Saide Cameron welcomed us to worship on 21st April. We reflected on Jesus as the Good Shepherd, reading from John’s gospel and singing Psalm 23. We welcomed Jenne Perlstein as our preacher. Jenne is a member of our congregation, regular liturgist and an interfaith minister.
Our prayers of the people were adapted from a reflection on Psalm 23 offered by President Sharon Hollis.
- Watch the service again on Youtube
- Cath spoke about Jesus as the Good Shepherd and read ‘Where is the Green sheep?‘
- Watch Jenne’s reflection
- Read the Order of Service
Prayers of Adoration & Confession
Watch or 6:19
Let’s take a moment to breathe together again, to settle into a time of prayer. You might like to think about what to do with your hands as we pray – open in your lap, clasped lightly together, placed on your heart, in an act of self-embrace wrapping you round, holding the hand of another person near to you. Let’s breathe and pray.
Loving God, you created the world and all that is in her.
With love you created still waters and green pastures.
With love you gave your only Son to lead us in right paths.
Forgive us when we stray from these paths.
Forgive us when the dark valleys overwhelm us.
Forgive us and love us back into wholeness.
Jesus, Risen Christ, you are the Good Shepherd, lover of all.
Loving us in our imperfection, you lay down your life for us.
Loving us you show us the way to love others, to be a community.
Forgive us when we are so unable to love ourselves
that we are unable to love others, to love our neighbours.
Forgive us and love us back into wholeness.
Holy Spirit, breath of love and compassion, you shape our living.
Breathing love you shape us into a community, Jesus’ disciples.
Breathing love you comfort us in our dark valleys.
Forgive us when we fail to reach out in love and care.
Forgive us when we fail to see the fullness of God’s mercy.
Forgive us and love us back into wholeness.
Amen
Word of Grace
The psalmist sings
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Let us take and breathe these words into our hearts and into our lives,
Confident that in the name of Jesus, the Risen Christ our sin is forgiven.
Thanks be to God
Saide Cameron, offered for worship 21/04/2024, Easter 4B
Prayers of the people
Watch or 40:32
Our prayers this morning have been adapted from a reflection on Psalm 23 offered by Rev Sharon Hollis, President of the Uniting Church in Australia. Sharon writes Psalm 23 ‘is a psalm that speaks of God’s goodness, God’s mercy and God’s provision. It is a psalm that has been prayed for millennia by the people of Israel. It is a prayer Jesus prayed as he grew up and went about his ministry. It is also a prayer that speaks of suffering so profound it is experienced as of the darkest valley.’ Sharon concludes the reflection encouraging us all to continue holding our nation and world in prayer and to hold each other in loving care.
After the prayers I will take the Christ Candle to the chapel space where you are welcome to light a taper for your personal prayers during the final song or after the service.
Let us pray
God of the darkest valley,
We think of those who were killed in a shopping centre in Bondi, those who were wounded and those who witnessed the violence as they were walking through.
We remember the priests and people of Christ the Good Shepherd Church who seek peace and forgiveness in response to the violence in their sacred meeting space.
We call to mind the people of Ballarat struggling with the violent death of three women, and women and non-binary people everywhere who wonder if they are safe to go about their daily business.
We think of those in our communities with mental illness; who will now fear how they are seen, will worry that people will turn from them afraid they too might be violent. They walk this dark valley daily.
Ever before us is the darkest valley of Gaza, the war in Ukraine, violence, war and hunger in countries we barely hear of where people suffer without end in sight.
We know God that you come to us at Easter not as one removed from the suffering of the world but as One who has walked this darkest valley before us and has transformed the darkness. The One who cried at the grave of a friend, prayed for suffering to pass him by, laid down his life, died with a cry of God forsakenness on his lips. You walk with us in the darkest valley and call us to love and peace.
Because you have trod this path before us, we can hope that maybe, just maybe, healing will come to brokenness, we will see peace where it seems hopeless, those most in need will know mercy.
Because you have trod this path before us, we can hope that maybe, just maybe, we will find ourselves comforted and made whole and can participate in your healing of a broken world.
Amen
adapted from President Sharon Hollis’ reflection on Psalm 23 by Cath James,
offered for worship by Ray Cameron, 21/04/2024, Easter 4B
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