Online Reformation Day prayer engages Lutherans worldwide

LWF youth reflect on need for ongoing reformation, unity in baptism

(LWI) - Lutherans from around the globe, young and old, came together for an online prayer service on Reformation Day. Youth from LWF member churches led the prayer service on 31 October which reached thousands of people.

Participants and leaders from Canada, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia and Iceland joined in prayer and reflection on baptism and hope of an ongoing reformation and contributed topics for prayers. They asked the communion to join in prayer for …

“Officials and authority to remain calm, fair, and effective to help the people through this tough time.”

"Those fighting the virus, for those on the frontlines caring for the sick, for those who have lost loved ones and those who are separated from loved ones. For our climate and the world, that we may strive for peace and justice.”

LWF Council member Cheryl Miriam Philip, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said the reformation continues through social and ecological justice.

“The scientist who teaches elementary school kids that trees talk to each other by day and write letters to politicians by night, to remind them of the future we must promise to our kiddos, is the reformation,” Philip shared.

Reflecting on baptism that reconciles us to God and all creation, Rev. Þuríður Björg Wiium Árnadóttir from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland said, “We have been through some difficult times this year but Jesus is always there, steady like a tree trunk.”

“Baptism reminds us of how united we all are, we are equal,” Wiium, also an LWF Council member representing the Nordic region, consoled.

Enlightened by one hope to live our vocation in trust and courage, Rev. Kagiso Morudu of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (Cape Church) said, “Our source of hope is when the church empties itself, it shall be transformed so as to transform others.”

“Reformation is a baptismal call that we all share to participate in the ongoing reformation of church and society. Doing the faithful work to transform unjust systems towards a just, sustainable peace for people and the planet requires a spiritual grounding in God’s gift of hope. This community of prayer renewed that gift,” Rev. Dr Chad Rimmer, LWF Program Executive in the Department of Theology, Mission and Justice said.