An order of morning prayer for Australia and New Zealand

Morning Prayer in the Chapel of the Ecumenical Centre - Tuesday August 10, 2009
In the week the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle remembers Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia

This morning’s prayers are from Living Water, Thirsty Land, the 2009 Mission Prayer Handbook of the Uniting Church in Australia.

Prayer
Spirit of the living God
We seek your word this day
To hear, to heal, and to befriend
As comfort on our way.

Spirit of the living God
Uphold us through this day
As we reach out in your name
May others see your way.

Spirit of the living God
Touch minds and hearts today
That word, image, or touch
Can bring one to find the way.

Spirit of the living God
We come to seek your way
Encourage, risk and call us
To be your people this day.
Amen.

Psalm 91
Paraphrased for Arnhem Land, Aboriginal-owned land in the north-eastern corner of the Northern Territory in Australia
You who live in the shelter of ancient lands
Who rest deep in the shade of God’s grace
You will say to the Creator
“You are my refuge and my campfire
You are my God in whom I trust.”
For it is God who will give you freedom
When your life feels like a trap
And sickness and grief fill your days.
It is God who will stretch out wings of safety
Like a whistling kite in a hot afternoon sky
Spreading its wings over the land below
And calling out sounds of hope.
Because of God
you will not fear the terror of the night
Or the sorrow and struggle of the day
For you there will be no aching hunger
when you lie down
No destruction around you when you wake.
Because you have made God your place of safety
Because you have chosen God’s Spirit
as your homeland
You will know peace in the midst of trouble
And around your campfire
there will be love and wisdom.
Though you walk through harsh country
Your feet will not be hurt by sharp stones
For I will walk beside those who love me,
You are my clan, I know you by name.
When you call out to me I will answer you.
I am at your side in the time of trouble
I honour my relationship with you
With fullness of life I will satisfy you
And to you I will bring salvation.

Reflection: Have you seen Christ lately?
As the road outback unfolds like a ribbon, I look for the telling signs of a Christ-like figure that matches the road and the image within my mind.
Gnarled old trees bend to usher me on through corrugations and dust and casually I look in case I see the Christ within my mind.
An emu runs with a determined stare followed by several more, ignoring me and my road ahead, passing by until it is no more.
The faded homestead now left empty and bare flickers through the mallee scrub. A house, once a home of laughter and tears, now stands open to the elements and years and still I look for the Christ in my mind: could I possibly see Him here?
The whitened bones of a lonely steer glisten in the heat of the day, discarded and broken though once prized and nurtured; surely I couldn’t see Christ here.
A family of four, wide eyed and expectant, welcome me into their home. Their hopes have been sucked dry by the cancerous drought, as day after day the rains pass them by.
Could it be here that I find the Christ in my mind?
In the distance ahead a ramshackle pub quivers in the heat of the day and in the silence of the bar a knowing nod welcomes me this day.
Words are spoken of good times and hard, a laugh, a curse is mixed with what was needed to say and a departing handshake all cracked and hard sees me on my way. Could this have been the Christ of my mind?
As the night sky closes and the birds call their rest in the dark protective trees and as silence falls in the great outback, I know that I have seen Christ in all of these.
Dennis Cousens
Frontier Services Cunnamulla Patrol

Silence

Prayer
Gracious Lord, you are a wonderful God who surrounds us with
your presence. Help us remember that your glory can be seen
everywhere, in moments of trial and hardship as well as times of
happiness and prosperity. Remind us to always search for you.
Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Go now to love and serve the Lord. Go in peace.
Amen. We go in the name of Christ.

Song For you deep stillness by Julie Perrin