Lohre to participate in Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service Jan. 22

CHICAGO (ELCA) - Kathryn Lohre, director of ecumenical and inter-
religious relations for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), is participating in a responsive reading at the 57th Presidential
Inaugural Prayer Service on Jan. 22. Lohre has been invited to
participate in her role as president of the National Council of Churches
in Christ. She is the first Lutheran and ELCA member to serve as
president and the youngest woman to do so.
“Tuesday morning will be an occasion for our multi-religious nation
to pause in prayer for and with President Obama, Vice President Biden,
and all those who govern,” said Lohre.
“We will ask God to give them courage and wisdom, guiding their
words and actions to uphold the common good, care for God’s creation,
nurture global relations, and defend human rights. As children of the
living God, and as responsible citizens, these prayers must remain in our
hearts and on our lips in the days and years to come,” she said.
Also participating in the responsive reading is Leith Anderson,
president of the National Association of Evangelicals, and Imam Mohamed
Magid, executive director of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society.
On the historic occasion of the inauguration and the observance of
the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lohre said the National Council
of Churches is issuing a “call to action” on racial justice in the church
and society. “The ELCA is represented by this,” Lohre said, adding that
through the call to action U.S. churches will renew their commitment to
racial justice.
In observance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, view a
pastoral video message from the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding
bishop, about the ELCA’s commitment to being peacemakers in a culture of
non-violence at http://bit.ly/Va2BYS.