WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Angola and Mozambique

Luanda, Angola.

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 (9 June - 15 June) are Angola and Mozambique. 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 pray for a peaceful run-up to this November’s elections in Mozambique, a country that has remained largely stable since its first multi-party elections in the early 1990s.  We give thanks and pray for continued peace and recovery in Angola following its’ decades-long civil war which ended in 2002 and took the lives of over 500,000 persons.  We pray that increased wealth from natural resource extraction in both countries is used to assist their many citizens who still live in extreme poverty.  

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.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Botswana & Zimbabwe

Gabarone, Botswana

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 (26 May - 1 June) are Botswana and Zimbabwe. 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 continued good governance in Botswana, Africa’s longest continuous multi-party democracy.  We pray for continued strengthening of the country’s HIV/ AIDS treatment programmes, as over one third of Botswana’s adult population are infected.  We pray for peace ahead of Zimbabwe’s upcoming general elections on June 29^th and that the country’s new constitution is honored by all parties involved.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Malawi and Zambia

President Joyce Banda

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 (19 May - 25 May) are Malawi and Zambia. While the paragraph below provides some recent information (with links to related news stories), check out the week's WCC page for additional prayer resources.

We give thanks for great increases in the country of Malawi’s life-expectancy rate in recent years and for the continued service of its president Joyce Banda, who became Africa’s second female post-colonial head of state on 7 April, 2012. We give thanks for the continued advocacy of Zambia’s First Lady Dr. Christine Kaseba against child marriages in that country and around the world. We pray for the release of prominent Zambian human rights activist Paul Kasonkomona was arrested in April and charged with “soliciting for immoral purposes” after arguing for the rights of LGBTQ persons on live television.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Kenya and Tanzania

Nairobi, Kenya

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 (5/12 - 5/18) are Kenya and Tanzania.  While the paragraph below provides some recent information (including links to related news stories for the first time), check out the week's WCC page for additional prayer resources.

We pray for the people of Tanzania affected by the bombing of Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church on Sunday, 5 May that killed three people and injured sixty others. We give thanks for a peaceful election and transition process this past March in Kenya and pray that all its’ churches speak in a unified voice on effective HIV/ AIDS prevention measures. We give thanks for years of sustained economic growth in both countries and pray this growth reaches the lives of all who call Tanzania and Kenya home.

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.

WCC Ecumenical Prayer Cycle: Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda

Kampala, Uganda

As I wrote about in a post a few months ago, part of my vicarage at Saint Peter's Church this year 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 (4/28 - 5/4) are Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda. While the paragraph below provides some recent information, check out their WCC page for additional prayer resources.

We give thanks for a recent peace deal between the government of South Sudan and local militia groups.  We pray for continued reconciliation efforts between Sudan and South Sudan, as well as peace in the Sudanese region of Darfur, where an estimated 2.3 million people remain displaced after a decade-long conflict.  We give thanks for the recent efforts of Roman Catholic clergy and other faith leaders in Uganda to address gender-based violence.

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.