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 those suffering and battling wildfires…
For peaceful transitions of power, especially in the United Kingdom…
For an end to violence between nations, especially Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, Eritrea/Ethiopia, and Armenia/Azerbaijan…
For those in the path of Typhoon Muifa…
For congregational council presidents and all church leaders…
For colleges & seminaries – their students, staff, faculty and boards…
Other notable events and observances:
Month of September: Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
Sept 1-Oct4: Season of Creation
Sept 15-Oct 15: Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month
Sept 18: Dag Hammarskjold, renewer of society
Sept 21: Matthew, apostle & evangelist
Sept 21: International Day of Peace
Suggested hymns & prayers:
A prayer for Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (ELW p. 57)
Almighty God, your Son our Savior called a despised tax collector to become one of his apostles. Help us, like Matthew, to respond to the transforming call of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
A prayer for seminaries (ELW p. 74)
We give you thanks, O God, for all of life and for our common calling as your servants, for the work of your church and for the ministries of word, sacrament, and service. We give you thanks for women and men whom you call to be leaders in your church and for teachers who form them for service. Through the witness and mission of our seminaries may the church join courageously in your work of compassion, mercy, justice, and peace; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Hymn for creation & climate
Can You Feel the Seasons Turning (ACS 1065)
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.
