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.
Worship resources for the crisis in Eastern Europe:
Worship resources are available to assist worshiping communities as they respond to the crisis in Eastern Europe. Visit this link to access a wide variety of resources and prayers for general use. Additional newly-composed worship texts for Good Friday and Easter are available here.
Intercession prompts:
For loved ones of the six million people who have died of Covid-19 around the world…
For our Jewish neighbors, siblings in God’s covenant, observing Passover…
For the people who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine and for refugees seeking safety everywhere…
For victims and loved ones of those affected by the subway shooting in New York…
For people living in poverty and all who are struggling to pay their bills…
For farmers and farmworkers as they plant their fields for the coming season…
For the preservation and renewal of the earth, God’s creation entrusted to us…
Other notable events and observances:
Commemoration of Olavus Petri, priest, died 1552; Laurentius Petri, Bishop of Uppsala, died 1573 (April 19)
Commemoration of Anselm, Bishop of Canterbury, died 1109 (April 21)
Earth Day (April 22)
Commemoration of Toyohiko Kagawa, renewer of society, died 1960 (April 23)
Passover (April 15-23)
Ramadan (April 2-30)
Suggested prayers and hymns:
Hymns for the peace and well-being of our world:
Morning Has Broken (ELW 556)
Mercy, We Abide in You (ACS 1077)
A prayer for interreligious cooperation and understanding:
O God, whose name is above all names, your grace cannot be contained within human limits. We offer our thanks for holy wisdom that comes in other voices, in religions and worldviews different form our own, and in prayers offered in the wideness of your love. Move us more deeply into understanding and partnership, willing to work together in mutual respect, always open to the grace that we have experienced in Christ Jesus, our light and our life. Amen. (ACS p. 51)
A prayer for refugees, migrants, and immigrants:
O God, as you guided the Israelites to a new land by pillars of cloud and fire, now travel alongside all people who seek safety from persecution and a better life. (Especially we pray for ___.) Provide them with what they need as they travel, and guide them to places of welcome and sanctuary. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ELW = Evangelical Lutheran Worship
ACS = All Creation Sings: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Supplement
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.
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.
