These prompts are provided for worship leaders as they prepare the prayers of intercession for weekly worship. The prompts are prepared by several leaders in the ELCA and reflect current world and national events. You are encouraged to adapt and add other concerns for your local context, including staying informed of events and concerns in your synod.
Intercession prompts:
For the continued healing of Damar Hamilin and all athletes who suffer injuries to body and spirit…
For parts of California and the West Coast affected by massive amounts of rainfall this week…
For Abby Zwerner and all victims of school shootings…
For victims of the Tonga tsunami and the efforts to rebuild …
For those continuing to die from Covid-19, especially in China as transmission increases …
For the people of Brazil and their president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as they struggle for continued democracy …
For the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all who continue the work for civil rights …
For those injured and grieving following a bus crash in Senegal…
For those injured in a Paris train station attack…
Other notable events and observances:
Martin Luther King Jr., renewer of society, martyr, died 1968 (January 15)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day–observed (January 16)
Antony of Egypt, renewer of the church, died around 356 (January 17)
Pachomius, renewer of the church, died 346 (January 17)
Confession of Peter (January 18)
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18-25)
Henry, Bishop of Uppsala, martyr, died 1156 (January 19)
Agnes, martyr, died around 304 (January 21)
Suggested hymns & prayers:
A prayer against prejudice, racism (ACS p. 51)
O God, in your divine mystery you embrace difference in unity, and you call your people to live in peace with all. We pray for an end to racial and ethnic prejudice. Free us from the dread of difference. Free the church from constricting traditions. Free our society from centuries of violence against the other. Break down the walls that separate your people by color, culture, or religion. Call us to repentance for our sins of racism and prejudice, known and unknown. Transform discrimination into a passion for justice. Guide us to nurture a society that embodies reconciliation and cooperation among all, for the sake of the one who embodies your love, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Hymns for justice and renewal
We’ve Come This Far by Faith (ELW 633)
When Our Song Says Peace (ELW 709)
God of Tempest, God of Whirlwind (ELW 400)
ELW = Evangelical Lutheran Worship
ACS = All Creation Sings: Evangelical Lutheran Worship Supplement
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Additional topical prayers are found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (pp. 72–87) and All Creation Sings (pp. 46–55), as well as in other resources provided in print and online at sundaysandseasons.com.
Follow this link to access resources to assist worshiping communities as they respond to the crisis in Eastern Europe. Several prayers are provided that could be used during the prayers of intercession or at other times, in public worship or for devotional use at home or in other settings.
Further assistance for composing prayers of intercession can be found here: Resources for Crafting Prayers of Intercession
Crafted intercessions for every Sunday and festival are provided in the Sundays and Seasons worship planning guide published in-print and online by Augsburg Fortress.
Prayer Ventures, a daily prayer resource, is a guide to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world.
