Order of Service – 23rd March 2025

The Order of Service follows below.

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Brougham Place Uniting Church
Kardlayirdi Karnungga
A Light on the Hill

Date. 23 March, 2024
Preacher: Pastor Trevor Phillips
Lent 3. Colour: Purple

We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional carers of the land on which our church is built.

As you wait for worship to begin, please turn your phone to silent.

Prelude

Welcome and Acknowledgment of Country

Naa marni?
(Are you all good?)
Marni Ai!
(Good I am)

Introit and Lighting of the Candles

“Tree of Life”

Call to Worship

Worship is a place to rest.
We breathe deeply here.
(We pause and take a deep breath)

We still our aching bones.
We sit in the quiet.
(We pause for a brief moment of silence)

We surround ourselves with music.
Worship is a place to rest.

Worship is a place to grow.
We listen for God’s word.
(We place a hand behind an ear, as if to listen intently)

We invite it to challenge us.
We lean in with curiosity.
(We lean forward)

We ask questions.
Worship is a place to grow.

So come into this space.
Come, rest and grow here.
For where two or more are gathered,
God is always there.
(We open our arms out wide)

Let us worship our gracious God.

We sing: Come As You Are

’Come as you are: that’s how I want you.
Come as you are: feel quite at home,
Close to my heart, loved and forgiven.
Come as you are: why stand alone?
’No need to fear, love sets no limits;
no need to fear, love never ends;
don’t run away shamed and disheartened,
rest in my love, trust me again.
’I came to call sinners, not just the righteous;
I came to bring peace, not to condemn.
Each time you fail to live by my promise,
why do you think I’d love you the less?
‘Come as you are; that’s how I love you;
come as you are, trust me again.
Nothing can change the love that I bear you;
all will be well, just come as you are.’

Prayer of Confession

Holy God,
There are days when we fail to rest.
We stretch ourselves too thin.
We say “yes” to every invitation.
We rush around from one thing to the next.
We ignore your command to rest.

There are also days when we fail to act.
We wait for someone else.
We take the easy road.
We find excuses and justify our inaction.

God, forgive our imbalance.
Remind us that birds rest, and they also fly.
Show us how to do the same. Amen.

Words of Forgiveness

God’s grace is deeper than the ocean.
(We reach down low)

God’s love is wider than the sky.
(We spread our arms out very wide)

We are seen. We are claimed. We are forgiven.
(We give ourselves a big hug)

May this realization change and inspire us.
Thanks be to God!
Amen!

Passing of the Peace

The peace of our God be with you.
And also with you.

Community News and Notices

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LentEvent

We stand with the poor and vulnerable on the frontlines of climate change through LentEvent: 40 days of faith-filled action for God’s Creation. Pick up a brochure or go to: www.lentevent.com.au

Children’s Time

Children and young people may go downstairs for Sunday School and Youth. Parents, you are welcome to join your child in Sunday School if you feel your child may need your assistance. Alternatively, you may wish for your child to remain with you for the duration of worship. Activity packs are available at the entrances.

Anthem

“Breathe, Listen, and Notice”

(Words provided for congregation to reflect on)

Help us speak less,
slow judgement,
breathe,
listen,
and notice
the dissonance,
discomfort,
and the questions.
Help us rest well,
find balance,
breathe,
listen,
and notice
simplicity,
in slowness,
and in quiet.
Help us lean in,
seek wisdom,
breathe,
listen,
and notice
the letting go,
the learning,
and the struggle.
Help us love well,
walk humbly,
breathe,
listen,
to faithfulness
compassion,
in slowness,
and to courage.

Prayer for illumination

Creator God,
Your Word is like soil,
something we can root ourselves in.
Your Word is like the sun,
big enough to touch everything with its warmth.
And your Word is like a gardener,
a love that prunes and encourages,
waters and delights,
seeds and tends.
So as we turn to your text today,
warm our bones,
tend to our broken pieces,
and show us how to grow.
With hope we pray,
Amen.

Scripture Reading: Luke 13: 6 – 9

Then [Jesus] told this parable:
“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the man working the vineyard, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down.’”

The Gospel of Christ, Light of the world.
Thanks be to God.

Message

We sing: Beneath the Soil

Beneath the soil in the dark
There’s growth too slow to see
A transformation not displayed
In branches, fruit, and leaves
Remember when the world demands
More than you can produce
We each grow at a different pace
And growth starts in the roots
The rest and nurture we receive
Will turn to fruit in time
For God made us to grow and change
As toward the sky we climb
In every season of our lives
The Spirit is at work
To nurture us to bear good fruit
While rooted in the earth

Tune: WINCHESTER OLD 8.6.8.6 (“God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength”) ©Anna Strickland, 2024. Commissioned by A Sanctified Art, LLC. Free for congregational use.

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in a God who loves and tends to us like a gardener.
We believe that like the trees,
some seasons are for growth,
and some seasons are for rest.
Some days require pruning,
and some require planting.
Fortunately, we believe that our green-thumbed God
sees us and cultivates the sweetest fruit.
So may we plant roots,
reach for the sky,
grow where we can,
and rest when we need,
for we believe there is holiness in the pruning and in the planting. And we do not grow alone.
Thanks be to God,
Amen.

Response

If your life in the Spirit were likened to a fig tree then where are you in this picture? Today?

Are you currently resting? Bare branched, taking pause. Still. Twig like?
Or are you plump with succulent fruit in this season? A boon and balm to all around you?
Alternatively, is it your thirst that is the driving force right now? Do you need food and water, gentle rich nurture in your soul?

Take a moment to reflect. Turn to God, who nurtures, prunes and loves you.

Prayers of the People

The Lord’s Prayer

And now with the confidence of the children of God, let us pray the prayer Jesus taught us saying…

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name,

your Kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in Heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours

now and forever. Amen.

Offering

To give electronically please go to bpuc.org/give

Alternatively, there is an offering bowl near the lectern on the left-hand side as you exit the church.

Offering Prayer

We sing: God of Creation

God of Creation, gentle life-giver,
present at birth and all through our days;
author of sunrise, song in the night sky
here in this place, we offer our praise.
Jesus, companion, teacher and healer,
friend of the grieving, suffering, the poor
stand with your people, whisper among us
promise of mercy, goodness for all.
Spirit of comfort, blow through creation,
stir up new life, breathe peace through our world.
Healer of hearts, and hope for tomorrow,
weave all our sorrows into new dawn.
Here we give thanks for life in its fullness,
blessings received, your gifts to us all.
Make us a people filled with compassion,
selflessly giving, serving your world.

Sending Forth and Benediction

As you leave this place,
may you find God in every messy middle.
May you know that the world is bigger than two sides.
May you trust that you are made in the image of God,
and therefore, you contain multitudes.
So may you move through this world with an open heart,
with a curious mind,
and with the confidence that you do not go alone.
God is with you in the mountains,
in the valleys,
and everywhere in between.
Believe that good news, and go in peace.
Amen

Choral Blessing

Shalom (G. Ambler / R. Nairn)

Extroit

The people may leave as the Extroit is played

Come and share morning tea together, in the basement. There are stairs behind the organ and a ramp between the church and the car park. All are welcome!

This service has been prepared with assistance from:

Liturgy, Learning, and (purposeful) Life. Writer: Cathie Lambert

Karan Hudson

The Saltbush Community (https://saltbushcommunity.uca.org.au/ruminations/fig-tree-luke-136-9/)

SANCTIFIED ART EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN WORDS FOR WORSHIP
@sanctifiedart | sanctifiedart.org | contact@sanctifiedart.org

“Fig Leafing” by Hannah Garrity. Inspired by Luke 13:6-9. Paper lace and watercolor

The Bible Reading is from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE). Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.