Bearers of the light

Mary and John the Baptist, both bearers of the light in different ways.

 

Speak tenderly to my people

The parable of the talents

Readings and a reflection on the parable of the talents.

Seeing the face of God

 A bit of a discussion about Moses, seeing the face of God and what that might mean for us.

It's not too late. A reflection on Exodus 32:1-14 and Philippians 4:1-9

The readings for Ordinary Sunday 28a with a reflection.

(includes a beautiful Archie Roach clip below)

 

Another take on Psalm 19

 

Water from the rock

 

A bit of a reflection on Moses striking the rock.

Our outdoor celebrate Spring service

Apologies for the poor sound quality, particularly with the music. 

 

What is your burning bush? Reflection

 

Spring celebration service

 Dear Friends

This Sunday (Sep 17th) at 10.30am we will be having a special service to celebrate the coming of Spring. Our celebration will be held in our beautiful garden on the lawn so bring a hat or parasol, bring a blanket to lie on if you wish. Also, bring flowers from your garden if you have any.

There will be space for the kids to play so please come, celebrate and relax with us.

The service will be followed by morning tea on the lawn so bring something to share if you are able.

I'm not sure if we will be able to offer the service on zoom but we are having a trial on Saturday and, if we can make it work, we will offer it and let you know the link.

Love and Fear

Jesus and Peter take a stroll on the Lake. Peter has to choose between love .... and fear.

 

Abundance and Compassion

Be ignited or be gone. - a sermon on Matthew 13

 

Divinely known

Divinely known; my take on Psalm 139 

 

A cup of water

 

Where are we from?

 A sermon on Genesis 1.

Pentecost - She sits like a bird

 

Latest Transcend

Our latest transcend is up on the site. Click on the link to the Transcend page above.

You have a place

 A sermon, story and readings for Easter 5A

Autumn Reflections

 

Rainbow flag update

 Rainbow Flag number sixteen stolen at 11.30am today from the Uniting Church by a man wearing a hoodie and face mask. We are Saddened but determined to keep showing this message of inclusion and love. Thank you to those who have been supporting us. 

The Resurrection mystery

Here is a video with excerpts of our Easter day service. Apologies for the poor sound quality for the puppet show, but the rest seems ok. We explore the nature of the need for us to take into ourselves the joy of the resurrection.

 

The symbol of the Cross

 

Letting go of the symbol of the cross may make some sense on a rational level. But on a holistic level its value as a symbol is immense. Its power is its ability to embrace and thereby allow us into the full reality of suffering. Suffering cannot be confined to rationality. The experience of suffering makes no rational sense. The power of the cross as a symbol is that it helps us locate our common predicament in the world—that we experience suffering—in a common experience of God. God is so incarnate with us that God even experiences that which we experience in all its reality. God stands in solidarity with us, born out of love for us.

Kathleen T. Talvacchia

Easter and Holy Week Services

 This Holy week we will have a meditative service on Good Friday at 9am. This is a space in which we sit with the hard questions about violence, death and hatred that confront us and ask about the presence of the Divine in these hard places. 

On Easter Sunday at 10.30am we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and open ourselves to the Hope and promise of new life that is present in the story. This will also be a communion Sunday and a family service.

Ther will be an Easter Egg hunt after the service.
 

Palm Sunday - Gum Tree Sunday

 This Sunday we look at the Palm Sunday story and think about the idea of the procession as a protest rally. We also explore the sense of the mixt feelings associated with this Sunday.

The Rainbow flag up again

 Thank you to all those who helped put up our rainbow flag at Ascot Vale once again. Thanks Rashed, Maddy, Bron and Gregg (from the Dwell community church) and Abi and Tegan. It looks great and is a message of inclusiveness and love.

Spit and Dust - Sermon

This is a different sort of sermon on Matthew's gospel story of Jesus healing of the man born without sight.

Apologies about the fact that this may be a little hard to follow as much of the action is off screen. this is because we read the scripture as drama and shared our feelings about the various aspects of the story. Much of the action is off screen as we only have a fixed camera. hope you find it helpful.

 

Lenten Meditations.

 Rev Gordon will be leading a time of Lenten meditation for the next two Fridays as a lead up to Holy Week and Easter (March 17 and 24). The time will be a quiet reflective space. The meditations will be at 9.30am in the Church peace garden and will go for about 30 minutes. All are welcome.

Sermon - The water of Life. Lent 3a

 

Born again and again, and again

this sunday's sermon for Lent 2a which focusses on the inclusiveness of the Jesus challenge to Nick and the ongoing challenge to us to be bornb again in Love.

 

Adam and Eve - Original Love

 A service and sermon on Adam and Eve, with a focus on original love and the faithful presence of the Divine. Also a statement in solidarity with the LGBTQI community and Pride week.

The Blessing

 

The Rainbow flag

The continuing story of our church’s attempt to show solidarity with the lgbtqi community by flying a pride rainbow flag. 

It has now been torn down at least ten times, stolen 7 of those times, and restored 11 times. The last time it was torn down and torn in two.

So, we have again, purchased a new flag, repositioned the flag a little higher (with me having to deal with a real anxiety about heights) and it flies again! Thanks to Tegan for her help.

While putting up the flag a carful of tradies drove past and honked their horn and then gave us the thumbs up, and others also honked in support. 😀🙏🏻

We believe we have community support. It is certainly in line with the Uniting church’s beliefs on justice and inclusion. 

Importantly, whenever people are subject to bigotry and hatred, people of faith need to stand for love and inclusion above all.

Note: the rainbow flag with brown and black bands is a flag produced to also show solidarity with people of colour.

Ash Wednesday service

 Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday in the Church's calendar. The beginning of Lent leading up to Easter. I will be holding an Ash Wednesday service at 7pm on Wednesday the 22nd of February to mark the day and give a quiet reflective time to begin this sacred season.

If the weather is kind I plan to hold this time in the Peace Garden at the church.

You are Salt

 

An expanded Beatitudes

I found this week on a blog by NADIA BOLZ WEBER, which I particularly loved.

She imagined Jesus here standing among us saying.

 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the agnostics. Blessed are they who doubt. Those who aren’t sure, who can still be surprised. Blessed are they who are spiritually impoverished and therefore not so certain about everything that they no longer take in new information. Blessed are those who have nothing to offer. Blessed are they for whom nothing seems to be working. Blessed are the pre-schoolers who cut in line at communion. Blessed are the poor in spirit. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.

 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

 Blessed are they for whom death is not an abstraction. Blessed are they who have buried their loved ones, for whom tears are as real as an ocean. Blessed are they who have loved enough to know what loss feels like. Blessed are the mothers of the miscarried. Blessed are they who don’t have the luxury of taking things for granted any more. Blessed are they who can’t fall apart because they have to keep it together for everyone else. Blessed are the motherless, the alone, the ones from whom so much has been taken. Blessed are those who “still aren’t over it yet” Blessed are they who laughed again when for so long they thought they never would. Blessed are Jo’s wife and kids and Jim’s mom and Amy’s friends. Blessed are those who mourn. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you

 

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who no one else notices. The kids who sit alone at middle-school lunch tables. The laundry staff at the hospital. The sex-workers and the night shift street sweepers. Blessed are the losers and the babies and the parts of ourselves that are so small. The parts of ourselves that don’t want to make eye contact with a world that only loves the winners. Blessed are the forgotten. Blessed are the closeted. Blessed are the unemployed, the unimpressive, the underrepresented. Blessed are the teens who have to figure out ways to hide the new cuts on their arms. Blessed are the meek. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.

 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

 Blessed are the wrongly accused, the ones who never catch a break, the ones for whom life is hard – for they are those with whom Jesus chose to surround himself. Blessed are those without documentation. Blessed are the ones without lobbyists. Blessed are foster kids and trophy kids and special ed kids and every other kid who just wants to feel safe and loved and never does. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are they who know there has to be more than this. Because they are right.

 

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are those who make terrible business decisions for the sake of people. Blessed are the burnt-out social workers and the over worked teachers and the pro-bono case takers. Blessed are the kids who step between the bullies and the weak. Blessed are they who delete hateful, homophobic comments off their friend’s Facebook page. Blessed are the ones who have received such real grace that they are no longer in the position of ever deciding who the “deserving poor” are. Blessed is everyone who has ever forgiven me when I didn’t deserve it. Blessed are the merciful for they totally get it.

Beginning with a Blessing

 

Steven Oliver from Q&A - ABC

 

A service of mourning and hope

 

A poem for this Sunday

 

Where Does the Temple Begin, Where Does It End? 
By Mary Oliver

There are things you can’t reach. But
you can reach out to them, and all day long.
The wind, the bird flying away. The idea of God.
And it can keep you as busy as anything else, and happier.
The snake slides away; the fish jumps, like a little lily,
out of the water and back in; the goldfinches sing
from the unreachable top of the tree.
I look; morning to night I am never done with looking.
Looking I mean not just standing around, but standing around
as though with your arms open.
And thinking: maybe something will come, some
shining coil of wind,
or a few leaves from any old tree–
they are all in this too.
And now I will tell you the truth.
Everything in the world
comes.
At least, closer.
And, cordially.
Like the nibbling, tinsel-eyed fish; the unlooping snake.
Like goldfinches, little dolls of gold fluttering around the corner of the sky
of God, the blue air.

the gaze of God

 Second Sunday in epiphany with a focus on the Gospel story and seeing.