Global partnerships support Sri Lankan church through crisis after crisis 

When Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on Nov. 28, killing at least 474 people and leaving hundreds missing, two of the three congregations in the Presbytery of Lanka found themselves vulnerable. The Presbyterian churches in Colombo and Kandy —  both in the hardest-hit districts — now face yet another crisis in a country already struggling under the weight of economic collapse, political instability and the lingering effects of a 30-year civil war. 

For the Rev. Saman Perera, moderator of one of Sri Lanka’s smallest denominations and pastor of Scots’ Kirk in Kandy, the cyclone underscores why partnerships with churches like the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) matter more than ever: “We very much value and appreciate the ways that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have partnered with us over the last year,” Perera said during an interview at the World Communion of Reformed Churches General Council in October, weeks before the cyclone struck.

Those partnerships have proved critical as Sri Lanka has lurched from crisis to crisis. The World Bank declared the nation bankrupt in 2022, and the country now operates under International Monetary Fund restructuring requirements that have driven up costs for basic necessities. 

“There are a lot of taxes imposed in various things,” Perera said. “The water bills, electricity bills are highly increased. This affects a lot of our poor community.”

The human cost is visible in Perera's congregations. Senior members struggle to afford prescribed medications. Families need help with school expenses. Some parishioners cannot afford bus fare to Sunday worship. “As a pastor, when I look at my church, I see a lot of people who struggle,” he said. “As a church, we need to move with our community. We need to look after them properly.” 

Recent partnerships bear fruit 

Less than a year ago, the Presbytery of Lanka received a grant from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for its Climate Resilient Food Security Support for Rural Poor project. The grant, secured through collaboration between Perera and the Rev. Cathy Chang, one of three global ecumenical liaisons supporting Asia and the Pacific, has over the course of 2025 assisted 60 families in 10 locations across Sri Lanka with home gardening, livestock and livelihood development supplies.

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Chang, who worked with Perera on the grant application, said the situation in Sri Lanka is “climate-induced but also compounded by recent economic policies.” Like many of her colleagues in the Unified Agency, she understands how multiple factors intersect to affect economies and citizens in countries like Sri Lanka. 

The PC(USA) has maintained a sustained 20-year commitment to Sri Lanka, initially responding to the 2004 tsunami through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and later developing the Praja Abhilasha network through the Presbyterian Hunger Program to address land rights, food security and systemic poverty. According to Valéry Nodem, Associate for International Hunger Concerns for the Presbyterian Hunger Program, the PC(USA) also supports the Suriya Women's Development Centre, a women-led organization in the Batticaloa District in Eastern Sri Lanka, another area hit hard by Cyclone Ditwah. 

Chang expressed gratitude for the ongoing activities of the Presbyterian Hunger Program and this past year’s climate-resilient food security project through Global Ecumenical Partnerships, calling them demonstrations of “our collective impact of improving the lives of Sri Lankans.” 

Historic ties, modern mission 

The Presbytery of Lanka celebrated its 180th anniversary in 2025, tracing its origins to 1845, when Scottish missionaries established a church in Kandy. Unlike other denominations focused on evangelism, the Church of Scotland initially functioned primarily as a chaplaincy service for Scottish planters who came to Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was then known, during British colonial rule. In 1954, the congregations in Colombo and Kandy formed the Presbytery of Lanka, creating a distinctly Sri Lankan Presbyterian identity with its own local leadership. 

Only after the 1970s did local Sri Lankans join in significant numbers, transforming the church’s mission and identity. The Presbytery of Lanka participates in wider ecumenical relationships through the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka and the World Communion of Reformed Churches. 

Today, with only three established congregations, Perera finds the church’s size makes global connections essential rather than optional. 

"We feel a little bit isolated because we are not part of a closely connected partner church,” Perera said, noting how Methodist and Anglican churches in Sri Lanka benefit from wider world communions and international identities. “More than that, always we appreciate if we could have somebody with whom to just relate and to discuss our issues. Those are very important in our context.” 

The value of such partnerships became especially clear this fall during Perera’s time at the WCRC General Council in Thailand — the first such gathering in several years following pandemic-related postponements. Nearly 10 days of deep conversation with Reformed Christians from around the world provided both motivation and direction.

“It gives us a kind of motivation and direction for the next seven years,” he said. “It will enhance what we are doing in our own context. It will help us to frame the work that we are already doing.” 

Solidarity in crisis 

In the past few days as Ditwah’s damage can be assessed, Chang has received correspondence with partners in Sri Lanka like the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) and the Presbytery of Lanka in the days following the double cyclone storm system, a weather event which one partner reported hasn’t happened over the island country in 130 years.

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On Dec. 2, Perera sent an email to Chang describing the catastrophe's toll on Kandy and his church’s response: 104 deaths, 180 missing, 41,000 people affected from 11,130 families. His church sorted used clothes and cooked meals for displaced families while enduring days without electricity, water or communication. Fourteen church families suffered damaged homes, including Perera's own property. "We are attending to the dire needs of the people by pooling the resources available to us," Perera wrote. 

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance approved emergency solidarity grants to established partners responding in affected regions in Sri Lanka. To support, donate here. 

For small churches in countries facing enormous challenges, global connections and denominational partnerships provide more than material support. These relationships offer solidarity, wisdom and the knowledge that even the smallest Reformed congregation doesn’t stand alone. The PC(USA) has demonstrated this commitment through multiple partnerships across Asia and the Pacific, creating networks that allow churches to learn from one another’s experiences and support each other through crisis. 

The denomination’s international development work has focused on amplifying voices of marginalized communities and supporting grassroots movements for justice and economic empowerment. In times of crisis, isolation can feel overwhelming. Global connections like those fostered by the Presbytery of Lanka, the PC(USA) and members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches provide hope and practical help for a small church with a large mission. 

For more information about PC(USA) partnerships in Asia and the Pacific, visit pcusa.org. 

For information on the Presbyterian Hunger Program, visit pcusa.org/hunger. 

To donate to relief efforts in Sri Lanka through the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, go to pcusa.org/donate/dr000197-disaster-relief-south-asia.

Videographer Randy Hobson contributed to this report.