Missouri Synod president calls for prayers in Lenten message
ST. LOUIS—February 22, 2012—The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of the St. Louis-based Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, shared Lenten blessings through a video message to the church where he encouraged believers to use Martin Luther’s method of praying: instruction, thanksgiving, confession and prayer, or ITCP.
He encouraged church members to lift up their pastors and ministers during their daily Lenten prayers.
“Dear friends, it is a difficult day and age,” Harrison said in the video. “All the poll numbers tell us that interest in religion or organized religion is waning. Young people are leaving the church. We have many challenges, and this is true of the religious scene in general in America. Our pastors need our prayer and support more than ever right now.”
Lent is a season of preparation for Holy Week and Easter. During Lent, the church's worship assumes a more penitential character, as the faithful meditate on the suffering that Christ endured on their behalf and reflect upon their own Baptism and what it means to live as a child of God.
To watch the video or read the video transcript of Harrison’s message, click here.
About The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), is a mission-oriented, Bible-based, confessional Christian denomination headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. Founded in 1847, the LCMS has about 2.3 million baptized members in more than 6,000 congregations and more than 9,000 pastors. Two seminaries and 10 colleges and universities operate under the auspices of the LCMS, and its congregations operate the largest Protestant parochial school system in America. The church broadcasts the saving message of Jesus Christ over KFUO Radio, and it has relationships and active mission work in 89 countries around the world. In the last five years, the LCMS has awarded more than $35 million through more than 900 domestic and international grants for emergency response and disaster relief. Today, the LCMS is in full doctrinal fellowship with 33 other confessional Lutheran church bodies worldwide and is a founding partner of Lutheran Services in America, a social ministry organization serving one in every 50 Americans. For more information, visit www.lcms.org.
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