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Prayer petitions for Sundays follow the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Prayer Cycle andean be incorporated into the prayers at weekly worship. Weekday entries are offered as guides to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the church. Thank you for your continued prayers for the life and mission of this church.

1 Pray for the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago,
Trinity Lutheran Seminar)' in Columbus, Ohio, and
Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. These
institutions are working with ELCA colleges, continuing
education centers and other programs for lifelong
learning, to create a network of expanded opportunities
for theological reflection and study for all the baptized.

2 Presentation of Our Lord

Pray for Kirsten and Pastor Stephen Kienberger, parish pastor of the American Lutheran Church in Oslo, Norway. This international congregation seeks to bring together people of different nations and denominations as followers of Christ.

3 Transfiguration of Our Lord

God almighty, we praise you for the witness of the churches in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. We ask that you continue to strengthen them as they reach out to increasingly diverse populations and to the world. We also thank you for the companion relationship shared by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the ELCA Delaware-Maryland Synod.

4 Pray for guidance for seminary intern Nadia Bolz-
Weber who is working with three Denver-area ELCA
congregations. She is also researching the possibility of
starting a young adult ministry in downtown Denver.

5 Give thanks to God for Pastor Chad and Natalie Rimmer,
who serve as leaders of the International Church of
Copenhagen in Denmark.

6 Ash Wednesday

Thank God for Rev. Mark and Marcia Holman as they serve the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem and assist the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Hoi}' Land. Pray for peace in this strife-torn Holy Land.

7 Thank God for the medical and support staffs of
Lutheran healing institutions in the United States and
globally. Ask that they will be able to continue providing
medical care to all in need.

8 Thank God for those who advocate for the rights of
women and girls around the world, especially United
Nations members and their advisors, which includes the
Lutheran Office of World Community and the Lutheran
World Federation.

9 Pray for the presidents and other leaders of the 28
ELCA colleges and universities as they meet this month,
and especially for Ann Svennungsen who is being installed
as president of Texas Lutheran University, Seguin.

10 First Sunday in Lent

Merciful God, we give you thanks for the diversity of ministry among the churches in Ireland and the United

Kingdom. We pray for the continued companion relationship between the Lutheran Church in Great Britain and the ELCA Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod.

11 Pray for approximately 200 people gathering for
the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago's annual
leadership conference, "Perfect Potential: Seeking
Excellence in Ministry,'" February 11-12.

12 Pray for the many young people participating in
the Young Adults in Global Mission program. Today
we remember Anna Lucas, Matt Metz, Candace Milton,
Crystal Law, and others who serve in a variety of social
ministry settings in Great Britain.

13 Thank God for all people who use their gifts to
make Christ known: for those who teach and preach,
those who sing and make music, those who witness to
the unchurched, those who take care of the property that
provides a place to worship, serve, and celebrate, those
who work for justice, those who love and cherish children,
those who bring care and comfort to the suffering, and
those who generously share their gifts of time and money.

14 Pray for Sarah and Pastor Peter Grow-Hanson who
serve in Dakar, Senegal. They provide direction for
leadership development and early childhood education,
as well as orientation for visitors and new missionaries to
Senegal.

15 Beseech God to protect the hundreds of thousands of
adults and children who are trafficked around the globe
each year, suffering from abuse and neglect, and ask God
to strengthen all those who work to end human trafficking,
including social workers, pastors, legislators and social
rights activists.

16 Please pray for the traveling worship team of St.
Timothy Lutheran Church and Iglesia Luterana Sagrada
Familia as they lead worship and begin small group
ministry at multiple sites in the Atlanta area. Led by
Pastors Matthew Boedecker, Lydia Villanueva, and Jorge
Restrepo, the team seeks to bring a grace-based message
to the growing Hispanic/Latino population.

17 Second Sunday in Lent

God in heaven, bless all who strive for peace and human welfare in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Take away any anxiety about the future and give them a sense of responsibility for where you have called them.

18 Remember the new English teachers who are
completing six months of Japanese language study. In
March, Jonathan Ramse. Gallon Holloway III, Matthew
Hofer, Charity Hall and James Carter will move into
assignments in Tokyo and Kumamoto, Japan, as part of the
J-3 program of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church.

19 St. Paul Lutheran and St. Paul Lao Lutheran
Church, Des Moines, Iowa, have consolidated and seek
to become one strong, healthy, revitalized cross-cultural
congregation. Please thank God for this multicultural
mission opportunity and pray for guidance and inspiration
for Pastors Bounkeo Bounma and Diane Joseph as they
reach out through this historic congregation into a vital
future.

20 Give thanks for all who participate in the life and
ministry of the International Lutheran Church of Seoul,
Korea. Remember Theresa and Pastor William Anderson,
entering their second year of service to this congregation.

21 Thank God for La Frontera Border Ministry and
those who, with few financial resources, bring love, hope,
medical assistance, education and daily necessities to
financially impoverished people on both sides of the 1,900
miles of Mexican/US border.

22 Pray for Valeria and Pastor Richard Solberg, who
provide pastoral leadership for the English language
ministry of the Protestant Christian Church in Bali,
Indonesia.

23 Thank God for the mission developers of the

175 congregations under development in the ELCA, especially Pastor Reginald Hansome Jr. in a new ministry in Charlotte, N.C. and Pastor Robert Hansen in Sioux Falls, S.D. May they continually rely on God's guiding presence, be bold to speak God's truth, and not weary in their tasks.

24 Third Sunday in Lent

0 God, you who stand in the midst of the silent ones, bless the churches of Portugal, Spain, Italy and Malta, and their ministries among children, workers, the sick and the elderly.

25 Give thanks for Patricia Bentsen, a longtime nurse in
Madagascar who is medical administrator to the Malagasy
Lutheran Church Health Department in the capital city of
Antananarivo.

26 In this Lenten season when we remember the
brokenness of this world, pray for the board of directors of
ELCA Risk Management, which offers programs for risk
management and insurance services to ELCA institutions
of higher education.

27 Praise God for the witness of Pastor Jeffrey Truscott.
At Trinity Theological College in Singapore his classes
in liturgy and theology equip students from many Asian
countries to cultivate a worship life that will shape their
faith communities. Jeffrey also serves as chaplain to the
school and assists a congregation of the Lutheran Church
in Singapore with liturgy, music and pastoral support.

28 Pray for the mission-minded core of leaders and
their pastor Gary Kinkel of Abiding Savior Lutheran
Church in Pleasant Hill/Altoona, Iowa, that together they
may become a strong and vital gospel presence in their
community, Formerly "Abounding Joy," this new start
now looks forward to a revitalized future.

29 Pray for Lutheran social ministries staff who counsel
victims of abuse, that they will be able to help set the
victims free from abuse and help set the abusers free from
their destructive thinking and turn them from injuring
others.

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.