The Mission was founded to carry out what it calls our Lord’s two-fold command, to preach the Gospel and to heal the sick, and to provide medical care to outpatients who need it.
The medical centre
The dispensary is open six days a week, staffed by Dr D. P. Obeysekera with a pharmacist and a nursing assistant. An average of 671 people come every month, 75.7 per cent of them adults and 24.3 per cent children. A nominal consultation fee is charged and waived entirely for those who cannot pay. Everything else, including dressing of wounds, use of the nebuliser and medicines, is free.
Donations of medicines and supplies from George Steuart Health, Aston Pharmaceuticals and ABC Pharma have improved what the dispensary can hold in stock, and attendance has risen accordingly.
The building
The dispensary building was in poor condition, with the roof leaking in several places. During the year around 3,500 square feet of roofing was replaced or repaired, the building was colour washed and wire mesh was fitted where needed. Rhino Roofing Products supplied the sheets at half price, which is the reason the work could be done at all.
The dental unit is fully equipped but is not yet running, because the Mission has not been able to recruit a dentist. It is intended to start with the children of the village school.
Reaching further
A medical camp was held at the Molkawa mission on 17 August 2025 with a team of doctors led by the Medical Officer of Health for Ratmalana, including basic laboratory and diagnostic testing. Nearly a hundred and eighty people were seen, screened for eyesight, blood pressure and diabetes. The parish of St Francis of Assisi, Mount Lavinia, and Farms Lanka sponsored it.
The chapel
The Revd Surain Fernando, Vicar of the Church of the Ascension, Matara, is chaplain to the Mission and celebrates the Eucharist at St Columba's Chapel on the site for the surrounding community. A thanksgiving service for the Feast of St Columba was held on 6 June 2026, with the Bishop of Colombo as celebrant and preacher, and around fifty people came from Matara, Galle, Colombo and nearby. There is a retreat house on the site, and the Mission intends to run regular spiritual programmes there.
Paying for it
Thirty six parishes contributed a total of Rs. 959,660 following the appeal for St Luke's Sunday, kept in the Diocese as Healthcare Workers' Sunday. The Diocese makes an annual grant. Six acres have been planted with cinnamon and one with rubber, and the first cinnamon has been harvested and sold, including from a stall at the Diocesan Council in October 2025. Income for the year was Rs. 5,337,068 against expenditure of Rs. 4,718,190.
Chairman: the Ven. Sunil Ferdinando.