Welcome
Lighting the Christ Candle
Christ said: “I am the light of the world”.
The light shines in the darkness;
and the darkness has not overcome it.
Today we mark and acknowledge the anniversary of the National Apology to Survivors of
Institutional Child Sexual Abuse. Throughout this service, we will be using material from the
Liturgy provided by the Uniting Church in Australia Assembly.
Acknowledgment of Country
As we look upon the hills and valleys, we see the love poured out upon this Land by those
who have cared for this Land since time beyond measure.
This land is God’s land and God’s Spirit dwells here.
We honour those who have gone before and those who are yet to come.
We acknowledge the Dharawal people, traditional custodians of this land under God.
We acknowledge that the First Peoples had already encountered the Creator God before
the arrival of the colonisers; the Spirit was already in the land, revealing God to the
people through law, custom and ceremony.
We acknowledge that the same love and grace that was finally and fully revealed in Jesus
Christ sustained the First Peoples and gave them particular insights into God’s ways.
We rejoice in the reconciling purpose of God found in the good news about Jesus Christ.
Call to Worship
Hymn: Enemy of Apathy by John L. Bell (TiS 418)
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
To honour survivors of institutional childhood sexual abuse. we will open our hearts and we
will listen to their suffering, we will be still. We will not turn away.
Let us pray:
God of the vulnerable,
God of the oppressed,
God who gathers up the little child and
shows them to the world as precious beyond words.
Help us to be present to your Spirit.
Help us to walk boldly into this house of grief.
We come here today to remember the past.
We come here today to remember the catastrophic history of
sexual abuse of children.
Christ, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.
Merciful God,
We, the community of faith, acknowledge and lament the violence and abuse done to the
survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the history of this nation.
Christ, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.
We remember the stories of brokenness and the terrible breach of trust.
Christ, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.
We pray for their hidden memories and fear of the past.
Christ, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.
We lift the profound suffering to God, and we bring before you our prayers for all survivors.
And we say sorry.
And we say sorry.
And we say sorry.
We acknowledge and lament the way in which their innocence was ripped from them.
We say sorry.
We say sorry.
We say sorry.
We acknowledge and lament the abuse which happened in our Churches and in the
programs and activities we ran.
We say sorry.
We say sorry.
We say sorry.
We acknowledge andlament the abuse that occurred in institutions and agencies we had
oversight of.
We say sorry.
We say sorry.
We say sorry.
We acknowledge and lament the ways we used cheap forgiveness to mask ongoing
suffering.
We say sorry.
We say sorry.
We say sorry.
Christ, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.
Today we come and pray for restoration.
We commit ourselves to truth telling.
Give us courage, O Lord,
to stay in the unbearable moments, to never forget the past,
to shine your light in all that is hidden
We acknowledge and lament
in a time of crying out for justice,
our communities have been indifferent when we should have
been outraged,
we have been silent when we should have spoken out
Christ, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.
Forgiveness and healing
We pray for healing for those who suffer as a result of abuse.
We commit ourselves to building a culture of safety, making the
Church safe for all people, creating a space where all can thrive.
God of mercy,
forgive us
for we have failed survivors in the past,
give us the grace to do better.
By your Spirit, transform our compassion,
so that we may see what Christ sees
hear what Christ hears
love how Christ loves.
God, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.
Hear the promise of God’s love to us all….
May God forgive us and the Spirit enable us to grow in love.
Hymn: God of freedom, God of justice S. E. Murray, Together in Song 657,
CCLI 2400497
Psalm 121
A lament Psalm
I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
God will not let your foot be moved;
God who keeps you will not slumber.
God who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.
Bible Reading:
Lk 18:1-8 (Robert H)
Reflection: from 3.50, below.
Prayers: Heather S
BENEDICTION
May the love of God enfold us,
the wisdom of Christ enlighten us,
and the fire of the Spirit fill us with passion for the Gospel;
and may the blessing of the holy triune God rest upon us and abide with us, now and evermore.
Final hymn
For You, Deep Stillness – Robin Mann and Julie Perrin
https://vimeo.com/432061818
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