Shortly after Evensong, the newly refurbished Council Chambers were declared open by the Right Reverend Dhiloraj Canagasabey, in the presence of the Right Reverend Nick Baines, Bishop of the Dioceses of West Yorkshire and the Dales, the Chief Guest at this year’s Council Sessions, and Mrs. Baines. The Sessions were then inaugurated with Bishop Dhilo taking the chair and delivering his keynote address. Bishop Dhilo began his address by remarking upon two offerings he felt worthy of special mention: that of the participants who had traveled from far and wide to take part - over three days - in these annual Sessions, and that of the family who had taken it upon themselves the commitment of refurbishing the Council Chambers and who wish to remain anonymous. He went on to address and to report in very considerable detail, upon the work of the Diocese over the past year across a range of areas of responsibilities and activities, each of which highlighted the signal importance of inclusion, participation and stewardship and of the respect for one another and for our environment upon which and under God, this work is carried out.

In the course of his comprehensive address, Bishop Dhilo highlighted many of the challenges facing the Church today, commenting particularly helpfully on what he called “the greatest challenge today, within our Common Home or the Household of God . . . how to live and take care of each other, even with our deepest differences”. In so doing, he set the tone quite strikingly for the following two days of lively and respectful debate and discussion of which a consistently laudable characteristic was the camaraderie and fellowship displayed by participants even in instances of marked disagreement. Participants, on the whole, succeeded in taking the matters under discussion seriously and themselves less so, a quintessential element in the effort to work and live together both with joy in our shared perspectives and with respect for our differences.

The second and third days of the Sessions commenced with morning prayers followed on each day by a service of communion in the Cathedral and Bible Study in designated groups, after which Council members gathered in the Chambers where the Bishop took the Chair and presided over an intense sequence of administrative appointments, tabling of reports, nominations and elections for the various boards and committees of the Diocese and discussion of resolutions and voting thereon.  On behalf of the Standing Committee, the CEO/Secretary of the Diocese Mr. A.S. Gamalatge delivered the Report of the Standing Committee with the audited Statement of Accounts of the Honorary Treasurer Mr. Rajan Asirwatham, together with other financial and clerical statements pertaining to the work of the Standing Committee. An extensive list of reports was tabled, from mission and other projects all over the island, covering the enormous range of activities taken on by the Diocese: educational, social, medical, liturgical, ecumenical and in assisting those with disabilities, whether physical or intellectual. A comprehensive documentary film outlining the breadth and scope of the work of the Diocese was presented and wonderfully brought to life the nature of this work and of the people and places involved in it. Individually and taken together, the Bishop’s Address, the documentary film and the Report of the Standing Committee provided an illuminating and illustrative portrait of the state of the Church of Ceylon in 2015.

The Report of the Standing Committee appointed at the 129^th Council Sessions and the audited accounts as at March 2015, the Budget for the year 2015-2016 and the Reports tabled by the Committee were adopted by the Council of the 130^th Session.

There followed the opportunity for Council members to nominate members to stand for election for the Standing Committee 2015-2016, as well as for the Incorporated Trustees, the General Assembly of the Church of Ceylon, the House of Clergy and the Diocesan Court. Elections for these representative positions were held; noteworthy and a mark of the spirit of cooperation in which these Sessions were held however was that in more than one case nominees to such positions were acclaimed and therefore no election was required.

It remained for The Councilors to hear proposals on a range of issues both ecclesiastical and educational, and to debate and ultimately to vote upon adoption of these. A lively discussion on a proposal to amend the Constitution of the Church of Ceylon with respect to provision for the Bishop, at his sole discretion, to extend the retirement age of a Presbyter for a further five years, resulted in a positive vote on this resolution. Subsequent resolutions fell almost exclusively into the realm of the educational and shared a common concern for the due place of the spiritual midst the competing claims of the academic and sporting aspects of a sound and holistic education. Issues arising included the scheduling of the Year 5 scholarship examination, the holding of tuition and other classes on Sundays, the need to navigate between the competing claims of scientific imperialism and religious triumphalism, and the imperative that schools belonging to the community of the Church of Ceylon take necessary action to ensure they are not hindering children from attendance at Sunday School by holding extra classes and sporting events on Sundays. The scope of the resolutions on educational matters also embraced the responsibility of parents and teachers to encourage children to live in a manner directed by spiritual values and not by competition and consumerism alone.

One proposal encouraged greater introspection from within the community of the Church of Ceylon, with respect to its structures and the relevance of its ministry in the context of delivering on its Incarnational ethos and social justice, whilst another called for discussion to be initiated within the clergy and the laity, to ascertain the mind of the membership if the Church of Ceylon, on the matter of steps being taken to grant “associate membership of the National Christian Council” to selective churches.

The Sessions ended on Wednesday evening, 28^th October with the Bishop thanking all those who took part and acknowledging the important role played by the Archdeacons of Colombo, Jaffna, Nuwara Eliya and Galle in bringing to bear the 130^th Annual Sessions of The Diocesan Council of the Church of Ceylon.