CINNAMON GARDENS BAPTIST CHURCH
CGBC NEWS
July - August - September - October 2010
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öPastoral
Letter
öChurch
Calendar öFeatures öNoticesPastor Rev. W. Warshamanage 120, Dharmapala Mw, Colombo 7 Telephone: 011-269-5133
Pastor Rev. Gary Dean Telephone: 011-250-0357 Mobile: 077-752-0482
Secretary Mrs. Devika Ukwatte
96/18 Kottanuwatta Road Tel :011-269-2414 (Office) Tel : 011-282-1962
Treasurer Mrs. Shalini Jayasooriya 79/4 Kuruppu Road Colombo 8 (9411) 268-2825 Mobile: 077 731-1549
Deacons Mr. Ravi Algama, Mr. Malik Perera; Mr. Sugun Nevins; Mrs. Dimuthi Samarasekera; and Mr. Perumal Jeyakumar
Church Representatives
Mr. Giyan Senapathiratne Dev Piya Sevana Secretary - Mr. Lorenzo Kariyapperuma Treasurer - Mr. S. Kumar
Some Christian News Links
Visitors
Welcome to Vinodh Gunasekera, Sucharitha and the family who are here for a long stay this time - for a period of one year.
Marriage
Deepani and Dilshan were married on June 26th and we extend to them our congratulations and wish them God's guidance and blessing as they begin a new life together! Births & Dedication
Dinesh Singh & Thilakeshwary were blessed with a baby daughter, and Manivannan & Niranjala were blessed with a baby son who were both born on 29th May and were both dedicated together on the 11th July. Sick
The following have been ill and need your prayers Swineetha Balasuriya, Vernon Weerasinghe, Rose Walsalom, Iroma Jansen, Valliamma (Vijayaluxmi's mother), Deepika Ratnayake and her father Weerasinghe.Dushyantha Senapathiratne was involved in a motorcycle accident and had to have surgery on his leg below the knee and is now recovering at home. Please pray that there will be no complications in the healing process and that he will be able to get back to his normal life without too much delay. Please also pray for his wife Kumudini and the family.
Annapakkiam,
mother of Veronica Kanagaraja and Dinesh Singh has been in
hospital after a fall and unable to walk. We thank God that there are
no internal injuries. Please pray that she will be back on her feet
before long. Bereavements
Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Rev. Heshan, Heshani, Roshith and baby Dinithi on the sudden passing away of Ronali. We have all been saddened and shocked by her death and our hearts go out to the family who are having a difficult time settling in to their new life. Please do remember them in your daily prayers. We also extend our love and condolences to Edward Boteju, Enakshi, Dilshan and their families on the loss of Dora. Welcome as the release may seem, however anticipated the end may have been, her loss is no less overwhelming, and we shall miss her cheerful presence at our worship. Travel
Praveeni Algama is away on holiday in Australia after an exhausting two months of exams. We wish her a pleasant and restful time and a safe return home. Indranie Premawardhana, Rev. Kingsley and Iris Perera, and Kuveni and Ranjit Wijeratne are in Hawaii to attend the Baptist World Alliance Congress. We wish them journeying mercies and God's richest blessings during their time away from us. Kingsley and Ranjani de Alwis will be leaving for the USA on 26th July to spend time with their daughter Dilanthi, her husband John and their children. We wish them a safe journey and a happy holiday.  Pastor
Gary and Sue will be away visiting their supporting Churches from
17th August to 28th October as well as their family. We wish them a
safe journey and a blessed time of re-union with their mothers, children
and grandsons. Please uphold them in prayer.Pray for our elders
Please continue to pray for Lakshmie Ameresekere, Ivor Senapathiratne, Tiddy Senapathiratne, Beatrice Silva and Lilian Tisaratchchi. Some of them manage to come to Church, but some cannot make it. Please visit them when possible, or call them. vvvvvvvv CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS
Don't let worry kill you - let the church help. Thursday night - potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs. The rosebud on the altar this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs Julius Belzer. This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the Church. Children will be baptized at both ends. On Tuesday at 4 p.m., there will be an ice cream social. All ladies giving milk will please come early. On Thursday, at 5 p.m., there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All ladies wishing to be "Little Mothers" will meet with the Pastor in his study. This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar. Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the new carpet will come forward and do so. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They can be seen in the Church basement on Saturday. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the Church Hall. Music will follow. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice. Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones. The senior choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir. Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
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Message from the Pastor
Dear Church Family, As we have been going through our Purpose Team budgets in an effort to reduce them, I have been thinking a lot about money. I have also been thinking a lot about tithing. I have been reminded that it was Jesus Christ who said…. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:21 NIV) One test of our Christian Faith is our giving to the work of the Lord through the local Church. It was Rev. Adrian Rogers who said; “A
faith that hasn’t reached your wallet, probably hasn’t reached your
heart.” When you take the time to search the Scriptures you will see that God asks from each one of us that we begin by giving to the Church 10% of our income. We call that 10% our tithe. Giving 10% to God began with Abraham, who gave to Melchizedek, the Priest of God most High, 10% of the plunder of a very great victory. You can read about this in Genesis 14. I was shocked to read recently that there are 500 verses of Scripture that relate to Faith, another 500 that relate to Prayer and would you believe 2,000 that touch on Money. So God is concerned for you, actually it is much more than concern, He Loves you. He also wants you to show your love to him, by giving back to Him what he has so generously given to you. Blessings, Pastor Gary
The Fellowship Team’s work for the year began by identifying people who were regularly attending church and encouraging them to attend the 101 class with a view to prepare them for baptism and Church membership. We give glory to God and thank the Pastors and other teams for completing the work that was initiated. Attempts are made by personal contact to encourage non-attending members to join us in regular worship and fellowship. The refreshments for the quarterly church meeting were arranged by the Fellowship Team, and the Ministry Team too was assisted in this manner during the All Night Prayer Vigil in March. Mr. Thomas and Mr. Aruldas assisted us in this effort and we truly appreciate their contribution in so many ways to the success of our team. On Easter Sunday, we were able to serve a traditional Sri Lankan breakfast (kiribath etc.) to the whole church while members of the Sinhala/Tamil and English congregations enjoyed a time of fellowship. Thank you to the anonymous donors for providing us the finances and Mrs. Devika Ukwatte and Mrs. Champika Weerasinghe for their assistance in making this effort a success. With the new elections at the Women’s Fellowship AGM, Mrs. Enakshi Perera (Secretary) replaced Mrs. Booshana Weerasinghe as the WF representative in the Fellowship team. With the elections at Church AGM, Mrs. Dimuthi Samarasekera replaced Mr. Jeyakumar as Deacon for the team. A very warm welcome to both these ladies, and a big thank you to Mrs. Booshana Weerasinghe and Mr. Jeyakumar for their valuable contribution as team members. Through all the chaos at the AGM, we experienced true fellowship at least in one way. Except for Mrs. Vijayaluxmi Aruldas, everyone who served food belonged to the Youth Fellowship. If needed, the ladies of the Women’s Fellowship were ready to help as well. A very big thank you to Nimasha and Nirusha Samarasekera, Mangeshwari, Subashini Abraham and Priyanga Ukwatte for a job well done. We received a voluntary contribution of Rs. 4600/- from the members present for this meal. A special thank you to Miss Radeeni Algama for doing the newsletter for the Fellowship Team. Thank you to Mrs. Dimuthi Samarasekera (deacon), Mrs. Enakshi Perera, Mrs. Ruby Weerasinghe, Mrs. Vijayaluxmi Aruldas, Miss Subhashini Abraham, Mr. Ravi Algama, Miss Priyanga Ukwatte and Mrs. Saumya Perera for being a valuable part of the Fellowship Team. The team could not function successfully if not for the dedication and hard work of you and the many friends of the fellowship team. Thank you to the Youth, Men’s and Women’s Fellowships for all you do to lighten our load! Thanking God for all of you, Melanie Figurado (Fellowship Team leader) Youth Report “REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH!” – Ecclesiastes 12:1 What do you get when you mix a little bit of spirituality with a whole lot of madness? One craze-filled weekend, and a Youth Camp to remember for decades to come! J The youth of CGBC is a multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic group of teenagers and young adults who have a passion for Christ and love to ‘have fun the right way’! We are oblivious to ethnic borders and cultural disputes, and are ‘one in Christ Jesus, our Saviour.’ So what better way than to grow in our faith, have fun and obey the Bible (which says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1) than to go away for the weekend with like-minded individuals..? Our sentiments exactly! J From the 27th to the 30th of May, the youth of CGBC took off to the suburbs of Warakapola, to the Green Training Centre, to indulge in soul searching, unlimited fellowship and tons of fun. Arriving at the Green Training Centre, their youthfulness was immediately put to the test as they were forced to climb a winding hill up to the campsite. Finally making it to top, they were greeted by refreshments. Taking over from here, the Youth Committee read out the camp rules (which were all adhered to!), sorted out the dorms and grouped everyone up. Although many of the selections were fussed over, by the end of the camp, no one had any regrets! J The rest of the first day passed with games, group time (making of group flags) and an entertainment night where all the groups made up group songs and cheers (that lasted throughout the camp), following a short but thought-provoking session by Pastor Gary. Come day two, all the campers were stunned as they were led to our ‘devotion grounds’ – a large expanse of rock, complete with ponds and bushes. Everyone truly enjoyed their ‘time with God’, truly feeling that much closer to nature and its Creator. Worship time at camp, needless to say, was a blessing to many! From pumping action songs to more soulful praise choruses, everyone was able to worship God and lift His name of high, as we all sang out to Him in one voice. Following our final session by Sanath Athukorala, it was soon time to bid goodbye to the campsite, and make our way back to Colombo. The bus ride back was also much anticipated, as everyone came together in singing English, Sinhala and Tamil songs in unison… with our fellowship and passion for God on high. We continue to request prayer for our youth group, and mainly for all those who took decisions at camp, and that God will help them through this time. In our passion to reach out to others who do not know and love our Lord Jesus Christ, the English Youth and Teens decided to host a barbecue, to invite our non-Christian friends to. It was a blessed time. Although some of us could not bring friends, we made friends with those among us who were new. The evening began with games (led by Thisal), where you had to find a ‘partner’ and then introduce them to the group and share an interesting fact about them… This was indeed entertaining, as many secrets were also revealed J After games, Aunty Sue spoke to everyone for a short while, explaining our theme for the evening – black, red and white. She explained how we all had black hearts, and through the blood of Christ, how they can be transformed into white hearts… hearts of worship to God. We do hope many of our visitors were touched by this message. Then onwards it was all about food, as everyone dug into the sausages, chicken, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and bread buns which were contributed by each of the members in the two Bible Study groups. Dessert was also enjoyed by all, as they mingled with everyone. Although rain threatened to pour down on our barbecue, quick prayers were immediately answered as the skies cleared, and we were able to go on with our programme…
Sessions for the day were led by Roshantha Fernando, who managed to capture the attention and interest of all our campers(!), and Pastor William Wijeyekoon who also probed into our young minds, and set its wheels spinning.
Meals at camp were also an experience… The first day saw the English and Sinhala/Tamil groups sitting in their respective cliques, and passing each other with a mere ‘hi’ or ‘bye’. However, the second day onwards, former cliques were kept on the sidelines as our camp groups sat together, strategizing for the evening’s programme! It was indeed a wonderful sight! During the game time again, everyone was soaked to the bone by the end of it… including the game organisers, much to everyone’s enjoyment. NIRUSHA SAMARASEKERA Report on Dehiattakandiya (DAK) Ministry Jayashantha Perera Evg Secretary I. E-mail received from Bro. Ajith Jayawardene Tue, July 13, 2010 5:21:26 PM Dear Brother Jayashantha. As we discussed in our Evt meeting. I am sending the names of the people those who are going to be Baptised on next Sunday ,18th July 2010. 1.G.G. Pushpakanthilatha. 2. H.V. Dilhani Kumari. 3. R.A. Dilhani Samanthika. 4. R.A. Nimalishanika. 5. E.Dilip Kumara. 6. R.A. Samith Sandaruwan. At the same time , I want to inform you that the following people had been Baptised on 12th August 2007. But They have not received their Certificate of Baptism yet. So please be kind enough to make an arrangement for that. 1. R.A. Jayarathna. 2. W.C. Dayawathi. 3. Deepika Madubashini. 4.B.L. Elizabeth 5. M.A.Dotinona. From: Ajith Jayawardena. II. Report on Dehiattakandiya ministry. Sent: Mon, July 19, 2010 3:45:37 PM Dear All' This is just to give a brief update about the Baptism Service that was held yesterday ,i.e. the 18th July at DAK and other developments with regard to a place of worship 1) Baptisms Praise the Lord !!! Five new believers (Pictured below) received baptism and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior yesterday .The sixth couldn't turn up as she was down with high fever, but her mother who was a Buddhist until very recently ,turned up to receive Baptism as scheduled Since there isn't a baptismal tank or even a permanent place for worship, the water Baptism was conducted by Rev Warshamange at a canal about 1 km away from the Treasurer's (Kumara's ) house where the Sunday services have being held on almost every Sunday . Certificates and Bibles were handed over to them as planned at the service held . Certificates and Bibles were also handed over to the Five believers who had received Baptism in 2007 but had not received them earlier. EVG team is thankful to Devika ,and Rev WW for arranging the certificates and the Bibles. Our special thanks go to Bro Ajith J for his efforts in preparing them for Baptisam amidst all difficulties
I thank the present and past leaders and members of Evg Team for their contribution i.e ,Deacons Malik and Sugun and Uncle Nihal for his strong commitment in spite of his ill health who travelled to DAK with Lalith W , Rev WW and me on Saturday and contributed immensely towards this mission 2) Seperate Building for Worship The treasurer, Kumara, who is standing near the TV in the picture, re confirmed his willingness for putting up a makeshift building in his own plot of land for conducting services until a land is purchased to put up permanent building for worship. Some DAK members believe that God has spoken to Kumara and convinced him as an answer to their prayers as well as those of the members of the CGBC . 3) Sunday School Dayawathie ,the mother of two daugters and the son who received Baptism yesterday is willing and determined to re start a Sunday School for Children although it had been abandoned due to protests and disturbance from the Buddhist Monk of a nearby temple .They need a lot of help from CGBC to re start and continue the Sunday School.
Out of the total of 29 believers who
have received Baptism of DAK mission point so far, 07 are from
Dayawathie and
Jayaratna's family ..
CORRESPONDENCE:
From Billy Lane, Student Minister
----- Forwarded Message ---- From Lasantha & Indunil Dear Ministry partner,
We are using our residence for the personal Bible studies, prayer vigils and other meetings. Thank God for His provision. The main challenge is bringing all non-believing students and making them aware of the truth about Jesus Christ, so our team is thinking of new strategies to connect with them. We are working on registering a Christian Student Society inside the University so that we can have more opportunities to contact non-believers and share the Gospel. We have included some of the highlights of our ministry for you to get a better picture of what we are doing. Students enjoying their picnic at the Galle fort. This was a very exciting event for all of us to experience the love of God and to strengthen our fellowship.
Lasantha conducts a session Group of students join the Our Sri Lankan students Indunil shares the Word with on “Relationships” at our 7-8 a.m. weekly Campus prayer together with those from other Dinusha who is from a Buddhist fellowship program held on session inside the University countries at the Hyderabad family and received Jesus Christ the Matara beach, close to before they attend morning Empower Conference. Piyumi very recently. the Campus. lectures. and Kalhara from the Ruhuna Campus attended this event
Blessings! In Him, LASANTHA & INDUNIL E-mail: lasantha2020@hotmail.com PHONE: 00 94 718349157 (Mobile); 00 94 412227748 (Home) NEARLY NEW SHOP AT DPS
A nearly New Shop is to be opened shortly at the Dev
Piya Sevana. Donations of nearly new items would
be greatly appreciated .
May God Bless the humble giver. D.P.S.
Secretary.
A/V CONTROL ROOM
Thanks to Dr.Kingsley & Ranjani de Alwis for meeting the entire cost of constructing the Audio/Visual booth at the back of Our Church
WAYSIDE PULPIT Our grateful thanks to Tiddy Senapathiratne for his gift of a new Wayside Pulpit which, incidentally for those who might be confused, is a notice board visible to pedestrians passing by CGBC. This is a gift in memory of his dear wife and help-meet for over 60 years, Sarah. Uncle Tiddy has also agreed to find material for display and keep it updated. We are happy to see Uncle Tiddy, now in his 93rd year, at our worship services regularly.
The Ministry Team discussed the matter of those using the overnight accommodation facility and gathered that they were appealing to individual members for assistance whilst they use the Ferguson Hall. They felt that this was not a satisfactory procedure. After much deliberation, the Ministry Team decided to request Church members to route their contributions through the Church. You can make your contribution indicating to whom it should be given and put the envelope in the offertory bag. The Ministry Team can distribute it according to their needs. Ministry Team.
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We
are glad to share with you how the Lord is working among the students of
the University of Ruhuna. First of all, we thank you for being a
ministry partner in this ministry. God will bless you even for a small
prayer and investments you made to uphold this ministry. We see how God
is raising students to stand for Jesus’ name among the University
community. 
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