A Light on the Hill

Order of Service – 8th March 2026

The Order of Service follows below.

For improved text clarity and easier reading, e.g. change text size, you can use ePub on iPhones, iPads and other devices with an ePub application. If you want to see it exactly as printed, or print your own there is a pdf.

Brougham Place Uniting Church
Kardlayirdi Karnungga
A Light on the Hill

March 8, 2026
Preacher: Rev Christa Megaw
Lent 3. Purple.

Welcome to Brougham Place Uniting Church.

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)

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World.
Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God

The Word will be brought forward and the Candles lit as the Choir sings the Introit.

Introit

Let’s Sing to the Lord (CH 126 Brazilian Folk)

Bringing forward the Word, Lighting the Candles

Call to Worship

Come to the well of living water.
We come, thirsty for grace.
Come, bring your heavy jars and hidden stories.
We come, longing to be known and loved.
Come, all who walk in heat and hunger.
We come to find rest for our souls.
Here, the Source of Life meets us,
and living water begins to flow.

Opening Prayer

We sing: Life to the Brim

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  1. 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.

Prayer of Confession

God of living water,
we confess that we often draw from wells that cannot satisfy.
We drink from the cup of distraction,
cling to patterns that leave us dry,
and silence our deeper thirst for truth and peace.
Forgive us for the harm we do
when we refuse to listen—
to you, to our neighbour, to the cry of creation.
Forgive us for pretending we have no need
when our hearts are parched for love.

Silent reflection

Words of Grace

Hear this good news:
God’s love is poured into our hearts like water into the desert.
Even the driest soul can bloom again.
You are forgiven, renewed, and held in grace.
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

You can sign up to receive BP E-news by email and read past issues on our website: www.bpuc.org

LentEvent

We sing: Jesus’ Hands were Kind Hands

  1. Jesus’ hands were kind hands, doing good to all,
    healing pain and sickness, blessing children small;
    washing tired feet, and saving those who fall;
    Jesus’ hands were kind hands, doing good to all.

  2. Take my hands, Lord Jesus, let them work for you,
    make them strong and gentle, kind in all I do;
    let me watch you, Jesus, till I’m gentle too,
    till my hands are kind hands, quick to work for you.

Children’s Time (Exploring the Theme)

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.

Choral Anthem

O God of Mercy (Thring / Hole)

Scripture Reading: John 4:5 - 30

So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him.

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

Message

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, 1973 Artist: JESUS MAFA

We sing: In My Father’s House

  1. Rainbow of colours, a complex of creeds;
    age old perspectives meet fresh ways to see.
    Everyone welcome, fling open the doors
    you’ll learn of my path and I’ll learn from yours.

Refrain:
In my father’s house there are many rooms
but no walls to divide.
In my father’s house there are many rooms
the gates are open wide.

  1. The strong and the scared come from left and right.
    We’re not so different seen in this light.
    There at the table a banquet is served.
    For every person a place is reserved.

In my father’s house there are many rooms
but no walls to divide.
In my father’s house there are many rooms
the gates are open wide.

  1. Some greet a stranger, some serve the poor;
    some shake the system right to its core.
    Some have found true faith, others still search
    ’cause it takes all kinds to make up a church.

In my father’s house there are many rooms
but no walls to divide.
In my father’s house there are many rooms
the gates are open wide.

  1. A voice for the voiceless, justice for all,
    and for the listless a clarion call.
    A church of inclusion we’re bringing to birth.
    Just like in heaven it can be on earth.

In my father’s house there are many rooms
but no walls to divide.
In my father’s house there are many rooms
the gates are open wide.

Prayers of the People

The Lord’s Prayer

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: In a Church that’s Moving Forward

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

Sending Forth and Benediction

Choral Blessing

Go Well into the World (A. Jorgensen)

The Candles are Extinguished

Extroit

Extroit: the people depart as the music continues

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!

Thank you for joining us for worship!
If you would like to get in touch or request a prayer, please make use of the Contact Cards in the pews and next to the Offering Bowl. Alternately, you can email our Minister, Rev Linda Driver: lindad@bpuc.org

This service has been prepared with assistance from

Liturgy, Learning, & (Purposeful) Life (L3)
Dr Michelle Eastwood
© 2025, Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of South Australia

Bible Readings are from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Photo by Rev Leanne Davis

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, 1973 (Painting) by JESUS MAFA

Congregation Hymns/Songs:

Life to the Brim
© 2011 Andrew Dutney

Jesus’ Hands Were Kind Hands
Words: Margaret Beatrice Cropper
Music: Old French Melody (Au Clair De La Lune)
arranged Compilers of Church Hymnary, 3rd edition, 1973

In My Father’s House
ATAR 616. Paul Somerville © 2012 (words and music). Words used with permission under copyright CCLI Licence No 137219. Copyright cleared music for churches.

In a Church that’s Moving Forward
Words: Andrew Williams ©2000
Music: Nettleton (public Domain)
Arrangement: Jennifer Hughes ©2022.

www.bpuc.org