Senior Guild

INTRODUCTION

The Senior Guild of the Holy Emmanuel Parish was inaugurated in 1906 by the Rev. Johannes de Silva, Incumbent of the Church at the time, based on the Theme, ‘Work through Prayer’. This is essentially an organization for male members of the Parish who are above 35 years of age. The idea is to bring together the more mature adults of the Parish in conducting programmes in support of the spiritual upliftment of the Parish.

THE AIMS OF THE SENIOR GUILD

To organize Joint worship, prayer, Bible studies and the spreading of the Gospel,
Assist in the spiritual upliftment of the Parish, Diocese and of the country in general.
Providing relief to the destitute in society,
through building mutual relationships, cooperation and brotherhood among the more senior Parishioners.

A NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT

This organization has been involved in numerous religious and social activities during the past 110 years, within and outside the Parish. Foremost among these was the founding of the Moratuwa Home for the Elders in 1919, which continues to provide much-needed care and shelter for destitute elders. This Home is managed presently by Moratuwa Social Service Society, an organization of repute. The Senior Guild still maintains a close relationship with the home by participating in and organizing religious events at the home.

OTHER MAIN RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

Among the religious activities, in addition to the routine church involvements, the Guild organizes Bible studies and spiritual retreats; prayer meetings and visiting the elders and the sick.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Some of the social activities carried out by the Senior Guild includes, management of the educational scholarships programme for the benefit of needy children in the Parish on behalf of the Board of Wardens and the Incumbent; annual grants of free school uniforms, shoes and school books to the more needy children among them; granting medical assistance to the needy Parishioners to enhance the quality of their lives; an Easter program conducted annually with prisoners in Welikada; Christmas Carols with elders at the Elders Home; Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations with the children of the School for the Deaf at Ratmalana; entertainment of Elders on Elders Day, provision of medical aid to the handicapped, uplifting of needy parishes by repairing church buildings and associated infrastructure within and outside our own Parish; provision of domestic needs to deserving parishioners and victims of natural disasters including repair and construction of rooms and toilets in houses and providing financial assistance to clergymen at their needy hours etc.

CARING FOR ELDERS

The social and economic trends observed during the past few decades indicate that the percentage of elders being neglected in our society is ever-increasing. It is evident that apart from due love and care, many elders are being deprived of their basic needs due to the high cost of living and prohibitive medical bills. It is apparent that the younger generation often finds it difficult to maintain their elderly due to low incomes or due to their own family commitments, their children’s education, health and social needs etc. This has resulted in an increasing dependence on organizations such as ours, by the elders within & outside the Parish who are not cared for by their children and are unable to beg but desperately require lodging, food, clothing, medication and physical aid.

As Christians, we are compelled to be sensitive to this social need and do whatever is possible in our capacity even though in a small way. The most common requests are for assistance in paying for their medical tests, medicine and medical aid. In response to this call, the Senior Guild has launched a Caring for Elders project. Having organized a spiritual concert early this year, with the assistance of parishioners ‘and well-wishers, the Guild managed to collect the necessary funds to inaugurate the project. As the first phase, we have commenced providing medical aid to those in need, such as wheelchairs, walkers, commode seats etc.

OUR FUTURE PLANS

The Guild hopes to provide a formal training course with the assistance of reputed agencies for those who wish to be trained as caregivers, especially for elders. Those interested are welcome to contact the Senior Guild through the Parish office.

We look forward to linking up with like-minded organizations and agencies that can help us to further strengthen this project.

We also have a vision to build a Home for elderly males on the lines of the Home for elderly females already established and very efficiently run by the Mothers Union. We have already had preliminary discussions with a prospective donor with the hope of obtaining the necessary financial assistance for this project.

Financial contributions towards this project ‘Caring for Elders’ are welcome. Any remittances should be made in favour of ‘Holy Emmanuel Church, Moratuwa’.

Office Bearers 2023/2024