For the Common Good: A Lutheran Resource for Election Season
As communities across the Grand Canyon Synod prepare for the fall 2026 elections, congregations are invited to download and use For the Common Good: Prayers and Resources for Congregations in Public Life. The 17-page resource offers Lutheran theological grounding, worship materials and practical ideas for faithful, nonpartisan engagement during an election season.
Pastors, deacons, worship planners, church councils, advocacy teams and adult faith formation leaders are encouraged to review the resource now and adapt its materials for their local settings in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and communities across the Navajo Nation.
Created by the Northwest Intermountain Synod’s Prayer and Presence in Public Life Task Force, the resource addresses a timely question: What is the church’s role in public life?
Its answer is rooted not in partisan activity, but in prayer, worship, discernment, civic participation and service to the common good.
Grounded in Word and Sacrament
The resource begins with a distinctly Lutheran understanding of public life. In Baptism and Holy Communion, we receive God’s gifts of grace, mercy, forgiveness and hope. These gifts free us to live not for ourselves alone, but for our neighbors and the wider world.
Because every person bears the image of God, every person possesses dignity and worth. That conviction shapes how Christians enter public conversations: listening carefully, honoring different experiences and resisting contempt—even amid serious disagreement.
This approach reflects the ELCA social statement Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All, adopted by the 2025 Churchwide Assembly. The statement teaches that worshiping communities can support civic participation because worship forms Christians to join God’s work for the good of their communities. Read the social statement.
Practical resources for congregations
For the Common Good includes:
Hymn suggestions from Evangelical Lutheran Worship and All Creation Sings.
Guidance for including civic concerns in Sunday worship.
Ideas for services of prayer, lament and vigil.
Suggestions for praying for election officials and candidates by name.
Adaptable intercessions for voters, poll workers, election staff, postal carriers, courts, public officials and volunteers registering voters.
Prayers for public trust, peaceful participation, nonviolence, truthful discernment, and free and fair elections.
Additional ELCA resources connecting faith, advocacy and civic life.
Some links and examples in the original document are specific to the Northwest Intermountain Synod. Grand Canyon Synod congregations should adapt those sections by identifying the appropriate election officials and community needs in their own counties, municipalities, tribal communities and states.
Faithful, informed and nonpartisan
Congregations can encourage voting, provide reliable information, host nonpartisan voter-registration activities, pray for public servants and create spaces for respectful conversation. Activities conducted by congregations and other tax-exempt ministries must remain nonpartisan and comply with applicable legal requirements. The ELCA’s civic engagement resources include additional guidance and tools for election-season ministry.
Faithful civic engagement does not require agreement on every candidate, party or policy. It asks us to bring our convictions into public life with courage while also recognizing that our own understanding is incomplete. We are called to speak truthfully, listen openly, seek trustworthy information and place love of neighbor above the desire to defeat an opponent.
Download For the Common Good, share it with your congregation’s leaders and begin identifying the prayers and practices that fit your community. In a season often marked by anxiety and division, our congregations can offer a public witness shaped by grace, humility, truth and hope.
