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?”

If you would like to receive the daily prayer and any Uniting in Prayer updates, subscribe to our mailing list.

Day 28: We are sent as one Church, one body in Christ

As you begin today’s prayer, take a moment to be still, to be silent, and to simply breathe. As you breathe in, interiorly say the words: “We are sent as one Church”. As you breathe out, interiorly say the words: “One body in Christ”.

Do this for about three to five breaths. Feel yourself entering a space of peaceful gratitude born of a deep sense of belonging and connectedness to the body in Christ.

Now, hold these intentions from Jesus’ prayer in John 17: “… that they may be one… that they may all be one… that they may become completely one” (NRSVUE).

Use the following prayer prompt, adapting it as you feel led:

Ground of Being, Eternal Logos, Spirit Holy: you have set us apart and you have sent us. Thank you for giving us wisdom, for being with us, and for loving us.

As we go, please help us to be one as you are One, so that your love for us, our love for you, and our love for one another, including friend, neighbour, stranger, and enemy, would bear much fruit in the world.

Now, sit in simplicity, stillness and silence, coming back to your breathing. Finish with these three breath-prayers: breathing in, interiorly say, “One in Christ”, and breathing out, interiorly say, “One in Spirit”.

Go into your day looking for opportunities to share wisdom, presence, and love with those who come across your path.

Rev Craig Bosman
Minister, Margaret River Uniting Church and Rural Resource Minister in Western Australia