The Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), a joint ministry of the ELCA and the Lutheran World Federation, represents Lutherans at the United Nations. Give thanks for the LOWC’s work in monitoring issues of concern to the church, sharing our perspectives and speaking for peace, justice, human rights, respect for international law, and better standards of living for all people.
Read MoreGive thanks and praise to God for welcoming us into the kingdom of God, an undeserved gift to be shared with the world. Pray that we will never take the joy and blessings of this gift for granted or hide it from our neighbor.
Read MoreRemember in prayer those who have lost jobs or are furloughed from work, that they will have the resources and support to meet their daily needs as they seek employment. Pray that our congregations will be welcoming, supportive and ready to help, concerned for their dignity and their spiritual, physical and emotional needs.
Read MoreUnder the theme "The Bible – Word, Not Weapon," the 2020 Hein-Fry Book of Faith Challenge will address how Bible verses taken out of context can become weapons that discredit others or justify cruel treatment of those portrayed as different.
This year the challenge will comprise four online events. Register here.
Read MorePray that we will actively engage with our communities and neighbors, developing the resilience and hope needed to absorb, endure and recover from the spiritual, medical, social and economic impacts of natural and human-caused disasters.
Read MoreThis is your last chance to apply for Savings Matching programs through the ELCA’s Resourceful Servants initiative.
The first step is to review the Savings Matching Programs Overview Booklet. After reading, complete the online Financial Wellness Assessment. If you qualify for either program, you will be directed to apply. Complete the process is October 15, 2020.
Read MoreThis week’s Gospel presents a strange, parable, exaggerated to the point of ridiculous. A king sends out invitations to a wedding banquet, but no one responds.
Read MoreAsk God to strengthen our faith and deepen our roots in the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray that we will draw on God’s strength through our faith, especially when we grow weary or doubtful in the face of the world’s challenges, criticism and ridicule.
Read MoreListen to devotional music available through Augsburg Fortress: “Filled with His Voice;” “Many and Great O God;” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
Read MoreThe “Experiments in Action” blog series features individuals and communities who are trying something new. This post features a story from Tree of Life, Minneapolis, MN a Lutheran church start-up that is queer-affirming, millennial-led, and for the spiritual but also slightly religious. Read here.
Read MoreAsk forgiveness for our involvement ― consciously or unconsciously ― in perpetuating the racism, laws and structures that benefit the majority through inequality and oppression. Pray for the Spirit to stir our humility, wisdom and persistence as we reflect on our lives and society and strive for racial justice, reform, reconciliation and unity as children of God.
Read MoreAs part of the ELCA’s Resourceful Servants initiative, we give a reminder about Portico Benefit Services.
Portico Benefit Services provides presentations, tools, and people that can help make financial wellness a reality.
Read More10th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 28
Lord of the feast, you have prepared a table before all peoples and poured out your life with abundance. Call us again to your banquet. Strengthen us by what is honorable, just, and pure, and transform us into a people of righteousness and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Read MoreGive thanks and praise to God that our righteousness and salvation come not through our own efforts but through faith in Jesus Christ.
Read MorePersist in praying for all affected by Hurricane Laura, by wildfires in the western United States and by flooding and severe weather. Pray that we will generously assist relief and reconstruction efforts and support the work of Lutheran Disaster Response.
Read MoreCreation Justice Ministries (creationjustice.org) educates, equips and mobilizes Orthodox and Christian communions/denominations, congregations and individuals to protect and restore God's creation.
Resources include annual “Earth Day Sunday” materials for reflection, education and worship.
Read MoreThe Lutheran World Federation’s Season of Creation 2020 invites us, through prayer and activism, to give thanks for creation and renew our human vocation for its care. Join Lutherans around the world in the online meeting and closing prayer today.
Read MoreFrancis of Assisi, renewer of the church (1181-1226) Pray that we will greet each day with a sense of awe, gratitude and respect for creation, for the organisms and creatures that inhabit the earth and for humanity in all its diversity and complexity ― the handiwork of God.
Read MoreEzekiel confronted the Israelites for their resistance to change and to God’s ways of fairness. He rejected their arguments that change was too difficult, that they were acting only as they were raised and that he needed to live in the real world. Pray that we will repent, embrace God’s peace and justice, and heed God’s command, through Ezekiel, to “get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!”
Read MoreThese petitions are offered as guides 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.
Download a Word doc, or PDF for letter size printout or legal size printout, or view the ELCA resource page.
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