Pray with Sri Lanka, November 9, 2025

Lectionary Selection: Luke 20:27-38

Prayers for Sri Lanka

We give you thanks, Oh God, for the nation of Sri Lanka, its rich religious diversity, and the unity it aspires to and strives to have in and through its diversity, even when it is never perfect.

God, we pray for the Church in Sri Lanka, which continues to be divided into many denominations. We pray to God for a renewal among Christians in their lives so that they can share the Gifts of the Spirit and set an example to their nation to struggle for the common good of the masses.

God, the one who initiates transformation, we pray for those engaged in new areas of ministry in Sri Lanka and uphold them in our prayers today, seeking God’s assistance and intervention to strengthen their work.

God, we remember the work and witness of the Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue (EISD) in Sri Lanka over the last 74 years. We especially give thanks for the pioneers who evolved and led the EISD, Rev. Basil Jackson, Rev. Dr. Lynn de Silva, and Rev. Fr. Aloysius Pieris. We pray unto you, O gracious God, that we continue working to strengthen people for active service in the fellowship of the gospel. We pray that love may abound evermore, and so do knowledge and all discernment, that the churches in Sri Lanka, and all the people in this country and all over the world seek “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable.” In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Mission Moment from Sri Lanka

The Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue (EISD) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was founded in 1951, soon after the country gained independence from British rule. EISD, inspired by its founders like Rev. Basil Jackson and Rev. Dr. Lynn de Silva, is committed to the primary concern of unity in diversity and inter-religious understanding. EISD understands the personal commitment to Christ as a posture and commitment to caring for one another, sharing with one another, and bearing each other’s burdens. We strive to achieve this with the regular fellowships, confessions, and collaborations between various Christian communions and other religious traditions in Sri Lanka, not only to keep everyone engaged in the path of Christian ecumenism, but with the goal and desire for a wider ecumenism that encompasses the people of other faiths and their faith traditions as well.

God has enabled us to engage in new avenues in social welfare, theological education, and interreligious dialogue. We continue to publish the journal Dialogue and other publications such as Gleanings and Chinthana, as well as Sinhala magazine. We also organize a few educational seminars each year. We are happy that we have a longstanding partnership with Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.

We have a new initiative, sharing resources with the Methodist Boys Industrial Home Colombo, which has renewed our ecumenical engagement.

The new Project of Ecumenical Diploma Course in Inter-Religious Dialogue is now successful, with 20 candidates, open to all interested in following this Course of nine modules with competent tutors. We thank God for leading this course’s first batch of 2025 on inter-religious dialogue to its final sessions. This new project is hoped to lead the communities of Sri Lanka to strive for peace and harmony, which we hope will be a great blessing to various progressive religious peace movements that strive to influence public opinion.

At EISD, we center ourselves and our work on what St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6: “Not that we are qualified of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our qualification is from God, who has made us qualified to be ministers of a new covenant.”

Prayer and Mission Moment written by Revd. Jayanath Panditharatne, Director, The Ecumenical Institute for Study & Dialogue

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