ELCA Worship

“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.

Prayer prompts:
For justice and peace among nations where war and violence rage, especially in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, South Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela…
For all affected by rising fuel and food costs and access…
For elections and political transitions, especially in Iran, Chile, and Britain…
For all impacted by severe storms and weather in Illinois, Indiana, Texas, and Hawaii…
For all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers…
For those who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP and WIC benefits, Social Security, and other forms of public assistance…
For all who face legislative challenges to their civil rights, especially transgender individuals…
For dignity and full accessibility for all who live with disabilities…
For elected leaders and all who strive to hold them accountable for acting in accordance with the good of all, especially the most vulnerable…

Events and observances:
March Observances: Women’s History Month, Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, National Social Work Month

National Employee Appreciation Day (Mar 6)
Perpetua and Felicity and companions, martyrs at Carthage, died 202 (Mar 7)
Daylight Saving Time (Mar 8)
International Women’s Day (Mar 8)
Harriet Tubman, died 1913; Sojourner Truth, died 1883;renewers of society (Mar 10)
Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, died 604 (Mar 12)
International Day Against Police Brutality (Mar 15)
St. Patrick’s Day (Mar 17)
Joseph, guardian of Jesus (Mar 19)

Prayers from ELCA resources:
A prayer for healing and wholeness in disability (ACS p.52)
Creator God, you made us all in your image. Help us to embrace one another as you do, beloved and blessed; not in need of fixing, but in need of authentic welcome. Bring healing where it is desired, affirmation where it is lacking, and awareness to all. Open our hearts to receive the gifts and needs of all people, and to become communities where everyone can find a place. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

A prayer for the public church (ACS p.47)
Mighty and merciful God, lover of justice and equity, you call us to support the weak, to help those who suffer, and to honor all people. By the power of your Holy Spirit, make us advocates for your justice and instruments of your peace, so that all may be reconciled in your beloved community; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

—

The following topical resources are available from resources.elca.org for use in public worship and personal devotion:
Worship resources in a time of war
Worship resources for the crisis in the Holy Land
Worship resources for the Eastern Europe Crisis

—

ELW = Evangelical Lutheran Worship
ACS = All Creation Sings: Evangelical Lutheran Worship Supplement

Additional topical prayers are found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (pp. 72–87) and All Creation Sings (pp. 46–55), as well as in other resources provided in print and online at sundaysandseasons.com.

Crafted intercessions for every Sunday and festival are provided in the Sundays and Seasons worship planning guide published in-print and online by Augsburg Fortress. Further assistance for composing prayers of intercession can be found here: Resources for Crafting Prayers of Intercession

Prayer Ventures, a daily prayer resource, is a guide to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world.

Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources and events from other organizations and institutions. These Lutheran and ecumenical partner organizations work alongside the ELCA to support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers in a monthly blog post.

Association of Lutheran Church Musicians

ALCM nurtures and equips musicians to serve and lead the church’s song.

ALCM 2026 Conference “Now and Forever”

St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.
Celebrating the 1986 ALCM Constituting Convention
Overlapping with Lutheran Summer Music’s Festival Week!
Featuring Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Bach Collegium Valparaiso, Christopher M. Cock, artistic director. (Made possible through generous support provided by Pauline and John Kiltinen.

Registration is open.
Early Bird registration deadline is March 17!

The emphasis of this conference is on practical skill-building. Check out the nearly complete list of presenters and workshops on the conference website. Reasonably-priced, air-conditioned dormitory housing is still available and can be booked at time of conference registration or at a later date. Register now and make plans to envision the future of Lutheran Church music.

Institute of Liturgy Studies

An ecumenical conference on liturgical renewal for the church today.

The Feast of Creation – liturgy as creation groans
Valparaiso University, Ind.
April 13-15, 2026

Registration is still open with a small number of spaces available.
Regular Registration: $450
See website for other registration categories.

The 77th meeting of the Institute of Liturgical Studies will consider the possibilities of such a festival and season. We will reflect on creation, incarnation, and Jesus’s death and resurrection, all received by us through the created materiality of our sacramental life together. Furthermore, we will examine how petroleum culture has influenced our sacramental life and begin to envision ways to counter its impact. A model lectionary will be used, and sample liturgies will be celebrated.

The schedule, plenary speakers and workshop information are now available.

To receive notifications when new information is added to the site, add yourself to the mailing list here.

Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival

Transforming and connecting lives through faith and music since 1981.

Youth musicians from across the country are headed to St. Olaf College this year for the 2026 Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival (LSM). Students in grades 8-12 will be immersed in a supportive community, that nurtures their musical growth, and invites them to share their musical gifts in performance and in worship. The Standard Enrollment deadline is March 1, and spots are filling fast. Do you know young musicians who would thrive at LSM? Nominate them today at LSMacademy.org/nominate, or remind them to submit a free application by March 1 at LSMacademy.org/apply.

The Hymn Society

The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada encourages, promotes, and enlivens congregational singing by building supportive relationships and enabling networking and ecumenical cooperation which providing experience in performance practices to help in the introduction and leading of the congregation’s song.

Hymn Society Annual Conference
Rebirth: Singing Death, Singing Life
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J.
July 19-22

For eighteen years, we have seen Lutherans lead ecumenical worship with theological depth and musical excellence. This tradition continues at The Hymn Society’s 2026 Annual Conference in Princeton, NJ, from July 19–22.

The event features a strong Lutheran roster, including Marcell Silva Steuernagel, Gracia M. Grindal, Maren Haynes Marchesini, Lola Bobrow and Adan Fernandez. From veteran scholars to rising students, our voices are shepherding this year’s song.

Join your colleagues for a week of professional growth and spiritual renewal. Let’s show up and sing together. Watch this video announcement and visit The Hymn Society website to register. Information about registration fees, accommodations, meal plans and other important details are available on the website.

Early registration through March 15
Advance registration through June 1
Regular registration starting June 2

Center for Church Music

The Center for Church Music, on the campus of Concordia University Chicago, provides ongoing research and educational resources in Lutheran church music.

2026 Awards for College and Seminary Students

THE 2026 WILLIAM WOLFRAM STUDENT AWARD IN LITURGICAL ART
Recognizes student artists who evidence:
* Commitment to Christian faith and practice
* Excellence in artistic expression
* Commitment to creating pieces purposed for use within worship settings
$1,000.00 prize

Deadline: May 1st, 2026 Submit a single PDF with quality images of your work, one full image and one or two detail images along with title, media, dimensions, year created, and anything else you want the judges to know. Send to Barry.Bobb@CUChicago.edu (Recent grads—since May 2024—may also apply.)

THE 2026 RICHARD HILLERT AWARD IN STUDENT COMPOSITION
Submitted piece must be a church music composition (3-5 minutes in length) – suitable for a liturgical service.
$1,000.00 prize

Deadline: June 1st, 2026 Submit two copies (one with your name and one unattributed). Recordings are encouraged but not required. Send to Barry.Bobb@CUChicago.edu (Recent grads—since May 2024—may also apply.)

As the United States has begun military combat operations in Iran, we are called to pray and ask for God’s mercy.

Several resources are available to assist you.

Below are three prayers from the resource Prayer Book for the Armed Services. (In addition to the print resource, PBAS is available digitally through Sundays and Seasons.)

Time of war
Eternal God, whose steadfast love never ends, we ask that you look upon the nations now engaged in war and hasten the day of peace. Look in mercy on those exposed to peril, conflict, sickness and death; and show compassion to the dying. In your good providence, remove all causes and occasions of war. Incline the hearts of all people to follow the path to peace and concord, that war may cease and the day of reconciliation may come quickly, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Those Who Suffer from War
Merciful God, you grieve amid the pain, fear and suffering of your children. Look with compassion on all who endure the miseries of war. Be mindful, too, of those who day and night face peril in defense of our nation. Guide them in their duties as they seek justice for those subjected to tyranny and liberty for those who are oppressed. Eternal Protector of the helpless, hear the cry of the distressed and grant speedy deliverance in a new day of peace and concord. Amen.

Those in the country’s service in a time of war
Almighty God, let your protection be upon all those who are in the service of our nation. Guard them from all danger and harm; sustain and comfort those at home, especially in hours of anxiety, loneliness, and sorrow. Prepare the dying for death and the living for your service. Uphold those who bear arms on land and sea and in the air; and grant unto us and all nations a speedy, just and lasting peace, the glory of your holy name. Amen.

See also the “Litany for our Nation in a Time of War” on page 75.

Prayers in Evangelical Lutheran Worship and All Creation Sings include the prayers for Peace; National Distress; Time of Conflict, Crisis, Disaster; The Nation; Those in Civil Authority; Those in the Armed Forces. See pages 76–77 in ELW and pages 48–49 in ACS.

Hymns and songs, especially of lament, can help voice the stark reality of war and the hope for peace. See especially:

Come Now, O Prince of Peace/Ososǒ, ososǒ (ELW 247)
Bring Peace to Earth Again (ELW 700)
God of Grace and God of Glory (ELW 705)
Dona Nobis Pacem (ELW 753)
When Our World Is Rent by Violence (ACS 1052)
Ayúdanos, oh Dios/Oh, Help Us, Save Us (ACS 1055)
For the Troubles and the Sufferings/Pelas dores deste mundo (ACS 1051)
Let Your Peace Rain upon Us/Yarabba ssalami (ACS 989)
For the Healing of the Nations (Singing Our Prayer 12a)

For many more hymn suggestions and additional prayers, see the ELCA resource, “Worship Resources for Crisis in the Holy Land”. Although this resource was assembled to respond to the immediate crisis in October of 2023, many of these prayers and laments could be slightly refashioned for our current moment. The topical indexes in our worship books can also be very helpful in identifying assembly song.

Let us pray without ceasing for peace in world, for peace in our homes, for peace in our hearts.

Almighty God, all thoughts of truth and peace come from you. Kindle in the hearts of all your children the love of peace, and guide with your wisdom the leaders of the nations, so that your kingdom will go forth in peace and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (Prayer of the Day for Peace, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 63)

Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers that support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from other partners in a monthly blog post.

That Divine and Most Excellent Gift: Martin Luther, Music, and the Arts

This posthumous compilation of writing by beloved scholar, teacher, and musician Mark P. Bangert explores how, in addition to his other contributions, Martin Luther expressed a theological valuation of music that can inspire and inform today’s understanding and use of music, especially in Christian worship. Luther’s preface to Symphoniae iucundae (“Delightful Symphonies,” 1538) presents the clearest explication of this theology. At the time of his death, Bangert had composed core components of a book on Luther’s preface. Drawing on this work and other writings by Bangert on Luther and music, Martin Seltz has edited a collection that pays tribute both to Luther’s theology and to Bangert’s important body of scholarship.

All Creation Sings Leaders Edition

The sturdy leaders edition includes everything needed for the worship leader to conduct the services. A section of Notes on the Services offers information and guidance to enhance leadership of the liturgies. Full rubrics and proper prefaces are included for the communion services. Expanded indexes facilitate worship planning. Enlarged print makes for ease of reading.

A Living Faith: Piano Settings

This second piano collection by John Helgen provides settings of seven familiar tunes that are compelling and exciting as well as useful for worship and easily learned. Included are a delightful and spirited setting of “Angels We Have Heard on High” and an engaging and quiet setting of “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.”

Sundays and Seasons for Times of Crisis

In times of crisis, we search for words and rituals to ground us. Pastors and other worship leaders are often stretched in too many directions; moments for creativity can be hard to come by. In these times, we can turn to words and liturgies carefully crafted for such moments as these. Sundays and Seasons subscribers have access not only to resources published in current and past Sundays and Seasons volumes but also to numerous prayers and services in All Creation Sings, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, and This Far by Faith, just to name a few. Hymns and songs are available from over twenty-five song collections!

This post published on June, 12, 2025, and was updated on February 27, 2026.

NEWLY UPDATED PREACHING AND HYMN SUGGESTION RESOURCE: To assist worshiping communities using the provisional alternative lectionary texts beginning in year A, a resource with preaching guidance and hymn suggestions is now available. If you accessed this resource previously, please note there have been minor corrections. See especially the corrected First Reading for Easter 6A (Ezekiel 43:1-7a). See below for more information about other available resources and how to give feedback to the Consultation on Common Texts during this trial period.

For users of SundaysandSeasons.com, the provisional alternative readings are listed as options in the Day Texts and as an option in the Planner.

The Consultation on Common Texts (CCT)— a joint American and Canadian ecumenical body—oversees the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), a schedule of biblical passages read on Sundays and festivals in congregations of multiple denominations in North America and other parts of the world. The ELCA is one of more than 20 member denominations.

At its April 2025 meeting, CCT approved a provisional update to the RCL. This update reexamines passages of Scripture that have historically been misused to justify discrimination and violence against the Jews. This process involved extensive study and consultation with biblical experts, church historians, and liturgical leaders, including a forum with consultation and participation of Jewish scholars. The ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations was among the groups that offered feedback during this process that helped shape this ecumenical effort.

This proposed update is commended by the CCT to the churches for a three-year trial period, beginning in Advent of 2025 (Year A).

Key Areas of Focus

The proposal considers how the passion narrative is proclaimed on Palm/Passion Sunday and Good Friday, offering guidance for preachers and worshipers.

It also includes provisional revisions to the lectionary for the Easter season and the Time after Pentecost. A significant concern raised is the practice of replacing Old Testament readings with passages from Acts during Eastertide. As the proposal notes:

“The RCL lectionary for Easter Season has perpetuated what we also find to be a potentially harmful practice of replacing the first reading from the Old Testament with a reading from Acts during Easter Season. For Christians not to read from texts shared with Jews during any season of the year is inherently problematic.”
…
“Therefore, the Consultation recommends alternative readings from the Hebrew Scriptures during Eastertide, drawing on work from the Church of Scotland as promoted by the English Language Liturgical Consultation.”

The proposal suggests delaying readings from Acts until after Pentecost, using them as a replacement for the second reading.

Next Steps for ELCA Congregations and Worshiping Communities

As a member church of the Consultation on Common Texts, the ELCA encourages use and testing of these materials during these next three years. Feedback may be provided directly to the CCT during this testing phase. Please also consider sharing this feedback with the ELCA Worship team at worship@elca.org.

Available Resources

Several existing ELCA resources can help guide worship leaders and preachers in addressing these important concerns:

Worship Resource: Provisional Lectionary Proposal Responding to Concerns about Anti-Jewish Interpretation – a resource available from ELCA Worship to assist worship planners. (Updated 2-27-2026)
Preaching and Teaching “With Love and Respect for the Jewish People” – from the ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations.
“The Jews” in John’s Passion – an essay published in the 2020 edition of the Sundays and Seasons worship planning resource from Augsburg Fortress and available for local use.
Readings for Assembly (Emended) – a provisional emendation of the NRSVue for the entire RCL cycle continues to be available to subscribers to com. Considering Anti-Jewish interpretations is one of several principles that guided this liturgical translation intended for use in worship.

Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources and events from other organizations and institutions. These Lutheran and ecumenical partner organizations work alongside the ELCA to support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers in a monthly blog post.

The Hymn Society

The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada encourages, promotes, and enlivens congregational singing by building supportive relationships and enabling networking and ecumenical cooperation which providing experience in performance practices to help in the introduction and leading of the congregation’s song.

Hymn Society Annual Conference
Rebirth: Singing Death, Singing Life
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J.
July 19-22

Early registration through March 15
Advance registration through June 1
Regular registration starting June 2

Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival

Transforming and connecting lives through faith and music since 1981.

Youth musicians from across the country are headed to St. Olaf College this year for the 2026 Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival (LSM). Students in grades 8-12 will be immersed in a supportive community that nurtures their musical growth, and invites them to share their musical gifts in performance and in worship. The Standard Enrollment deadline is March 1, and spots are filling fast. Do you know young musicians who would thrive at LSM? Nominate them today at LSMacademy.org/nominate, or remind them to submit a free application by March 1 at LSMacademy.org/apply.

Institute of Liturgy Studies

An ecumenical conference on liturgical renewal for the church today.

The Feast of Creation – liturgy as creation groans
Valparaiso University, Ind.
April 13-15, 2026

Registration is now is open.
Regular Registration: $450
See website for other registration categories.

The schedule, plenary speakers and workshop information are now available.

To receive notifications when new information is added to the site, add yourself to the mailing list here.