Order of Service – 23rd June 2024

The Order of Service follows below.

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Brougham Place Uniting Church

Kardlayirdi Karnungga
A Light on the Hill

23^rd June 2024
Preacher: Rev Linda Driver
5^th Sunday after Pentecost / Uniting Church Anniversary / Uniting in Prayer
Liturgical colour: Red

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

Prelude

Welcome and Acknowledgment of Country

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

In this space you, God, are present, just as you are present in all spaces. In this time you, God, are here, just as you are in all times.
We are your people from many places and many times.

As we gather, we acknowledge the important the reads of love which our First Peoples bring to the tapestry of the story of our land. We acknowledge the wonder, beauty and spirit of Country and the place it has in the identity and spirituality of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains. We acknowledge the First Peoples of all the lands on which we gather. We pay our respect to elders past and present.
May we journey in harmony and togetherness into a better future for all.

Introit and Lighting of the Candles

Called Together (D. Busch)

Call to Worship

Wake up!
Take notice!
We are in the company of Jesus –
Storm Whisperer
Sea Calmer –
The one who guides us into places we’ve never been before.
Come, let us find our courage and voice together!
Come, let us worship our God.

A Gathering Prayer

People of God,
We gather today, uniting in prayer.
We pray for the life, witness and future of the Uniting Church.
We gather to pray and reflect on our past as the Uniting Church.
We gather to seek the leading of the Spirit for the years ahead.
We gather to remember Christ, our foundation.
We gather to give thanks for God’s faithfulness to our Church.
We gather to confess that we have not always lived up to all we could be.
We gather to reflect on our present life,
And with hopeful expectation, listen attentively to your calling for our future.
We gather to open our lives to you, God, in prayer.

Our God of all hope,
Our God of all joy,
Our God of all peace,
Our God who is love.
Weave us together in love.
Uniting in prayer this is our amen.

We sing: Life to the Brim

Life to the Brim, Life overflowing
Life pouring out in compassion and grace
Spirit of God, Well up within us
Bring us to life in this time and this place.
Life to the brim, Life overflowing
Life flooding in from below and above
Spirit of God, Pour out upon us
Bring us to faith and to hope and to love.

Come Holy Spirit
Lord and giver of life
Make us your people
Make us the body of Christ
Life to the brim, Life overflowing
Foretaste and sign of the healing to come
Spirit of God, Strengthen and guide us
Take us and use us ’til your kingdom’s come.

Opening Prayer

Loving Lord, we give you praise!
Since our formation we have been changing,
but Christ has been our foundation and Your presence is constant O God.
We live in an ever-changing world.
Our Church is in flux too.
There are times we might not understand,
but you are always with us.
Awaken our spirit,
stir our thoughts and minds!
Motivate us into action,
make us ready to follow your call,
wherever it may lead.
Help us leave behind any pain of the past.
Replace the old, tired and disappointed ways of our heart,
restore us with your grace and strength.
Fill us with new blessings of joy and peace, we pray,
Amen!

Prayer of Confession

Christ, You are God with us, calling us to unity in our diversity to be your people the Church.

Together we do so much good.
Together we carry the faith.
Together we uphold each other in prayer.

But, there are times when we don’t.
There are times when we pray, but fail to act.
There are times when we pray one thing, but do the opposite.
Even in prayer, we bear our brokenness.

We are your people.
Be with us as Spirit.
Unite us in prayer.

Forgive us our trespassing of your way, and straying from our communion.

Reinvigorate us in grace. Lead us once more into harmony as we share the journey of faith and discipleship together. Grow in us new Fruit of the Spirit, that we might be your apostolic people who join you in your mission, Being and embodying your love as we each share our gifts and talents in ministry, With each other, and with the world. United in humility, we pray.
Amen

Words of Grace

This is the best of all:
When we are empty, God fills us;
when we are disheartened, God is compassionate;
when we are lost, we are found;
when we open our lives to God, no door is closed.
In Christ, through Christ and because of Christ,
our sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.

You refill the cup of our life, O God.
In Christ, we find refuge, strength and hope.
Amen.

Passing of the Peace

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

Community Notices

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Children’s Time

Children to stay until after Subtle Bricks today

Scripture Reading: Mark 4:35-41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And waking up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be silent! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

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

Subtle Bricks: Dangerous Occupations

Children may go downstairs now for Sunday School. 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

O Changeless Christ, for ever new (Together in Song 254 v1,3,4)

Message

We sing: Called Together

Called together, we’ve taken the dare,
to commit – to a destiny shared,
diff-’rent, diverse we may be,
but we see God’s plan for history:
a world reconciled and renewed!

Refrain
This is God’s call,
this is God’s way,
that we might show the light of God’s day,
divided world, uniting grace,
we live the signs of Christ in this place.
Called together, this journey we’re on
is the way – of the Crucified One.
Justice and love are our song,
with those on the edge, we belong,
declaring God’s love is for all!

Refrain
This is God’s call,
this is God’s way,
that we might show the light of God’s day,
divided world, uniting grace,
we live the signs of Christ in this place.
Pilgrim people, the road is our call,
Spirit led, trav-’ling light, risking all.
Paths of the past keep us true,
while fresh words and deeds – spring anew
in worship and witness and care!

Refrain
This is God’s call,
this is God’s way,
that we might show the light of God’s day.
Divided world, uniting grace,
we live the signs of Christ in this place.

And in God’s hands
our future rests,
our hope is there in God’s faithfulness.
We live this gift, this blessed road,
this unity: the household of God!

Prayers of the People

Jesus, don’t you see? The waves are rising all around us; The winds are shaking us about.

Speak to the storms of our day-to-day – The stress of making ends meet, the deadlines, the expectations; the ways we’re all trying to show up with the care required in our close relationships, and in our work, and with looking after our bodies and all those things that make life both demanding and meaningful. O God of wind and God of wave,
God of peace, come make us brave.

Speak to the storms of our bodies, our emotions, and our minds – Be with those who are grappling with diagnoses, disorientation and decline. Be with those doing the hard work of recovery. Be a power greater than ourselves that gives hope, strength, and comfort. O God of wind and God of wave,
God of peace, come make us brave.

Speak to the storms facing your Church today – Be with those discerning ways forward through our Church Council, our Presbytery, our Synod and the upcoming Assembly meeting. Guide us as we catch the wind of your Spirit. Bring renewal and hope to a Church that is trying to follow your way. O God of wind and God of wave,
God of peace, come make us brave.

Speak to the storms that sweep across our political systems and the storms that rage between nations – Bring peace, Lord Jesus! Bring healing! Bring hope! O God of wind and God of wave,
God of peace, come make us brave.

Storm Whisperer,
Sea Calmer,
guide us into places we’ve never been before:
Deep peace
Deep trust
Great joy
Centred in you. Amen.

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

God, receive and bless all we have to offer. Amen.

We sing: In a Church That’s Moving Forward

In a church that’s moving forward,
this is where we long to be.
in a church with gifts abounding
and the grace to set them free.
in a church of many cultures,
in a church both old and young,
in a church of many accents
when the song of Christ is sung.
With a Lord who leads the mission
for a people on the way,
with a Lord who’s healing blindness,
lets the voiceless have their say.
with a Lord of every nation,
with a Lord of every place,
with a Lord who shines compassion
on to every tribe and race.
On a road that leads to wholeness
When we’re broken or unsure,
On a road to understanding
Where division finds a cure;
On a road where all may travel,
On a road where many roam,
On a road we walk together,
As we make our journey home.

Benediction

Beloved people of God, We, who belong to the family of the Uniting Church, go from here with the promise that in Christ, we indeed have hope and a future. Give thanks for those who have walked this path before us. Rejoice in the richness of our Church, enlivened with faith. Proclaim Christ crucified and risen, and the promise of new life for the whole creation.

And may the God who called us into being, the Christ who is our foundation, and the Spirit whose breath of life animates us today and every day, Be with us now and forever.
Amen.

Choral Blessing

A Prayer of St. Patrick(Together in Song 478 vs.6)

Postlude

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. You are welcome.

This service has been prepared with assistance from

Uniting in Prayer 2024 Worship Resources

L3 Liturgical Resource. Writer: Jesse Size

Bible Readings: New Revised Standard Version (Updated Edition)