Service of Worship
Facing the Drought
12th November 2006
We are thankful for the work of Dorothy McRae-McMahon and the People of the south Sydney Uniting Church whose liturgies are the basis upon which this service is built.
GREETING
FROM THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH SYDNEY UNITING CHURCH TO ALL THOSE WHO SUFFER IN THE DROUGHT:
We are a small congregation in the heart of one of the more struggling places in the city of Sydney. We have few resources to offer to our sisters and brothers in other struggling places, but we would like to give you our liturgy as a sign of our sharing of life with you. We would also like to receive some human stories about life in the drought, if you would send them to us. These stories we would read in our church services and, if
they are sent by Nov 29 in a form suitable for a mainly secular audience, we would print some of them in our paper. This is “The South Sydney Heraldâ€, which is the only local paper for most of South Sydney (Redfern, Waterloo and other suburbs) and is distributed free to 14,000 households each month by community volunteers.
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with you all.
RESPONSE And also with you.
CALL TO WORSHIP
The parched earth cracks and groans under the blazing sun
across the wide land and the trees droop in the hot wind as we search the horizons for clouds and wait for the cooler darkness.
We wait in despair, we wait in hope.
In the midst of the suffering of these days,
we are sharing the truth and power of our life together.
We will find a moment of laughter,
alive in the heart of summer,
we will point to a sign of gentleness,
deep in the centre of harshness,
and the wonder of generosity standing tall,
in a landscape of barren scarcity.
Frail but sure signs that we will not be defeated.
We wait in despair, we wait in hope,
we wait together.
HYMN “How Long O Lord, How Long?†(Tune TIS 234)
How long, 0 Lord, how long?
The ancient cry is ours.
We wait in grief and ask how long
before we feel your powers.
And why, 0 Lord, and why?
We ask with every age
and throw against your distant sky
the force of grief and rage.
The cross, 0 Lord, the cross!
We think upon your son:
you know the weight and edge of loss,
your tears and ours are one.
Your hand, 0 Lord, your hand!
We need your hand to hold,
to walk this dark, uncharted land
where solid meanings fold.
We trust, 0 Lord, we trust
in time our grief shall mend,
transformed by love that shaped our dust,
your love that knows no end.
Thomas H. Troeger (From Borrowed Light)
WELCOME & NOTICES
JOYS AND CONCERNS
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
O God, as we near the season of Advent,
the waiting time,
we confess that there are many things
about our own life and the life of the world
which test our faith in your coming in love.
When the struggle in our own lives overwhelms us:
Come to us in grace, O God.
When we can only think of violence as the path to peace
and our trust in the possibility of human community wears thin:
Come to us in grace, O God.
When we feel that the universe itself is challenging your grace
and your word is hard to find:
Come to us in grace, O God,
for we are your humble people on a hard journey.
Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Nothing can separate us from the love of God,
neither the droughts of the land
or the droughts of the soul.
The Christ will come,
even when there seems to be no room
and no place prepared.
Grace is ours, love will come to us and to all humankind.
RESPONSE Thanks be to God.
The Grieving
The reality which we face together is harsh and painful. Let us name it for what it is by placing on this cloth the signs of our grieving.
(The people come forward and place the symbols of the grieving on the cloth and say what each symbol represents.)
Here lie images of the things which we have lost, things which not only mean our livelihood, but for which we grieve.
Here lie the signs of our suffering, suffering which goes deeply into our hearts and lives.
Let us keep a moment of silence to honour what we have lost.
(A moment of silence is kept.)
The Questioning
As we survey our life,
questions must crowd our minds and hearts.
Let us give voice to those questions now,
questions which we cry out into the universe,
questions which we ask of other people.
(People call out their questions.)
No-one may ever answer our questions,
but it is our right to ask them,
to claim our self-respect,
to give our life its due.
This is a moment of being true to ourselves
and to the reality of this time.
The Weeping Water would relieve this suffering,
but all we have at this moment
is the water of our own tears.
We will place a small bowl of tears
beside these signs of our grieving and loss.
(A small bowl of water is placed.)
These tears will not yet restore us,
but are the signs of the dignity of our mourning.
THE SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALM 13 from ‘Psalms/ Now’
GOSPEL READING Luke 21:25-36
(RESPONSE TO THE READING)
Lord, may your Word dwell in us.
RESPONSE And bear much fruit to your glory.
HYMN “As the sun beats down” As the sun beats down and the heat invades, and creation burns and dries; let us sing to God of a promised hope in the midst of anxious cries.
As the parching winds relentless blow, and creation browns away; let us sing to God, who restores and calms all foreboding and dismay.
As the feed dies back and the stock decline, and creation’s bones show through; let us sing to God of the bread of life, to refresh, restore, renew.
As the silent birds sing a silent song in creation’s still blue sky; let us sing to God of the songs of hope, through a gentle rain’s reply.
As the season comes and the season goes, and we search the skies each day; let us sing to God of a rainbow faith, and a promised green display.
Bill Bennett
ADDRESS “The Old Stories.†(People Share their Stories)
(If the area has had droughts or floods in its history, some people may like to share stories of that, including memories of survival.)
HYMN TIS 647 “Comfort, comfort all my people.â€
Reading or Poem
When the heart
Is cut or cracked or broken
Do not clutch it
Let the wound lie open
Let the wind
From the good old sea blow in
To bathe the wound with salt
And let it sting.
Let a stray dog lick it
Let a bird lean in the hole and sing
A simple song like a tiny bell
And let it ring Leunig
The New Stories
When life is hard,
there are often unexpected moments.
Gifts which arise in tough places from people
who have little,
surprising sharing which did not seem to be there
until we all had less than before.
A sense of community which deepens
in the face of need,
a moment of laughter,
song or dance,
hope which seems to be born
in very vulnerable people or places,
or a tiny sign of hope from the land itself.
Let us name some of those signs
and add a golden ribbon to the other symbols,
a golden glimpse of summer,
to remind us of the hope that already lies here:
The people bring their stories or images of hope and place a yellow ribbon on the table
The Future
We will build our future on what we have here:
on our capacity to face the truth about our life;
on memories of past survivals;
on the strong spirit which shows forth
among the toughest testing;
on gifts from people outside ourselves
and the determined community of hope
which we will keep building here.
HYMN TIS 585 “I heard the voice of Jesus say.â€
OFFERING
OFFERING PRAYER
When life seems hard, we give you thanks for unexpected things: gifts which arise in tough places from people who have little, surprising sharing which did not seem to be there until we all had less than before,
community which deepens in the face of need,
generosity and faith which is born in nothing but hope
and the age-long testimony of your faithfulness.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
O God of hope and bearer of peace,
we remember before you this day
those who most long for love to be born among them
those near to us and those far away:
The people pray
Do not leave us comfortless, O God.
Send to us the signs that the waiting will not be forever.
Point us to the tender greening of new life,
the fragile signs of our survivals,
the small watery trickles of things to come.
Do not leave us comfortless, O God.
Send to us the signs that the waiting will not be forever.
Transform the fires of our burning
into gathered care for all who grieve and suffer loss,
tiny candles lit beside the manger which carries your life.
Do not leave us comfortless, O God.
Send to us the signs that the waiting will not be forever.
Come into our world, Jesus Christ,
come and lead us on into the ways of peace and grace,
come and be the summer of the earth
which brings fruitfulness and the miracle of new life.
Do not leave us comfortless, O God.
Send to us the signs that the waiting will not be forever,
for we pray in faith, Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and forever. AMEN
THE SENDING FORTH OF THE PEOPLE
HYMN “We shall go out with hope of resurrection.” (Tune Meth 809)
1. We shall go out with hope of resurrection.
We shall go out from strength to strength go on.
We shall go out and tell our stories boldly,
Tales of love that will not let us go.
We’ll sing our songs of wrongs that can be righted.
We’ll dream our dreams of hurts that can be healed.
We’ll weave a cloth of all the world united
Within the vision of a Christ who sets us free.
2. We’ll give a voice to those who have not spoken.
We’ll find a word for those whose lips are sealed.
We’ll make the tunes for those who sing no longer,
Vibrating love alive in every heart.
We’ll share our joy with those who still are weeping.
Chant hymns of strength for hearts that break in grief,
We’ll leap and dance the resurrection story
Including all within the circles of our love.
June Boyce-Tillman
BLESSING AND DISMISSAL
Go in trembling hope to point to the signs of love.
Go in peace, for God will not fail us.
And may the star-light of the heavens bring promises each night,
the signs of coming life be near our feet as we walk
and the hand of God reach out in all the earth
for the creation of a new future.
Now let us eat and drink together
and go from here to create the future!
HYMN TIS 779
May the feet of God walk with you
and his hand hold you tight.
May the eye of God rest on you
and his ear hear your cry.
May the smile of God be for you
and his breath give you life.
May the child of God grow in you
and his love bring you home
You Will Need
A red-brown cloth placed on the floor or flowing from a table onto the floor.
Symbols of drought, which people can be invited to bring with them such as a bone of an animal, a handful of dry earth, a bare branch or whatever is typical of your area. Children may bring paintings.
A small bowl of water for the ‘tears’.
Small strips of gold ribbon or thread with safety pins attached in a basket on the table
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