Many, if not most, of you are by now aware of the tragic situation that occurred yesterday, Easter Sunday morning, in Sri Lanka. Please join our national church members in prayer for those suffering from loss of life, loved ones and a sense of normality.
Dennis Jackson, executive director of Global Partners, gave me permission to share with you an email he received from Cedric,* our national leader and pastor of a local congregation based in Sri Lanka:
“Thank you very much for your prayer support. Yes, we are in a state of shock. We are OK though. It’s indeed sad. I gave the option for people to leave the church as congregations were being asked to leave. But people opted to stay and worship. We even baptized three people. It seems like the work of a terror grouping with international connections. Many questions. Curfew lifted this morning. 260 dead so far. 450 injured. Thanks again for your concern.”
Ben Ward, Asia-Pacific area director, shared the following information he received during a video chat with Cedric: “We were meeting when the bombings happened. The police came around to shut down church services to prevent further incidents. However, they did not stop our service, because our meeting place is off the main road.”
Ben added, “When I asked Cedric how we can pray, he started tearing up. His main request was for the country of Sri Lanka. He grieves the darkness that dominates that makes this kind of attack possible.
“Let’s join together and pray that the church will respond to this aggression with the love and peace of Christ. In this dark time, pray that the light of Christ will shine through his Church.”
Amen and amen.
*Last name withheld and city withheld for security purposes.
