Jesus asks

Acts 4:9–10 

If we are questioned today

because of a good deed done

for someone who was sick, 

and are asked how this one was healed,

or why that one was fed,

this one clothed, these ones given

a drink of water; 

if we are questioned today

because of a clear word spoken

for someone who was oppressed,

and asked by what authority,

or why this one needs funding,

or that one to be heard,

these ones seen, those ones given time

and access to support; 

if we are questioned today

because of our forgiveness 

and asked, how could we? 

or why would we? 

If we are questioned

because we do as Jesus asked,

then someone is asking,

someone provoking, a good question. 

May it be so. Amen. 

raised to life

Acts 3:12–19 

Confession 

Dear God;

we have been unjust, unkind, unwilling

to believe you can transform life. 

We have looked at lives transformed

by love, by the invitation to wonder,

and we have dismissed what

makes us feel uncomfortable. 

We are sorry. 

Like the crowd who turned

from their trust in Jesus to save them,

we have not trusted in your mystery;

forgive us our cold hearts,

our reluctance to grow,

our lack of welcome for each other. 

Forgive us when we crucify Jesus 

again with our rejection of each other. 

Forgive us when we let go of your faith,

betray your trust, abandon you in our fear. 

Love, 

your people. 

Assurance of Grace 

To my dear people, 

Thank you for saying sorry. 

Please remember that I raised Jesus from death to life, 

and so I raised you with him: 

get up, now, and live! 

Do not be afraid, but be at peace. 

I forgive you. Always. 

Love, 

God. 

That none will be in need

 

Acts 4:32–35 

prayer for ourselves and the world 

Holy One, we bring our prayer to you,

for ourselves and for the world; or

for ourselves as agents for change in the world. 

We pray that we may be of one heart,

committed to you and your Way of Love. 

Where one has plenty and another

is in need, may we give and receive

with generosity and grace,

that all may have enough. 

May we each, in this priesthood

of all believers, tell the story

of your return to life,

in our living, our words, our love. 

Holy One, we bring our prayer

to you, that none will be in need,

that none will be bound by greed,

that all may have enough – 

that all may have enough, to live,

to truly, fully, live! 

Amen. 

Prayer of honesty and hope

Mark 16:1–2 

Easter Day confession & intercession 

When the Sabbath was over – 

Oh, God, help us to pause, 

to breathe, to focus on you; 

help us find the courage

to stop, to feel – even 

what hurts, even what hopes. 

Help us to hold the moment 

long enough to be there;

help us to stay with you

and with each other, even

in the garden of grief. 

Mary, Mary, and Salome brought spices – 

Oh, God, this is a story 

of women, written out of 

so much of your story, our 

story. So we pray for 

the ones written out of the story

for so long, and now finding

their voice, claiming their place;

and we pray for the ones 

still hidden between the lines,

obscured in the shadows, held

off to the edges, the margins,

the outside. More, we pray

for ourselves to see

as you see, welcome as you

do, and listen to shaking voices

with your message to speak. 

So that they might anoint him – 

Oh, God, how do we honour you,

having come among us

in Jesus, having stood firm

for the Way of Justice and Love

in the face of the fiercest 

persecution? What can we do

to honour that act of love,

of reconciliation, of invitation

back to your Way of Justice,

of Love? Help us to see, 

help us to act, to live, our 

honour for you. 

A prayer for strength and sanctuary

Psalm 68:1–10 

Find your strength in Holy One, 

seek in God a sanctuary. 

Parent to the orphan,
we pray for the orphans in our world,
whose parents were taken by war,
by fire, flood, or famine; whose parents
are lost to drug abuse, or accident, to
illness, or poverty, or fear.

May orphaned ones find strength in Holy One,
may there be for you in God and God's people a sanctuary.

Home to the desolate,
we pray for the homeless on our streets,
the un- and under-employed,
the retrenched, the desperate and afraid;
those sleeping on benches, in cars,
in shelters, tents, cardboard boxes.

May desolate ones find strength in Holy One,
may there be for you in God and God's people a sanctuary.

Restorer of prisoners,
we pray for the imprisoned out of our community,
those immersed in justice systems
sometimes devoid of justice;
those spiralling down cycles of crime,
those reaching for change, education,
opportunity, for hope.

May prisoners find strength in Holy One,
may there be for for you in God and God's people a sanctuary.

Provider for the needy,
we pray for all in need today –
for the ill, the grieving, for isolated,
lonely people, for essential workers,
emergency, defence, health system
employees and volunteers; for teachers,
for leaders, for our families,
our friends and neighbours, and we pray
for ourselves.

[leave a time of silence]

May we find strength in Holy One,
May there be for us all in God and God's people a sanctuary.
Amen.

To the God we do not know

Acts 17:23 

God, we do not know
how you made the earth,
sun, stars, planets, galaxies;
whales, rhinos, ants, butterflies;
us – by speaking love –
yet we trust that you did,
and we are grateful.

God, we do not know
how you maintain patience,
good will, grace, and humour
with our wandering away,
our efforts to replace you –
yet we trust that you do,
and we are grateful.

God, we do not know
how you are with us,
human, Divine, Spirit, flesh;
how we are the body
together that Jesus once was –
yet we trust that you are, we are,
and we are grateful.

God, our God, we do not know
you, but we know ourselves
known by you, and being known,
loved, and being loved, alive!
To our unknown God who
lets us know you enough:
we are grateful for your trust.
Amen.

 

yet they forgive

Acts 7:44–60 

1.

stones tear flesh to death
drunk driver kills her children
fear cuts them, martyrs

2.

Torah gift unkept
Holy Spirit opposed, Christ
betrayed, rejected

When in need

after Psalm 31:1–5, 15–16 

When I retreat,

I look for you,

Sacred Shelter. 

When I need rest,

I come to you,

Holy Home. 

When we are attacked,

we stand under

Wisdom's Wings. 

When we see injustice,

we stand with you,

Merciful Justice. 

When in need,

You are all,

Most Holy One. 

Amen. 

Day by day we grow

Artwork: youth & friends,
Wesley Uniting, Canberra

Acts 2: 42–47 

day by day, grow us together
day by day, moment by moment

grow us in kindness,
as we look for each other,
encourage each other,
remember, celebrate, care
with one another

grow us in generosity
as we share our food
with the hungry, give water
for the thirsty to drink,
offer shelter, spread our wealth
towards those who have not
enough

grow us in trust in you,
as we still ourselves,
as we pray in word
and silence and action,
as we sing, tell your story,
live your Way of Wisdom

day by day, grow us together,
each day with you, each moment one.

Lament and thanksgiving for broken bread

Luke 24:13–35 and Acts 2:36–42
in a time of suspended gatherings 

sarah tells stories · Lament And Thanksgiving For Broken Bread

we cannot ‘break bread’ with others, now,
beyond those in our homes. For many of us,
we cannot ‘break bread’ except alone.
We lament, for there is much we miss
with the seats at our tables empty;
there is much we miss, unable to receive
from others, hospitality.
we lament, feeling the sorrow,
the loss, the emptiness of ‘breaking
bread’ away from the community.

pause

and yet, somehow the empty
tables, empty chairs remind
us of the people who have sat
here, have laughed with us,
have cried, debated, wondered,
with us; for the stories we
shared here, for the food
that nourishes us still,
and the company that will
again; we give thanks
for the phones and tablets,
the satellites and wires that bring
our loved ones to our tables,
though it is not the same,
for now, it is enough, reminds
us to hope for bodies to fill
these chairs again, for tables
to visit again, for company embodied
once more in the ‘breaking bread’
and sharing.

pause

in our sorrow, in our making
do, in our thanks for what has been
and hope for what will be
again, we see you,
Holy Friend, we feel
you, present in our lonely
days, never leaving us
alone: you are with us,
and we will sit with you,
broken bread of life. Amen.

We the devoted

Acts 2:36–42 

bread broken our prayers

speaking our story rising

Spirit our life's breath 

Unprecedented

Acts 2: 22–32 
a prayer of confidence in a time of uncertainty 

in these strangest of days
like nothing we've seen or heard
of before – we remember

we remember strange times
and uncertain seasons,
when the sun burnt too hot
and the snow lay too thick
for life to go on as normal

and we remember:
this, too, shall not last

we remember strange events
and dangerous days,
when tyrants reigned in terror
and wars cut down, cut off
and life was far from normal

and we remember:
love and kindness will overcome

we remember strange portents
and unsettling signs,
when heaven tore open,
when temples fell
and nothing was normal again

and we remember,
you are here with us, as well.

Amen.

After: Life

Matthew 28:1–10 

after they rested
they went to see
after the dark
a new light dawning

after separation
they sought him anew
after the death
a new way dawning

after the earth shook
an angel met them
after the fear
a new hope dawning

after the strange words
they ran they skipped
after despair
new life dawning

after the greeting
a falling holding tight
after all do not fear
I am here

Remembering love and kindness

John 14:8–18 

confession 

Holy One, we love you,
and we have kept your commandments,
and we have also failed to keep
your commandments.
We have misunderstood,
misinterpreted, misapplied,
even the simple foundation
of them all: to love.


Holy One, we believe in you,
and we have received your gift of faith,
and we have not treasured
the gift as we ought.
We have been selfish,
ungrateful, and treated your kindness
with disdain through our cruelty.


Forgive us, please, we pray.

silence 

grace 

Jesus says, 'I am coming to you.
I will not leave you alone.'
In Spirit, in Holy One,
grace comes to us again.
Hear this assurance, and be at peace.
Amen.

As One

John 17:20–26 

Jesus asks on our behalf
that we may be as one;
as Holy Three are three in one,
that we may be with Them;
that the Sacred love and honour
he knows, may even be known by us;
that Love, enduring, will endure,
and keep us in Holy Presence.

Here we are now, gathered as one:
in Holy Presence and Sacred Love,
we bring our worship to God.
Amen.

Ascension blessings

Luke 24:44–53 

Gathering 
We gather in awe and wonder,
hoping to enter your presence again;
we gather to wait on your Spirit,
seeking your blessing, offering our praise.

Sending 
Continue now in the presence of God,
offering praise with joy and gratitude.

May you always know the blessing of Christ,
be ever clothed with the power of the Spirit,
and showered in the promise of our Creator.
Amen.

A prayer for the Earth

after Psalm 67

In our own ways,
people of Earth,
we shall sing our praise
to the Divine.

May the Sacred shine
through us all,
as peace, as joy, as light.

In our own ways,
people of Earth,
we know the Divine
Source of life.

May the Sacred
bless us all,
may we see that gift
in each other.

Amen.

Keep the word of love

John 14:23–29 

an affirmation / commitment to God 

Jesus, we love you;
we celebrate your return
into the Holy Embrace,
the Source of love and life.

Jesus, we hear you,
your word of love and justice,
and we promise to walk
your Way.

Jesus, we thank you;
your blessing and challenge of peace
give us courage and purpose,
to be your peace in the world.

As you are in the Holy Three,
we accept your invitation to join you,
welcomed home, a welcome
we offer to our neighbours
with our love, our peace, our kindness.

Amen.

Psalm 148

Celebrate Holy One,

celebrate from the farthest stars! 

Celebrate Holy One: 

O, angels and saints, celebrate! 

Sun and moon,

comets and constellations,

celebrate, worship, adore

Holy One, Holy Three.

Creator spoke, and there you were, 

created, splendid, beloved. 

All on Earth, celebrate: 

from the sea in its depths,

to the sky, the air itself;

wind, rain, fire, snow,

celebrate, worship, adore

Holy One, Holy Three! 

All the mountains, all the valleys,

fruit trees, eucalypts, shrubs,

animals wild and domestic,

those that crawl and those that fly: 

celebrate, worship, adore

Holy One, Holy Three! 

Humans, too, sing your praises,

old and young, women and men,

everyone in between: 

celebrate, worship, adore,

Holy One, Holy Three! 

For the Holy Name alone is worthy,

Holy One alone is honoured: 

so celebrate, all creation,

celebrate our Holy One! 

(for)given: new life

John 10:22–30 

confession 

Tell us again who you are,
for we have failed to listen.

Show us again who you are,
for we are blind, inattentive.

Call us again, in your voice,
for we tuned in to others.

Jesus, we are stubborn,
slow to learn, and we ask
again: forgive us.


silence 


grace 

Listen, now:
Jesus is Messiah.

Look now,
Jesus is Redeemer.

Hear now,
Jesus calls to us

and we are forgiven,
given new life,
safe in the arms
of God.
Amen.