REV. DR. KINGSLEY T. MUTTIAH AN OUTSTANDING CHURCH LEADER
Kingsley Thesiganesan Muttiah was born on May 7, 1935, as the 3rd Son of Rev. and Mrs. D.N. Muttiah of the Methodist Church Sri Lanka. He was Inducted as the President of the Methodist Church Sri Lanka in August 1990 and led the church with distinction. His untimely death took place while he was in office in the final year of his term as the President of Methodist Church Sri Lanka. The 29th Death Anniversary falls on the 29th of October. This article is written in celebration of our personal friendship with him, Grace his wife, David, Niruban and Jessica.
In January 1984 I was stationed in the Kandy Circuit of the Methodist
Church. This was my second posting and the final year during the three-year
probationary period before ordination. Having worked under a strict but very
caring superintendent minister like the late Rev. L. Victor Salgadoe in the first
two years of probation, I was rather apprehensive about how things would turn out
between me and Rev. Kingsley Muttiah the new Superintendent Minister.
I proceeded to the Kandy Circuit in January 1984 to take
over my responsibilities, and Rev. Muttiah came into the circuit a few weeks
later from the UK after his doctoral studies. Within a few days of working
together, I found myself at ease relating to him. It came to be so because one
day in his office we had a formal chat about my future ministry in the
Methodist Church. He knew that the Methodist Conference had agreed to release
me full-time to serve at Dev Suwa Sevawa (Divine Healing Ministry) in January
1985, after my ordination in November 1984. However, there were some senior
ministers who interpreted it, saying, “After Ordination could be even a few
years later.” Apparently, he had been approached by the same ministers to get
me to agree with them. This is all Rev. Muttiah told me: “Asiri, you tell me
what your desire is, and I will stand by you as your superintendent." True
to his word, he always stood by me as a faithful Bishop – an overseer.
He relentlessly pursued me to work on my theological
reading, thinking, and reflection. His observation of me was that I was
focusing too much on the practical aspects of ministry while neglecting my
theological reading and reflection. “Asiri, blow your mind, and then you will
see yourself expanding the vision for God’s mission,” was his eminent
instruction to me. I was assigned to read some books on modern theological
debates. From his personal library, he gave me some books on theology,
including liberal theology books. He provided me with the opportunity to engage
in in-depth theological discussions with him. He encouraged me to hold a good
balance between evangelical and liberal theology without getting myself into
one camp against the other. A more respectful approach to faith-sharing was
well groomed in me by him, which is still so meaningful even in my retirement
ministry among people of other faiths.
We both served together in the Kandy Circuit for only
one year. Our pastoral ministry had to be exercised, covering a very large area
from Mawanella, Gampola, Matale, Kurunegala, Katugasthota, and Kandy. Soon we
both realized that the most feasible thing to do was to operate on a joint
pastoral visitation program. So we both went on the same motorcycle and covered
the entire membership of the circuit within one year. I rode his Yamaha 125
motorbike while he sat on the pillion. We never felt tired or the distance
during those long rides because we had long conversations, and the people on
the road would have wondered what was happening between us because we were so
loud. I am reminded of an experience when thinking of our motorcycling. One
morning, he jumped on the pillion of my motorbike, wanting me to drop him off
at the station to catch the Colombo Intercity train. On our way to the station,
a police cop blew his whistle and stopped us. The cop asked me “Where is your
pillion rider’s helmet?”. Then only we both realized how absent-minded we both
had been! Having received my “dada kolaya,” we very boldly got on the bike and
continued. When we turned into the station, another cop stopped us for the same
fault. Showing the “dada kolaya” and making the excuse of getting late for the
train didn’t work. We both were made to walk, pushing the motorbike the next
few yards to the station. As we reached the station, the train left. We had to
walk again, pushing the motorbike, passing the same cop another few more yards to
get Rev. Muttiah to hop in a Colombo bus.
One day, while serving in the Kandy circuit, he came for an
interdenominational meeting, wearing a purple clerical shirt with a chain and a
cross around his neck. I spontaneously called him "Bishop Muttiah".
He explained to me that every Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Church
is a Bishop (Episcopos) because of his role in exercising OVERSIGHT in the
Circuit he presides. He reminded me that the Church Union Scheme, which was
halted through a court case, had already nominated bishops for the United Church
of Lanka, which included the then President of the Methodist Church, Rev. P.
Basil Rajasingham, as one of the bishops. When Rev.Dr. Kinglsey Muttiha was
inducted as President of the Methodist Church Sri Lanka in 1990, he wore his
purple clerical shirt and a purple presidential gown right throughout his
tenure, and some referred to him as Bishop of the Methodist Church both here
and overseas. In Sri Lanka, Methodism Rev. Dr. Muttiah was the one who infused
fresh thoughts on the title of the President of the Methodist Church to be
changed to Bishop.
During the period that Rev. Kingsley was in leadership of
our church, I found him to be a leader who always wanted to up the benchmark
of our church. Therefore, he encouraged the younger ministers and evangelists
to weave their diverse gifts into one tapestry so that the church would give
the best to God’s people. When “goods were not delivered” or disciplinary
issues came up, he would not easily give up on them. At times, he assigned me
to help such ministers through prayer and counselling and permitted me to refer
them to other professionals for advanced care and therapy. Some responded well
and were restored to the ministry, while others had to leave. On one occasion,
when a younger minister had to leave the ministry, Rev. Kingsley was personally
present in the mission house to help him move out peacefully without disturbing
the congregation. He ensured that the parents of the young minister were also
present. At the end of a moving prayer, he turned to the Father and said, “He
is a talented man; take care of him”. When the young man departed peacefully,
Rev. Kingsley turned to me and said, “I am sad that we couldn’t get him
around."
The Methodist Central Building, West Wing, stands today as a
monument to the vision Rev. Kingsley had to generate funds for the mission of
the church by renting out space in the building. He was well supported by the
late Alagan Kadirgamar, who shared the same vision. The two of them, together
with a professional team, drew up a master plan titled Epworth Development. It
was a mixed development running from the West Wing up to Kollupitiya Station
Road. Unfortunately, up to now, we have not been able to move forward beyond the
West Wing, for which Rev. Muttiah laid the foundation, but never lived to see
the completion of the same.
The Methodist Church Sri Lanka ever since its autonomy continued
to look to the West to build up partnership in mission. Through his openness to
look to the east, he laid the foundation for a meaningful mission partnership
with the Methodist Church Korea. The connection he made enabled our church to
launch two evangelism training colleges and also to receive support for
the new mission areas. He initiated the receiving of Mission partners through
the Phillip Mission of Korea who have made an outstanding contribution to the
work of our church. They have mastered our national languages and are able to
serve the people in our land with great distinction.
In 1994 August. while
he was the President Bishop of the Methodist Church Sri Lanka, I went to him
very humbly not knowing where my future ministry would be because I had
resigned from Dev Suwa Sevawa on the 13th of August in obedience to
God’s direction. All what he said was “Asiri, the Church can use you with the
gifts God has given you. So you come back to the Church, I will arrange a
station for you”. That warm welcome he gave me was very reassuring and a
confirmation from God that I was moving in the right direction. There were one
or two ministers who were doubtful of my coming back wondering how I would fit
into the system as I had been out of the circuit administration system for ten years. However, Rev. Muttiah, convinced them that I would fit in very well. At the
Annual Conference held a few days later Rev. Kingsley appointed me to serve at
Nugegoda Methodist Church and told me, "Now prove yourself to be worthy to serve in the Circuit system". I thank God for a faithful leader like Rev. Muttiah who was willing to believe in me.
After I was elected
as the President Bishop by the Methodist Conference Sri Lanka in 2014, his wife
Grace shared with me, “It was Kingsley’s prayer that one day you should become
the head of the Methodist Church Sri Lanka; I waited to share that with you
until it happened.” I humbly thank God for a mentor like Rev Kingsley who saw
in me the God-given calling for leadership in my formative years of ministry
but never told me. Now I know why he relentlessly pursued me to “blow my mind.”
May the soul of my beloved elder brother and mentor rest in peace
and rise in glory.
Rev. Asiri P. Perera
Retired President Bishop
Methodist Church Sri Lanka
.
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