You can watch the service here, or scroll down to read the rest of the Sunday prayers and content, and watch the sermon at the point it occurs during worship.
Acknowledgement of Country
For the Land we gather on today – We give thanks! For the Dharawal people – First Peoples of this land – We give thanks! And we honour the sacred stories, dreamings and deep connections with earth and waters. May we work together for reconciliation and the flourishing of all.
Welcome
We gather together today to affirm in hope and faith that we can create a sacred space of welcome.
At Engadine Uniting we believe all people are created lovingly and wonderfully in the image of God,
and we welcome everyone regardless of race, age, ability, sexuality and gender.
As a Christian Community we believe that God reaches out to us in love and acceptance
and that our relationships with each other should express love and respect.
Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, wherever you’ve come from, wherever you’re going, – you are welcome here and you are loved.
Candle lighting – Christ is the light of the world, bringing light into the dark as the stars light up the skies at night, revealing the beauty and wonder of our Creator God, and the beauty and wonder of the whole of creation. May we bring light and hope to dark places.
Call to Worship – From Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world AMEN
Let God hear the voice of beloved Creation
of people, of trees, of birds, animals and fish
of rivers and oceans and waterfalls
of rainforests and desert places
Let life breathe out praise from the heights to the depths of Earth
to God Creator, Sustainer and Friend
Sustaining God, you have woven the fabric of life with such variety of creatures seen and unseen.
predators and prey, pollinators and plants, blossoms that delight, and fruit that makes mouths water, and people to care for the Earth! We hear the groaning of creation and come together seeking justice and peace.
We come to be quenched by living water
We come to plant our feet on Earth parched for Justice
May we worship among the wattle in a cathedral of the sky. May the scent of eucalypt be our incense May the bees give their sermons, and the birds their wisdom.
As we gather in this season, may our eyes be open for God’s face shining through creation, and our ears be open to the words of creation’s songs of praise
May this be for us a sacred time to remember God’s first gift to us, and our first responsibility – to love and care for creation. Amen.
SONG: God of Creation by Craig Mitchell ( Morning Has Broken Tune)
God of creation, Gentle life-giver, Present at birth, and all through our days
Author of sunrise, Song in the night sky, Here in this place, we offer our praise.
Jesus, Companion, teacher and healer, friend of the grieving, suffering, the poor
Stand with your people, whisper among us promise of mercy goodness for all.
Spirit of Comfort, blow through Creation, stir up new life, breathe peace through our world.
Healer of hearts, and hope for tomorrow, weave all our sorrows into new dawn
Here we give thanks for life in its fullness, blessings received your gifts to us all
Make us a people filled with compassion, selflessly giving serving your world
Craig Mitchell, 2010 May be used in worship with acknowledgement
September is a time when, together with other faith communities both locally and across the world, we celebrate the ‘Season of Creation’. It is a time to reflect on our shared call to care for the Earth, our common Home. Just as we are called to weave threads of love in our communities, we are equally called to weave these threads into our relationship with Creation, recognising that every act of care for the environment is an act of love for our global neighbours and future generations.
The 2025 international theme is ‘Peace with creation’. AND This year’s symbol, ‘Garden of Peace’, is inspired by Isaiah 32:14-18 and envisions a war-torn, overexploited land transformed into one that is fertile and thriving.
“There is hope for a peaceful Earth,” reads the introduction to the 2025 Season of Creation resource. “ hope is active – it involves prayer, action, and reconciliation. As we weave Christ’s love into the fabric of our daily lives, may we also weave it into the very soil, waters and skies that sustain us, honouring God’s gift of creation with every step we take. The resources I am using today are from the Uniting Church Assembly and Common Grace.
PSALM 104 1-24
1 Praise the Lord, my soul.
Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendour and majesty.
2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers,[a]
flames of fire his servants.
5 He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.
10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
11 They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
15 wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening.
24 How many are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Comment on Psalm 104
As I reflected on this psalm, I found myself drawn into the beautiful imagery describing waters, trees and creatures and the clear connection that all creation is not only dependent on God, but there are many parts of it dependent on each other. The writer uses present tense in the Psalm – He makes, not He made – that God’s relationship with creation is something ongoing. It did not stop with the making.
God holds it all in balance, and each of the parts interact with each other in necessary ways. It could be said this psalm is describing an ecosystem. All have their place; none is more important than the other. Interestingly in this Psalm, humans are only mentioned briefly, they are not the centre of God’s story where all creatures are important, with all secure in the place or habitat created for them.
I spent some time in Nature this week – easy enough to do living in Heathcote next to the National Park contemplating this Psalm and my place in in the ecosystem.
Our fate is bound up with the fate of the planet. We need to value the things that cannot be counted, such as the beauty of our National Parks and rivers. The commandment to Love our Neighbour includes our nonhuman neighbours. As we move through the service our prayers and songs will reflect this and that God wants us to treat all our neighbours, including our fellow creatures and the sky, waters and soil fairly and with love, and creation with care.
Prayer of Lament and Confession
Creator God, in this season of creation we lament what we have done to the earth, our home.
We lament that we have not listened to the wisdom of those who know this land best, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We lament that that we’ve done little when there is much to do and often feel overwhelmed by the undoing of your good world that you’ve given to all your creatures to enjoy.
We look around and we are troubled, but we bring this world before you; its peoples, its creatures, its waters, air, and soils – we bring them to you in prayer.
Let us pursue what is true; the truth of what we have done to this world.
the truth of our duty to love our neighbour as ourselves
the truth that you are making all things new.
Let us pursue justice: justice for our Indigenous neighbours.
justice for our Islander neighbours,
justice for our poor neighbours,
justice for our future neighbours,
justice for our bird, insect, fish, animal, tree, sky, land and water neighbours.
Let us pursue excellence. Find whatever way we can with the gifts and skills and abilities that we have to work for climate justice.
For those that can pray, let them pray.
For those who write or speak, use their words for justice;
those that can knit, let them declare the truth about our changing climate.
Whatever it is that we do, let it be worthy of praise as we work together to care for the Earth.
Gracious God we lay our laments and burdens before you.
Hear the cries of our hearts (A short time of silence)
Words of Grace
God is love and God loves you. May your heart be lifted, and your sorrows lessened. Amen.
Presentation of Climate Scarf : Robyn
In 2020 Common Grace initiated the climate scarf project. Based on NASA scientific data, the colours of the scarf represent the varying average yearly global temperatures over the past 100 years. (Blue shades cooler, red shades hotter). The project was so successful that enough scarves were knitted to give to every federal Member of parliament and every senator.
Our Church knitted seven scarves. Every scarf is handmade, unique and represents more than 30 hours of handiwork. New Australian Federal Politicians are gifted a scarf and today we would like to give a scarf to David Moncrieff, the recently elected member for Hughes.
This climate scarf has been knitted by Margaret Day, Robyn Hely, Genelle Nash, Karen Russell, Loraine Holley, Judith Dark, Leonie Jenkins and Margaret De Georgio. Made by different knitters, the scarf represents the variety and uniqueness of people concerned about the climate and the need to do more. It highlights the importance of working together in community so we can solve those problems.
We present this scarf to you, David, as our Federal representative for Hughes, in the expectation that you will do whatever is in your power, to develop, implement and support policies and initiatives that will halt the increasing temperature so our environment and planet can flourish and be a liveable home for all.
Bible Readings: Jeremiah 4:19-22; 8:18-21; 20: 7-9; 27:12-14
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
Oh, the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
I cannot keep silent,
for I[f] hear the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
20 Disaster overtakes disaster;
the whole land is laid waste.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed,
my curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For my people are foolish;
they do not know me;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil
but do not know how to do good.”
My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
my heart is sick.
19 Listen! The cry of the daughter of my people
from far and wide in the land:
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
(“Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with their foreign idols?”)
20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
21 For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken,
I mourn, and horror has seized me.
O Lord, you have enticed me,
and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I must cry out;
I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the same way: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13 Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon,” for they are prophesying a lie to you.
For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God among us, We give thanks.
SERMON John McKinnon
Hymn: God, the maker of the heavens
God, the maker of the heavens,and the planet that we share,
show us how to live, like Jesus, lives of gratitude and care.
Make us mindful of the footprints from the lives that we pursue.
Make us partners in your mission: you are making all things new.
God, the gardener of Eden, teach us how to tend this earth,
learning from the changing seasons, times of fallow and new birth.
Lord, have mercy when we’re careless, rich resources we misuse.
Use our hands to heal creation: you are making all things new.
God of labour and vocation, Lord of science, trade and art,
take our efforts and our passions make them mirrors of your heart.
Every habitat and creature loved and valued, God, by you.
May our lives reveal your Kingdom You are making all things new.
CCL# 7126825 © Sam Hargreaves / Resound Worship,
ANNOUNCEMENTS
OFFERING
Offering Statement God calls us to lives of generosity. Here at this church we give of our time, and with food donations to project youth. We give financially as we are able via direct giving, and through the QR code donation and cash box at the church entrance. Let us pray and give thanks for all good gifts and for the offerings we bring.
Prayer God, Giver of all good things, let your grace flow through us; a generous stream, unstoppable, refreshing, abundant to those around us. Receive our gifts, of time, talent, food and money so that that blessings of hope and life and transformation might be offered to others. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Prayers of the People: Karen
HOLY COMMUNION
Jesus invites us to life in all its fullness.
All are welcome at this table.
In this meal we remember and celebrate Jesus presence with
us and our community with each other.
On a night long ago, in an upper room where Jesus gathered with his friends, reaching out in love and promising that wherever this meal was re-enacted he would be present,
Jesus took bread and wine – everyday, familiar things –
and named them as symbols of the most holy mystery of God.
Taking the fragrant, newly baked bread in his hands
– hands that had healed and blessed,
hands that had been lifted in celebration,
hands wrung in grief and pain;
hands that had overturned tables,
hands that had been clasped in prayer,
hands stretched out to gather in the excluded,
Jesus took the bread in these hands, broke it,
and blessed it, saying
“This is my body, broken for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
Then he took the cup,
– filled with rich, red wine,
pressed from the fruit of the vine,
purified and matured.
symbol of human and divine hospitality,
poured out generously into empty vessels:
a gift which words and rituals cannot fully describe
but which we receive in faith and hope:
the holy wine of God’s never-ending grace,
Jesus blessed it, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
Let us, as Friends of Christ, gathered in this time and place, know ourselves to be invited and included in the sacred meal which began that night, and which has never ended.
God be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
With all we are, we give you glory, Trinity of love, one and holy God, sovereign of all time and space.
We bless you for this wide, red land, for its rugged beauty, its changing seasons, its diverse peoples, and for all that lives upon this fragile earth.
You have called us to be the church in this place, to love abundantly and to give voice to every creature. We rejoice with all you have made, as we join the company of heaven in their song saying :
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
To Adam and Eve, children of dust, you gave the world and its wonders, but we misused your gift of freedom: we reached out rebel hands to be like you.
We bless you for your mercy, for you never cease to call our restless hearts until they find their rest in you.
Holy God, we offer our thanks and praise.
Again and again, you raised up men and women to speak your word, to guide, to challenge and convert.
You sent Jesus Christ, child of your love, God with us. Born as one of us, he lived our life and died our death, offering us, both now and forever, eternal life with you.
Through him, in him and because of him, we affirm the Church’s faith:
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again
And so, in remembrance of all you have done for us, we take this bread and this cup, and offer ourselves as a holy and living sacrifice, made worthy by the perfect offering of Christ
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts of the bread and the cup that they may be for us the body and blood of Jesus that we may truly share Christ’s body and blood, and become, by grace, his body given for the sake of the world.
For through your Spirit, the whole earth makes its prayer in sighs too deep for words, longing for the day of freedom: for in hope and by faith we were saved.
Accept our thanks and praise, loving God, through your Son, Jesus Christ, with whom and in whom, and by the Spirit who dwells in us, we worship you joyfully saying:
Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and ever. Amen.
THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD
Christ is the bread of joy who shares food with sinners.
Christ is the cup of life who revives the weary.
Let us receive what we are; let us become what we receive.
The body of Christ.
Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, bearer of our sins, have mercy on us.
Jesus, redeemer of the world, show compassion grant us peace.
The gifts of God that make you God’s people.
DISTRIBUTION
Christ’s body broken for you. Amen. Christ’s life poured out for you. Amen.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Holy and Loving God, we thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ, for the nourishment of his life and teaching, and for his invitation to enjoy life in all its fullness.
Invited and fed at your table we are remade, repurposed. May this food empower us to cherish your Creation who we also are. May God’s presence be revealed through our lives AMEN
Benediction
Creating God, your name is written in every leaf, every bird, every river, every stone, every living being.
We give thanks for this season of creation. Make us attentive to the wounds of the earth and willing to work for the healing of the whole creation.
Send us out as your hands and feet willing to take action and to care for the earth so that all of creation can flourish.
And may the blessing of God, pulse of all that is, Spirit of creation, brooding over the waters, and Jesus the Christ, who was clothed in creation,Go with us now from this place. Amen.
Blessing Song ‘For you deep stillness’
For you, deep stillness of the silent inland For you, deep blue of the desert skies
For you, flame red of the rocks and stones For you, sweet water from hidden springs.
From the edges seek the heartlands and when you’re burnt by the journey may the cool winds of the hovering Spirit soothe and replenish you. In the name of Christ, In the name of Christ.
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