The Prayers of Our Church
Year B
The Resurrection of Our Lord, April 23, 2000
To Reign of Christ, November 25, 2000
These intercessions were composed by Bishop Telmor Sartison and edited by Mary
Krieger, Program coordinator, Worship.
The Prayers of Our Church is a newly modified 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.
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) 2000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Published simultaneously on the World
Wide Web at the ELCIC's worship site, Lift up Your Hearts,
.
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.
Second Sunday in Easter
Sunday, April 30, 2000
Holy and Almighty God, with the apostles, we live in the afterglow of the resurrection
celebration. Like them, we too have fears and doubts. We want to believe with all
our hearts the story we have heard, but so often daily life gets in the way of our
faith. Help us, O God. By your Holy Spirit enable us to walk through each day's
obstacles so that we see them not as causes for doubt but barriers to be lifted by
faith. God of the risen Jesus hear our prayer.
God of our journey, we praise and thank you for gathering us to worship, discuss,
decide and act together. Bless Bishop Schultz and the British Columbia Synod
gathered in convention this next week. Give vision beyond our usual sight; and give
faith that is strong. God of the risen Jesus hear our prayer.
Third Sunday in Easter
Sunday, May 7, 2000
Almighty God, we praise and thank you for making us children of God, not through our
own power and piety but through our baptism into crucified and risen Lord Jesus
Christ. We turn daily to you, and in that turning we find peace, courage and purpose.
Make your whole church a witness to the great good news of Christ's resurrection.
God of the risen Jesus hear our prayer.
Enlighten and strengthen O God, our congregations, our schools and our seminaries.
Enable them to be places where this good news is proclaimed and lived out, places
of witness to your surprising grace. Bless the boards of Lutheran Collegiate Bible
Institute in Outlook Saskatchewan and Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon
as they meet this coming weekend in connection with convocation at both schools.
God of the risen Jesus hear our prayer.
Fourth Sunday In Easter
Sunday, May 14, 2000
God of our history; you have been shepherd to your people throughout their journey.
Now in Christ risen, the promised Good Shepherd accompanies us day by day. We
praise and thank you for this one who has laid down his life for us, this one who
knows our weaknesses as no other knows them. God for the risen Jesus hear our
prayer.
We marvel, O God, at the ministry of our mothers, for all they have done in helping us
to both survive and thrive. We express our thanks to you for them. Help us to thank
them. Enable all mothers to be what only they can be; and give them joy in their
labour. God of the risen Jesus hear our prayer.
Fifth Sunday In Easter
Sunday, May 21, 2000
Gracious God, you give us the Word that turns us again and again to you. You give us
Jesus who is the greatest manifestation of your word, your love and your purpose.
Help us to live fully as baptized people, those grafted into Jesus the branch, the
crucified and risen One. God of the risen Jesus hear our prayer.
God of all dominion and power, God of love; we can love only because you first loved
us. Empower us by your Holy Spirit to be and do the same. When we rest in your
love, fear though present cannot overpower us. Help us to rest there always. God of
the risen Jesus hear our prayer.
God of wisdom and grace, you have not left us without understanding. You equip us
day by day through word and sacrament and by the counsel and encouragement of
your Holy Spirit. Counsel and encourage our schools that they may be places of
witness and celebration. Bless especially Augustana University College, Camrose,
Alberta, in next weekend's meeting of board and convocation exercises. God of the
risen Jesus hear our prayer.
Sixth Sunday In Easter
Sunday, May 28, 2000
God of might and mercy, you have sung a new song for us in the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus. Teach us to sing our own life, our witness to Christ, revealing
to the world what you have done and desire in Christ Jesus. God of the risen
Jesus hear our prayer.
Bless all, O God, who teach and plan training opportunities for we who are called to
serve. Encourage and bless with insight those who are part of the Eastern Synod
Ministry Training Event this next week. God of the risen Jesus hear our prayer.
We come, O God, as children. Give us the grace to serve you with the gifts and skills
you have first given us. Bless especially those who serve as chaplains and caregivers
in all corners of life. Give them the grace and power of your own love that they
might bless all with whom they work and live. God of the risen Jesus hear our
prayer.
Seventh Sunday In Easter 7
Sunday, June 4, 2000
God, Father of Jesus, your Son prayed that we may be one even as he is one with you.
Send the wisdom and grace of your Holy Spirit to encourage us to make manifest
that oneness. We thank you for the profound growth in our relationships with
Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. Help us. God of the ascended Jesus hear
our prayer.
God of wisdom and inspiration, bless the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Working Group as
they gather in London, Ontario this week. Give them vision and courage as they
discover how our two church bodies can work together. God of the ascended
Jesus hear our prayer.
God of meetings, bless the Confessional Lutheran Fellowship gathered this week.
Nurture, strengthen and empower Bishop Kristenson and the Alberta Synod as they
gather in convention this next weekend. Open us to the oneness you give in Christ
Jesus. God of the ascended Jesus hear our prayer.
The Day Of Pentecost
Sunday, June 11, 2000
God of grace and gift; we thank and praise you for the coming of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost. Holy Spirit, enlighten our thinking, strengthen our will, guide us and give
us courage that we may serve God our Father by living faithfully where we are,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. God inspire your church hear our prayer.
O Holy Spirit, bless the work of the church. Give us as children of God the grace to
hear, to know and serve the mission of Christ in the world. Make the church alive to
Christ its head. Bless this week the meeting of the Council of the Lutheran World
Federation, in Turko, Finland. God inspire your church hear our prayer.
The Holy Trinity
Sunday, June 18, 2000
God beyond our understanding; we worship you as you have revealed yourself in the
Holy Scriptures of our faith. We find you there as God Almighty yet Father, as
Word yet Son and Saviour, as Spirit yet Advocate, Counsellor and Source of
inspiration. God beyond our containing hear our prayer.
We bless and praise you for the gift of creation. Help us to love, cherish and care for
what you have made. We bless and praise you for the gift of relationship through the
death and resurrection of Jesus. We bless and praise you for the gifts of Word and
Sacrament through which you speak to us in every age, even our own. God beyond
our containing hear our prayer.
Bring together in spirit and purpose Campus Chaplains from around the world who will
meet in Vancouver this coming week. Be present, O God, at this great table of
cultures and experiences that those who attend may be blessed because you have
spoken and been present with them. God beyond our containing hear our prayer.
Second Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, June 25, 2000
God of Saul and David; God of our ancestors; bless our understanding of your history.
Help us to live in the confidence that you are here today, bringing healing where
there is hurt, hope where there is defeat, peace in the midst of life's storms, and light
to lead the way through the darkness. God who knows us better than we know
ourselves hear our prayer.
Bless and be with the people of Iceland who celebrate this weekend the 1000th
anniversary of the establishment of the Christian faith in that country. Give vision
and courage to the church that it might be a leaven in society, telling the story of
your love for the whole world in the person of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Enable us to serve as we speak. God who knows us better than we know
ourselves hear our prayer.
Third Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, July 2, 2000
Gracious God, we marvel at your patience with your servants. Bring the power of your
Holy Spirit into our lives that like the woman in the crowd, we may trust you in
Christ Jesus, above all others. Enable us to rise up and serve you wholeheartedly.
Brighten the eyes of our faith that we might live so that the life of Jesus is visible in
our bodies. God who knows us better than we know ourselves hear our prayer.
We thank and praise you for your Word to us in Scripture and your Word to us which is
Jesus Christ. Let your Holy Spirit speak to us through Word that we might
understand enough for the day and walk faithfully in that understanding. God who
knows us better than we know ourselves hear our prayer.
Bless, O God, Bishop Pryse and the gathering of the Eastern Synod in convention this
next week. Give vision for planning, courage for action and a deep sense of being
participants in the life of the whole body of Christ. God who knows us better than
we know ourselves hear our prayer.
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, July 9, 2000
God of gods and King of kings; you called and anointed David, you called and blessed
Paul, and through your Son Jesus, you called the twelve to follow. In our time you
have called us. Enable us to trust you above all voices, beyond all of our prejudices
and fears. Give us courage to follow and serve you among all of our neighbours and
with one another in the body of Christ. God of the Kingdom hear our prayer.
Bless, O God, the gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Women of our Church. Give
them unity, joy and purpose in worship and service. Bless their life at home and their
life together in convention. God of the Kingdom hear our prayer.
Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, July 16, 2000
We celebrate, Heavenly Father, our baptism into Christ from whom we inherit your
blessing and purpose. We praise and thank you for giving us everything we need,
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Guide us by the Holy Spirit to fulfil
that inheritance and promise. God who gives us identity and purpose hear our
prayer.
Give energy and understanding, wisdom and insight to the teachers of our church; those
in seminaries, those in our schools, and those who week by week prepare, shape and
influence the lives of our children, our confirmands and the adults of our church
through education programs. Bless and encourage especially the meeting of the
North American Association for the Catechumenate in Toronto. God who gives us
identity and purpose hear our prayer.
Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, July 23, 2000
We come to you O God, as people who are no longer strangers. We have been joined to
Christ in a death like his so that we can live in his newness of life. Give us ears that
hear you speak, lives that are dedicated to your service, and a rich sense of awe at
what you have done and what you do, even in our daily lives. God of Jew and
Gentile hear our prayer.
Give us, by your Holy Spirit, a vision of the need we can address. Give us not only an
awareness of our purpose and mission but give us also the grace to do what purpose
and mission suggest. Bless all who gather this next weekend in the Global Mission
Event. Bless them in their understanding, celebration of and will to be in mission.
God of Jew and Gentile hear our prayer.
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, July 23, 2000
God our Father, you never cease to be faithful and loving. Strengthen us with your Holy
Spirit so that we may express the steadfastness of your love to the world. Open our
lips to tell your story. Soften our hearts to forgive as you forgave. Claim the work of
our hands for the care of your people. God who is faithful hear our prayer.
We thank and praise you for people who work on our behalf where we cannot be. They
serve in far missions, in church and agency offices, in congregational offices, and in
places unnamed. Enlighten and strengthen them for their service. Encourage them by
your Holy Spirit and through the support of the whole church. God who is
faithful hear our prayer.
Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, August 8, 2000
God of the Good News of salvation; you have united us in Christ Jesus. Bless us with
those things which nourish community in Christ; humility, gentleness, patience and
unity of Spirit. Give us all the resources of people and gifts we need to be the body
of Christ in the world. God who gave us bread and wine hear our prayer.
Protect and guard the youth of the Church O God. Open our eyes to the needs of our
youth in this day and age; and give us the will to minister to and with them. Bless the
two thousand young people gathered in Regina for our ELCIC Youth Gathering.
Give them joy in the Gospel, a sense of mission, and lasting peace in belonging to
you through Jesus Christ. God who gave us bread and wine hear our prayer.
Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, August 13, 2000
Like a grieving parent, O God, you seek out all people. You have given us bread from
heaven, even Jesus himself. You call us to put away the old ways and start fresh with
the new, the ways you give. They are so clearly spoken of in Scripture but so hard to
follow. Equip us by your Holy Spirit to know and confess our shortcomings and
sins. We trust in you alone to raise us up and make us followers. God of David and
our Ephesian sisters and brothers in Christ hear our prayer.
Bless those who gather this next week in Worship conference at Augustana College in
Camrose. Be with them that they may learn the new song and sing each day of life
with heart, soul and service a song of praise to you. God of David and our Ephesian
sisters and brothers in Christ hear our prayer.
Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, August 20, 2000
God of bread and wine, we praise and thank you for the precious gift of the living bread,
Jesus Christ. Give us wisdom, as you gave it to Solomon and others whose stories
we read and see in the Church. In this gathering today we pray, listen to your word
to us and sing hymns of praise and thanksgiving so that we may learn to live as wise
people, in Christ Jesus. God of the bread that lasts hear our prayer.
Bless our sisters and brothers in all the churches of this country. Enable us to live in
closer harmony with one another, expressing the unity we have in Jesus, the living
bread. Teach us to serve you in the world together for the sake of the Kingdom and
not for our own glory and honour. God of the bread that lasts hear our prayer.
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, August 27, 2000
O God, we use the words of Peter and sing, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life." We have come together again to acknowledge our need and
your supply, our simple praise and thanksgiving. We have not the gifts of Solomon,
but what we have we bring; ourselves with the time, the abilities and the gifts you
first gave. God of the Kingdom beyond all houses of worship hear our prayer.
Encourage and direct all of us your servants. Help us to follow Jesus our leader into
every avenue and corner of life. Strengthen us to be there for one another as servants
of God in Christ Jesus. We remember today those who will gather in Calgary this
week for the Diaconal Formation and Community Week. . Bless, inform and shape
them for the tasks to which you have called them. God of the Kingdom beyond all
houses of worship hear our prayer.
Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, September 3, 2000
Almighty God, forgive us when we hear and forget. Make us hearers who remember and
doers who act. We hear your call. Help us by your Holy Spirit to respond. Give us
grace to identify those in distress. Inspire us to change the conditions of human law
and practice that cause the distress. Spur us to be politically and socially alive, for
the sake of Jesus, who meets us in all human need. God who calls us to serve hear
our prayer.
You give us vacation and you offer us rest, O God. You call us to service and you give
us the gifts to serve. Bless all ecumenical and inter-church councils. We plead for
your wisdom again in living and dealing with one another. Give grace, we pray, to
members of the Lutheran Church-Canada and people of our Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Canada who meet this coming weekend as Lutheran Council in Canada.
Give insight and understanding for the task. God who calls us to serve hear our
prayer.
Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, September 10, 2000
Heavenly Father, you created all of us, rich and poor, near and far, respected by society
and despised. Open our hearts and minds to our neighbours that we may serve you in
serving them. Give us the courage to live out in daily life, the faith we confess on
Sundays. God who calls us to serve hear our prayer.
Give more than we bring alone to the meetings of our congregational, synod, church and
other councils. Whatever the council, make us mindful that we belong to you
through our baptism into Christ. Mold from the clay of our thinking the will and
actions of servants of God. Bless especially the Church Council of this Church that
meets this next weekend. God who calls us to serve hear our prayer.
Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, September 17, 2000
God of ultimate purpose, we praise you for even summoning us to service. We want to
follow but we are chained in place by our fears. Send your Holy Spirit with courage
to free us. Give us strength beyond our weakness. Help us to learn from our worship
what it means to deny self and take up the cross and follow Jesus. God who calls us
to serve hear our prayer.
God of male and female alike, bless the journey of all of our boards and committees that
all your servants may have opportunity to speak and be heard, to know and to act.
Bless the Evangelical Lutheran Women of our Church and their newly elected board.
Give them wisdom and vision. Build trust and a spirit of mission that they may know
your call and serve you fully. God who calls us to serve hear our prayer.
Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, September 24, 2000
O God of past, present, and future; we see in the texts of this day the wisdom of a
woman, the call to humility in James and the struggle of the disciples. Call us away
from disputes arising from our own pride and into faithful service rising out of the
wisdom from above, the wisdom that comes from your Holy Spirit. Bless us with
that wisdom. God of Christ centred faith hear our prayer.
God of our congregations, bless those who celebrate their anniversaries, those who
welcome or pray their farewells this day, those who rejoice at a new adventure and
those who out of fear stand still. Bless by challenge and resource all of us. Be the
God who teaches our mission pastors gathered as Canadian Mission Pastors this
weekend in Toronto. God of Christ centred faith hear our prayer.
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, October 1, 2000
We walk with confidence O God, because you are with us on our journey of service in
Christ's name. Help us to live together in a spirit of harmony, praying for one
another and supporting one another in Christ. We come with our cups of cold water.
God who calls us again and again hear our prayer.
By the Holy Spirit, Gracious God, you bring together churches and faiths in
conversation. In that journey for understanding and peace, help us to listen carefully
so that we may hear. Help us to speak clearly so that we may be heard. Bless our
Bishop, Telmor, who meets this week with the Roman Catholic hosted gathering of
island clergy in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. God who calls us again and
again hear our prayer.
Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, October 8, 2000
In these last days, God of Word and witness, you have spoken to us through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus calls us sisters and brothers. Through him, we are your
children. Help us to live faithful to you and to one another that the goodness of your
grace and power might be made known in all the world. God of grace and
glory hear our prayer.
The Church, Christ's body, has lived a divided life. Help us to reach across the gaps of
time and custom so that we might touch and be touched. Bring us together again at
the table of the Lord. Bless the Canadian Conference of Bishops who meet in annual
gathering this next weekend. God of grace and glory hear our prayer.
We thank you for the opportunity to serve one another in daily life. Bless our farmers
and business people, all in politics and industry, those in healthcare and education
and all those who labour. Bless those of us who can only watch and pray. God of
grace and glory hear our prayer.
Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, October 15, 2000
O God of time and mystery; we know the feeling of Job when his senses said you were
absent. We have felt that absence too. But we also know that in Christ you have
promised to be with us always, not the way we want but the way you will. In all of
life help us to trust that you hold us, even in our weakness. Give us the wisdom and
strength to give up what we must in order to follow. God who knows all hear our
prayer.
Bless the children of our Church. Give them the community of learning and experience
that they need for this time and space. Enable us to be open to the old and the new in
addressing our ministry to our children. Help us to give up what we must and take
us what you give in this strange and changing environment called daily life. God who
knows all...hear our prayer.
Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, October 22, 2000
O Lord our God, you are very great. Like Job we hold you to nothing except your
promises. In Christ we have come to know you as self-giving. We praise and thank
you for this self-giving Jesus who models for us by his own life our own call to
serve. Enable us to follow. We need the grace and courage of your Holy Spirit to
fulfil your call to service. God of creation and self-giving hear our prayer.
Encourage and nurture the Bishops of this Church that they might serve you with
integrity. They serve you as pastors to the whole Church. Grace them with a humble
spirit, insight into their call and courage to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Bless
them as they meet in their own conference and then with the Bishops of the Anglican
Church this week. God of creation and self-giving hear our prayer.
Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, October 29, 2000
We praise you, O God, for the gift of Jesus, your Son and our great high priest forever.
Open our eyes that we might know him here and in every day of our lives. Restore
to us the great gift of faith and enable us to follow him. God who makes
whole hear our prayer.
Bless all who are involved in the care and nurture of our pastors: our bishops,
committees of theological education and leadership, seminary staff and faculty, the
board responsible for pensions and benefits, and all congregations. God who makes
whole hear our prayer.
You call the Church into being through the uncertainty of change. We thank and praise
you for the readiness for change at the time of Martin Luther. We thank you for his
ministry of insight. We thank you also for the signs of mutual understanding evident
among the saints today. We celebrate with sisters and brothers past and present the
signs of growing convergence. God who makes whole hear our prayer.
Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, November 5, 2000
We praise you O God for your marvellous provision in Christ Jesus, our high priest for
all time to come. Jesus calls upon the scribe and us to love you with all heart, soul,
mind and strength. He puts the flesh of our neighbour and the flesh of our own being
on the command to love. In our weakness we do not know how to love as we ought.
Teach us, God of love hear our prayer.
We praise and thank you for those who strive for peace in our world. Bless their
endeavours that the senseless killing might cease, that the earth may be cleared of
landmines and that we may concentrate our thinking, our planning and our energy on
caring for one another. Bless those who have served us in war in the struggle to stop
oppression. God of love hear our prayer.
Twenty-second Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, November 12, 2000
God, we say, "What have I to give. I have so little. It is not worth much." You remind
us of our wealth; our relationships, even that between a man and a woman; the news
about Christ who is to come again; maybe a loaf of bread or a hamper at the food
bank; possibly words and deeds of encouragement and community to one lonely.
Even a few coins, you bless and make fruitful. Help us to give all that we can of
what we have. God who calls us to give hear our prayer.
Open our eyes, Creator of all that is, to the opportunities for service in and through our
Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Bless our giving to Global
Hunger and Development. We pray that it might meet the challenge for world wide
and local needs through our synods, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran
World Federation and others locally and nationally. Bless the meeting of the Board
of CLWR as they gather this next weekend. God who calls us to give hear our
prayer.
Twenty-third Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, November 19, 2000
Almighty God; we near the end of another year in the church calendar. We celebrate
with Elkanah and Hannah God's answer to their prayer, the gift of pregnancy. We
celebrate with the writer of Hebrews, the assurance that we can have confidence in
Christ and what he has done for us. And we celebrate with all the followers of Jesus
that we need fear nothing when we put our trust in him alone. God of our
future hear our prayer.
Bless us on our life journeys that young and old alike may live with confidence in Christ
Jesus our Lord, knowing that baptised into Christ's death we shall live with him in
newness of life. Quell our anxieties, whatever the fearful signs. Calm our fears. Give
us focus. Help us live fully in the faith handed down to our ancestors. God of our
future hear our prayer.
Reign of Christ
Sunday, November 26, 2000
We listen O God, for the voice of Christ in all of our moments. David points us to the
promised one. John's Revelation offers hope in the promised one. Pilate discovers
and avoids the promised one. Help us in our journey of life that we might follow
Jesus with confidence and courage; for he is Lord of lords and King of kings. God of
our future hear our prayer.
Bless our journey into Advent. What is that time about? Help us to patiently wait and
watch in those days before Christmas so that we can hear your message to us about
life, about Christmas and about our celebration of the Nativity. Give us joy, peace
and anticipation in Advent's delayed and counter-cultural movement toward
Christmas. God of our future hear our prayer.
+ Telmor Sartison