Prayer invitations bulletin PDF

PRAYER INVITATIONS

of the

EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN COALITION

for

MISSION in APPALACHIA

(ELCMA)

Spring 2010

God’s love is being spread throughout Appalachia in a variety of ways.  The Evangelical Lutheran Coalition for Mission in Appalachia (ELCMA) invites you, for the next thirty days, to remember all who labor in/for the Appalachian Region on behalf of the Kingdom.  We pray especially for:   

Day 1 – New mission start, Cross of Grace Lutheran Church, Jonesborough, TN and its pastor-developer Rev. Ed Wolff as they live out their mission to “Be a disciple, Make disciples, Feed Christ's sheep”

Day 2 - WV/WMD Synod’s social ministry organization, Community Lutheran Partners (CLP), and its director, Sherri Schafer, who work to unify the synod through their work in disaster response, parish nursing and care for the elderly

Day 3 - Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson as he and other leaders make decisions that will directly impact the future of small and rural congregations and communities including most of the 1100 ELCA congregations in the Appalachian Region

Day 4 – The Rev. David Ritchie and the members of St. Paul’s LC in Ironton OH who offer a unique backpack program to the residents.  This August they will need 3000 backpacks filled with teacher chosen school supplies and the benefactors are not all identified yet

Day 5 – Trinity LC, Jasper TN and its lay leader, Jon McKenzie, as they begin the adventure of building a church in this tri-state corner of Appalachia

Day 6 – Pastor MinChan Park and Messiah Korean Lutheran Church in Norcross GA as they labor to bring the gospel to Korean immigrants settling in the greater Atlanta area.  Resources are small and the work is large

Day 7 – St. Luke’s LC, Beckley WV and its pastor Rev. Wanda Childs, who reach out to their members and community through bible studies, vacation bible school, camping trips, and community meetings as well as word and sacrament

Day 8 - All the underemployed, unemployed, uninsured working poor and their families.  Help each of us to be instruments making a more just world

Day 9 – The synodically authorized worshipping community of Faith Lutheran Chapel in Pickens, SC and Pastor Bob Kastings who are striving to grow and reach into Appalachian South Carolina with the Gospel

 Day 10 – Appalachian work camps like those highlighted at:  www.appalachianmissionopportunities.org  all of which welcome visitors to spend a week (or more) of service and learning in their communities

Day 11 – The many cooperative congregational configurations that are emerging around the Appalachian hills as synods and congregations seek ways to carry the gospel to the smaller churches in new, exciting and affordable ways including the partnering of Spring Church LC with Elderton Lutheran Parish and the Crooked Creek Cooperative Lutherans

Day 12 - The Jefferson Area Lutheran Social Ministry, the newest Lutheran social ministry in Northwestern PA Synod, which is building affordable elderly housing  and moving toward opening a homeless shelter

Day 13 – The Bonding Gardens project of ELCMA which is aimed toward families with children and seniors who are dealing with food insecurity.  We pray that the number of sites will grow to include one in every synod

Day 14 - Farmers, fishermen, factory workers, coal miners and loggers who struggle daily with issues of employment and environmental stewardship, and the potential loss of a way of life, in some cases

Day 15 - The many who work in the prisons scattered throughout the rural places in the mountains.  Remind us to be light in the dark places and to bring hope and refreshments to our brothers and sisters serving there and incarcerated there.

Day 16 –Lutheran Service of TN and their president, Kathy Thoreson, who are working to build a strong  partnership between the agency and the churches of the state of TN to reach those in need in their state

Day 17 - Appalachian Women’s Alliance, with Meredith Dean & Edna Gulley as they empower women in southwestern VA. 

Day 18 – The emerging authorized worshipping community,  Mountain of Life, and the developers Mary and Darrell Golnitz in the north Georgia mountains of the Southeastern Synod as they reach out to the unchurched in their area

Day 19 – Pastors Marie Meeks, Paula Roulette, Amy Walter-Peterson, Richard Mowery, Lynn Ash, Jeffery Silvernail, Dave Preisinger and Bishop Marie Jerge and lay leaders Caroline Miller and Megan Robbins, all working to show God’s love to the people of the Upstate NY Synod of the ELCA

Day 20 – All those affected by weather extremes, especially all the flooding throughout Appalachia (and those affected by other natural calamities i.e. hurricanes and tornados, too).  Many are still struggling to put their lives back together.  We also give thanks for all those who journeyed from Appalachia to lend a hand and received so much in return. 

Day 21 - The Regional Coordinators of Regions 6, 7, 8, and 9 connecting a richly diverse and geographically rugged area in both ministry and outreach

Day 22 - The Bishops and staffs of the sixteen synods, caring for the pastors & leaders of over 1000 congregations (1/10^th of the ELCA) called to declare the love of Jesus Christ to the Appalachian people

Day 23 – Living Waters Lutheran Church in Cherokee NC, a Native American congregation sharing God’s love in their community as the leadership transitions, especially holding Rev. Jack Russell in prayer

Day 24 – Northwestern PA Synod of the ELCA, its Bishop Ralph Jones, their staff Jake Jacobson, Sandra Jones, Mary Housholder and the exciting ways the synod is reaching out including the innovative usage of TEEM graduates to share the gospel in rural and small town Appalachian settings

Day 25 – Delaware-Maryland Synod and the Indiana-Kentucky Synods as they pray and prepare to elect a new bishop

Day 26 – Bishop Sam Zeiser and the congregations of the Northeastern PA Synod of the ELCA who are working in four areas to strengthen ministry:  Worship and Spirituality, Witness and Service, Connection Building and Leadership Development

Day 27 - The campus ministries that care for our children while they are away from home for schooling.  And please move our youth to return to their home places and to make a difference for their neighbors

Day 28 – Bishop Julian Gordy and Nancy Christensen, the Director for Evangelical Mission in Southeastern Synod as they work to grow fourteen new ministry starts within their four state area

Day 29 – With grateful hearts we offer thanks for the adequate resources ELCMA enjoys that allow us to continue in Christ’s work, and we ask for the blessing of wisdom to follow Christ’s lead and not our own egos

Day 30 - The network of ELCMA, the ELCMA Council, Committees  and Task Groups, Volunteers, Delegates and Staff who work faithfully to connect people and resources, needs and solutions, people and faith

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