"Liberating Visible Communities of Courage and Hope"

At our Presbytery [regional meeting] [3] of us on behalf of the organising committee responsible, organised a worship/discussion around this theme from the Presbytery vision statement...

1. Indigenous Acknowledgement [15sec]
Tonight as we begin,
we acknowledge and give our respect to
the traditional owners of the land on which we gather,
who have cared for it since time immemorial.
The Darkinjung people were here at the time Cessnock was established...

2. [3] Voice Call to Worship [2 mins]
Voice [1]
Here in this time and this place
God waits for us to be aware of God’s calling.
God of the anxious and calm alike knows
There are moments of clarity and moments of fear for us all.
How can we participate in liberating communities of courage and hope?
This is our worship. Not a concert or a play, a conversation with God and each other.

Voice [2]
We face difficulty with mixed feelings,
Are we slow to change, aware of the need, uncertain in direction or impatient for action?
We are a people on the way and that way is hard.
Fear can paralyse and it takes courage to act, to move, even in our grieving.
God is in action in the world, inviting us to join in ways small and large.
“It has to be believed to be seen”*

Voice [3]
Our loss of meaning and community is palpable
We need the Spirit of God to lead us
Make space to be a community, seeking to engage in God’s mission
Find ways within your worship and community life, to practice hospitality and grace
Bring reconciliation to all people because “hope only offers when justice is coming”*
We must practice the imagination required to bring on the change*.
*”Window in the Skies “ U2, “Time to Heal” and “Bring on the Change” Midnight Oil

3. Movie Trailer Clip
“Up” Pixar Teaser Trailer [43sec]


4. Prayer [15sec]
Missional God,
Give us the empathy to listen, the tools to imagine and the courage to act,
In the face of change help us be a pilgrim people, on the way…
Amen

5. Song
“The Wood Song” The Indigo Girls [4mins]
Lyrics onscreen



6. Stories of Courage and Hope
[a] Quotes [1min 15sec]

At the National Museum in Canberra,
the ‘Eternity’ display includes windows depicting stories around different emotions including ‘Hope’
and it says,

“To hope is to dream. Of what might or will be.
Of the possible and the mere possible — hope against hope.
To hope is to strive for the best. To build on glimmers of new beginnings.
To hope is to never give up.
To remain expectant, against hopes dashed, disappointments, falsities.
To hope is to believe there is a way.”

Just last week Barack Obama, returned to the theme of ‘hope’ saying,
“I'm not talking about blind optimism,
the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead
or the road blocks that stand in our path.
I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight.

I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence
to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching,
to keep working, to keep fighting.”

[b] Stories on Tables [7 mins]
Stories on ‘some’ tables to be read aloud at a mic by [1] person from the table
1. David
2. Esther
3. Gideon
4. Kylie Sambo
5. Ahn Doh
6. St Nicholas Church, Leipzig


[c] Movie Clip Finish [49 secs]
“Shawshank Redemption” hope


7. TABLE DISCUSSION AND PRAYER [30 mins total until 6.20 or 6.25]

[a] Introduce the table discussion around how we live out the Presbytery Vision re:
‘liberating communities of courage and hope’

[b] Questions Discussion at Tables
Outcomes pinned up on wall

[c] Prayer at Table Groups
Maz explains Prayer Activity writing on paper squares/mix/pick and pray at tables

8. SENDING OUT by 6.30pm [9mins]

Only if time allows
“Stuck” storybook [4 mins]

FINISH with Communal Song [4mins]
“Holy Words Long Preserved” Lyrics on DVD