Uniting in Prayer is an invitation for the whole Church to slow down, listen deeply to God, and reconnect with one another across cultures, communities and distances.

From Pentecost Sunday on 24 May to the 49th Anniversary of the Uniting Church in Australia on 22 June, we are embarking on a shared season of national prayer.

Over these 30 days, 30 voices from across the Church will come together. Each day, a new voice will lead us in praying as one body around a single, unifying question: “What does it mean to be woven together in Christ's love across cultures and boundaries?”

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Day 25: The weaving of your grace

God of justice and mercy,
Before we were one Church,
before our stories were woven together,
your Spirit was already at work,
stitching grace through this ancient land,
breathing hope into fragile hearts,
calling your people to walk in the way of Christ.

We thank you for the threads entrusted to us.

Threads of courage,
woven by those who dreamed of a Church
that would serve rather than be served.

Threads of justice,
carried by those who challenged inequality,
spoke truth in difficult times,
and stood alongside those pushed to the margins.

Threads of reconciliation,
woven through encounters of listening and learning,
through truth-telling and repentance,
through the long and holy work
of walking together with First Peoples.

Threads of welcome,
stretching across oceans and generations,
gathering many cultures, languages and traditions
into one household of faith.

And threads of compassion,
quietly woven every day:
in prayers whispered beside hospital beds,
in meals shared, in hands extended,
in communities rebuilt,
in strangers welcomed as neighbours.

Yet still the weaving continues.
Where the fabric of our common life is torn,
teach us the art of mending.
Where fear would unravel hope,
strengthen our resolve.

Where injustice scars your creation,
make us bearers of your healing.
Where division hardens hearts,
teach us again the pattern of your peace.

Keep us faithful to the vision you have set before us:
to live as a fellowship of reconciliation,
to seek justice, to embody Christ's love,
and to join your work in the world.
For we are not the makers of the tapestry,
but threads held in your hands.

And so we place ourselves once more
into the weaving of your grace;
through Jesus Christ,
whose love binds us together,
and through the Spirit,
who never ceases to create, renew and restore.

Amen.

Rev Sandy Boyce
Uniting Church Minister and Executive Officer of the Victorian Council of Churches