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Join the Movement: Weekly Prayer Gatherings Beginning

 May 1 Across the ELCA

 

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

Beginning May 1, congregations across the ELCA—including here in the Grand Canyon Synod—are invited to join a growing movement of weekly, community prayer called

Pray Without Ceasing.

Here at Beautiful Savior we will join this event beginning officially Wednesday, May 14th between 9:00am and 12”00pm in the sanctuary.  This will reoccur each Wednesday.   This prayer event is a come and go event during that time frame.  There will be prayer resources provided to help you through your prayer time.  We invite you to come and be a part of this community prayer time. 

The purpose of this prayer effort is to follow Jesus’ call to love our neighbors and to pray for neighbors in need. We are working to practice “faith active in love” for all our neighbors, not to take partisan sides.  Our prayer is that by Pentecost Sunday on June 8, several communities in our synod and in each participating synod will have begun gathering weekly to Pray without Ceasing. How amazing that over the weeks, this number will continue to grow and multiply!

The call to prayer runs through Scripture: the community gathered before Pentecost, the faithful praying to receive the Word in Nehemiah, some 150 Psalms calling us to pray alone and together. Now, in this time of significant change, we pray.

As people who follow Jesus, we pray. Alone and together, we pray. And, in times of great change, we pray.   We can agree that 2025 has begun as a time of significant change, particularly in our federal government. Whether we agree or disagree with the changes, the very speed of the actions gives us pause. And so we pray.

The greater ELCA church asks that all congregations and faith communities agree to a few essentials:

  1. A weekly prayer time distinct from weekly Sunday worship
  2. A commitment to non-partisanship, and a welcome extended to all, including newcomers
  3. A commitment to invite and encourage other congregations to participate, seeking to grow a renewed churchwide community of prayer
  4. A willingness to share your congregation’s commitment with an ELCA Database devoted to this project

 

Pray without Ceasing is an initiative launched by the Minneapolis Area Synod and supported by many Bishops in the ELCA.