{"id":3590,"date":"2022-05-26T15:24:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T14:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/?p=3590"},"modified":"2022-05-26T15:24:57","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T14:24:57","slug":"alumni-profile-keerthisiri-fernando","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/2022\/05\/26\/alumni-profile-keerthisiri-fernando\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Profile – Keerthisiri Fernando"},"content":{"rendered":"

What are you doing now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My work is chiefly that of the Bishop of the Diocese of Kurunagala and also the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Ceylon. In this role I contribute in advocacy, strategy formulation, planning, relationship building and problem solving. One of my main objectives is to build peace with other religious communities in collaboration.<\/p>\n

What attracted you to Kent?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was mainly drawn by the academic culture that was present and the ability to meet persons who would develop what I had to offer. It was a welcoming place and it led a strong foundation to what I pursued in later life.<\/p>\n

Which aspects of your degree did you enjoy the most, and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was attracted both by the rich discussions we had pertaining all subjects. It was a time of sharing and dialogue as I had never experienced before. I also enjoyed the practical component of work which opened a wide avenue of experiences in theological reflection.<\/p>\n

Which skills\/knowledge did you learn on your course that you use most now in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can confidently say critical thinking and theological reflection. In my ministry these I deal a lot with these two aspects and Kent really engaged my capacity in enriching these two areas.<\/p>\n

Are you still in touch with your fellow students?<\/strong><\/p>\n

With much thanks to social media, this is very much affirmed. And it is so nice to see how each other have grown in their careers past these many years.<\/p>\n

Can you describe a typical day in your current role?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Usually the mornings are dedicated to liturgical aspects and planning for diocesan ministries. Depending on the day, I usually visit mission areas to discuss issues with local clergy and laity. Towards the afternoons I spend a lot of time engaged in meetings and further discussion. I do find some time to spend in reflection, writing and music as well.<\/p>\n

What is favourite memory of Kent?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is possibly the fellowship activities we joined together outside of College.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give someone who wants to come to Kent?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would wholeheartedly encourage them and wish them well in this task. It will be a fulfilling experience on their part. We as a diocese are also keen on building such links and we are very much open to partnership in this regard.<\/p>\n

How would you describe your time in Kent in three words?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exciting, welcoming, educative<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What are you doing now? My work is chiefly that of the Bishop of the Diocese of Kurunagala and also the Presiding Bishop of the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56138,"featured_media":3591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[118124],"tags":[807,86365],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3590"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3590"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3592,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3590\/revisions\/3592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}