Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

1610 Carlisle Road, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011

Phone: (717) 737-0439 / Fax: (717) 737-5421

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Prayer Ventures

July 2007

1 - 5th Sunday after Pentecost

Gracious God, look with favor upon the churches in Ghana and Nigeria, that, in the midst of great challenges of witnessing to your mercy, they may find strength and nourishment in your Word.

2 Pray for A Christian Ministry in the National Parks, which recruits seminarians, college students and retirees to lead Bible studies and serve as worship leaders in the national parks by special agreement with the National Park Service. Pray that campers and workers in the National Parks will respond to the invitation to worship and be open to hearing the Good News of God's love for them.

3 Thomas, Apostle

Ask God to bless Elijah, a young man from Sudan, who escaped on foot after the deaths of his parents and spent seven years in a refugee camp in Kenya. With the help of Lutheran service organizations, Elijah settled in the United States and is now finishing an engineering degree. Pray for all refugees from strife and injustice, and for those who assist them in finding safe places to create new lives.

4 Give thanks for Lori and Todd Byerly, who are serving in administration and operations at a hospital in the Pare Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.

5100th anniversary of campus ministry

Give thanks for the mission and witness of ELCA Campus Ministry over the past 100 years of expanding minds, deepening faith and inspiring service. This ministry of the church on public university campuses invites thousands of students, faculty and staff into Christian community. A large number of leaders in church and society have been nurtured by campus ministry. Pray for students and scholars from other countries and cultures who are also included in intentional outreach on campuses.

6 Give thanks for everyone concluding service through Young Adults in Global Mission, the ELCA global mission program for young people ages 19-30. Today we lift up those who have served in Mexico, especially Rachel Bennett, Alli Condra, Luke Fairbairn, and David Krebs.

7 Pray for Mary Beth and Bayo Oyebade, for their service with the HIV/AIDS ministry, the Mashiah Foundation, and other ministries of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria.

86th Sunday after Pentecost

We give you thanks, O God, for the re-emerging churches in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, which are being strengthened by the ELCA and other churches within the Lutheran communion.

9 Pray for African national leaders who are planting new and vital African national churches across the ELCA, and for healthy and respectful relationships between host congregations and the nesting immigrant churches. Thank God for the rapid expansion and growth of the African national work nationwide.

10 Pray for the Rev. Tim and Mari McKenzie, who serve with the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. Tim teaches church history at the Japan Lutheran College and Seminary, and Mari assists with orientation for new ELCA personnel teaching English at Lutheran schools in Japan. We give thanks for their dedication and witness.

11 Pray for the ministry of the Rev. Charles Fredrickson and Elizabeth Borstad, who serve the English-speaking Meita ministry of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nagoya, Japan, and for Meita's congregational and outreach programs.

12Give thanks for Abundant Life Arabic Lutheran Ministry, the only Arab-speaking Christian congregation in Dearborn, Mich., the heart of the Metro Detroit Middle Eastern community. Ask God to continue to bless its work.

13 Ask God to protect those living in hurricane-vulnerable areas as yet another storm season is upon them. Pray that the summer will bring calm to those who have already suffered so much in previous disasters.

14Ask God to continue to energize the people of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Turbotville, Pa., as they live out God's purpose for their congregation as a strong witness to Christ's saving grace in their community.

157th Sunday after Pentecost

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.

16 Pray for Russell, a 16-year-old with cerebral palsy, who, despite severely limited mobility, attends school, visits elderly church members in nursing homes and enjoys time with his friends. Pray for his parents, for the caregivers in his group home and for lawmakers, who make decisions about benefits programs such as Medicaid provided to those who are disabled.

17 Thank God for the Rev. Ingebjorg Laugeland, who serves as children and youth pastor at Hjelmeland Lutheran Parish in Norway.

18 Ask God to continue to bless the members and team leaders of Euclid Lutheran Church in Euclid, Trinity, Lakewood, and Trinity, Canton, in Ohio as they embark on transformational ministry.

19 Praise God for the dedication of young adults serving around the world through the ELCA, especially Beth Hendrickson, Sarah Ronnevik, and Sara White, who are concluding a year of service in the Philippines.

20 Please pray for those who worship at Nueva Pueblo, a developing ELCA ministry, and those in the surrounding community of Eagle Pass, Texas. Strong winds, hail the size of golf balls, and then a tornado occurred on April 26, destroying many homes, trees, and a school. While their were no deaths among members of the ministry, there were several fatalities in the larger community.

21 Pray for the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Argentina and the ELCA Nebraska and Northeastern Pennsylvania Synods, for growth in their common witness to the people they serve.

22 Mary Magdalene, Apostle

We give you thanks, God of the ages, for the long history of the church in Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Grant wisdom, strength, and grace to the continued witness of the churches and to the people of Belarus, struggling with a government marked by political repression and corrupt leadership. Please continue to guide the companion relationships among the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States and the ELCA Central States and Northwest Washington Synods.

23 Pray that the Lord will bless the new ministry of the Rev. Seth Bridger and Abundant Life Lutheran Church of Pooler, Ga., which held its first worship service on April 1, 2007.

24 Pray for the HIV/AIDS education program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. Pray for all who are affected by this disease, and for the people who are touched by the program and its leaders.

25 - James, Apostle

Pray for the ministry of summer camp counselors and support staff serving in ELCA outdoor ministries this summer. Give thanks for their willingness to serve and to be role models for the children and youth in their care. Pray that they will remain healthy and safe and that they will experience joy in serving others.

26 Pray for the Rev. Bradn and Natalja Buerkle. Bradn teaches at the seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States in St. Petersburg, Russia.

27 Pray for the people of Word of Life Deaf Lutheran Church and St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Neffsville, Pa. Word of Life is starting a new home and partnership with St. Peter's and together they are opening additional possibilities for Ministry with deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the Lower Susquehanna Synod and surrounding areas.

28 Pray for young disciples as they seek to be "little Christs" (Luther) to the neighbor, and strive for justice and peace in all the earth, in summer journeys for serving and witnessing to the good news. Pray that youth, youth ministries and congregations will be renewed and challenged for year-round servant living, and for entering into the deepest needs of neighbors in their own communities. Pray especially for all those still rising up from Hurricane Katrina, and all those who will serve in the Gulf coast this month.

29 - 9th Sunday after Pentecost

God of grace, look with favor on the people and churches of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as they face new challenges and hope. We thank you for the links in faith and witness that emerge in the companion relationship between the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the ELCA Delaware-Maryland Synod and for the mission zeal that emerges from the strong companion relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania and the ELCA Grand Canyon Synod.

30 Pray for 13-year-old Stephanie and her adoptive family, with whom she has lived for the last two years after shufflng from foster care home to foster care home for seven years. Give thanks for Lutheran Family Services and all Lutheran social ministries that provide loving care to children who are abandoned, traumatized or emotionally shattered.

31 Please pray that God will bless the new ministry of the Rev. Scott Seeke and The River Lutheran Church, Alpharetta, Ga., which opened its doors for its first worship service on April 8, 2007.

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 ministries of the church. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Thanks be to God! Thank you for your continued prayers for the life and mission of this church.

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. 2957.

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