CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A new interactive online resource -- "A Call to Prayer" at http://www.elca.org/prayer -- invites the 5 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and others to pray using Scripture, music and art. Launched this month, the site also features a "praying church network."
"There is no doubt more and more people are using computers on a regular basis," said the Rev. Robin McCullough-Bade, Baton Rouge, La. McCullough-Bade and her husband, the Rev. John McCullough-Bade, created the site. They oversee evangelism and prayer Web sites, ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries.
"Imagine going to the ELCA prayer Web site first thing in the morning, at a break in a busy day at the office, or as the last thing before turning off the computer at the end of the day," said Robin. "Hopefully [the prayer site] will become a favorite, providing inspiration and opportunities for personal devotional time," she said.
Prayer requests can be submitted on the prayer site, said John. "These requests are then forwarded to participating congregations and prayer groups in the ELCA 'praying church' network, who have committed to pray for these requests for 30 days. Interested congregations who want to register to be part of the ELCA 'praying church' network can do so online at the prayer site," he said.
Other components of the site include prayers for healing and prayers for peace, daily Bible readings, simple ways to pray, and "Prayer 101," John said.
"Pastors wanting to call congregations to prayer through sermons are invited to review lectionary tips" on the site, he said.
The online resource was developed in response to the "Call to Prayer" issued in the ELCA Evangelism Strategy, "Sharing Faith in a New Century: A Vision for Evangelism in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America," adopted at the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
"The goal identified in the first objective in the strategy is to 'activate and mobilize this church to pray for renewal that is grounded in the Word,'" said Robin.
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The Web site -- http://www.elca.org/dcm/evangelism/ -- contains the text of the ELCA's evangelism strategy, resources, frequently-asked-questions, assessment tools for evangelism and more. It provides a link to the prayer site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
