Bishop of Colombo asks clergy to be present amongst the poor and sick during the Coronavirus

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The Bishop of Colombo has asked the Church of Ceylon to head the call of its metropolitan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to fast and pray today for the church and the world in response to COVID-19.

In his 21 March 2020 letter, the Rt. Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey asked clergy to comply with government health orders to halt the spread of the virus, but also to be present among the poor, sick and all those affected by the coronavirus.

“Let us humble ourselves before God our loving Creator, Saviour and Sanctifier and cry unto Him before His Throne of Grace to have mercy on us, to forgive our wrong doings, hear our prayer and heal our world while transforming us to once more to become people of His heart and mind,” the bishop wrote.

“Remember most importantly the lonely, the helpless, the poor, the aged, the hungry and those who are deprived of earning their daily wage due to enforced holidays and periods of curfew,” Bishop Canagasabey said.

As of 22 March 2020, the Center for Disease Control reported 72 confirmed cases in Sri Lanka out of 294,110 world wide.

Ceylon Coronavirus Pastoral Letter 2020.03.21 by George Conger on Scribd