Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: November 28, 2021
Intercession prompts:
For all who face adverse weather with inadequate shelter or protections…
For the victims of the Christmas parade tragedy in Wisconsin…
For safe holiday travel…
For all who seek justice in the face of unjust systems
For our Jewish siblings as they begin Hanukkah celebrations…
Other notable events and observances:
National American Indian Heritage Month (Month of November)
Native American Heritage Day (November 26)
Hanukkah (November 28-December 6)
Andrew, Apostle (November 30th)
World AIDS Day (December 1st)
Francis Xavier, Missionary to Asia (December 3rd)
John of Damascus, Theologian and Hymn Writer (December 4th)
Suggested prayers and hymns:
ELCA World AIDS Day resources can be found here
Opening prayer from “Service after a Violent Event” (ACS p.64)
Gracious God, the news of this day
has ripped our hearts and torn our souls.
We are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
In the depths of pain and anger, we gather before you,
O God, our rock and our refuge.
You are our only comfort.
You are our only hope.
Merciful God, you know the depth of our suffering.
We have only begun to mourn those we have lost.
Amen.
Prayer for courts of justice (ELW p.77)
Lord of all, you have declared what is right: to seek justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you. Bless judges and courts, juries and law officers throughout our land. Guard them from retribution and from corruption. Give them the spirit of wisdom, that they may perceive the truth and administer the law impartially as instruments of your divine will. We pray in the name of the one who will come to be our judge, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn Suggestions for Lament:
ACS 1053 A River Flows through Babylon
ELW 704 When Pain of the World Surrounds Us
ACS 1073 Kyrie Eleison
Hymn Suggestions for Justice:
ELW 710 Let Streams of Living Justice
ACS 968 Feed us with Hunger for Justice
ELW 723 Canticle of the Turning
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.
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.
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.