ELCA prayer revival service to address violence

CHICAGO (ELCA) – Bearing witness as a church that is committed to ending violence, members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will gather Oct. 2 for a prayer revival in Chicago to address the violence happening here and in communities around the world.
“The Lutheran faith tradition has, for generations, held to a strong belief that the church lives and works on Christ’s behalf for the sake of the whole world and the welfare of the place to which God has called us,” said the Rev. Wayne N. Miller, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod. “The accelerating concern over global, community and domestic violence, therefore, is not merely a political advocacy position. The destructive impact of violence on all human life calls for confrontation and a bold counter-witness to God’s loving intention for the whole creation.”
The prayer revival, which will be held at the Kroc Center of Chicago, is hosted by the ELCA’s Renewal/Prayer/Revival team in partnership with the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. The Rev. Brenda K. Smith, program director for faith practices and missional leadership, ELCA churchwide organization, described the event’s goals.
“One is to demonstrate that the ELCA is deeply concerned about the violence happening in Chicago and other American cities and the need for improved relations between police and communities they serve. The second goal is to come together as people of faith and pray with each other about these issues,” said Smith.
The ELCA Conference of Bishops, an advisory body of the church that includes 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop and secretary, will attend the revival. The conference meets in Chicago Oct. 2-7.
“When the fall meeting of the Conference of Bishops convenes in Chicago, they will be meeting in a metropolis where children too often deal with violence as they pursue their lives with dignity and courage,” said the Rev. Stephen Bouman, executive director, ELCA congregational and synodical mission. “Too many of our children have been killed. Too many of our children know firsthand the devastating force of violence. The bishops will begin their time together by gathering on the South Side (of Chicago) with brothers and sisters in a revival of prayer for Chicago.”
Smith said the prayer service format “will offer a spirited climate where participants will hopefully be open to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit to offer healing, strength and guidance as we pray for justice and peace in our communities. Each participant will be asked to commit to some action in their life to enhance peace and justice in their communities. The (revival) team and bishops will anoint the hands of participants as they commit to work for justice and peace.”
“The church, as a social institution, does not have the power, in and of itself, to stop violence. But we have a very important role to play in the formation of human beings around life-giving values and behaviors,” said Miller.
“We have an important role to play in looking for every opportunity to announce in the public square that we stand in opposition to violence as an acceptable way to resolve human conflict. And we have an important role to play in building collaborative coalitions between law enforcement, community organizations, medical and social service professionals, political and business leaders, emergency responders and ordinary citizens, none of whom have the complete solution to this problem, but all of whom make an essential contribution to the solution,” said Miller.
The ELCA’s Renewal/Prayer/Revival Team is composed of ELCA clergy and laypersons who travel around the country offering Lutheran revivals, healing and prayer services, and workshops for clusters of congregations and synods. Smith said in recent years the team has emphasized that “participants should come away from one of the events wanting to make some positive change in their lives to draw closer to God.”
Bouman said the team “is a ministry to places of hurt and hope across the country. Revival and prayer have accompanied disasters and evangelistic outreach. I have been privileged to preach revivals in a tent in Detroit and the historic joint worship of black and white churches together in Harper’s Ferry, W.Va.”
“The idea of hosting a revival is based on creating a public event to inspire and galvanize these social coalitions, so that people can be sent back into their villages and neighborhoods for persistent, perseverant engagement with the problem of community violence,” said Miller. “And it seems fitting to have the ELCA bishops participate collectively in this event as a witness to the fact that the violence that affects one of us anywhere affects all of us everywhere.”