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Father James Ratnanayagam

June 11, 1926 - April 20, 2020

The Reverend Canon James Ratnanayagam passed away peacefully on the morning of Monday 20th April. He was almost 94 years old. He and his wife, Latika, celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary the previous day. Father James, as he was popularly known, suffered a stroke towards the end of March. After spending some days in hospital, he returned home where his condition gradually declined. He enjoyed a long and happy life and was a blessing to so many. A few hours after his death, his mortal remains were cremated at the Crematorium in Kanatte, Borella, following a brief service conducted by the Bishop and the Archdeacon of Colombo. Many have expressed regret that they were unable to pay their respects and to attend his funeral owing to the current restrictions. Consequently, his family have created this memorial page to offer those who wish to do so the opportunity to pay tribute to him and to share their memories of him. Please send your memories to ratnanayagamfamily@gmail.com and they will be added to Father James' memory page. Alternatively, click on 'Memories' below and follow the given instructions to register an account that will enable you to contribute directly to this memorial page. ___

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A fond memory 2020-05-15 21:03:37 wrote:

Contributed by Anil Wickramasinghe. The following was a speech made by him at Fr. James' farewell at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Thimbirigasyaya, in December 1999. I think it was Albert Einstein, who said that the only constant is change. He probably referred to the world of quantum physics, when he said this, but I would say that this is common to most things. The only constant is change. We are here today at the threshold of change. Whilst the Gregorian calendars turn over to another year, bringing us ever close to the third millennium, we also bid farewell to our Vicar, Fr. James who has been with us for the past 7 years. How these years have flown! I first met Fr. James almost exactly 12 years ago, and this is a meeting I remember very clearly. I was residing in Kandy during that time, but had come down to Colombo to cast my vote at the 1988 Presidential Elections. I met Fr. James in the queue. As my parents were parishioners of his at the time, we began a conversation. I didn’t know quite what to make of him, except that here was quite an extraordinary man! When I took up residency in Colombo, I was able to confirm that he was indeed extraordinary in many ways, such as his depth of knowledge in theology and his extremely wide and varied experiences of life. I am sure, we would all remember his practical examples through personal experience. Just two Sundays back, he was speaking about the Japanese invasion of Malacca in WW2 and Psalm 46. We also hear interesting experiences of his life as a teacher at St. John’s Jaffna & the University of Peradeniya. I could go on, probably until the Year 2000, on the many areas on which he has spoken with great clarity and authority, which still hold our attention in spite of being repeated occasionally. I say he spoke with authority, and this is another extraordinary gift which is in Fr. James. He has the courage of his convictions. He solidly stands by what he honestly believes is right – and this is truly a rare commodity in these times. It has also been said that behind every good (or great) man, stands a woman, equally good, or perhaps even better! In the case of Fr. James, this theory is confirmed, by Latika and reinforced by his family, Prasadini (and her husband Ricardo), Deveshta and Jayadeva. I know that all the bodies of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Thimbirigasyaya – the Board of Wardens, the Mother’s Union, the Youth Fellowship and the Sunday School give their best wishes, and I hope that all of you would please join me in wishing him and all his family well, and may they continue to be happy and blessed in their new parish. It gives me much pleasure to hand over this token of our appreciation to Fr. James, on behalf of the parish of the Church of the Good Shepherd.

A fond memory 2020-05-15 21:03:37 wrote: Contributed by Anil Wickramasinghe. The following was a speech made by him at Fr. James' farewell at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Thimbirigasyaya, in December 1999. I think it was Albert Einstein, who said that the only constant is change. He probably referred to the world of quantum physics, when he said this, but I would say that this is common to most things. The only constant is change. We are here today at the threshold of change. Whilst the Gregorian calendars turn over to another year, bringing us ever close to the third millennium, we also bid farewell to our Vicar, Fr. James who has been with us for the past 7 years. How these years have flown! I first met Fr. James almost exactly 12 years ago, and this is a meeting I remember very clearly. I was residing in Kandy during that time, but had come down to Colombo to cast my vote at the 1988 Presidential Elections. I met Fr. James in the queue. As my parents were parishioners of his at the time, we began a conversation. I didn’t know quite what to make of him, except that here was quite an extraordinary man! When I took up residency in Colombo, I was able to confirm that he was indeed extraordinary in many ways, such as his depth of knowledge in theology and his extremely wide and varied experiences of life. I am sure, we would all remember his practical examples through personal experience. Just two Sundays back, he was speaking about the Japanese invasion of Malacca in WW2 and Psalm 46. We also hear interesting experiences of his life as a teacher at St. John’s Jaffna & the University of Peradeniya. I could go on, probably until the Year 2000, on the many areas on which he has spoken with great clarity and authority, which still hold our attention in spite of being repeated occasionally. I say he spoke with authority, and this is another extraordinary gift which is in Fr. James. He has the courage of his convictions. He solidly stands by what he honestly believes is right – and this is truly a rare commodity in these times. It has also been said that behind every good (or great) man, stands a woman, equally good, or perhaps even better! In the case of Fr. James, this theory is confirmed, by Latika and reinforced by his family, Prasadini (and her husband Ricardo), Deveshta and Jayadeva. I know that all the bodies of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Thimbirigasyaya – the Board of Wardens, the Mother’s Union, the Youth Fellowship and the Sunday School give their best wishes, and I hope that all of you would please join me in wishing him and all his family well, and may they continue to be happy and blessed in their new parish. It gives me much pleasure to hand over this token of our appreciation to Fr. James, on behalf of the parish of the Church of the Good Shepherd.

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