In this time of (political) turmoil
This time of joy and dejection
Of half-truths and false accusations
In this time of unspoken desires
And unexpressed joy
In this time of changing allegiances
And of new optimism
In a time when those who remain silent
Are overtaken by the vociferous
When what’s in it for me
Is often the guiding principle
When it is difficult to know
What is right
What is good
What is true
What is trustworthy
When we look at our neighbours with suspicion
When we choose our words carefully to avoid hurt or anger
In this time of turmoil in our community
And in the land we hold dear
Let us pray for this country that we love
And for its people
Let us pray for [Our] Rolling Brown Land
Lord God,
your Spirit has moved over the face of Australia,
and formed from its dust a rolling brown land.
Your Spirit has moved over its warm tropical waters
and created a rich diversity of life.
Your Spirit has moved in the lives
or men, and women, and children,
and given them, from the dreamtime,
an affinity with their lands and waters.
Your Spirit has moved in pilgrim people
and brought them to a place of freedom and plenty.
Your Spirit moves still today
in sprawling, high rise cities,
in the vast distances of the outback,
and in the ethnic diversity of the Australian people.
Lord God,
in the midst of this varied huddle of humanity
you have set your church.
Give us, the people you have so richly blessed,
a commitment to justice and peace for all nations;
and a vision of righteousness
and equality for all people in our own country.
Help us to look beyond our far horizons
to see our neighbours in their many guises,
so that we may be mutually enriched by our differences.
and may our love and compassion for all people on earth
be as wide and varied as our land
and as constant as the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
[Douglass McKenzie, Uniting in Worship, Peoples Book p. 240]
T4P 27th June 2013 Lesley Shaw