Prayers of Adoration & Confession

Creating God, you know us better than we know ourselves.
You are around us, and before us.
From the day of our birth, you have been with us.
On the day of our death, you will still be with us.

Earth-walking Christ, you understand what it is to be human.
You have felt the joy of being alive,
You know what it is to love,
You have felt despair, and know the pain of suffering.

Ever-present Spirit, you are beside us on our journey.
You are present in our joys and sorrows,
Our constant companion in our travels,
Shining your guiding light, even in the darkest places.

Search us, O God, shine your light into our lives.
See us as we are, in our goodness and in our brokenness.

We turn to you, and confess those things that weigh us down.
We turn to you, and reveal the sorrows and fears
that lay hidden within us.
We turn to you, bringing a world that is hurting
and in need of your truth.

In the silence, we lay our burdens before you.

Holy God, Brother Jesus, Companion Spirit,
We know that you walk with us
and will gladly share our load.
Guide us on the road we travel,
Help us to be led by you in all that we do.

Sisters and brothers, Paul writes that
we did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but we have received a spirit of adoption.
God welcomes us as beloved children,
and through Christ, brings forgiveness

and release from all that binds us.
Remember this good news: our sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God. our sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Natalie Sims, offered for worship, 23/7

Prayers of the People

God of the spaces unrealised and the spaces undiscovered – spaces which exist in landscape and in people,

We pray to you God of the now for the not yet,

We pray to you, knowing you are a transformative God who is with us, a spirit in the everyday ordinariness.

Jacob’s God, help us to listen to the words of those with little agency. Make us cognizant to the idea that equity is different to equality and that to treat everyone with fairness may mean more time, a different approach or more voice being given to those that need help. Show us when it’s not our time to speak and instead, turn us to listen. Help those in positions of power to fight for platforms to be given to those whose time is not now, but whose time it should be.

We pray for Indigenous Australians; for those in communities where systematic biases leave communities with little faith in justice. In particular, we pray for the Wongatha and Noongar people in Kalgoorlie-Boulder where the trial of the driver who killed Elijah Doughty exposes a history of suspicion and division among white Australians and Australians of colour. We pray too for leaders to make courageous decisions that invest in and respect an Australia of incredible diversity. Lord, help us to know, that you are silently working in the hearts of places of shaky tolerance.

Lord Jesus, we pray for Iraq, for the expected announcement of the liberation of Mosul from Islamic State. In the rebuilding and the waking, we pray for strong leadership and wise decision making. We pray for a country to walk towards a future of love. We pray too for the growing Israeli-Palestinian tension in Jerusalem and in the West Bank. Be with the relatives of those killed.

We pray Mothering God for our Earth – for its beauty and grace, for its resilience. We pray for us to make ethical decisions based not on price or convenience but instead on custodianship and protection for our shared Earth.

Treasuring God, look after our community that will change as Julie’s work with children, their parents and young adults finishes. We pray for her, our congregation and council as we work out how to continue to nurture young people.

Lord help us to see that while we are in the in-between places, the places where our lives feel small and we feel misdirected, that you are there, in the moonlight and the sun, and you will be beside us until we find our place of strength, where we are strong enough to build others so they too may climb to see life in places unrealised.

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen

Olivia Potter, offered for worship 23/7