Photo: LWF/Johanan Celine Valeriano
LWF prayer guide: A reminder that the ‘whole church is standing beside you’
(LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) continues its prayer solidarity with churches and individuals around the world during the COVID-19 global pandemic with a 50-day Easter guide “Rejoice Now All the Earth!”
The daily liturgical guide invites reflection on the good news of Christ’s resurrection and God’s promise to renew life continually. This year’s Easter season is exceptional, as many people deal with the effects of the physical distancing required to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Many churches offered online worship services during Holy Week and Easter Sunday.
Organized in a daily compilation of a Psalmody, Bible text, meditation and prayer, the reflection can be adapted to include singing, additional prayers or liturgical acts that are meaningful in the respective contexts. The Sunday meditations relate to the common theme of baptism.
“All around us throughout the world, we are being reminded of the vulnerabilities and limits of being a creature and yet at the same time the depth of our communion as a human family. In this time, despite physical distancing, our waiting is expressed as solidarity in prayer throughout the 50 Days of Easter and beyond,” said Prof. Dr Dirk G. Lange, LWF Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations.
All around us throughout the world, we are being reminded of the vulnerabilities and limits of being a creature and yet at the same time the depth of our communion as a human family.
In its invitation, the LWF recalls Martin Luther’s encouragement in his letter on A Simple Way to Pray:
“Never think that you are kneeling or standing alone, rather think that the whole of the Church…are standing there beside you and you are standing among them in a common, united petition which God cannot disdain. There we find God the Creator, God the Redeemer, God the Holy Spirit, that is, God who daily sanctifies us.”
Shared on LWF’s social media channels and as a resource on the LWF website, the prayer guide started with the Easter Sunday celebration and will continue until the festival of Pentecost.
