By Amy Brown, CofE ordinand – Centre for Ministerial Formation, The Queen’s Foundation.
In July, I was very fortunate to take part in a trip to visit the Theological College of Lanka (TCL) in Sri Lanka as part of the MEET programme at Queen’s. A group of four students and three staff spent just over a week there joining in with the life of the college and sharing in ministry out in the parishes and circuits.
Visiting Aloysius Pieris SJ – Photo: Alison Earey
While in Colombo, we had the privilege of meeting Fr Aloysius Pieris, an influential (and controversial) Jesuit priest and theologian. At his home, Tulana, which acts as a centre for interfaith dialogue, learning and culture, he generously shared stories of his life and ministry and it was clear for us all the life-giving nature of more than seventy years dedicated to God’s service and how, even at the grand age of 90, he is still excited to be following where God leads him. His enthusiasm to meet us and encourage us as future ministers was a real blessing.
As part of the interfaith work, he gave stories from the Bible to Buddhist monks to interpret. From this they produced some incredibly moving pieces of art which are displayed everywhere. The Bible stories are clearly recognisable in the artworks have clear influences from both Buddhist tradition as well as the country’s political situation.
Pietà Lanka 1989 via tulana.org
A particular piece, Pietà Lanka 1989, displays a military tank and a lamp-post. The military tank represents the army, and the lamp post represents the youth militants. In the one of the saddest years of the conflict, the lamppost became the symbol of the insurrection, both in the north by the Tamils and the Sinhalese youth in the south, as it was where people were killed. Yet in the foreground is Mary, Mother Lanka with a youth dying in her arms, which echoes the very many images of Madonna and child. This is simply and profoundly Christ at the very place where people suffered. For me, this brought everything I had learnt about liberation theology at Queen’s to life.
One of the things which most struck me at TCL was how the college has been offering ecumenical (Anglican, Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian) theological education in at least two languages (Sinhala and Tamil, and often English too) for sixty-one years. This means that through the many years of war and civil unrest in the country’s recent history, the Christian minority in Sri Lanka have been very faithfully witnessing to unity. This is also mirrored in churches when services are offered bilingually, and often trilingually. Although Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka, since being back I have reflected on the power a small, yet faithful, minority can have on a country.
Being a minister in Sri Lanka is a busy life. Much like the UK, ministers wear several hats at once, but unlike the UK, ministers are not encouraged to have a day off. We talked with those we met about how they find things that bring them rest and nourishment in their weeks. I was also really impressed by how ministers in different denominations all worked so closely together and helped each other out. An Anglican priest, for example, swung into a Methodist church to offer a blessing in lieu of a Methodist minister. This, to me at least, is next-level ecumenism!
If anyone is asking themselves what the value of such a trip might be to their future UK-based ministry, I would say I have gained a new understanding of ecumenism, of the power of Christian witness and of the strength of God’s solidarity with the oppressed. I found the whole experience deeply humbling and I returned with new insights I would have never received from staying in the UK, which I know will shape my future ministry.
Amy Brown
CofE ordinand – Centre for Ministerial Formation
The Queen’s Foundation
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Amy and Deacon Paulina (Amy just preached at St Mark’s Church, Kandy)
