Gungahlin Uniting Church

108 The Valley Avenue, Gungahlin, ACT 2912

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Community Prayers – January 15, 2022

January 11, 2022 by Darren Wright

Local

We pray for all who are traveling, may the travel be safe, may it be a time of seeing you in action in new places and people and may it be one where they come back refreshed.

We pray for all who are going through treatment for Cancer, or other health issues, we pray for their doctors and specialists, their nurses and carers. In particular we pray for Michael, Cameron, Peter.

We pray for our health professionals, for those working in testing sites, for our hospitals, for all involved in looking after the vulnerable.

We pray for all who are experiencing COVID at this time, for all in isolation, for all experiencing fear and anxiety and for those caring for friends or family with COVID.

World

This week we join with the World Council of Churches as we pray for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

We are thankful for:

  • the ancient cultures and religions that have been sustained in this area for millennia
  • those who continue to pursue peace in the midst of ethnic strife and terrorism
  • the faithfulness of Muslims in expressing their faith and working with others 
  • Christians who practice their faith even when they are a small, often discriminated minority.

We pray for:

  • women and others in these countries who are deprived of basic freedoms and human dignity
  • those who misuse or exploit religious identity for extremist political ends
  • the wise use of the benefits of oil and other natural resources for the sake of all
  • the emergence of stable democratic societies based on the rule of law, social justice, and respect for religious and other freedoms.

Continue praying with the WCC by engaging with their weekly prayer cycle here

Filed Under: Prayers

Boxing Day Service – Liturgy for Home

December 23, 2021 by Darren Wright

We’ll be holding a quiet service on Sunday the 26th from 9:30am at the church building for those who would like to gather. It will not be live streamed.

If you’d like to worship at home we’ve put together this liturgy using the words from the Close To Home series by Sanctified Art that we’ve been using all Advent. The words are written by Rev Sarah (Are) Speed.

Worship At Home – Boxing Day:

Brain Dump Prayer 

One common practice for clearing our mind and opening space in our hearts is to write or draw a “brain dump.” In a brain dump, you write/draw everything that’s on your mind: to-do lists, concerns, worries, things that pop into your subconscious—anything that might distract or pull you away from the here and now and offer it to God.

Perhaps you might play some Christmas music while you engage in the prayer dump.

When you’ve finished, put your pencil down and pray the following words:

Holy God,

Even here,

even now,

you are with me.

And so I pray

hover over this swirl of words that make up a prayer. 

Read between the lines.

See what weighs heavy on me. 

Know what distracts,

and carry it all.

I am giving it to you.

I am clearing out space.

I am opening myself up

to draw closer to your home. 

Gratefully I pray,

Amen.

Read Luke 2:41-52

Give yourself permission to read the gospel story it two or three times through. During your first read, pay attention to what words stand out. During your second read, pay attention to what emotions stand out. On your third read, pay attention to what actions stand out.

Discuss or journal, using the following questions and observations:

  1. Jesus stays behind in the temple when his parents head home. Why do you think Jesus stays?
  2. In this story, we get a glimpse of Jesus coming into his own self. He is on his own, listening, and asking questions. And “all who heard him were amazed at his answers” (Luke 2:47). What spaces have allowed you to be who you are truly called to be? Where do you feel the freedom to come into your own being? List those places. Reflect on what makes those spaces unique.
  3. Jesus refers to the temple as a house, God’s house. In your experience, has the church been a home for you? If so, how? If not, why not? What steps need to be taken to allow all churches to reflect the same welcome, safety, and security of a loving home?

Optional Questions for Kids

  1. This story is of Jesus spending time at church. What is your favourite part of our church? What are some of your favourite memories at church?
  2. When Jesus is in the temple, he reads the Bible. Do you have a favourite Bible story?
  3. Jesus tells his parents he likes being at the temple because it is God’s house. What is the best part about being home? How do you feel when you are home?

Share this Good News

Worship calls us outside ourselves to connect with others and the world. To close the service, think of a person or a place that has helped you be your true self or has made you feel at home, just as Jesus was being his true self and felt at home in the temple. Send them a text, write them a letter to mail, or call them to thank them for their grace and welcome.

Tips for Families

Invite your kids to make a video message and send it to a family member. Not interested in writing a card or making a video? Try making a batch of cookies to drop off with a babysitter, teacher, or neighbor! There are lots of ways to express gratitude.

Prayer of the People

Holy God,

We come to you today full to the brim. We are carrying gratitude and hope, dreams and fear, scars and love, and in this moment of prayer, we give it all to you.

So as we remember Jesus in the temple, who felt at home there, we give you thanks for the places in our lives that have felt like home for us.

Thank you God for the summer camps and family vacations,

for crowded tables and porch swings.

Thank you for churches that become as familiar as a grandparent’s house, and for friends’ homes that have become sanctuary.

And as we remember Jesus in the temple, who took up space to be himself, we give you thanks for the places in our lives where we have been able to follow his lead.

Thank you for jobs that bring joy,

and for hobbies that keep passions awake.

Thank you for the people who have encouraged our gifts, and for those who have spoken our call out loud.

We have so much to be thankful for, and yet we also know that there is still need here. So as we lift our gratitude to you for places that feel like home and for calls that change our lives, we also remember those who feel homeless.

Draw near to your children who have been forced to choose a new home because they were not welcome in their own.

Surround their grief and their pain with your love,

and give us the eyes to see and and arms to welcome them in here.

And when fear draws close, pressuring us to play it small and play it safe, give us the courage to be who you call us to be.

Help us to not only hear your call on our lives, but to live it— even if it surprises the ones who know us best.

Remind us that there is nothing wrong with taking up space, for you gave us that space in the first place.

God there is so much good here, and there is so much we have yet to learn.

Help us to be people that create chosen homes. Help us to be people that welcome others into those safe spaces. Help us to be people who follow our calls boldly and bravely, holding open the door for others to follow suit.

We come to you today full to the brim, O God, with prayers that are close to home. Hold them closely.

And now, with the confidence of teenage Jesus in the temple, we pray your prayer together, praying…

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours

now and for ever.

Amen

Closing Words

Close this sacred time by reading and reflecting upon the following poem. Blow out your candles. Close your journal. Allow yourself to re-enter the world refreshed, renewed, and grateful.

Chosen Home

There are a million ways to choose a home.

We choose to make it work.

We hang a wreath on the door of our shoebox apartment. 

We invite company over.

We ask, “Would you like coffee with that?”

We choose to make the most of it.

We take up watercoloring or kickboxing and show up to class. 

We mostly embarrass ourselves, but we were there.

We choose to not go it alone.

We sign up to volunteer and make ourselves a name tag. 

We slide weary bones into weary church chairs.

We shake hands and say hello.

We let the music cover us, like a blanket, or a prayer.

We choose to love what we have.

We look in the mirror and speak kindly to our body.

We buy flowers at the market and arrange them in jelly jars.

There are a million ways to choose a home. 

So like Jesus in the temple

who chose to stay,

who chose to speak,

who took up space because he knew he was home, 

I invite you to do the same

Put your body

where your soul feels alive. 

Give yourself permission

to take up space there.

Stay, as long as it takes. 

Return, as often as you need.

There are a million ways to choose a home. 

Choose wisely. 

We need you here.

—Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed

Benediction

As you leave this service, 

your service begins: 

Comfort the homesick.

Open your doors to others.

Seek sanctuary.

Be brave enough to go home by another way.

And remember that here in God’s house, 

all are welcomed

so come back soon. 

In the name of our Foundation

God, Spirit, and Son

go in peace.

Filed Under: Bulletins

GUC Community Prayers – December 24, 2021

December 23, 2021 by Darren Wright

Local

We pray for all experiencing treatment for Cancer, this week we think particularly of Michael and Cameron. We pray for your presence, peace, love, hope and joy. We pray for healing where possible and for your arms to embrace them this week.

We pray for all traveling, seeing family for the first time for a while, camping, travelling overseas or interstate, for those on bikes, in cars, on feet and in flight. We pray for their safety and that the time is blessed.

We pray for the community of Gungahlin over January, may the new year see neighbours loved, peace reigning, understanding shared and hope renewed.

We pray for our new Church Council, for Jenelle, Bronwyn, Elizabeth, Bruce, Sue, John and Lynne. We pray for the process to bring a new ministry agent to Gungahlin UCA, and for all involved. May your vision guide us and voice call us.

National

We join with the National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia as we pray for

  • The Devonport community. We pray for the families and friends of the children who died, their classmates, emergency workers who responded and all those providing care for the community. 
  • The people of the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Rai which killed more than 300 people. We pray for those mourning lives lost and families who have been displaced or left without food and water. 
  • Uniting Church communities of faith and all Christians who will celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. We pray we will be united in and transformed by God’s hope, peace, joy and love. 

World

This week we join with the World Council of Churches as we pray for Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan

We give thanks for:

  • the distinctive temples, art and cultures in the region
  • the education and economic developments that have improved the lives of many in Japan and South Korea
  • how the council of churches in Japan has promoted reconciliation with the rest of Asia
  • the prophetic witness of Christians in Japan and South Korea
  • the persistent witness to justice for “comfort women” from the Second World War
  • the great religious tolerance exhibited by the Taiwanese and their pioneering of contextual theological education
  • the Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification and Development Cooperation on the Korean Peninsula, which with others has sought to reunify Korea, to defend human rights, and to work for peace and justice.

We pray for:

  • an end to repression of people and to threats of military confrontation, especially on the Korean peninsula
  • the reunification of Korea, that peace and justice might prevail
  • peaceful resolution of the many disputed claims to islands in the South China Sea by Taiwan and its neighbours and for greater understanding and cooperation between Taiwan and mainland China.
  • women and other marginalized groups, and the inequalities they experience
  • greater acceptance of immigrants that they might make a positive contribution
  • new hope and meaning for the young, amid pressures of competition and consumerism.

We continue to pray with and for the world with the World Council of Churches here using their prayer cycle resources

Filed Under: Prayers

GUC Community Prayers – December 17, 2021

December 17, 2021 by Darren Wright

Local

We give thanks for all the work our schools have put into teaching and supporting students over th last year. We pray that, as their teaching year comes to an end they find time to refresh before a new year begins with new challenges and new students.

We pray for all who are travelling over the Christmas season, for safe roads, safe airways, safe waterways, safe cycle tracks and safe hiking tracks. Be with all who are travelling.

We pray for the churches in Gungahlin, for their ministry agents and leaders.

Regional

We join with the Canberra Region Presbytery of the UCA as we pray for our Emergency Services and Disaster Recovery Chaplains

  • We pray for all those workers who continue offer protection, healing, hope and service when disasters happen across country.
  • We give thanks for the SES volunteers, firefighters, police officers, nurses, paramedics, rescue services, and others who regularly put their own wellbeing on the line for the sake of others.
  • We pray for disaster recovery chaplains, hospital and military chaplains who care for the professionals and communities affected by all sorts of disasters and emergencies every day.
  • We remember in our prayers those currently impacted by flood waters, still displaced by bushfire, still waiting for restoration after damaging hail, and all of us deeply impacted by the pandemic.
  • We pray for healing and restoration, care and compassion, rest, and recovery after a particularly disaster-heavy few years.
  • As we approach advent, we pray that the reality of God with Us in Jesus may continue to spread peace and goodwill – even (and especially) in times when these things seem far away.

National

We join with the National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia as we pray for

  • Those impacted by the latest outbreaks of COVID-19 in the community, including those who are ill, health workers and others caring for them, and those who will need to isolate over the Christmas period.
  • Vaccine equity across the world and for more ambitious investment in programs to deliver vaccines in low income countries.
  • Our church partners across the Pacific, Africa and Asia who are working to break the cycle of poverty, create gender equity, enact climate justice and respond to disasters.

World

This week we join with the World Council of Churches as we pray for China, Hong Kong, Macau.

We give thanks for:

  • the long and complex history of China, with its many artefacts, cultures and traditions that have developed over millennia
  • those who established missions and churches in the past, and the determination of Chinese Christians to contextualize the church here and now
  • those who boldly live out their faith, challenging injustices even when they fear persecution
  • the economic growth and development that have lifted many out of poverty
  • the steps China is taking to counter huge environmental challenges.

We pray for:

  • those left behind and further marginalized by rising economic growth, especially women and peasants in rural areas
  • the political and social tensions between the mainland of China and Hong Kong and the rest of the world
  • a growth in prophetic witness of the Chinese church in society
  • spiritual meaning and freedom from captivity to economic growth and consumerism.

We continue to pray with the WCC and the wider church by joining with their prayer cycle in praying the prayers on their website

Filed Under: Prayers

Christmas At Gungahlin

December 13, 2021 by Darren Wright

Come join us for Christmas this year, online or in person.

  • Every Sunday from 9:30am
  • Blue Christmas, December 19, 6:00pm
  • Christmas Eve, 9:30pm
  • Christmas Day, 9:30am
  • Boxing Day, 9:30am

Filed Under: Bulletins

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Worship with us

Every Sunday we join in worship on site at the church building and online, you can find out how to join worship online here.

Worship seeks to be meaningful in different ways for us all. In Jesus Christ we see how he drew near to everyone, and so we hope our worship expresses this nearness too. For more information on what worship looks like during this time of social distancing, keep on reading.

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Where Are We?

About GUC

We are a community on a journey, we’ve grown from a small faith community planted in Ngunnawal in the early years of Gungahlin’s development to a thriving inclusive, intergenerational & multicultural community. As Gungahlin has grown we have seen a lot of change.

We are an open and inclusive community, everyone is welcome to use their gifts in worship, prayer, leadership, hospitality and teaching.

Find out more…

Worship With Us

Every Sunday, 9:30am
Gungahlin Uniting Church and Community Centre
108 The Valley Avenue
Gungahlin, ACT, 2913

Worship is for all ages, (0 to 93!) and seeks to be meaningful in different ways for us all.

In Jesus Christ we see how he drew near to each and all and so we hope our worship expresses this nearness too.

Find out more…

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