pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au

19-25 October 2026

This year GambleAware Week focuses on reducing the stigma associated with gambling harm by making an often-hidden issue more visible and encouraging open conversations.

(just beginning to create a list of music that could be used for World Communion Sunday)

Consider incorporating music and hymns from various cultures and traditions from our global Christian community, with diverse expressions of faith through song​​.

One world, one communion (Pepper Choplin) – Youtube

In Christ there is no east or west

Note: This has been prepared to acknowledge the one year anniversary of the 2025 Bondi Beach tragedy, an antisemitic attack aimed at Jewish Australians.

God of every life held precious,
On this day we remember the people killed in the attacks of 7 October, those taken hostage, and the families and communities whose lives were torn apart. We hold in tenderness Jewish people in Israel and around the world for whom this date carries grief, fear and painful memory.
We bring before you, too, the people of Gaza, whose suffering has grown beyond words: children killed, families shattered, homes and places of care destroyed, and a people subjected to displacement, hunger and the denial of what is needed for life. We grieve every life taken, and the lives still endangered.
God of justice, do not let our remembrance end with sorrow alone. Keep us from hatred, from indifference, and from the belief that one people’s safety can be secured through another people’s destruction. Give courage to all who protect life, speak truth and work to end the violence. Move those with power to act for justice, accountability and a peace in which Palestinians and Israelis alike can live in freedom and safety.
Loving God,
receive the grief we cannot contain,
hear the cries we must not turn away from,
and lead us into the work of peace.
We long for the day when “righteousness and peace will embrace” (Psalm 85:10).
Amen.

National Police Remembrance Day – 29 September (annual)

A day to remember police officers who have died in the line of duty or as a result of their duties. We honour their lives and service, and hold their families, friends and colleagues in our thoughts and prayers.

The First Bowl (1949): Rev. Frank Byatt looked at his family’s abundant Christmas dinner table in Victoria and contrasted it with the millions of refugees still hungry and displaced in post-WWII Europe. He placed an empty “Bowl of Remembrance” on his table and asked his congregation (now Williamstown Uniting Church) to do the same, filling it with gifts for people in desperate need. 
Insights magazine article on Rev Frank Byatt and Christmas Bowl.

(for people outside of Australia, this could easily be adapted for special projects the congregation wishes to support in the spirit of Rev Frank Byatt’s initial focus on refugees hungry and displaced, and those in desperate need)

Karl Barth, the influential twentieth-century Swiss Protestant theologian, is often remembered for his advice to preachers: “Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both.”

On the Spring Equinox we experience a balance of the daylight and the night-time, equal amounts of light and dark on the same day. It also marks the moment in time when the light begins to grow more and more each day. The time of year when the light over takes the darkness of our days and the energy increases toward our personal growth and expansion.
The spring equinox offers a beautiful moment within the Season of Creation – not simply as a celebration of spring, but as an opportunity to notice the rhythms of Earth, the balance of light and darkness, and the renewal that is already happening around us. Spiritually, it asks us to balance the opposing forces within ourselves – such as work and rest, or logic and emotion.

17 September is the feast of Hildegard of Bingen, Abbess, 1179.
In 2026, the following Sunday is 20 September, which begins the third week of the 2026 Season of Creation, whose theme is Living Water. It is also the beginning of the WCC’s World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel (20–26 September), which this year focuses particularly on the protection of children. 

This week we remember Hildegard of Bingen, a woman of extraordinary vision who lived nearly a thousand years ago. Hildegard saw creation not as something separate from God, nor as something placed here simply for human use, but as alive with the life of God. She spoke of the greening power of God — the divine vitality that makes the earth fruitful and human lives flourish.
Today, as we enter the third week of the Season of Creation, we hear the biblical vision of living water bringing healing to the earth. And as the World Council of Churches begins its Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, we are reminded again that God’s desire is for life to flourish — for the earth, for communities, and especially for children.
Perhaps Hildegard’s vision gives us a way of holding these things together: creation, water, healing, justice and peace. Wherever God’s life is being denied, we are called not simply to look on, but to become part of the healing.

Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was a Benedictine abbess, theologian, visionary, composer, writer, healer and preacher. She lived in the Rhineland in what is now Germany and became an extraordinary voice in the medieval Church. She was also a woman who refused to stay in the narrow place her society might have assigned her. She wrote to popes, bishops, emperors and other church leaders; preached publicly; founded communities; composed music; and wrote extensively about God, creation, humanity and the natural world.

She was formally recognised as a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, and her feast was added to the Roman Catholic General Calendar in 2021. 

Hildegard’s understood creation as alive with God’s presence. One of her great images is viriditas — usually translated as greenness, greening power or vitality. It is the life-giving power of God which makes creation fruitful and makes human beings spiritually alive.

For Hildegard, water, greenness, fruitfulness and the Holy Spirit belong together. The opposite of this vitality is dryness— something that can describe both a landscape and a human soul.

This imagery sits extraordinarily well beside Ezekiel’s vision of water flowing from the temple, bringing life to places that were dead. The WCC describes the 2026 Season of Creation precisely in these terms: the water of Ezekiel 47 heals and renews land, waters, ecosystems and human responsibility. 

Hildegard’s vision isn’t simply “God made a beautiful world, so let’s appreciate nature.” Her theology is much more dynamic. Life is meant to flourish. So when creation is damaged, when people are deprived of water, when children are killed or traumatised, when communities are displaced, when violence destroys homes and land — something of God’s viriditas is being denied.

That makes the connection with Palestine and Israel quite natural. The WCC’s 2026 Peace Week specifically asks churches to focus on children – children who have been killed, orphaned, traumatised and frightened – and reminds us that children are gifts entrusted to our protection. 

God’s living water brings healing to creation
God desires life to flourish
Therefore we pray for those whose lives, homes, land and futures have been devastated by violence.

A Hildegard prayer for the service
One particularly beautiful passage from her Symphonia begins with her address to “noble greenness” — O nobilissima viriditas. It connects greenness with light, divine mystery and life. 

Prayer for Living Water (inspired by Hildegard)
God of living water,
source of all life,
you breathe your Spirit into creation
and the earth becomes green with life.
You make the rivers flow,
the seeds germinate,
the trees bear fruit,
and the earth renew itself.
As Hildegard saw,
your life-giving power is within all that lives.
Where there is dryness, bring water.
Where there is barrenness, bring new life.
Where there is sickness, bring healing.
Where there is despair, bring hope.
We pray for the waters of our world:
for rivers polluted and seas rising,
for communities without safe water,
for creatures whose habitats are disappearing,
and for all who suffer because creation is wounded.
And we pray for the Holy Land.
Let your living water flow
where there is war and violence,
where homes have been destroyed,
where families have been divided,
where children live with fear
and where hope has been crushed.
Protect the children of Palestine and Israel.
Hold those who grieve.
Heal those who are wounded in body and spirit.
Give courage to those who work for peace.
Turn our hearts away from violence
and towards the flourishing of life.
May your Spirit make us green again –
alive with compassion,
alive with courage,
alive with justice,
alive with peace.
God of all creation,
make us part of the river of your healing. Amen.

A shorter prayer of intercession for Creation and Peace
God of living water,
we pray for your creation.
Where the earth is dry,
bring refreshment.
Where waters are polluted,
bring cleansing.
Where creation is damaged,
give us wisdom and courage to restore it.
Where people are displaced by drought, flood, hunger or war,
bring safety and hope.
We pray especially for the children of Palestine and Israel.
For children who have lost parents, homes, schools and communities;
for children living with fear and trauma;
for children whose futures have been taken from them.
Protect them, O God.
Give wisdom to those who hold power.
Give courage to those who work for peace.
Give strength to those who care for the wounded and displaced.
And make us people who do not simply pray for peace,
but become people of peace.
Let your living water flow
until justice and mercy flourish,
until creation is healed,
and until every child can live without fear. Amen.

There is a lovely little phrase from Hildegard that could become the refrain throughout the service: “O noble greenness…” It could be used responsively:
Leader: God of living water, renew your creation.
All: Make the earth green with your life.
Leader: Where the earth is wounded, bring healing.
All: Make the earth green with your life.
Leader: Where people are wounded by violence, bring peace.
All: Make the earth green with your life.
Leader: Where children live in fear, bring safety and hope.
All: Make the earth green with your life.

Prayers of Who We Are — Living Water, Healing and Peace
God of living water,
God of all that grows and breathes,
we come before you as your people.
We are people who thirst.
We thirst for water,
for nourishment,
for a world in which the rivers run clean
and the earth can breathe.
We thirst for justice,
for mercy,
for a world in which no one is forgotten
and no community is left without what it needs to live.
And we thirst for peace.
God of living water,
meet us in our thirst.
We are people who sometimes become dry.
Dry in spirit.
Dry in hope.
Dry from weariness, disappointment or grief.
Sometimes the hurts we carry
make it difficult for anything new to grow.
Sometimes fear closes our hearts.
Sometimes anger takes root.
Sometimes we lose the courage to believe
that things can be different.
Yet Hildegard of Bingen spoke of the greening power of God —
the life that flows through creation,
bringing growth, fruitfulness and renewal.
God of life,
let your Spirit green what has become dry within us.
Where there is weariness,
bring new strength.
Where there is despair,
plant hope.
Where there is bitterness,
make room for compassion.
Where there is fear,
give us courage.
We are people who are part of creation.
We confess that we have not always cared well
for the gift entrusted to us.
We have taken more than we need.
We have polluted waters.
We have damaged habitats.
We have treated the earth as though it were ours
rather than a gift we share with all living things.
Forgive us.
Teach us again to live gently upon the earth.
May we learn to see the rivers,
the forests,
the oceans,
the creatures and the soil
not simply as resources for our use,
but as part of the community of creation
of which we are members.
God of creation,
make us part of the river of your healing.
We are also people who know that creation
and human suffering cannot be separated.
So we pray for places where the waters of life
have been replaced by the violence of war.
For Palestine and Israel.
For those who have been killed.
For those who have been injured.
For those who have lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones.
For those who live with fear and uncertainty.
And especially today,
we pray for children.
For children who have lost parents.
For children who have lost homes and schools.
For children who have been wounded in body or spirit.
For children who have learned fear
when they should have been learning to play.
Protect the children of Palestine and Israel.
Protect every child caught in war.
May no child be regarded as expendable.
May no child’s suffering become invisible.
May no child’s future be sacrificed to violence.
God of compassion,
hold your children close.
We pray for those who work for peace.
For those who refuse hatred.
For those who cross boundaries to listen.
For those who tend the wounded.
For those who feed the hungry.
For those who shelter the displaced.
For those who speak when silence would be easier.
Give courage to peacemakers.
Give wisdom to leaders.
Give strength to those who are exhausted.
And soften the hearts of those who hold power,
that they may choose life rather than destruction,
justice rather than vengeance,
and reconciliation rather than hatred.
God of peace,
let your living water flow through places of conflict.
And we pray for ourselves.
For the places in our own lives
where healing is needed.
For relationships that have become difficult.
For words spoken that cannot be taken back.
For wounds we have caused
and wounds we still carry.
For the courage to say,
“I was wrong.”
For the grace to say,
“I am sorry.”
For the wisdom to know
when reconciliation is possible
and the strength to work towards it.
For the humility to seek forgiveness
and the generosity to offer it.
God of healing,
make us people through whom your life can flow.
God of living water,
You call us not simply to stand beside the river
and admire its beauty.
You call us to step into the water.
To become part of your healing.
To care for the earth.
To protect the vulnerable.
To seek justice.
To make peace.
To nurture hope.
May your life-giving Spirit
flow through us and beyond us,
until what is dry begins to flourish,
until what is broken begins to heal,
until what is divided begins to find a way together,
and until all your children
can live in safety, dignity and peace. Amen.

There is a movement through the prayer:
thirst → dryness → creation → suffering → children → peace → personal healing → vocation.

One possible very simple congregational refrain throughout the prayers could be:
God of living water,
Make us part of your healing.

Communion Liturgy: Living Water
For Season of Creation 2026 — Ezekiel 47:1–12

Invitation to the Table
Jesus said: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,
and let the one who believes in me drink.”
Come to this table,
you who thirst for justice,
you who long for healing,
you who grieve the wounds of Earth,
and you who hope for the renewal of all things.
Come, not because we stand apart from creation,
but because we belong within it:
formed from Earth,
sustained by water,
dependent upon the life of one another.
Here, ordinary gifts of Earth –
bread from the grain,
wine from the fruit of the vine –
become signs of grace:
Christ’s life given for the life of the world.
This is Christ’s table.
All who hunger for life in its fullness are welcome.

Song: Feed us now
Feed us now, Bread of life,
in this holy meal;
let us know your love anew:
we hunger for you.
Feed us now, Bread of life,
come and live within;
let your peace be ours today,
Lord Jesus, we pray.

Piece of bread, glass of wine:
Lord, this food is good;
love and mercy come to us —
your promise we trust.
Piece of bread, glass of wine;
who can understand
how his mercy works in these?
Yet, Lord, we believe.

God is here, O so near,
nearer than our thoughts.
Stay with us where’er we go;
Lord, help us to grow.
God is here, O so near,
in this heaven’s meal.
May we always feed on you —
on the bread that is true.
(Words: Robin Mann 1976)

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
God is here.
God’s Spirit is among us.
Lift up your hearts.
We open our hearts to God.
Let us give thanks to the God of creation.
It is right to offer our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right to give you thanks,
God of overflowing life.
In the beginning,
your Spirit moved over the face of the waters.
You called forth seas and rivers,
cloud and rain,
spring and snowfield.
Through water you sustain every living thing.
Water rises through roots,
flows through bodies,
gathers communities
and connects mountain, plain and ocean
in one intricate communion of life.
Through the prophets
you revealed your longing for renewal.
You gave Ezekiel a vision
of water flowing from the temple—
first at the ankles,
then at the knees,
then at the waist,
until it became a river
deep enough to swim in.
Where the river flowed,
barren land came alive.
Wounded waters were healed.
Creatures flourished.
Trees grew on either bank,
bearing fruit for food
and leaves for healing.
In this vision,
you show us that your holiness
does not remain enclosed within the sanctuary.
It flows outward –
towards damaged places,
towards threatened creatures,
towards communities longing for life.
You call us not merely to stand
at the edge of this river
and admire its beauty,
but to enter its deep waters:
to relinquish the illusion of control,
to be carried by your grace
and to become participants
in the renewal of creation.
When we had forgotten
that we belonged to Earth,
you came among us in Jesus Christ.
The eternal Word became flesh—
Earth-born, water-borne,
carried within Mary’s body,
born among creatures,
nourished by the fruits of the land.
Jesus entered the waters of baptism.
He crossed lakes and calmed storms.
He sat beside wells
and offered living water to the thirsty.
He noticed seeds and soil,
birds and lilies, rain and harvest,
and taught us to recognise
the reign of God within the living world.
In Jesus, God did not love humanity
from a distance, but became part of Earth’s story –
sharing the vulnerability of creaturely life,
suffering the violence of human power
and revealing that no wound,
no grief and no part of creation
is beyond the reach of your love.
Therefore, with the rivers and oceans,
with wetlands and waterfalls,
with rainforests and grasslands,
with creatures of land, sea and sky,
with ancestors and generations yet to come,
we join creation’s unending song:
Holy, holy, holy God,
source of life and breath;
Earth and sea and sky
are filled with your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One
who comes in the name of peace.
Hosanna in the highest.

The Institution
On the night before he died,
Jesus gathered with his friends at a table.
He took bread –
fruit of the Earth
and work of human hands.
He gave thanks, broke it
and gave it to them, saying:
“Take and eat
This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
After supper, he took the cup –
fruit of the vine
and work of human hands.
Again he gave thanks
and shared it with them, saying:
“Drink from this, all of you.
This cup is the new covenant in my life,
poured out for you and for many
for the healing of the world.
Whenever you drink it,
do this in remembrance of me.”

Memorial Acclamation
Let us proclaim the mystery at the heart of our faith.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

In Christ, all things are held together.
In Christ, creation is being renewed.

Prayer for the bread and wine
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon these gifts of bread and wine.
As rain falls upon thirsty ground,
as rivers renew the land,
may your Spirit flow among us.
Make this bread and this cup
a communion in the body and life of Christ.
Make us one with Christ,
one with each other
and one with the whole creation
for which Christ lived and died. Amen.

Breaking of the Bread
The bread we break
is a sharing in the body of Christ:
the Word who became flesh
and made a home within creation.

The cup we share
is a sharing in the life of Christ:
grace flowing like a river
for the healing of the world.

The gifts of God
for the people of God
and for the life of the world.

Come, for all is ready.

Prayer After Communion
God of bread and river,
we thank you for meeting us at this table.
You have nourished us
with gifts of Earth
and renewed us in the life of Christ.
Send us now as people of the river.
Where hope has run dry,
may we become channels
of your renewing love.
For the river of God is flowing,
and wherever it flows,
everything can live. Thanks be to God. Amen.

(Source: Rev Sandy Boyce)