The Prayers of Our Church
Year B
Advent 1, November 28, 1999 to
The Resurrection of Our Lord, April 23, 2000
These intercessions were composed by Bishop Telmor Sartison and edited by Mary
Krieger, Program coordinator, Worship.
The Prayers of Our Church is produced under the direction of the Working
Group on Worship of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Congregations
and other worshipping communities may freely duplicate Intercessions for assisting
and presiding ministers, worship planners and other ministers. Copyright (c)1999
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Published simultaneously on the World
Wide Web at the ELCIC's worship site, Lift up Your Hearts,
.
The Prayers of Our Church is a newly prepared resource that contains two
intercessions per week relating to larger ELCIC concerns. Lutheran Book of
Worship envisioned the intercessions being prepared week by week in each
congregation and worshipping community.
For a number of years model weekly intercessions have been distributed
throughout the ELCIC. We now invite congregations to join in the task of
preparing the prayers each week, while still uniting as a church around some
common concerns. Using LBW, page 65, as a guide, congregations are asked to
prepare the prayers each week incorporating the intercessions contained in The
Prayers of Our Church. The prayer responses suggested may be used throughout
the prayer.
Other resources we recommend include:
§ "Crafting the Prayers" (Section 9 in Gathered for Worship also available on
the Web at .)
§ Prayer of the Faithful, Understanding and Creatively Leading Corporate
Intercessory Prayer (revised edition) by Walter C. Huffman (Augsburg
Fortress, 1992) a "how-to" with examples prepared by a Lutheran
seminary professor concerned about Christians who are frustrated by their
inability to pray.
§ Preparing the General Intercessions by Michael Kwatera (The Liturgical
Press, 1996) a Roman Catholic "how-to" easily adapted for Lutheran use.
The writer is parish pastor and theological professor at St. John's University
in Minnesota. This resource was brought to our attention by a layperson.
§ Prayers for Sundays and Seasons, Year B by Peter J. Scagnelli (Liturgy
Training Publications, 1996) an ecumenical resource of prayers for
worship incorporating both the Roman Lectionary and the Revised Common
Lectionary, years A and C also available. This is a "workbook" for the
preparation of prayers.
§ Sundays and Seasons, Year B, 2000 (Augsburg Fortress) a varied resource
for worship planning that includes model prayers for each Sunday of the
Church Year and is newly published each year. You will find many
reprintable resources, sermon helps, hymn, song and choral music
suggestions and suggestions for the worship environment in this valuable
Lutheran publication.
First Sunday In Advent
Sunday, November 28, 1999
God of surprise and gift, we move toward the celebration of Christ's coming in
the flesh we all share; but now on this day, in this, our time of Advent, we
await Christ's coming again. We wait with confidence. We trust in your
mercy. By your Holy Spirit help us to live life on the edge, at watch and at
peace, knowing that the return could be even today. God of surprising
grace, C. we watch and wait.
God above all race and culture; in Christ you became one with us in our
humanity. Enable us to live as grace-filled people, family member to family
member, neighbour to neighbour, culture to culture, race to race. Bless the
people of Asia and on this weekend in particular, be with our ELCIC sisters
and brothers in Christ who are gathered in the Chinese Ministry Conference
in Vancouver. God of surprising grace, C. we watch and we wait.
Second Sunday In Advent
Sunday, December 5, 1999
God of surprise and gift, we wait as did John the Baptist. We too are unworthy
to stoop down and untie the thong of the one who is with us yet coming
again at the end of the age, Jesus the Saviour. Inspire and lead us again this
day, O Holy Spirit, that we may wait with confidence, serve with
commitment, and make disciples of all people. God of surprising
grace, C. we watch and wait.
Blessed Father of Jesus Christ, you give us in the gift of your Son a renewed
relationship with you. We are children of God. Bless and be with our
bishops; Raymond, Stephen, Allan, Richard, Michael and Telmor as they
meet this week to pray, discuss, plan and support one another in their
ministry of oversight in this church. Bless especially their day of
consultation with their counterparts from the Lutheran Church-Canada.
Enable us as Lutherans in this country to come together at the table of the
Lord. God of surprising grace, C. we watch and wait.
Third Sunday In Advent
Sunday, December 12, 1999
God of surprise and gift, we wait and in our waiting, point to the one who came
to save us, the one who is coming again, Jesus, the light of the world.
Enlighten our praying, our thinking and our acting with the light of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ that we may wait and watch in peace and serve you
all of our days. God of surprising grace, C. we watch and wait.
O God, giver of light and life, bless our whole church that we may celebrate
with those who have gone before us, those who stand with us and those yet
to come, the incarnation of your love in the person of Jesus. Enable us to
celebrate that gift, the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, more than any
other gift. God of surprising grace, C. we watch and wait.
Fourth Sunday In Advent
Sunday, December 19, 1999
God of surprise and gift, we celebrate with Mary and Joseph and all the saints
the announcement of that specific pregnancy, that coming birth of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. We are amazed that you use the lowly and the
humble, even the young virgin Mary, to manifest your majesty and your
grace. We will forever and ever celebrate the birth announced in today's
Gospel; and we await his coming again. God of surprising grace, C. we watch
and wait.
Gracious and magnanimous God; we celebrate today the body of Christ, the
whole church in all of its expressions. We marvel at your mercy and breadth
of acceptance. Help us to find ways through the walls we have built around
ourselves as denominations. Enable us to express more fully what it means
to be body of Christ. We thank you for the measure of oneness we
experience in our life together in the World Council of Churches which
marks a 51st anniversary tomorrow. God of surprising grace, C. we watch
and wait.
The Nativity Of Our Lord
Friday, December 24, 1999
Gracious Father, be the God of our Christmas celebration. We stand with the
shepherds and sing with the angels, "Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!" You have favoured us
with the gift of a saviour, your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. God of
surprising grace, C. we sing your praise.
God of our song and celebration, be near us and teach us to pray. May the songs
of this worship be the song in our hearts as we try to express our praise and
thanksgiving for what you have done for us in Christ. Bless the solitary and
the families gathered together in worship and home. May there be peace and
joy in the gift, Jesus. God of surprising grace , C. we sing your praise.
Nativity of Our Lord
Saturday, December 25, 1999
O God who made Mary and Joseph ready for the birth of Jesus, make us ready
to receive him anew today in the memory and celebration we call
Christmas. Take our thoughts to the more profound gift of a saviour, Jesus
Christ. By your Holy Spirit enable us to ponder the meaning of Christmas
then and now. God of surprising grace, C. we stand in awe.
God Almighty, we have found you active in creation and now in a cradle. You
catch us off guard in the cradle of our daily living. Be our guest in the
opening of gifts, the visit of friends and family, the habits of our own
celebrations, and in the contemplations of our hearts. And be with joy and
peace in the lives of people around the world, especially those who must be
apart from loved ones, those who have no meal to share and no guest to
host. God of surprising grace, C. we stand in awe.
St. Stephen, Deacon And Martyr
Sunday, December 26, 1999
God of surprise; again you catch us off guard. Your son the gift, Jesus our
Lord, challenges our values and our practices. The promises that come with
him lift up the poor and powerless and threaten those with wealth and
control. You ask us to follow him, but in the following we must give up
ideas and things that we have come to treasure. Enable us to listen, to hear
and to follow. God of surprising grace, C. we follow.
Merciful God; you provide us with messengers to serve and proclaim. Bless our
pastors and enable them by your Holy Spirit to understand and proclaim
your word for our day. Especially bless our own pastor(s) ________ Help us
to act upon what we hear, to go beyond our fears and lethargy, even beyond
this day and our continuing celebration of Christmas, into our homes and
our communities and your world as disciples of Jesus and servants of God.
God of surprising grace, C. we follow.
Second Sunday After Christmas
Sunday, January 2, 2000
God of all creation, we follow in simple wonder the lofty vision of John as he
describes the babe in the manger. In the babe we find the one there with you
in creation. He is life. He is the light of all people. He is word become
flesh. He is truth and grace embodied. He is Jesus, our Saviour. We barely
grasp edges of John's vision, your word to us. God of surprising grace, C. we
stand in awe.
Bless, O God, our students and teachers who return to school. Give them grace
to teach and learn together. Be with all of us as we move from holiday days
to work-a-day days and the routines that for some of us are drudgery and
hardship. Be present in our living that our days may take on the new life of
Christ. And enable us to appreciate both our solitude and the people around
us. Make us messengers of peace. God of surprising grace, C. we stand in
awe.
The Epiphany Of Our Lord
Thursday, January 6, 2000
Heavenly Father, we celebrate with the wise men the heavenly light and the
simple discovery. Help us to live in both the heavenly and the simple so that
our lives are always lead by your Spirit into worthwhile service in the
simple arenas of our experience. We look for glory, you give us home,
work, recreation and the challenge of being disciples and making disciples
in those common everyday places. God of Surprising light, C. make us
faithful.
Give us light, O God, sufficient for each step of the way. Help children and
mothers and fathers to know what is enough and to be satisfied with what is
enough enough of food, clothing, shelter, things and even revelation. Help
us to live with what you give us and to give away what we have, in Christ's
name. God of surprising light, C. make us faithful.
The Baptism Of Our Lord
Sunday, January 9, 2000
Gracious and Almighty God; at the baptism of Jesus you signalled his identity
with parted heavens, voice and dove. As in his humble birth, you once again
brought this mighty saviour to a humble and human act. As he lived faithful
to you, help us also, joined to him in our own baptism, to live in that
belonging, forgiven and faithful servants of God. God of surprising
light, C. help us live baptized.
You work, O God, by your Holy Spirit, in the lives of the great and the humble
to accomplish what you have in mind for human kind and all creation. Be
with the bishops of our two churches in the United States and Canada as
they meet together in study and consultation. Give them and us grace to
understand your will each day and to live fully and faithfully in it. God of
surprising light, C. help us live baptized.
Second Sunday After The Epiphany
Sunday, January 16, 2000
Lord God, you call your people to tasks we would not ourselves choose. Give us
the grace to love you enough to follow when you call. You know our
weakness and have promised to give resources for that which you ask of us.
We praise you for your generous care. Like Samuel, let us say "Here I am."
God of surprising light, C. here we are.
We are surrounded, O God, with people who need to hear the story, people who
need to meet the one from Nazareth, Jesus our Lord. Make our places of
worship places of hospitality and welcome. Make our words and actions,
words and actions of invitation. Like Philip, let us say, "Come and see."
God of surprising light, C. here we are.
Third Sunday After The Epiphany
Sunday, January 23, 2000
Forgiving God, like Jonah we resist when asked to tell the story. We find it hard
to confess the name of Jesus. We are awkward and feel inadequate. But you
have called us to speak and to act. Like Simon and Andrew, James and
John, help us to rise up and follow wherever you lead. Lord of surprising
light, C. make us followers.
Bless, O God, the faculty, staff and students of our schools and seminaries.
Enrich teacher and student alike that young people may be equipped for
citizenship in state and church, servants of God in the world. Make alive to
them the life you give in the kingdom of God. God of surprising
light, C. make us followers.
Fourth Sunday After The Epiphany
Sunday, January 30, 2000
We praise you God for you alone are worthy to be praised. You rescued your
people Israel through unwilling prophets like Jeremiah; you saved the man
with the unclean spirit and demonstrated your authority over evil; and
through your Son Jesus you manifested your power to save. Deliver us also
from the all that possess our time and attention so that we might rise to your
call to serve. God of surprising light, C. we stand in awe.
We have sisters and brothers who are not of our Lutheran family, O God. Bless
them as well as us that we might find in one another sisters and brothers in
the body of Christ, partners in mission and ministry. Be with the leaders of
denominations, including Bishop Sartison, who meet in Mississauga this
week. Give them wisdom, grace and a spirit of unity in their prayers and
discussions. God of surprising light, C. we stand in awe.
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
Sunday, February 6, 2000
Creating God, you call us to be salt and light so that others may see our good
works and give glory to you, our Father in heaven. By your Holy Spirit make
us to live the salt and light life. On our own we cannot do it. God of
surprising light, C. shine through us.
Enrich our pastors, O God, in their study of scripture, in their preparations for
worship, and in their care of souls. Enable them by your spirit to fulfil their
ordination vows with joy and thanksgiving. Bless and be with the pastors of
the Alberta Synod who meet in annual study conference this week. God of
surprising light , C. shine through us.
Sixth Sunday After The Epiphany
Sunday, February 13, 2000
Almighty God, over and over again we are reminded in the texts of Epiphany
that you are a God of light who wants to shine the light of the Gospel on all
the world. You want all to know what you have done in Christ. You ask us,
with joy like that of the cleansed leper, to run and tell the story. By your
Spirit give us grace to do that very thing. God of surprising light, C. shine
through us.
Bless, O healing God, all who serve in healing professions; all doctors and
nurses, chaplains and diaconal servants, administrators and other healthcare
workers. Enable them to see their service as a ministry empowered and
called into being by you. Give them vision and energy, compassion and
patience, grace and a sense of humour. God of surprising light, C. shine
through us.
Seventh Sunday After The Epiphany
Sunday, February 20, 2000
God of authority over all, as you forgave his sins and healed the paralytic
brought to Jesus, so heal us of all that truly hinders the fullness of life in
Christ Jesus. Heal the wounds of old conflicts, the pain of current life
struggles, the fear of defeat, loneliness, rejection, disease and even death.
Enable us to rise from the mats to which we are bound and renew our desire
for life and give us strength to live. You alone can help us. God of
surprising light, C. heal us.
Strengthen, Gracious God, the ministry of prison, military and hospital
chaplains. Give them grace to proclaim the Gospel and care for people in
difficult circumstances. Make the harbingers of hope and agents of healing.
Let them experience hope themselves. God of surprising light , C. heal us.
Eighth Sunday After The Epiphany
Sunday, February 27, 2000
Gracious and compassionate God, we praise and thank you that Jesus has come
to be our great physician. We are sinners and deserve not your compassion;
yet at your hand, in the name of Jesus, we receive compassion. Enable us
this day and this week to live with thankful hearts and lives that praise your
name. God of surprising light, C. heal us.
Make us messengers of your love; make us vehicles of your care. Enable us to
love out of plain and simple thanksgiving for your love. Give us courage to
reach out to others and clarity about the gifts we each bring. Enlighten the
working groups of our church as they meet in Winnipeg next weekend; and
in order that they might serve you better, give them diligence about their
task. God of surprising light, C. heal us.
The Transfiguration Of Our Lord
Sunday, March 5, 2000
God of redeeming grace, in those times when we are overwhelmed by our fears,
help us to know you are near. Give us the sound of your promise again. In
your beloved son Jesus, we have the promise of your presence. We will
listen to him. God who encounters , C. be with us today.
God beyond our booths, take us with you to the mountains and into the valleys
of our life experience. We trust so much in the high points and want so
much to stay. But we must walk the valleys. Be with us there in the valleys
that belong to our experience and the experience of our neighbours. Be with
us in your church's Lenten journey. Make us servants of God, in Christ
Jesus, in whatever our circumstance. God who encounters, C. be with us
today.
First Sunday In Lent
Sunday, March 12, 2000
Your voice, O God, sounded with strength and authority on the mountain, and
again at the baptism of our Lord. You testified to the identity of Jesus, your
Son. We have heard you and follow him who has gone to the heights and the
depths of testing, for our sake. Help us to follow him, with thanksgiving.
God of our Lenten journey, C. we watch and walk with Jesus.
God of call to service, be with all who repent and seek your voice. Bless the
women of our church. Enable to see their lives as being in your service
whatever their role. Bless and be with the board of the Evangelical Lutheran
Women meeting this month. Enable them and us to hear and act, to know
your will and respond to it with fearless faithfulness. God of our Lenten
journey, C. we watch and walk with Jesus.
Second Sunday In Lent
Sunday, March 19, 2000
God of compassion, the way of the cross is as much a mystery to us as it was to
the immediate followers of Jesus. But we have heard how your grace is
exercised in the journey of suffering and rejection experienced by Jesus.
Help us to hear with ears inspired, to see with eyes opened to your ways,
and to respond with lives committed to your service. God of our Lenten
journey, C. we watch and walk with Jesus.
We repent O God. We cannot name our own cross even though we try. You
must show us the cross you give us. Help us see. Give us the faith to respond
and follow Jesus. We have heard that it is in losing our life for the sake of
Gospel of Jesus that we find our life. God of our Lenten journey, C. we watch
and walk with Jesus.
Third Sunday In Lent
Sunday, March 26, 2000
According to some, O God, you are foolish and weak. Why you tolerate such
views we do not know. But we have heard the good news of what you have
done for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus. That foolishness has
become our hope, our vision, our starting point and our life in Christ. Let
your Spirit have charge of our life in Christ. God of our Lenten
journey, C. we watch and walk with Jesus.
God of our life and our dwelling places, make your home in this body of Christ
called Church. Give courage to follow Christ Jesus into the depths of human
experience. Give us patience to follow Christ Jesus into the passion of his
Jerusalem journey. Give us wisdom to know our own way as we are
immersed in the way of cross and resurrection. Bless the National Council
of this Church as it meets in Winnipeg this next weekend. God of our
Lenten journey, C. we watch and walk with Jesus.
Fourth Sunday After Lent
Sunday, April 2, 2000
We come to you O God, in the night of our experience. We. like Nicodemus,
seek to know that you are there with us so that we can take the next step in
our walk of faith. We need the light of Christ's experience and person.
Show us the way to say what we believe so that others can actually hear it in
their own words. Enable us to live what we believe so that others will
respect what we say. God of our Lenten journey, C. we watch and walk with
Jesus.
Heavenly Father, you have made us your own through our baptism into Christ
Jesus. That is mystery. It is unbelievable. But we have found you to be
there, in the unbelievable. Holy Spirit, fashion our lives to live in harmony
with the unbelievable we confess. God of our Lenten journey, C. we watch
and walk with Jesus.
Fifth Sunday After Lent
Sunday, April 9, 2000
Almighty God, your name is glorified in the suffering and dying Jesus whom
you raised from the dead. Your might is clothed in suffering and death; the
suffering and death of Jesus express your might. This too is a mystery. We
praise and thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who walked the
way of the cross. God of our Lenten journey, C. we watch and walk with
Jesus.
God the Holy Spirit, give us understanding; not too much that we get puffed up
but sufficient for each step of the journey. What is our cross? What is our
journey? What does it mean to love life and to lose life, to follow and to
serve? God of our Lenten journey, C. we watch and walk with Jesus.
Sunday Of The Passion
Sunday, April 16, 2000
The day seems so dark, O God; but we have read of your plan for redeeming
human kind. It speaks of the events of which we read this day. It is a
mystery to us that you could love us so much that you were willing to
endure the violence inflicted on your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. God of the
suffering Jesus, C. we watch, we listen, we wait.
Jesus, our Lord, you have endured much in order to make us your own. We
praise and thank you with all we are able. Our hearts say Amen to what our
minds cannot understand. We see you at work to redeem in the abuse and
death you endured. God of the suffering Jesus, C. we watch, we listen, we
wait.
Maundy Thursday
Thursday, April 20, 2000
On this night, O God, the plan seemed to be falling apart; but we understand
from having heard the story again that in fact the plan was coming together,
the plan involving Christ's self-giving life, death and resurrection. There is
mystery here. We can only say, "I believe. Help my unbelief." God of the
suffering Jesus, C. we watch, we listen, we receive.
This night of betrayal is also a night of miracle. The meal that is always being
served, generation after generation, was given for us to receive. Christ said,
"Take, this is my body. This is my blood." Today we eat and drink again of
his life giving self-giving. In bread and wine we find sustenance, community
and salvation. God of the betrayed Jesus, C. we watch, we listen, we receive.
Good Friday
Friday, April 21, 2000
This day and its stories, O God, sound like "not good Friday" instead of "Good
Friday." There is so much pain and distress. Christ is betrayed. Christ is
abandoned. Christ is rejected. Christ is crucified. But in this one who
journeys to death we find the one who gives us life. We praise and thank
you Heavenly Father for this great gift of life in Christ gained at great cost.
God of the crucified, C. we watch, we listen, we wait.
We come with Nicodemus, the night visitor, bringing the oil of our own lives to
anoint Christ. Instead we find that we are anointed with faith that allows us
to bend knee and will to this Holy and Crucified One. We are there when
they crucified our Lord, for it was also for us. We are here today to give
thanks and praise. God of the crucified, C. we watch, we listen, we wait.
The Resurrection Of Our Lord
Sunday, April 23, 2000
This night echoes with holy history. We hear the old stories again. They bring
life and hope. We wait with the people of our spiritual ancestry. Fire and
light penetrate the darkness. We will not leave until we hear the good news.
Christ is close. God who resurrects, C. we watch, we listen, we wait.
Make Holy, our God, the time of waiting which is so much a part of our lives.
Make Holy by your inspiration, the time when waiting ends and we see,
when waiting turns to response. We praise and thank you for the journey of
Lent and its unfolding in the celebrations of this Holy night. God who
resurrects , C. we watch, we listen, we wait.
+ Telmor Sartison