WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland

Mountains of Lesotho

As I wrote about in a post a few months ago, part of my vicarage at Saint Peter's Church this year is is providing a supplemental paragraph about countries in the weekly Ecumenical Prayer Cycle created by the World Council of Churches. We pray for each country listed in the prayer cycle during the Intercessory Prayers at Saint Peter's on Sundays and the paragraph is included in our bulletin insert to provide context for those intercessions.

This week's countries (2 June - 8 June) are Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. While the paragraph below provides information on current events (with links to related news stories), check out the week's WCC page for additional prayer resources.

We give thanks for last year’s free, fair and peaceful elections in Lesotho and pray for continued strengthening of democracy in that country. We pray for the people of Mukwe, an area of Namibia stricken by drought. We pray for a just resolution of continued labour strife in South Africa, particularly in the mining sector. We pray for Ellinah Wamukoya, who was ordained by the Anglican Church of South Africa as Bishop of Swaziland last November, becoming the first female bishop in all of Africa.

God's peace,
Dustin

Dustin currently serves as Vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.