Responsive prayers for the opeing of the renovated main hall in the ecumenical centre Geneva

The following prayers were said by members of central committee before they entered the newly renovated Main Hall on August 26 2009

Dialogue of Praise
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Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.
Unless a city is of God, those who guard it keep watch in vain.
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God set the earth itself on its foundations,
so that it cannot finally be shaken.
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Every house and gathering-place is built by someone,
yet the architect of all things is God.
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We give God thanks that we are called to gather in this space.
How good and pleasant it is when God's family dwells together in unity!
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In this room many have laboured and rejoiced in the service of Christ.
We give thanks to the Lord for so great a cloud of witnesses.
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Today we dedicate this room in honour of Willem A. Visser 't Hooft.
And we remember all who have been inspired by him.
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Praise to you, Lord God, for those who have led us on your way.
May their memory be eternal!
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Grant that we may be worthy successors to such leaders.
Bless our mission and our ministries, that we may be one in Christ.
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For one may plant, and another may water,
but it is the Triune God alone who gives the growth.
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Grant that we may be worthy successors to Vim Visser 't Hooft,
and may we dwell in that Christian unity toward which he pointed us.
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"One generation shall praise the Lord's works to another,
and shall declare the mighty acts of God."
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In 1965, this hall,

given by the family of the late Anne Douglass Dillon,
was dedicated in the presence of

WCC general secretary W.A. Visser 't Hooft
to the vision "That they may all be one".
Today we commemorate

the first general secretary of the World Council of Churches,
a transformational figure in the ecumenical movement,
by naming this space "W.A. Visser 't Hooft Hall".
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Lord, help us hear afresh these words of the Apostle Paul:
"According to the grace of God given to me,
like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation,

and someone else is building on it.
Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.
For no one can lay any foundation

other than the one that has been laid:
that foundation is Jesus Christ." (1Cor.3:10-11)
*****
To God be all glory, thanks and praise! Amen.
*****

I have a prayer ...

This prayer ended the contribution by young people at the end of the general secretary's speech at the WCC central committee

I have a prayer ...
May our gifts and talents be offered in a right way in God's mission.
May our youth be prepared in a better way - in order to be able to understand their mission and be used to serve in this time.

That the breath of the Holy Spirit be with us during this important meeting, embracing us with wisdom and giving us sensitive eyes and ears to his operation among us, giving light to face the future of teh WCC and the ecumenical movement in this century and holding our hands to follow his way. In times of crises, disillusion, despair, in the desert of this oppressive world may the Holy Spirit be the fresh cloud that leads in the day and the fire that leads us in the night, giving us strength, faith and hope to see God's plan for us.

“E le fefe ai lo’u loto” – My heart shall not fear - a meditation by Faautu Talapusi

This heartfelt and authentic meditation was preached by Faautu Talapusi on Monday 17th August
The accompanying liturgy for the Ecumenical Prayer cycle prayers for the Pacific can be found here.

Every evening, growing up, our family would gather together for prayers as most Samoan families do. And every month my two sisters and I were given a verse or a chapter within the Bible to memorize for the following month’s evening prayers. At the time, it felt like a burden and it was sometimes done reluctantly and at other points, especially long ones with much resentment, because instead of going out to play… I was stuck home memorizing verses upon verses.

I started to think and pray about what message I wanted to share with you today. I asked myself, what is the biggest issue I am facing, and how is God guiding me in discerning a way forward? And boy I should have been more specific because I came up with a LOT of issues which I guess is always part of one’s journey. And as I thought and thought about this… I realized that in all these “issues” I’m dealing with, there were always two constants – the first one, and this is very familiar to everyone was fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of consequences, fear of being judged, fear of being rejected, fear of not being good enough, fear of losing something or someone important… fear. And the second constant was more positive, and this came from snippets of some verses I memorized years ago “O le Atua o lo’u malamalama ia, ma lo’u faaolataga, o ai ea se ou te fefe ai” – The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear. “E le fefe ai lo’u loto” – My heart shall not fear. “Ina faatalitali atu ia I le Alii, ina loto tele ia, e faamalosia foi e ia lou loto; ina faatalitali lava ia I le Alii” - Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

These verses and the many which my dear parents imposed on us (and I say this lightly for today I am thankful for that) have accompanied me in my life through its ups and downs. There are many times, I can get so caught up in my fears that I begin to doubt – sort of like when David asks for reassurance when he says Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! And I think it’s not a doubt about God, but a doubt that these fears will overcome my thoughts and actions and eat me up inside such as How am I going to own up to an honest mistake and not fear the worse? Will I be able to trust a friend again despite their lies and dishonest actions? Do I have it in me to go forth and be the best I can be in all aspects of my life? Can I do it? How will I do it? And the questions keep coming and coming - but it’s like, no matter what….God is always there, accompanying me – always the constant, always reminding me that He loves me – despite all my flaws, my shortcomings, my let downs and my doubts. That even if I don’t know what the future holds or how I will deal with things, God’s love is going to get me through it all, just like it got me through the last 28 years I mean, He did send his only Son Jesus Christ, to share the Good News and eventually put him on that cross for me and you didn’t He? If that ain’t love… I don’t know what is…

And so today dear friends, looking at the bigger picture:
Each and everyone of us in this chapel, have personal matters to grapple with, struggles which can sometimes overtake our lives. We each have issues we must face and must address be it within ourselves, within the family, with friends, at work and/or in general.

For the WCC, the Central Committee is coming up next week and true, it will address a lot of questions many of us have but there will certainly be a lot of unknowns after that and this can be applied to many organizations today – will it get back on its feet financially, what about the programmes and their direction and how about the staff? Is there anything certain in its future?

For the Pacific Islands, its churches and communities – there is the constant threat of climate change amongst other things – when the water levels rise to the point that our islands are inundated and uninhabitable what then? How do you deal with a whole country without land, not a single inch of land? Is that still a country? How do you take a culture, its people and identity and transport everything to a foreign land? How do you tell people that they must leave the land that buries their placenta, and their ancestors under water? How does one do this?

For the global community, it’s even more overwhelming and absolutely staggering. HIV AIDS, poverty, war, violence, political instability, famine, natural and man-made disasters, religious intolerance, the financial crisis etc etc etc….

Do you see how these can get a hold of us, overcome us, never let us go and eat us up from the inside out?
I do. But I also see our God’s awesome love. Constantly there. Accompanying us. Guiding us, through the doubts and fears towards His light, telling us that we must continue in our struggles, we must do what is right, we must live our lives as a witness to the Gospel, we must keep up the fight for justice, for peace, for tolerance and for love – within ourselves, amongst ourselves, in our work, our family life and all around us.
For as the apostle Paul said “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This is our light and our salvation.

Amene

Our next song, is a continuation of today’s meditation.

Praying with the people of the Pacific

Ecumenical Centre Morning Worship, Monday August 17, 2009
This service was prepared by Faautu Talapusi who works at the Pacific desk of the World Council of Churches and with ACT Development.

Welcome

Call to Worship
God who walks on the water of our fears,
Stretching out a hand to hold us firm,
And telling us not to be afraid:
We come to worship you in faith

God who speaks to us in story and word,
In each other, and in life itself:
We come to worship you in faith,
For you are our God and we are your people
Amene

Song – Pasifika (first 3 verses and chorus)
Let all the islands rise and sing
And to our God their praises bring
On strings and drum His might proclaim
To shout the glory of His name

Chorus
Pasifika, Pasifika
With throbbing reef and coral shore
For fish and shell and mighty whale
For all God’s gifts our thanks we pour

And when we see the stars at night
The many worlds which cross the sky
The sun and moon which give us light
We lift our hearts to God on high

The children playing on the shore
The sounds of laughter which we hear
Their love increasing more and more
Remind us that our God is near

Scripture Reading: Psalm 27 – read responsively
1The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.
3Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
4One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
5For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
8“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.
9Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
10If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
11Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
13I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Halle Halle Halle

Scripture Reading: Romans 8, 31-39

31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Halle Halle Halle

Reflection - by Faautu Talapusi

Song: The Lord is my Light

Prayers of Intercession
God of love - who is with us, around us and in us, we give you praise and thanks. For the Good News that was brought to us by your son Jesus Christ, Our Light and Salvation.
Oh Lord hear my prayer

God of mercy – we pray for the people and churches of Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Kanaky and Tahiti. We pray that they continue to bring witness to your Word as they struggle against political instability, economic uncertainty and the consequences of climate change.
Oh Lord hear my prayer

God of healing – we pray in particular for the people of Tonga, mourning the loss of beloved ones who perished in last week’s boating accident. We also pray for the leaders of the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma, whose faith is being hindered and tested. May your love and mercy be with them all through these difficult times.
Oh Lord hear my prayer

God of life – we pray for each and everyone in this chapel today, for our family and friends, for our colleagues in the Ecumenical Center and for our work. May your Word continue to inspire and motivate us as we face our own struggles and uncertainties and remind us not to be afraid.
Oh Lord hear my prayer

God of all creation – we put before you our Earth and all its inhabitants – from the smallest insect to the biggest animal. We pray that we always keep in mind, that through whatever struggle and obstacle we face, your unconditional love will always accompany us.
Oh Lord hear my prayer

Lord’s Prayer (in language of choice)

Song – Pasifika (last 2 verses and repeat chorus)
The palms which bend towards the sky
The clouds which hurry to and fro
the birds which fly both low and high
Give joy to men on earth below

Pasifika, Pasifika
With throbbing reef and coral shore
For fish and shell and mighty whale
For all His gifts our thanks we pour

To God the Father, God the Son
And God the Spirit, praise be done
May Christ the Lord upon us pour
The Spirit's gift for ever more


Benediction
Lord God, you open wide your love for all.
We open our lives to one another and to you.
In your Spirit we go to do our daily work.
May our worship become our living and our living become our worship.
Amene.

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

An order of worship for New Zealand and Australia

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre, August 10 2009

In the week the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle remembers Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia
This order of prayer was prepared by Peter Prove, Emma Halgren and Michael Wallace

Call to worship
I runga i te ingoa o te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu.
(In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit)
Amine

Grace to you and peace from God our Creator, the love at our beginning and without end, in our midst and with us.
God is with us, here we find new life.

God of holy dreaming, Great Creator Spirit,
from the dawn of creation you have given your children the good things of Mother Earth. You spoke and the gum tree grew. In the vast desert and dense forest, and in cities at the water’s edge, creation sings your praise. Your presence endures as the rock at the heart of our land.

When Jesus hung on the tree you heard the cries of all your people and became one with your wounded ones: the indigenous people, the convicts, the hunted and the disposed. The sunrise of your Son coloured the earth anew and bathed it in glorious hope.

In Jesus we have been reconciled to you, to each other and to your whole creation.
Lead us on, Great Spirit, as we gather from the four corners of the earth.
Enable us to walk together in trust from the hurt and shame of the past into the full day which has dawned in Jesus Christ. Amen

Song These hills by Colin Gibson
Verses 1, 2 and 4

Confession
God of all life, in love you made us, in grace you sustain us; but we have failed your sacred trust.

Lost in the worship of ourselves, lost in greed and lost in power we are destroying your sacred gifts to us.

All that lives, the earth, the sea and the sky; we are choking them all.
God of grace, forgive us our greed, forgive us our carelessness, forgive us our faithlessness.
Restore to us a new spirit and open us to your leading towards a new way of being. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.

Reading 2 Corinthians 9: 6-10
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written,
‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.’
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Hear what the spirit is saying to the church
Thanks be to God

Song Tama ngakau marie Traditional Maori hymn
Verses 1, 3, 5

Reading John 12: 24-26
Jesus said, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.’

Hear what the spirit is saying to the church
Thanks be to God

Reflection by Michael Wallace, General Secretary of the World Student Christian Federation

Affirmation of faith He tikanga whakapono
(Michael Wallace warns that this English translation is rather approximative and a different translation will be added at a later date. The confession of faith was chanted in Maori by teh worship leader with the congregation joining in with those parts in bold - very powerful stuff)
Ko koe, e te Atua tapu, te tino Atua You are God, holy, truly God
Nou te mana, te ihi, te wehi Yours is the honour, the essential spirit, the awe
Nou to ao, te mauri, te ora Yours is the world, life
Nau te katoa, i te rangi, i te whenua Everything is yours, the heavens, the earth
Ko koe tonu te Atua You are God

Ko koe te maramatanga o te ao You are the meaning of the world
I tiaho ra koe i te pouri You shone in our darkness
Kia puta ake tau Tama ko Ihu Karaiti You gave us your son Jesus Christ
Hei pou tokomanawa mo te ao. To be the centre pole supporting the world
Ko koe tonu te Atua You are God

Ko koe te Wairua Tapu You are Holy Spirit
Ko koe taku rakau You are my tree
Ko koe taku tokotoko You are my rod/support
Ko koe taku oranga ngakau e You are the life of my heart

Ko koe tonu ra te Atua. Kororia ki a koe. You are God, glory to you

Intercessions
God of Justice and of Hope, we bring before you today those who welcome us into their midst and those who turn us away, those who travel with us, and those we cannot reach, those who share our struggle and those who ignore it.
God of Justice and of Hope, be our Pilgrim God.

You are there with the indigenous people of our lands who suffer from centuries of oppression, and continue to struggle under often harsh policies. And you are there with all those who work for healing and reconciliation.
You stride before us into communities devastated by grief after this year's bushfires in southern Australia in which hundreds of lives, and whole towns and villages, were destroyed.
God of Justice and of Hope, be our Healing God.

You are there on the road with us — at the dawn, as we head out to be with your people in their place. In the blaze of the midday sun, as we meet with traditional elders or work side by side with a farmer to repair a windmill, and in the evening, as we come home into the setting sun.

You are beside and beyond us as we settle our thoughts for the night, as we bring before you the needs and cares of those we have met (and even of those we have not). And as we gather our strength for tomorrow you are there to meet us, to inspire and refresh us, when we step out to do it all again.
God of Justice and of Hope, be our Pilgrim God.

We give you thanks for the trust you place in us — to do Your will, to be Your presence, in this Your land. We give you thanks for the courage you give us —
to say and to do the right thing at the right time and to know what matters most for these Your people.

And we give you thanks for being with us — at the day’s beginning as we go about Your business and at journey’s end.
God of Love, sustain each one of us.

God of Justice and of Hope, we bring before you today a world at odds, nations riven by inequality, peoples struggling for reconciliation.

You stride before us showing us the way to engage with each other in peace,
showing us the way to embrace justice and to love one another.

We ask you for the strength to be agents of your peace, we ask you for the fortitude to make justice reality and we ask too for your living, loving example –
that we may know again how to love one another as you have loved us.
God of Justice and of Hope, Pilgrim God, let your love live within us as we journey with you on the road. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Concluding prayer
Most loving God, creator and redeemer, we give you thanks for the life of St. Laurence and for all Saints, Martyrs and Prophets who have lead, loved and inspired your people.
Guide and enliven your church in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and all your people that we may be salt of the earth and light to the world.

Through Christ and with all your saints we offer ourselves and our lives to your service. Send us out in the power of your Spirit, to stand with you in your world. We ask this through Jesus Christ, the servant, our friend and brother. Amen

The Lord be with you
And also with you

Kia tau mai ano ki a koutou, nga manaakitanga a te Atua Kaha Rawa, a te Matua, a te Tama, a te Wairua Tapu.
(May the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you all)
Amine

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

Anzac biscuits
We've heard about the role of Australians and New Zealanders in World War I, and the enduring effects of the Gallipoli campaign on the national psyche in both countries.

While hundreds of thousands of Australians and New Zealanders were at war, women in both countries were creating a cultural and culinary symbol.

ANZAC biscuits were made by Australian and New Zealand women for the ANZAC soldiers during World War I and were reputedly first called soldiers biscuits, then renamed ANZAC biscuits after the Gallipoli landing. These biscuits remain very popular national symbols in both countries.

Perhaps these biscuits are a symbol of alternative nation building: A way of finding national meaning other than through war and violence. The women of New Zealand and Australia used what they could find and used their energies in gathering the wheat and other ingredients to make these biscuits. While the soldiers were at war the women worked on providing nourishment for the hungry, in caring for the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffering.

We have some Anzac biscuits at the entrance for you to enjoy on your way out of worship today.

A sermon for St Laurence's day preached by Revd Michael Wallace

This reflection for St Laurence's Day was preached by Michael Wallace with help from Emma Halgren. It was part of worship prepared for Monday morning 10 August 2009 as we were praying this week for Australia and New Zealand through the ecumenical prayer cycle. Find the full liturgy here.

Reflection for Australia NZ service August 10th 2009

St Laurence
As you know this week the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle remembers Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Today we also remember St. Laurence who was martyred at Rome in 258.

In this morning’s Gospel Jesus says, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.’

Through his actions in the face of imperial power and in his death, Saint Laurence bore much fruit for our understanding of what we should value most highly.

One of the seven deacons in Rome during the time of Pope Sixtus the second, Laurence was in charge of distribution of alms to the poor.
In 258, the emperor Valerian put to death numerous priests and deacons. When Pope Sixtus was beheaded in this persecution, the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence surrender to him the riches of the Church.
Lawrence asked the prefect for three days to gather together the church’s wealth. He then worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property as possible to the poor. On the third day he presented himself to the prefect, and when ordered to give up the treasures of the Church, he presented the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffering and said, "Behold the treasures of the Church!"
This act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom on August 10th.
Lawrence defied the oppressive power of his day. In spite of the threat of death he kept his focus on serving Christ and his people. Even though the church lost a deacon it gained encouragement to resist the powers of evil. Laurence is remembered for his courage and his focus on not only serving but also valuing the poor.

Laurence’s life challenges us to ask about our own lives:
Are we clear about our role in caring for the poor and marginalised as the treasures of the church?
Are we prepared to serve and follow Christ even when it may lead us into persecution?

In our times of trial, will we be grains of wheat bearing fruit?

Mary McKillop
In this morning’s reading from 2 Corinthians we heard:
‘The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.’

Emma will now share with us about an Australian woman who sowed bountifully for God amongst the poor and suffering- Blessed Mary McKillop.

Mother Mary MacKillop
On August 8 2009, Christians around the world remembered the life and witness of Mother Mary MacKillop, a woman of Australia who died on this date in 1909. An educator and advocate of children, Mother Mary suffered at the hands of her own church for her convictions about the education of the children committed to her charge. She founded an Australian religious order which was responsible for the establishment of schools, orphanages, and shelters for women. She was beautified by Pope John Paul II in 1995. Today her witness is celebrated by Roman Catholics and beyond, and by the Christian churches of Australia and beyond.


Witnessing to Christ in New Zealand and Australian cultures
In Australia and New Zealand the churches witness to Christ in the context of powerful landscapes and fragile cultures.

In the process of colonisation indigenous cultures have been deliberately wiped out, impoverished, or sidelined. Indigenous people have been persecuted for speaking their languages, holding their beliefs and living in traditional ways. Sacred places have been confiscated and desecrated. The seeds of faith in indigenous cultures were not recognised.

The settler cultures of Australia and New Zealand are fragile too. Colonisation has transplanted European cultures, expectations and religious practices, but left many with shallow roots in both the old world and the new. Systems based on oppressing indigenous people and exploiting Creation have slowly begun to be recognised as unjust and unsustainable.

More than two centuries after it was first introduced by European missionaries, the seed of the Gospel struggles to take root in the hearts and minds of many New Zealanders and Australians.

The fragility of our cultures creates a situation where the demands and values of commerce can override everything else. Commerce threatens to fill the space of culture and religion, and sideline history and shared meaning.

Yet in this context a powerful spiritual yearning still arises. Despite their highly secular worldview and alienation from faith, people want to be part of an heroic and inspiring story, to believe in the kind of self-sacrifice that is displayed in the life of St. Laurence and Blessed Mary McKillop.

ANZAC Day
A challenging opportunity for Christian witness in our countries today is ANZAC day.
A phenomenon has recently arisen where young New Zealanders and Australians are finding meaning and inspiration in the stories of the Australia New Zealand Army Corps, known as the ANZACS.
Joining forces for the World War One battle of Gallipoli on April 25, 1916, the actions of the young men in the Australia New Zealand Army Corps demonstrated the values of courage, loyalty and self-sacrifice that were to form a crucial part of the self-identity of both countries at a crucial stage of their development as nations.
Reclaiming the heroic stories of their forebears, and filled with a desire for identification with the highest values of those who served, young people in their thousands now come forward to honour the sacrifice of those women and men, indigenous and settler who laid down their lives in the First World War and subsequent conflicts.
Although ANZAC day is a national holiday in both countries, for decades most people avoided ANZAC day observances due to concerns about glorifying war, or because they failed to see its relevance.
As Christians how do we engage with the young people who come to church once a year often at dawn and in bad weather for an ANZAC day service?

How can we connect the spiritual yearning that we see on ANZAC day with the lives of St. Laurence and Blessed Mary McKillop and to point people toward Christ?

Conclusion
How can we preach the gospel in these two countries with their myriad indigenous cultures and 200-year-old settler cultures? How can we preach the gospel in places of suppression of indigenous spiritualities and of transplanted Christianity? Where commerce would take priority over everything else?

What we can do is share the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that celebrates Creation, that acknowledges the injustices of colonisation, that honours and challenges our fragile cultures, that connects us with inspiring lives like Laurence and Mary McKillop, in a way that gives us the correct perspective on wealth. We need to remind ourselves that God loves us and that we should love one another.

We can remind people that there is meaning to be found on days other than just ANZAC day. We can invite people to offer their lives not for some military gain for a colonial or imperial power, but to gain life in its fullness. We can show that through the love of Christ and service to others we can discover the true value of life.

To lose your life for your country or for your friends is to lose your life heroically, but to lose your life for Christ is to win something far greater than remembrance or identity, it is to become part of the life of God. Eternal life, God’s unlimited love.

‘The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.’

Collect for St Laurence
Almighty God, you called your deacon Laurence to serve you with deeds of love, and to be a wise steward of the treasures of your church; Grant that we, following his example, may fulfil your commandments by defending and supporting the poor, and by loving you with all our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Amen

An order of morning prayer on Hiroshima Day

Chapel of the Ecumenical Centre
Thursday 06 August 2009
This morning’s prayers are adapted from resources written for the Sixth Assembly of the WCC
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1983

Biblical affirmations
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Hide your face from my sins, O Lord, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, and put a new and right spirit within me. Amen.

For all faiths
O God, we thank you for the wholeness of the human family:
for people of other faiths, and of none, and not only those who are our friends and neighbours.
We thank you for the rich variety of human experience
and the gifts we bring to one another when we meet together in acceptance and love.

Yarabba ssalami amter alayna ssalam. Yarabba ssalami imla’ qulubana ssalam.

We thank you for dialogue in community, and for mutual enrichment and understanding;
for movements to establish and sustain the legitimate religious rights of all persons.

Yarabba ssalami amter alayna ssalam. Yarabba ssalami imla’ qulubana ssalam.

And we pray to you that people of all faiths may enjoy the freedom
to set forth their own conviction with integrity and listen to one another in humility;
that the Christian Church may perform a reconciling ministry in the world,
bearing a true and loving witness to the One whom it calls Lord; in whose name we pray.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy – and grant us peace. Amen.

Exodus 16:31-35 ( Today’s New International Version)
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. [
a] It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.' "
33 So Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to come."
34 As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

A quotation from John Hersey

What has kept the world safe from the bomb since 1945 has not been deterrence, in the sense of fear of specific weapons, so much as it has been memory. The memory of what happened at Hiroshima.
Prayers of intercession
Today marks the 64th anniversary of the bombing with an atomic weapon of Hiroshima, Japan. This week the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle also focuses our attention on Canada and the United States of America. Let us remember the diverse peoples and churches of the North American region as well as the challenges of peace throughout the earth.
Let us pray.
Lord, God of justice and peace, you stand with those who are poor,
you ask us to be the voice of the voiceless;
we call upon you on behalf of those who suffer the injustices of war and greed.
From the depths of our being we cry to you, Lord.
Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.

For those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
Bikini and Enitwetok, Kwajalein and Muroroa,
Fangataufa and Christmas Island, Johnston Island and Monte Bello,
Emu and Maralinga:
For those Pacific people whose precious land and sea
have been ravaged by nuclear explosions.
From the depth of our being we cry to you, Lord.
Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.

For those who are suffering this day from disease, genetic malformation
and the loss of those they love, as a result of nuclear radiation.
May their spirits not be broken by their bodies’ pain.
From the depths of our being we cry to you, Lord.
Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.

For those whose land and sea are today being put at risk
through acts of war, environmental irresponsibility, radioactive pollution,
the dumping of nuclear wastes and the passage of nuclear ships.
May their livelihood and health be preserved and may they live in peace and hope.
From the depths of our being we cry to you, Lord.
Hear our cry, and listen to our prayers.

We pray that your promise of justice may become real to those for whom we pray –
and to those for whom we forget to pray.
May we all be released, to live in love and freedom.
We cry to you, Lord, and – each in our own language – we join our voices in prayer…

The Lord’s Prayer

Closing prayer
Across the barriers that divide race from race…
Reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.
Across the barriers that divide the rich from the poor…
Reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.
Across the barriers that divide people of different faiths…
Reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.
Across the barriers that divide Christians…
Reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.
Across the barriers that divide men and women, young and old…
Reconcile us, O Christ, by your cross.

Confront us, O Christ, with the hidden prejudices and fears
which deny and betray our prayers.
Enable us to see the causes of strife.
Remove from us all false sense of superiority.
Teach us to grow in unity with all God’s children.
In the name of the Triune God we pray, Father, Son and Spirit. Amen.

Morning prayer for the USA and CAnada

Theodore A Gill put together this order for morning prayers which includes a long reading from Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail the extract can be found here.

Wednesday Morning Prayer, Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, 5 August 2009

Opening sentences
O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy never cease,
fresh as the morning and sure as the sunrise.
Let us sing with joy, in praise of our Creator.

Thuma Mina No. 134 – in Latin, 3 times
Laudate omnes gentes, laudate Dominum…

Scripture lesson – Amos 5:18-24

Historical reading – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Excerpts: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.A. 1963

Prayer
Loving God, as the rising sun chases away the night, so you have scattered the power of death
in the rising of Jesus Christ, and you bring us all blessings with him. Especially we thank you for
the community of faith in our church…
those with whom we work and share common concerns…
the splendid diversity of your children…
indications of your love at work in the world…
we thank you for those who demand justice…
those who will not be satisfied with half-measures…
those who work for reconciliation…

Mighty God, with the dawn of your love you reveal your victory over all that would destroy or harm,
and you brighten the lives of all who need you. Especially we pray for
families suffering separation…
people different from ourselves…
those isolated by sickness or sorrow…
the victims of violence or warfare…
agents of caring and relief…
for people of every denomination, religion and belief, and for our dialogue,
and we remember this week our brothers and sisters in Canada and the United States…

Finally, Lord, hear us as we pray, in our own languages, the prayer that Jesus taught…

The Lord’s Prayer

Thuma Mina No. 160 – in Arabic, 2 times
Yarabba ssalami, amter alayna ssalam…

Dismissal
To God be honour and glory, forever and ever.
Amen.
Bless the Lord.
The Lord’s name be praised!