Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: July 10, 2022
Intercession prompts:
For the community of Highland Park, IL, and for all areas in our nation suffering recent gun violence…
For Jayland Walker’s family and community following the release of police bodycam videos…
For those injured and traumatized by gun violence, for grieving families and friends, and for all those in this country at increased risk of police violence…
For renewed motivation to work for environmental justice and care of creation…
For healthcare workers facing difficult or confusing decisions following recent Supreme Court decisions…
For those imprisoned in Russia: Ukrainian prisoners of war, Russian dissidents, and citizens of other nations, including Brittney Griner…
For our Muslim siblings around the world, as they observe the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca this week…
In thanksgiving for the life of Nathan Söderblom, Bishop of Uppsala, whose pursuits of peace and community created the groundwork for the World Council of Churches…
Praying for the Churchwide Assembly
As the ELCA prepares for Churchwide Assembly in August, prayer petitions are available that may be incorporated into worship six weeks prior and one week following the assembly. Find the full list of petitions here.
Petition for July 10:
Gracious God, we pray for your holy catholic church. Fill it with all truth and peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it; where it is right, strengthen it; where it is divided, reunite it; Direct the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America by that truth and peace, as this church prepares to gather in assembly.
Other notable events and observances:
Eid al-Adha (Islam, Festival of Sacrifice) – July 9
Commemoration of Benedict of Nursia – July 11
Commemoration of Nathan Söderblom – July 12
Suggested hymns & prayers:
Hymns for the care of creation:
For the Wholeness of the Earth (ACS 1067)
Touch the Earth Lightly (ELW 739)
In Sacred Manner (ACS 1071)
Hymns for lamenting violence:
Sometimes Our Only Song Is Weeping (ACS 1050)
When Our World Is Rent by Violence (ACS 1052)
God Weeps with Us Who Weep and Mourn (ACS 1054)
A Prayer for preservation & healing from exploitation (ACS p.47)
Holy Spirit, you move through all creation with sighs too deep for words. Open our hearts to listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Speak through your church to rebuke the forces that seek to exploit your planet. Join our human prayers with the voices of all creation and move us to honor you by preserving the gifts of nature that reveal your glory. Amen.
A prayer from the Service after a Violent Event (ACS p. 64-66)
Gracious God, the news of [these days] 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.
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.