“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid – Shalom” – John 14:27
So goes the Scriptural verse and Shalom – Peace – is all we can ever hope for.
And so, we continue in hope, despite the continued injustices. We have survived so much… the 1971 insurrection, Black July of 1983, the 1985 massacre in Anuradhapura… the list of atrocities against our fellow countrymen and citizens goes one, instilling this feeling of uneasiness at best, and horror and fear that these calamities have not yet come to an end.
Then dawned Easter morning, April 21, 2019, and shock waves resonated along with the multiple coordinated explosions that shocked the nation and the world. ‘Easter Carnage’ has been dubbed by some, and it remains one of the blackest days in Christians in Sri Lanka had ever witnessed. But then, have not all of us witnessed so many atrocities against each other, despite our religious and social differences?
The only way forward is to rebuild. And rebuild we shall, each contributing in our own way. And so, Choral Spectrum and its junior choir, Petite Chorale, headed by Haasinee Andree, organised the Peace Choral Charity Event which was held on August 24, 2022 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. The message and purpose of the concert was to bring peace through understanding each other’s cultures.
The charities supported were the Medical Fund of the Children of the Easter Attack Victims Fund, and the Muslim home for the elders’, Golden Path Mother’s Hostel.
Responding to a pre-entered competition of the IIMSD British Federation, which we could not do because of Covid, we also made it with many, many wins. The team proved that what was done with a good heart was rewarded by God Almighty.
The next event was the Christmas carols concert ‘Noel Novulet’ which was held on December 16 at Saint Paul the Apostle Church in Kynsey Road, Colombo 7.
It was an interesting repertoire with old French carols of the 12th century right up to modern works. The concert ended with its grand finale - a very interesting string composition “I’ll be Bach for Christmas,” involving both the Brandenburg concertos and favourite Christmas carols.
As promised, we pledged that sales from the tickets will go to fund the school supplies of twenty children from the Moratuwa Divisional Secretariat.