Plus

Plus

Archbishop Roger: A touch of Sri Lanka in Perth
By Tita Nathanielsz
Many Sri Lankans from diverse walks of life have over the past few decades ventured abroad and made distinguished and singular contributions in their adopted countries. They have become proud ambassadors of the country of their birth. Here, for example, is one such case with which I am personally acquainted.

Cheryl Jayasekera was a gorgeous and exceptionally efficient private secretary whom I was fortunate to have had worked with at Shaw Wallace for several years. Her father Eric was my dear friend and cricketing colleague together with his brother Stanley.

Cheryl fell in love with a man of God, Roger Herft. An outstanding, dynamic preacher, he had the capacity to attract large congregations to the morning services.

The great day dawned when Cheryl said, "I do", and moved away to a happy life with the Rev. Roger Herft. I had the honour of signing the register as a witness to the marriage, an assignment I proudly remember.

Roger Herft was ordained a priest of the Anglican Church by the Rt. Rev. Cyril Abeynaike, Bishop of Colombo at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour at Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, in 1973. Among others ordained on the same day were the present Bishop of Colombo, the Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera and Rev. C.M. Thomas, Vicar of St. Luke's Church, Borella, father of Margot, now Mrs. Walter de Zilva in New South Wales.

After a stint in Sri Lanka, the Herfts migrated to New Zealand in 1983, where Rev. Roger Herft immediately became the priest-in-charge of the main church in Waikato. Cheryl by now had developed into an excellent housewife and cookery expert. In 1986, he was elected Bishop of Waikato, New Zealand. He was also the youngest Bishop in the Anglican Community. In 1992, he moved to New South Wales to be ordained Bishop of Newcastle.

In 2004, Bishop Herft moved to Perth, West Australia, where after a short stay as Bishop he was elected the Seventh Archbishop of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. In 2005, the consecration of Archbishop Herft at Perth's Concert Hall, was a memorable affair.

Margot Thomas de Zilva, my wife Jeanne's sister-in-law and close friend of Bishop Roger Herft and Cheryl, was invited to the installation and she together with her husband flew to Perth to witness the ceremony. Margot writes, "The installation of Archbishop Roger Herft was a heartwarming and solemn ceremony in front of a beautiful altar radiant with gorgeous floral arrangements. A massive Cross suspended over the main altar looked majestic and the candles round the cross glittered throughout the ceremony to the accompaniment of soft pipe organ music. Over 200 participated in this extremely impressive ceremony."

The colourful and moving ceremony began with a procession of clergy and representatives of other Christian denominations followed by a stunning fanfare of trumpets heralding the arrival of the Archbishop elect.
Immediately joining in was the Noongar Welcome to the Country accompanied by the didgeridoo rendering, a pointer to the underlying themes of the new Archbishop's sermon which was eagerly anticipated by the guests and the congregation.

At the end of the procession, the Archbishop elect knelt before the altar in prayer, after which he made the invocation to the Holy Spirit in Tamil and Sinhala. The prayer before confession and absolution was read by the Rev Geoffrey Misso, formerly of the Diocese of Colombo.

Among the official guests were Governor General Michael Jeffery and Mrs. Jeffery, the Lord Mayor of Perth, Dr. Peter Natrass and Ms Julie Bishop, Minister for the Ageing. Participating members of the family were the new Archbishop's mother Esme and brother Robin from Sydney, sisters Romaine Thambyah from Sri Lanka, Marion Jansen from Melbourne, Cheryl's brother Dilanjan from Hong Kong and many others from New Zealand and Australia.

Two thoughtful comments summed up the solemnity and the significance of the consecration of Roger Herft as the Archbishop of Perth. Archbishop Peter Kwong noted: "Archbishop Roger Herft was a 'brand name' in Hongkong" while the Archbishop of New Zealand said, "Archbishop Roger is our own and he was the only non-Maori Bishop who learnt Maori and pronounced the words perfectly".

Back to Plus