Ps. Simon Taylor and Ps. Mark Andrews have just returned from a visit to Sri Lanka where they had the joy of being involved in the inaugoration of Pastor Shehan Fernando as the new National President of the Apostolic Church, Sri Lanka. They report, ‘We realised how dangerous it is to go to church in Sri Lanka these days when we turned the corner into the road where the Moratuwa Apostolic Church is situated and saw armed soldiers standing outside the entrance and in the grounds guarding the congregants as they gathered on a hot and sticky Sunday morning to witness Ps. Shehan becoming their new National President for the AC in Sri Lanka (Since the bombing atrocities in Columbo inApril 2019, the army sends soldiers to guard churches while services are on).

The Sunday mornings service was a powerful moment in the life of the AC with over 500 people present. Ps. Simon acknowledged the faithful service of Ps. Amalaraj who was stepping down after four years as president (Picture below ) and inaugurated Ps. Shehan as the new President (Picture above). God’s presence was tangible throughout and the atmosphere was charged as a feet washing ceremony changed the dynamic of the meeting towards the end and there was a real move of the Holy Spirit through the congregation and pastors.

The Apostolic Church in Sri Lanka is growing and during their time here Simon and Mark also participated in the National Church Council visiting other churches as well as meeting with the AC National Youth leadership. Continue to pray for the church in Sri Lanka.