinhala Statement here Download the Tamil Statement here

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HEADS OF CHURCHES OF THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF SRI LANKA URGE DUE PROCESS AND SAFETY FOR ARRESTED JOURNALIST

The Heads of Churches of The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) take serious note of the recent arrest of Lanka E News Journalist Mr. Keerthi Ratnayake, by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) over the news attributed to Mr. Ratnayake, of an alleged attack on a foreign diplomatic mission in Colombo. Taking into consideration the recent chain of events of arbitrary arrests, abductions and imprisonments, we call upon the President, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Inspector General of Police and other officials, to uphold the Rule of Law and ensure that due process of law is applied in this matter. This includes the protection, safety and well-being of the journalist in question. We are concerned at the recent trend of silencing persons who dissent or who are critical of the government; for the right to dissent is an essential feature of a free and democratic society. On Behalf of the The Heads of Churches of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka Reverend Maxwell DossGeneral SecretaryNational Christian Council of Sri Lanka 19th August 2021 Download the Sinhala Statement here

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NCCSL STATEMENT IN THE PRESENT NATIONAL CRISIS

The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) is deeply concerned about the existing plight of the Sri Lankan citizens due to the economic crisis in the country. Sri Lanka is currently facing one of the worst economic crises in the recent decades due to the lack of foreign currency reserves. There has been a lack of food, medicines, LP gas, fuel and various other essential goods with inflation reaching an all-time high. Cuts in electricity generation have resulted in people only having 11 hours of power a day as of recent, and for weeks there have been long vehicle queues outside fuel stations and people standing in line to buy kerosene for their cooking and fuel for their generators and vehicles.  The daily wage earners have been the hardest hit with most losing their livelihoods due to the shortages and four deaths have been reported due to exhaustion in the queues. Token increases in salary, even where they have been implemented have had little or no effect due to the spiraling cost of living. Successive governments over time have failed to address Sri Lanka’s deep rooted economic crises. Even though the President and the Government have informed the people that this is due to the lack of tourism and foreign remittances following the Covid19 pandemic and the Easter bombings, it has been quite evident that Sri Lanka’s larger issues of mismanagement of finances, weak government policies, corruption, placing the country in debt due to unsustainable prestige projects and ill-timed tax cuts have greatly resulted in the current situation. Unequal access to essential items is exacerbated by unequal treatment in the response to the crisis with several reports indicating that many areas in the country where influential politicians reside, including the MPs Quarters in Madiwela, have uninterrupted power during a time where people have had to go through 13-hour power cuts a day. The Council is disappointed and deeply disturbed that the government continues to be unempathetic to the people’s cries. With the growing frustrations and anxiety, people have spontaneously come on to the streets protesting against the government and all in authority to take responsibility for this crisis and step down. The immediate labelling of these protestors as ‘extremists or mischief makers’ without proper investigation, coupled with the restrictions on the use of social media sites and messaging platforms and indiscriminate use of the Public Security Ordinance to stop people’s protests have aggravated an already volatile situation. Hence, The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka calls on the Government of Sri Lanka, to act empathetically and responsibly towards its citizens at this time of crises and to immediately ensure equal access to essential items without favoring the affluent. The NCCSL also calls on the government to immediately make measures to bring together professionals, intellectuals and persons who are knowledgeable, irrespective of political backgrounds to manage this crisis. Signed: The Commission for Justice and Peace (CJP) of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka -NCCSL Rev. Ebenezer Joseph Mr. Ravi Algama Rev. Maxwell Doss Chairperson – NCCSL Chairperson – CJP, NCCSL   General Secretary – NCCSL 02 April 2022

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STATEMENT BY THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF SRI LANKA (NCCSL)

ON SRI LANKA’S CURRENT CRISIS – 10th May 2022 The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) unreservedly condemns the cowardly and brutal attack against the peaceful civilian protests at both ‘Temple Trees and Galle Face Green’; which injured and hospitalized many, including the ‘religious’ – a monk and two Christian clergypersons. While disapproving of any act of violence against peaceful gatherings of civilians, we call for an immediate investigation and for due punishment in terms of the ‘law’ against those who purposely planned, instigated and promoted such illegal act infringing the democratic rights of the citizens of the country. We also call upon the Police, the Special Task Force (STF) and the Tri-forces to uphold the ‘right’ for peaceful protests which have been democratically continuing in all parts of the country and at the Galle Face Green for over thirty (30) days. We do not condone any act/s of violence in whatever form it takes. We acknowledge the anger and pain for the people who retaliated against the violence perpetrated against the peace-loving citizenry. However, we call upon all people to refrain from causing harm and damage to human life and property which will lead the country into a deepening crisis.  We welcome the resignation of the Prime Minister and call upon the President to follow suit. We call for the establishment of an ‘Interim Government’ with the participation of respected and untainted political leaders and committed professionals to initiate the process of addressing the unprecedented economic and political crisis of our country, constitutional reform and a General Election bearing in mind the widespread demand for a ‘system change’ in the governance of the country. In conclusion, it is our fervent prayer that ‘change’ will be achieved through peaceful means. We call for calm, restraint and patience among our people in this very tense and delicate situation. Signed: 10th May 2022 Heads of Constituent Churches Rev. Ebenezer Joseph, Chairperson, National Christian Council of SL/President, Methodist Church of SL. Rt. Rev. Dushantha Rodrigo, Bishop of Colombo, Church of Ceylon,Rt. Rev. Keerthisiri Fernando, Bishop of Kurunegala, Church of CeylonRt. Rev. Dr Daniel Thiagarajah, Bishop of Jaffna, Church of South IndiaRev. Heshan De Silva, President, Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya Rev. Saman Perera, President/Moderator, The Presbytery of LankaRev. Shirley Faber, President, Christian Reformed Church,Col. Nihal Hettiarachchi, Territorial Commander, Salvation Army SL,Rev. Dr Chrisso Handy, General Superintendent/Chairman, Assemblies of God of CeylonRev. Harim Peiris, Acting President, Church of the Four-square Gospel in Sri LankaRev. Maxwell Doss, General Secretary, National Christian Council of SL Constituent Ecumenical Organizations Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Young Women’s Christian Association  (YWCA),Ceylon Bible Society,Christian Literature Society, Student Christian Movement (SCM), Back to the Bible Broadcast, Theological College of Lanka http://nccsl.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Statement-Sinhala-May-22-1.pdf

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STATEMENT BY THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF SRI LANKA (NCCSL)

ON THE PREVIALING POLITICAL CRISIS IN SRI LANKA 14th July 2022 The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) is highly disturbed by the unfolding events in our country, which apart from the economic bankruptcy, is moving the nation toward a deep political catastrophe. Taking serious note of this disastrous development, we the Heads of Churches of NCCSL. wish to explicitly state the following- It is our fervent hope and prayer that Sri Lanka as a nation will collectively face, address and overcome the challenges of this unprecedented crisis of a ‘fallen state’, and to this extend be assured of our solidarity, support and cooperation. Signed: Heads of Constituent Churches- Rev. Ebenezer Joseph, Chairperson, National Christian Council of SL/President, Methodist Church of Sri Lanka Rt. Rev. Dushantha Rodrigo, Bishop of Colombo, Church of Ceylon Rt. Rev. Keerthisiri Fernando, Bishop of Kurunegala, Church of Ceylon Rt. Rev. Dr Daniel Thiagarajah, Bishop of Jaffna, Church of South India Rev. Heshan De Silva, President, Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya Rev. Saman Perera, President/Moderator, The Presbytery of Lanka Rev. Shirley Faber, President, Christian Reformed Church Col. Nihal Hettiarachchi, Territorial Commander, Salvation Army SL Rev. Dr. Chrisso Handy, General Superintendent& Chairman, Assemblies of God of Ceylon Rev. Harim Peiris, Acting President, Foursquare Gospel Church Rev. Maxwell Doss, General Secretary, National Christian Council of Sri Lanka Constituent Ecumenical Organizations – Young Men’s Christian Association Young Women’s Christian Association Ceylon Bible Society Christian Literature Society Student Christian Movement Back to the Bible Broadcast Theological College of Lanka http://nccsl.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NCCSL-STATEMENT-ON-PRESENT-POLITICAL-CRISIS-SINHALA.pdf

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STATEMENT BY THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF SRI LANKA (NCCSL), ISSUED ON 20 JULY 2022

The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) acknowledges the decision of the Parliament to elect Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe as the President to complete the presidential term. Taking into consideration the dire political and economic situation of our country and in heeding the voices of the People, we the Heads of Churches; In conclusion, we the Heads of Churches of The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) will continue to stand with the movement for change that has developed in the country. Signed:   Constituent Churches: Rev. Ebenezer Joseph, Chairperson-NCCSL/President Methodist Church of SL Rt. Rev. Dushantha Rodrigo, Bishop of Colombo Rt. Rev. Keerthisiri Fernando, Bishop of Kurunegala, Church of Ceylon Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel Thiagarajah, Bishop of Jaffna, Church of South India Rev. Heshan De Silva, President, Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya Rev. Shirley Faber, President, Christian Reformed Church Rev. Saman Perera, Moderator/President, Presbytery of Lanka Col. Nihal Hettiarachchi, Territorial Commander, Salvation Army SL Rev. Chrisso Handy, Superintendent/Chairperson, Assemblies of God Rev. Harim Peiris, Acting President, Foursquare Gospel Church SL Constituent Ecumenical Organizations Young Men’s Christian Association Student Christian Movement Young Women’s Christian Association The Ceylon Bible Society  Christian Literature Society Theological College of Lanka Back to the Bible Broadcast. Sinhala Statement : http://nccsl.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NCCSL-Statement-21-7-2022-sinhala.pdf Tamil Statement : http://nccsl.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Tamil-statement-21.07.2022.pdf

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