PRAYER VENTURES November 2002
Making Christ Known: Promise for a New Day through ... Stewardship
1 All Saints' Day
As we give thanks for the cloud of witnesses throughout the ages, thank God for the generosity of the members of the former Westwood Lutheran Church, Elmwood Park, Ill. They used the proceeds from the church closure to benefit a variety of ministries, including two ELCA mission congregations and one ministry in an economically impoverished community.
2 Give thanks for the saints in mission, especially those in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia, both in Germany, and their companions, the ELCA Southern Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania synods respectively.
3 Pentecost 26
Almighty God, we praise you for how your Spirit works through the daily lives of your children. We lift up especially the people of Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, that your will may be done.
4 Forty sites have been approved as future new mission sites. While some already have mission developers visiting their neighborhoods, others are waiting. Pray that God will send Spirit-filled people to be witnesses in the remaining fields.
5 Pray for Sister Marla Wood as she assists in the development of the youth ministry program of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. Remember all those who assist in youth evangelism and ministry in Japan.
6 Pray for Pastor Sarah and Noel Tade. Sarah is advisor to the Femmes pour Christ of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Central African Republic and Noel is a teacher as well as a member of the education committee for the church.
7 Ask God's blessing on Pastor Lars Clausen, who unicycled across the country raising people's awareness of the ELCA ministries on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Thank God for the hundreds of people who have offered encouragement and financial gifts to these ministries.
8 Praise God for the leadership of Karen and Pastor Karl Peters with the Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Bolivia. Pray for his work as a teacher at both the Bible Institute at El Redentor Church in La Paz and the Lutheran Bible Institute in Apolo.
9 Give thanks for Erin and Tim Bouman's teaching ministry at Kibeta Primary English Medium School in Bukoba, Tanzania, and for the companion relationship between Metro New York Synod and Northwestern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania which facilitates their continued volunteer service.
10 Pentecost 25
O God, we give you thanks for the witness of Christians, known and unknown in Italy and Malta, who through the ages have risked their lives for their faith.
11 Pray for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon as they prepare in the coming two years to have the treasurer position be filled by a Cameroonian. Give thanks for the ministry of Jim, current treasurer, and Karen Noss.
12 Pray for Pastor Michael and Leslie Fonner and their family as they begin their ministry at the International Lutheran Church of Seoul, Korea. Remember all those who participate in the life and mission of this congregation.
13 Pray that God leads ELCA congregations to answer the call to be Mission Partners with congregations in impoverished neighborhoods, especially our American Indian congregations in communities of high unemployment.
14 Pray in thanksgiving for the members of the ELCA Church Council as they prayerfully discuss the items before them and discern the leading of God's Holy Spirit.
15 Pray for the ministry of Pastor Arno and Sarah Frierichs, who are serving as volunteers at Trinity Lutheran Church in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. With the assistance of Pastor Sam Wolff of Trinity, Arno is designing a plan for the ongoing ministry to Lutherans serving on military bases in continental Europe.
16 Praise God for the witness that shines in the multiple companion relationships the ELCA Southeastern Synod has with the Lutheran Church in Singapore, the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore, and the South Western Synod of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus.
17 Pentecost 26
O Lord, we ask that you continue to strengthen the people of Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Enliven the small Christian communities in these countries, that they always may be a light in their societies.
18 Answer the call to be Mission Partners with the Agape Asian Ministry in LaCrosse, Wisc. Pray that the hearts of the Hmong people in the neighborhood will be receptive to the witness of Pastor Houa Moua and others who have become Christians.
19 Rejoice in the ministries of Pastor Bill and Terry in Thailand, where Bill is pastor of the International Church of Bangkok. The church has moved to a larger worship space on the campus of Bangkok Christian College so as to accommodate the congregation's growing ministry.
20 Pray for Pastor Mahlon and Nancy Bekedam and their participation in the life, witness and ministry of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mahlon serves a congregation in Tokyo.
21 Thank God for the 2,180 ELCA congregations that provide prayer, presence, and presents of almost $6,000,000 to new and renewing congregations so that more people might be reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
22 Give thanks for Pastor Kevin Ogilvie, serving as administrator for the ELCA mission in Madagascar. Pray for the Malagasy people as they struggle with political uncertainty.
23 Pray for and encourage ELCA congregations under development and their mission developers. (A list is available at www.elca.org/do/newstarts.html.)
24 Christ the King
Christ our King, may your light ever shine in our world. We pray for the people of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, that they may be lifted up in their quest for peace and security.
25 Among the many relationships that exist with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, pray for those between its Dodoma Diocese and the ELCA Northwestern Ohio Synod, the North- Eastern Diocese and Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, the Southern Diocese and the Western Iowa Synod, and the South-Western Diocese and the South Carolina Synod.
26 Give thanks for Louis and Susan Bauer, who are completing their teaching ministry at Paulinum Seminary in Namibia, but will be starting a new call in Ghana at Good News Theological College and Seminary.
27 Thank God for the pastor and members of St. Daniel Lutheran Church, Robesonia, Penn., who celebrated the congregation's 250th anniversary this year and honored their past by making a significant contribution, through ELCA Mission Partners, to a new ministry of the ELCA.
28 Give thanks for Bob and Virginia Dusenbury, who are retiring from active building after working on nine ELCA Mission Builder projects, six of which they managed. Bob will continue to serve as a regional consultant for Mission Builders.
29 On this International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, pray for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and Palestine with its ministry among the Palestinian people, and for its companion relationship with both the ELCA New England and Southeast Michigan synods.
30 Pray for Steve and Bethany Friberg as Steve continues to reactivate medical dispensaries in North Maasailand in Tanzania and Bethany home schools their children.
Prayer Ventures is a guide to daily prayer for the global and outreach ministries of the church. The Sunday prayers, based on the New Ecumenical Prayer Cycle from the World Council of Churches, take us on a prayer journey through various parts of the world. In addition to their use for daily prayer, Prayer Ventures can be incorporated into the prayers at Sunday worship.
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 the Division for Outreach and the Division for Global Mission in cooperation with the Department for Communication. Contact either of the divisions for additional information: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 8765 W. Higgins Road, Chicago IL 60631. Tel. 1-800-638-3522.
Prayer Ventures is available electronically. Visit us at www.elca.org.