- A workers’ mass and the ecumenical Left in Sri Lanka
The May Day procession is first heard, before it comes into view of the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Polwatte. Drummers and Kandyan dancers lead, followed by nearly 30 priests, a red scarf with the hammer and sickle donning their white robes. In the comfortable neighbourhood of Kollupitiya, workers from all faiths gather under the cross inside the church for a workers’ mass.
Born in 1956 in a tea plantation in the hill country, Father M. Sathi believes he was born to work for the people as it was a year that ethnic tensions between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil populations flared in Sri Lanka. Poverty and the people’s struggle also spoke to him, as he remembers walking eight kilometres to school on just one meal a day.
When the tea plantation he was born on was acquired by the State during the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Government, the land was also divided and given to poor Sinhalese, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) supporters. A community which never made its way through the two gates of the plantation was suddenly cohabiting with the Malaiyaha Tamil community.
“We lost our remaining freedom afterwards, as the communities fought over drinking water, cemeteries, and places of worship. That’s where I first got the message to work for the oppressed,” said Father Sathi.
When famine hit in the 1970s and ethnic tensions worsened, Father Sathi remembers a gang of Sinhalese men coming to his family house as well. They took with them a plate of rotis. “Yes it was an ethnic issue, but they also came because they were poor.”
By 1980, Father Sathi had entered the priesthood. When his first training post sent him to Jaffna, he was prepared to serve the people. During his time there, he saw the Jaffna Public Library burn to ashes, along with a line of shops near his posting.
“These experiences kept following me. Why was I subjected to these experiences since the day I was born? I had to choose what service meant for myself. Was it within the church or outside the church? Or was it both inside and outside the church?
“With my belief, I see God here in my work. Some may say I’m doing religious work. Others may say I’m doing political work. I say that we cannot separate the two,” said Father Sathi.
For Father Sathi, politics and religion do not exist as separate entities. “Party politics and power struggles are different to the people’s politics we do.”
His religion is the politics that takes him on the same journey as the people. However, the church didn’t always agree with his actions. His first posting in Kandy made him feel “empty” as his talks on justice and equality clashed with discussions about increasing the number of people in the faith or developing the church.
Upon resignation, he joined the Christian Workers’ Fellowship (CWF) – the driving force behind the annual workers’ mass and rally at the Polwatte church.
Workers’ mass
CWF Trustee Ralston Weinman, who grew up on Nelson Lane near the church, remembers many influential bishops walking through the church’s doors.
Nurturing a deep love and admiration for the activities of the church since childhood, Weinman joined the CWF in 1998. However, at the time, the fellowship was struggling.
“Companies were built under the CWF and made independent so that they could generate money for the movement. However, those primary intentions were lost when money became involved. When we joined the movement, it had fallen. Vijaya Vidyasagara – our Founder and comrade – died. But now, we are slowly rebuilding,” said Weinman.
Weinman’s attempts to revitalise the movement are slowly bearing fruit. This year’s mass saw workers from around the country, representing their different struggles and ideas. “They come voluntarily, we don’t pay them to come. They come here and then go to other May Day rallies in the city,” he said.
The CWF has branches of its religious, social, and political movements in six areas in the country – Badulla, Anuradhapura, Kantale, Kandy, Colombo, and Kegalle. These extended to Jaffna and Batticaloa in the past.
Weinman believes that the regional conversations at these branches sustain their movement.
“We use those places to talk about politics and religion, and how religion can be connected to politics. At our working committee meetings, we take an hour at least to discuss the state of politics in the country,” he said.
There are other challenges to sustaining their movement, as Weinman reflected that they were neither a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) nor a religious institution.
“We also haven’t officially registered anywhere. We welcome different ideas; not everyone has to accept the same thing. Come and talk and within those conversations, we can find meaning.”
The rally, before the workers’ mass, begins with a procession from the parish hall, winding through the historically poor, multiethnic neighbourhood. It was once a coconut estate (hence named Polwatte). However, the neighbourhood’s “purely residential” character has now changed, says 88-year-old Israel Paulraj.
With gentrification pushing the city’s working class to its boundaries, neighbourhoods like Kollupitiya (where Polwatte is located) are now cosmopolitan, screaming of new luxuries.
Paulraj struggles to stand up for the hymns during the mass. Yet, he remains dedicated to the workers’ prayer heard through the church on Thursday (1).
He has been coming to the workers’ mass for decades, from the days it was held at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).
“Originally it was really ecumenical. Everybody joined in for a procession from the Methodist Church to here. I’m glad some young people are keeping this going. Christ himself was a worker. We are all workers. Giving emphasis to the workers is a good thing, but there was a time when executives of companies would also join this mass,” said Paulraj.
A multifaith struggle
In addition to welcoming workers from all Christian denominations, the CWF and the mass brings together those from other faiths too.
Its oldest living member is C.P. Wijayahewa, a Buddhist who describes the mass which includes elements from cultures of other faiths, such as Kandyan dancers. The hymns sung on the day – emphasising the struggle of workers – were written by prominent scriptwriter Premaranjith Tilakaratne and brought to life by musician Austin Munasinghe.
The ecumenical Left has been involved in key political struggles throughout history, reflects Free Palestine Movement member Father Lionel Peiris. In 1978, when J.R. Jayewardene came into power, he remembers his father – a member of the old Left – warning that Jayewardene was a “dangerous man”.
“That perception came true when he brought in the executive presidency, declaring with absolute gall that he had the powers of a king should he choose to use them. When he was losing popularity and attempted to extend the term of Parliament in 1982, I met with Wahakula Somananda Thera – a Buddhist monk – who said we must do something about it,” he said.
Thousands of members of the Christian and Buddhist clergies formed the ‘Pavidi Handa’ (Voice of the Professed), opposing the authoritarian move to extend Parliament. “Thousands of us once came together to sign a petition against the Jayewardene regime’s authoritarian politics,” he added.
Jayewardene was a bit “alarmed,” recalled Father Peiris, not about the Christian clergy but about the number of Buddhist monks involved in the movement against him.
“We were subjected to intensive questioning by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID),” said Father Peiris, who is still advocating for the abolishment of the executive presidency and the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), both Jayewardene-era laws.
Father Sathi too recalled how he and others from the church were labelled as ‘terrorists’ for speaking up for the Tamil community in the north during the civil war years.
As the workers disperse after the mass to other rallies in the city, they pass through a large banner calling for the abolition of the executive presidency and the strengthening of the workers’ struggle.