The following service can be used on Sunday 26th January to recognise the history of this country and to instigate the healing of hearts for all.
Permission is given for non-commercial use in worship and similar events.
Processional Hymn:
Acknowledgement of Country:
Today, as we gather to worship,
we acknowledge the (insert local traditional owners and /or language group,)
who are and always will be
the sovereign custodians of this place.
we acknowledge the (insert local traditional owners and /or language group,)
who are and always will be
the sovereign custodians of this place.
We acknowledge that through this land,
the First Peoples were nurtured and sustained
by the Spirit alive in this place,
and in a spirit of responsibility and reciprocity,
they cared for it.
the First Peoples were nurtured and sustained
by the Spirit alive in this place,
and in a spirit of responsibility and reciprocity,
they cared for it.
We honour them for their custodianshipof the land on which we gather today.
We acknowledge that the First Peoples
already had a sophisticated understanding
of the Great Creator Spirit
before the arrival of the colonisers;
this Spirit was already in the land,revealing the Way to be on countrythrough law, language, custom and ceremony.
already had a sophisticated understanding
of the Great Creator Spirit
before the arrival of the colonisers;
this Spirit was already in the land,revealing the Way to be on countrythrough law, language, custom and ceremony.
We acknowledge that this understanding resembles
the love and grace
that was revealed in Jesus Christ,
and that it sustained the First Peoples
and gave them particular insights into God’s ways:
and so we rejoicein the hope of reconciliationfound in the good news about Jesus the Christ, our Elder.
the love and grace
that was revealed in Jesus Christ,
and that it sustained the First Peoples
and gave them particular insights into God’s ways:
and so we rejoicein the hope of reconciliationfound in the good news about Jesus the Christ, our Elder.
Acclamation:
Blessed be God, the Great Creator Being.
Blessed be God, the Breath of All, the Wisdom behind the Dreaming and the Way of Reconciliation and Healing.
Call to Worship:
Our land is alive with the glory of God;
desert sands hum and gum trees dance.
desert sands hum and gum trees dance.
Brown grasses sing
and mountains breathe their stillness.
and mountains breathe their stillness.
All created things add their rhythms of delight
and even stones rap out their praise.
and even stones rap out their praise.
Let our voices mingle with those of the earth;
may our hearts join the beat of her joy,
may our hearts join the beat of her joy,
for our triune God is with us:
the Source of all being surrounds and upholds us.Christ Jesus walks beside and before us.The Spirit moves within and between us.Blessed be God, our wonder and delight.
the Source of all being surrounds and upholds us.Christ Jesus walks beside and before us.The Spirit moves within and between us.Blessed be God, our wonder and delight.
Full text available here.
Acknowledgement: This service if the work of Glenn Loughrey. He has worked with young people and their families for over 30 years in various fields. He’s currently a Vicar at St Oswald’s Anglican Church, Glen Iris in Melbourne, Australia.
He’s greatly interested in the work of Thomas Merton and his impact on the 20th century. He is an indigenous man with a particular interest in indigenous issues and spirituality.
Also he is an artist — Learn more at glennloughrey.com
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