35th Tamil Carol Service

St John's Seven Kings was the venue tonight for the 35th Tamil Carol Service. A packed church enjoyed the varied programme of dance, songs, carols and Bible readings in Tamil and English before sharing fellowship together over a meal. Among an abundance of performers were the Singsations, the UFC youth band and Spirit & Life Church.

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New Covenant Singers - Yesuvai Nambi Patrikonden.

Tamil Carol Service

People came from across the South East to attend tonight's annual Tamil Carol Service organised by the Solomon family at St John's Seven Kings. This year's programme included the Singsations, Ipswich Indian Fellowship, Kent Gospel Band, and United for Christ Children's Choir. The performances included dance, songs and readings mixed with carols in English and Tamil. Following the service delicious food and fellowship was enjoyed by all.

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Aradhna - Holy River.  

Tamil Carols

Last night St John's Seven Kings hosted the 32^nd Tamil Carols celebrating the birth of Jesus by sharing love, peace and joy with family and friends at the start of the Christmas season. As always the service involved contributions from members of the large number of families attending before a meal was enjoyed together, to which each family also contributed.

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Sufjan Stevens - O come, O come Emmanuel.  

Prayer for Sri Lanka

The following comes from Tearfund and informs our ongoing prayer at St John's Seven Kings for the situation in Sri Lanka:

Fears are growing that the aid operation for people uprooted by Sri Lanka’s civil war will last years not months.

A Tearfund partner working with tens of thousands of those displaced by the long-running conflict anticipates support will be needed for at least three years.

More than 280,000 people have been made homeless in the war between the country’s military and the Tamil Tigers since last October.

Tearfund is supporting local partners who’ve been bringing the compassion of Christ to those in the government-controlled displacement camps of Sri Lanka.

Partners like Leads who’ve been providing for physical needs, like food, water, clothing and hygiene packs. Lately they’ve been building temporary shelters for families, to replace tents, as well as school classrooms, kitchens and medical centres.

The need for more substantial shelter reflects the reality that the Tamil community in the displacement camps faces a lengthy wait before being allowed back to their home areas. This is because the government continues operations in the areas previously held by the Tamil Tigers to search for mines and concealed weapons.

In Vavuniya, Leads is looking to provide agricultural training, seeds for seven varieties of vegetables and organic fertiliser for 1,500 families so they can supplement their diet.

Please use the following points to guide your prayers:

• Please pray that those living in displacement camps are allowed to return to their homes soon and resume their normal lives. Pray that those separated from loved ones by the war are reunited with their families.
• Pray for funding to continue that will enable Tearfund to maintain support for our Sri Lankan partners.
• Pray for the blessing of their work as they bring spiritual and material hope to Sri Lankans who have in many cases lost family, friends, homes and possessions.
• Give thanks that the Sri Lankan authorities are enabling partners such as Leads to continue their work. Praise God that partners are improving facilities in government-controlled camps.
• Pray for the strength and encouragement of partner staff working in difficult conditions, facing considerable emotional strain.

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T Bone Burnett - Earlier Baghdad (The Bounce).

Prayer for peace in Sri Lanka

On Saturday evening at St Johns Seven Kings we held a time of prayer for peace in Sri Lanka together with friends from the Tamil Church in East London. Our aim was to stand alongside our Tamil brothers and sisters locally in their anguish at the bloodshed occuring within their country.

As part of this time of prayer we viewed powerpoint slides and a dvd clip giving brief background details to the current crisis. Over the past 60 years:

• more than 100,000 Tamils killed and disappeared;
• more than 20,000 Tamil orphaned children;
• more than 35,000 Tamil widows;
• hundreds of thousands of schools, houses, hospitals, churches, temples, villages and livelihoods destroyed;
• more than 600,000 Tamils internal refugees; and
• nearly 1 million Tamils made to flee the country.

After the Election of President Rajapakse there has been an escalation of violence by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and Government sponsored Paramilitary. The Sri Lankan Government has de-merged the Tamil Homeland in the North-East of the country and unilaterally abrogated the Ceasefire Agreement from January 16, 2008. The Sri Lanka government is intensifying a full scale war on the Tamil Homeland to impose a military solution and calling it a “War on Terror.” There is no credible political solution under discussion by the Sri Lankan government.

Tamil civilians are being targeted through disappearances, daily aerial bombings, road-side bombs, shelling, and extra-judicial killing. Over 5,000 Tamils have been killed since the election and an average of 57 Tamils are being killed daily.

Yesterday, an informative article on the current situation - Traumatised Tamils live in fear of new crackdown in Sri Lanka - was published in The Observer.

In our service we prayed the following prayer:

The weight of grief bears heavily upon us
but it is a load we need not bear alone.
Let us offer our burden to Jesus,
Lord of life and of death,
of the present and of the future.

We bring before you, Lord,
our confusion in the face of shock,
our despair in the face of tragedy,
our helplessness in the face of death.
Lift from us our burden,
and in your power, renew us.

We bring before you, Lord,
the tears of sorrow,
the cries for help,
the vulnerability of pain.
Lift from us our burden,
and in your power, renew us.

We bring before you, Lord,
our sense of frustration,
our feeling of powerlessness,
our fears for the future.
Lift from us our burden,
and in your power, renew us.

We bring before you, Lord,
our frustrated hopes,
our unfulfilled desires,
our unfettered sadness.
Lift from us our burden,
and in your power, renew us.

God of the desolate and despairing, your Son Jesus Christ
was forced to carry the instrument of his own death -
the cross that became for us the source of life and healing.
Transform us in our suffering
that in the pain we bear you might be for us
a fount of life and a spring of hope;
through him who died for us,
yet is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.
Amen.

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Marvin Gaye - What's Going On / What's Happening Brother.

Prayer Vigil & Palm Sunday Procession

There are two events being planned for next weekend by folk at St John's Seven Kings which may be of interest.

The first is a Prayer Vigil for Sri Lanka which will be held at 7.30pm on Saturday 4th April. This Vigil is being organised at the request of our Tamil members and together with one of the Pastors from the Tamil Church in East London.

At least 300,000 Tamils are currently displaced in a tiny jungle area in the north of Sri Lanka, which is continuously being bombed and shelled by the Sri Lankan army and air force. More than 2,000 Tamils have been killed since the beginning of January, many of them children. During the Vigil we plan to provide information about the situation faced by civilians in the LTTE-controlled areas in the Wanni and to pray for a ceasefire and the unrestricted flow of food, medicine and international aid agencies into the conflict zone.

By organising this Prayer Vigil we wish to stand alongside our Tamil members and friends in their distress at what is occurring in their mother country. We cannot stand idly by while displaced people face death through conflict and lack of relief. Therefore, this Vigil is both to pray for and raise awareness of the urgent need for a ceasefire and for aid to be allowed into the region.

The second event is a shared Palm Sunday Service and Procession with St Paul's Goodmayes. The shared service will begin (9.45am for a 10.00am start) at St Paul’s with the opening section of our Palm Sunday liturgy. We will then process from St Paul’s to St John’s via Atholl Road, Woodward Recreation Ground and Meads Lane singing hymns as we go. We will stop in Woodward Recreation Ground to read the Gospel and bless palm crosses before completing the procession to St John’s where we will receive communion together.

We will be accompanied on the procession by a real donkey and are inviting children to dress up as disciples to accompany the donkey on the procession. We are also asking adults to bring greenery from their gardens to wave as we process. The original Palm Sunday featured a joyful procession as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt and the people praised God and spread cloaks and palms on the ground. Our hope is that the service and procession will be a joyful celebration for us and a visible act of witness to our community.

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Swarnalatha - Neeye Nirantharam.

The Tamil Carols - 30th Anniversary

The Children's Choir

The Senior Choir

Traditional Indian dance from the Singaravelou sisters

Revd. Solomon Benjamin

Mrs Watson and Winston Solomon

The annual Tamil Carol service held at St John's Seven Kings celebrated its 30th anniversary tonight.

People travelled from all over London and the South East to be part of the service and the meal that followed. The service, which is organised by St John's members Winston and Shalini Solomon, is a traditional Nine Lessons and Carols but with carols and readings in both Tamil and English and with choirs, singing groups and dancers performing in between the carols and readings.

As ever, it was the children who stole the show. Ajitha and Amirtha Singaravelou performed two traditional Indian dances, Ristian David sang with his mother, and the Children's Choir performed two numbers.

Following the service there were introductions from those new to the service, a slide show of photos from across the 30 years that the service has been held, and a great selection of food.

I am always impressed both with the support for each other shown by those in the Tamil community and by their concern to integrate and be part of mainstream Churches as well as their own Tamil churches.

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Reshma Abraham - Ekaalam.

30th Annual Tamil Carol Service

Many years ago, an angel gave us “good news of great joy” announcing the birth of a baby born in a manger and people all over the world continue to celebrate His birth. We invite you to join in this celebration by sharing love, peace and joy with family and friends, at the start of this Christmas season. It gives me great pleasure, to invite you and your loved ones to the 30th. Annual Tamil Carols, which is being held as usual in the 1st weekend in December.

Date: Saturday, 6 December
Time: 6pm (for 6.30pm start)
Venue: St. John’s Church (St. John’s Road, Seven Kings, Ilford).

St. John’s Road is off Aldborough Road South, which is off A12 (Eastern Avenue) and can be reached from A406 or from M25 (Junction 28). Parking is possible near the church. Newbury Park station (Central Line) is the nearest Underground & is walking distance to the church. As usual, every family will be contributing a dish for Dinner (held in the Hall), which will follow the Carol Service.

As a preamble to the Carol Service, the choir (led by Ranjit Solomon Abraham) will render music from 6pm. until 6.30pm. We hope to then start the main service promptly at 6.30pm. to facilitate the smooth running of the programme and also to enable everyone to spend adequate time with each other, after the Service. There will be a choir rehearsal on Friday, 5 December. As you maybe aware, there is a crèche facility (upstairs) for young children, which enables parents with young children, to see and hear the Carol Service from the crèche upstairs. An Offertory will be collected during the service (to cover costs of hiring the hall and other related expenses).

If there is anyone you know, who would also like to attend the Tamil Carols on 6 December, please give them the above information. Hope to see you all at the Annual Tamil Carols on Saturday, 6 December!

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Eric Bibb - Spirit I Am.