Prayers for Spiritual Growth - MacArthur Park Lutheran Church

Pastors Corner

Prayers for Spiritual Growth

PRAYER VENTURES
March 2010
PRAYER VENTURES
March 2010
Prayer petitions for Sundays follow the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Prayer Cycle
and can be incorporated into the prayers at weekly worship. Weekday entries are offered as
guides to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the church. Thank you for
your continued prayers for the life and mission of this church.
1 During Women’s History Month, give thanks for all the women and girls
who heed God’s call to leadership in this church, as rostered and lay leaders
in many vocations, that God sustain them in their calls.
2 Pray for God to heal our resistance to addressing all forms of oppression.
3 Thank God for Pastors Claudia Bergmann and Scott Moore, serving in
Germany. May Claudia and Scott’s ministry help strengthen the church as it
seeks to engage Germany’s secular culture.
4 Take a moment to reflect what it means to work together as women and
men, girls and boys, to address sexism in church and society.
5 Pray for Dorcas Wang as she teaches leadership development and
capacity building of both the ELCA and its companions in China. She
ministers to Chinese returnees and expatriates.
6 We pray for ELCA congregations behind prison walls: Church of the
Damascas Road, Ft. Dodge, Iowa; Followers of Christ, Firth, Neb.; Living
Stones, Shelton, Wash.; New Beginnings, Aurora, Colo.; Prisoners of Hope,
Appleton, Minn.; St. Dysmas, Jefferson, Md.; and St. Dysmas, Sioux Falls
and Springfield, S.D.
7 3rd Sunday in Lent
Holy God, we give you thanks for the witness of Christians in Austria,
Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, and San Marino. Grant
renewal and strength to the churches in these countries, that the gospel
might reach those who have not yet heard the words of our Lord.
8 Praise God for the continued growth of churches in China, Hong Kong
and Macao, as these countries journey through a long period of adjustment.
9 Thank God for the companion relationships between the ELCA
Southeastern Synod, the Lutheran Church in Singapore, and the Lutheran
Church in Malaysia and Singapore.
10 Harriet Tubman; Sojourner Truth; renewers of society
Remember in prayer Elaina Styblo, a seminary intern from Trinity Lutheran
Seminary. Elaina is serving her internship at the Lutheran Church of the
Good Shepherd in Mexico City.
11 Ask the Holy Spirit to surround the people God is calling to be a part
of Rivers of Life Community Church, Colora, Md., a new ELCA ministry
in Cecil County, Md. Pray that God will strengthen the faith of these new
Christians.
12 Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome
Remember in prayer Candise Heinlein, a volunteer at the Kenya Evangelical
Lutheran Church headquarters. Candise serves as a communication assistant
and uses her expertise to provide various media services.
13 Please pray for Redeemer Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minn., and
Pastor Kelly Chatman. Ask God to bless their continued efforts to be a vital
presence for healing and transformation in their community.
14 4th Sunday in Lent
We lift up to you, merciful God, the members of the emerging Christian
communities in Myanmar and Thailand, that they may expand their holistic
ministries in their countries.
15 Praise God for Pastor Benjamin and Margit Coltvet, serving at the
American Church in Berlin. The congregation capitalizes on its diverse
membership to reach out to the changing population of the German capital.
16 Pray for candidacy committee members and candidates as they
work together to discern God’s calling to the next generation of pastors,
deaconesses, diaconal ministers and associates in ministry.
17 Patrick, bishop, missionary to Ireland
Pray for the staff and volunteers who are already busy planning for the next
ELCA Youth Gathering to be held in 2012.
18 Pray for confirmation students as they prepare to affirm their baptism in
ELCA congregations and for the pastors and mentors who are walking with
them at this important time in their lives.
19 Joseph, Guardian of Jesus
Remember in prayer Pastor Wayne Nieminen and Pastor Christa von
Zychlin, seminary professors at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong
Kong. Praise God for the dedication of the students, many of whom go forth
to serve in countries including Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand and
Hong Kong.
20 Thank God for the energy and commitment of young people to “God’s
work. Our hands.” Thirty-eight youth and 12 adults from four Pittsburgh
area congregations worked on the homes and yards of struggling families.
21 5th Sunday in Lent
We give you thanks, O God, for the vitality of the churches in Cambodia,
Laos and Vietnam. Build up these dynamic communities, that they may
encourage other churches within the Lutheran communion.
22 Jonathan Edwards, teacher, missionary to American Indians
Pray for Carol Anderson, Jennifer Christen and Stephanie Olson, volunteer
teachers at Evangelické Gymnazium Juraja Tranoveskeho in Liptovsky
Mikulas, Slovakia. The Gymnazium is one of several church-related schools
to which the ELCA sends teachers.
23 Pray for Dale Goodman, executive director of Ewalu Camp and Retreat
Center, Strawberry Point, Iowa, and for all outdoor ministry staff as they
prepare for another summer of activity. Pray for the children, youth and
adults who will take part in outdoor ministry experiences in the months
ahead.
24 Thank God for Patrick and Jacqueline Bencke, who serve at Kyushu
Lutheran College, a college of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Kumamoto, Japan. Patrick teaches English and Jacqueline directs a college
choir.
25 Annunciation of Our Lord
Pray for college, university and seminary students and especially for those
who are experiencing financial difficulties that could make it difficult to
continue in school. Pray for generous and encouraging partners to help them
follow their callings.
26 Thank God for the newly ordained Asian pastors: Betty Chen, Nengyia
Her, and Frank Wang; for those received through the candidacy process from
other traditions: Inba Inbasarasu, Seok Hwan Jeong, Stephen Kung, and
Omega Varma.
27 Thank God for the faithful service of Barbara Robertson in the area of
the Morogoro Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania. Ask
God to bless her work as she develops and implements a program to deal
with HIV and AIDS for the surrounding communities.
28 Palm Sunday
Lord, you entered Jerusalem with a peaceful heart. Be our example that we
too can live as people of peace in this world.
29 Monday in Holy Week
Please pray for William Okweari, a Sudanese lay minister (Anyuak
tribe) whom God is using to gather Sudanese immigrants for worship in
Minneapolis and Austin, Minn.
30 Tuesday in Holy Week
Renton Lutheran Church., Renton, Wash., gifted its community upon its
closure. Their generosity is creating apartments for homeless veterans and a
new ministry called Luther’s Table. Please pray for the former members of
Renton Lutheran and for those who will be served by these new ministries.
31 Wednesday in Holy Week
Give thanks for Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa, and its century of
partnership with the ELCA and its predecessors. Pray for Waldorf in the next
phase of its life, now under private ownership, as it continues to educate
young people. Pray for the Waldorf Lutheran College Foundation and its
ongoing work along side the college to offer campus ministry, scholarships
and other support.
This resource may be copied and shared among members and friends of the congregations
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Prayer Ventures is produced by ELCA
Communication Services in cooperation with other units of the ELCA. Contact info@elca.
org for additional information: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Communication
Services. 8765 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631. Telephone: 800-638-3522, ext. 2458.