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 all experiencing storms and extreme weather conditions…
For peace among the nations of the world…
For those in the retail and service industries this season…
For our Jewish siblings celebrating Hanukkah…
For the homecoming of Brittney Griner, and for health and justice for all prisoners and prisoners of war…
For victims of gun violence, especially in Mississippi, as well as families marking the 10 year anniversary of Sandy Hook…
For those in North Carolina still facing outages following a power grid attack…
For those enduring the longest night of the year in grief and loss…
For cleanup and mitigation efforts following landslides in California…
For the LGBTQ+ community in Russia and for all oppressed by new legislation…
Other notable events and observances:
First day of Hanukkah (December 18)
Katharina von Bora Luther, renewer of the church, died 1552 (December 20)
Winter Solstice (December 21)
Nativity of Our Lord I (December 24)
Suggested hymns & prayers:
A prayer for interreligious cooperation and understanding (ACS p. 51)
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 from 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.
Resources lamenting gun violence
Service after a Violent Event (ACS p. 64)
Prayers for Times of Conflict, Crisis, Disaster (ACS p. 49)
Hymns for the longest night
Lost in the Night (ELW 243)
Wait for the Lord (ELW 262)
In Deepest Night (ELW 699)
Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning (ACS 949)
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.
