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God of travellers, migrants and refugees,
thank you for the beauty and uniqueness of this southern land which we share.
Grant your protection and grace to all who shelter here.
Forgive the racism and destruction that have been part of our history,
and our disregard for the pain and oppression within the Australian community today.
Help us shed our provincial expectations. Take away our cultural tunnel vision.
Open our hearts to be caring neighbours to each other. Amen
Responsive Psalm 123
To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.
Scripture Reading: Joshua 2: 6 – 15
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Reflection Question: How can we ensure that faith in God which is alive and vibrant in one generation is not lost after the death of that generation and its leaders? How do we ensure that faith is preserved?
Prayer of Intercession
Almighty and loving God, you who created all people in your image, as we pray today for the peoples and churches in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, we ask of you to lead them to seek your compassion as they listen to the stories of their past.
Open our ears and hearts we pray.
Loving God, renew faith in the finished work of your Son, Jesus Christ, who died and rose again so that sins will be forgiven.
Open our ears and hearts we pray.
Merciful God, we pray that your people will live in faith believing that all people will rise from the depths of despair and hopelessness.
Open our ears and hearts we pray.
God of compassion, we place before you the pain and anguish of dispossession of land, language, lore, culture, and family kinship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have experienced.
Open our ears and hearts we pray.
May Christ’s love and compassion move your people to understand the depth of the pain and loss of loved ones that have been endured through the separation of children from their families.
Open our ears and hearts we pray.
Forgiving God, hear your people’s cry of repentance as they acknowledge their wrongs, and turn from them and ask forgiveness.
Open our ears and hearts we pray.
Touch the hearts of the broken, homeless and afflicted and by your grace, heal their spirits and bodies.
Open our ears and hearts we pray.
In your mercy and compassion walk with us as we continue our journey of healing to create a future that is just and equitable. Lord, you are our hope.
Open our ears and hearts we pray.
(Pilgrim Prayer, adapted, 201)
Our hope is affirmed as we pray together, each in our own language:
Our Father…
Benediction
Go in peace as those who tread a common way with the Christ;
and may each stone on the road be firm under your feet as God who is our rock,
the winds of the earth wrap you round with the breath of the Spirit.
Amen.
(Pilgrim Prayer, 200)
