We celebrated Jack Bottcher’s baptism

Prayers of Adoration & Confession

God of new beginnings, you are eternal.
From the first sunrise at the beginning of time,
From our first cry at the hour when we were born,
Until the end of time, until our hour of death, you are our God.

Christ of resurrection, beloved child of God,
Your life, death and resurrection, shows us that we can rise from all that holds us down.
Your love for others teaches us to open doors of welcome to all who have been rejected.
As we travel life’s journey, you walk beside us.

Spirit of God, bringing life, bringing renewal.
You warm our hearts, reminding us of God’s loving presence
You fill us with peace, spurring us onward, calling us to serve.
And giving us life in all its fullness.

Eternal God, Risen Christ, Renewing Spirit,
We bring our broken world, and our broken selves to you,
We confess our failure to love you and others boldly,
We confess our blindness to your vision for a better world,
We confess our indifference, our impatience, our self-absorption.
Eternal God, Risen Christ, Renewing Spirit,
Hear our prayer.
Restore us, Renew us, Redirect us.
Set our feet on the right path,
so that we walk onward with your strength and guidance.

Sisters and Brothers, God does not keep a record of our wrongs.
We are, each of us, God’s beloved children.
Through the act of baptism,
we join in Christ’s death and resurrection,
and can walk in newness of life.
God promises freedom from all that has bound us,
and freely gives us a new beginning.
Remember this good news:
our sins are forgiven
Thanks be to God.

Natalie Sims, offered for worship 18/11/18, Pentecost 26B

Prayers of the people

Gracious God we pray for the world that you created out of love. With you, we rejoice in the threads of love that weave their way through communities and nations. With you, we grieve the hate and violence that breaks those threads. We pray for those who lives are torn apart by war, racism, or nationalism. We pray especially for the war-wary people of Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq as well as less-known but equally violent places.

May your spirit of new life breathe through the whole creation.

God of justice, we pray for the institutions that shape and order our lives. With you we rejoice in those who commit their time and energy to the well-being of those institutions and the building up of the common good. With you we grieve the corruption, greed, and selfishness that undermine their work. We pray especially for the institutions of this state of Victoria, that we will make responsible decisions in the election next weekend, and that those elected will work for a just society.

May your spirit of new life breathe through our institutions.

Merciful God, we pray for the church that you called into being. With you we rejoice in the words and deeds through which it proclaims the gospel. We grieve with you the many ways it denies that same gospel. We pray especially for churches close to power and influence that they may be faithful. We especially pray for the churches crushed and dispirited by the power of others. We pray for those churches treated with suspicion and cultural marginalisation, especially today praying for the churches of China, India and Pakistan.

May your spirit of new life breathe through the whole church.

God of new beginnings, we pray for all those across the world who, along with Jack, have been welcomed into your church through baptism on this day.  May they be truly welcomed, included, loved and strengthened in faith. May all who have witnessed the baptisms themselves be drawn to a deeper trust in you and more confident but humble walk in the way of Christ.

May your spirit of new life breathe the newly baptised.

Holy God we pray for ourselves, for this community of Brunswick Uniting Church. We rejoice in the ways you draw us together from our diverse backgrounds to be one people. Keep us alert to each other’s needs, sensitive to each other’s joys and sorrows, and committed to building each other up in the love that you given us to share.

Though our words fail us, these are the things we dare to pray. We ask you to hear them and draw us into your response.  In Christ’s name. Amen

Geoff Thompson, offered for worship, 18/11/18, Pentecost 26B