Presiding Bishop Hanson, in an April letter to rostered leaders, invites the church to “50 days of renewed and focused prayer” in the seven weeks prior to the start of the Churchwide Assembly on Aug. 17. Resources for individuals, groups and congregations to pray and study, based on the  texts that will be used daily in worship at the assembly, are available on the ELCA website.

“I ask you to pray especially for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, for those who will gather in Minneapolis, for decisions to be made, and for faithfulness in discerning those directions to which God is calling this evangelizing church in mission and service for the sake of the world," Bishop Hanson wrote. 

This churchwide call to prayer begins on June 29, the day the church celebrates the apostles Peter and Paul.