Sri Lankan Christian community in the greater Washington area gathered at the Embassy of Sri Lanka, Washington on Friday (Dec 13) to celebrate Christmas. Once again, the embassy organized Thanksgiving prayers, Christmas choir and dinner for the guests, in keeping with its long unbroken tradition of celebrating the important events of all four major religions in Sri Lanka.
Minister Education and Cultural Affairs of the Embassy, Mr. Varuna Epasinghe welcomed the guests to the embassy and introduced them to the evening’s proceedings.
Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya in his welcoming remarks underscored that the peace in Sri Lanka is one of the most important blessings that all Sri Lankans should be grateful during the Christmas season.
"Once again this year, we can all celebrate that Sri Lanka is a peaceful and safe place to everyone", he said.
He noted that there are enormous positive developments currently happening in Sri Lanka with the people and the government working together to achieve meaningful reconciliation and to help the country succeed.
“One of the most fulfilling of my career as the ambassador is to share these stories with people in the United States”, he added.
Ambassador Wickramasuriya thanked all who were present and extended his best wishes to Sri Lanka President, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa , and to the people of Sri Lanka and the United States.
Reverend Father Percival D’ Silva in his sermon highlighted the importance of compassion and forgiveness taught in Christianity in preserving peace among human beings. He took examples from the lives of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi to describe the true meaning of the compassion and forgiveness as preached by Jesus Christ.
Father D’ Silva also praised the reconciliation currently taking place in Sri Lanka and prayed that it will make the prevailing peace in the country stronger and stable.
“The peace is spreading throughout your beautiful homeland, the country of Sri Lanka, We hope it will come quickly, and come fast, so you and I can go there anytime and experience the joy, and the peace, and the forgiveness, and the reconciliation that is truly taking over in this beautiful country of yours”, he added.
Father D’Silva thanked Ambassador Wickramasuriya for inviting him and extended his blessings to all who were present.
Ms. Christine Wiratunge speaking on behalf of the US-Sri Lankan Christian community thanked the Ambassador and the Staff for organizing the event.
The guests joined Ms. Anjalika Silva for singing some popular Christmas carols before they enjoyed the dinner.
