Closing Uniting in Prayer with thanks

Thursday 22 June marks both the 46^th anniversary of the Uniting Church and the end of Uniting in Prayer. This celebration closes 26 days of intentional prayer across the country during which we have prayed for each other and for our Church in this season of change and renewal.

Uniting in Prayer fell deliberately in the midst of the work of the Act2 Project, offering us a chance to pause in prayer and fellowship before turning to a time of intense discernment about our future which will run from the end of June until the end of November.

Through this time our communities have prayed for each other through a national prayer chain, we have shared daily prayers drawn from people in the Uniting Church and from our faith tradition, held Uniting in Prayer worship services and gathered online to pray together.

How did Uniting in Prayer connect with you?

Did you reach out to your prayer partner or make a connection through the prayer chain? Did a daily prayer resonate with you? Did your community mark Uniting in Prayer in some way? Was there something in particular you or your community prayed for during this time?

We hope to tell some stories about what Uniting in Prayer has meant to us and would love to see any photos you have or to hear from you about how you or your community took part. Please email us: uca.act2@nat.uca.org.au or submit a simple message through the contact form on our website.

Last Thursday 15 June more than 70 people from across the country joined an online national prayer gathering hosted by leaders of the Act2 Project team and the Assembly. It was a wonderful, profound moment of prayer and fellowship as people prayed together for our communities, Uniting Church and world.

As we now close Uniting in Prayer and turn to new tasks in our discernment about the future, you might like to read some of the prayers below that were offered during the prayer gathering.

Together, they are a beautiful expression of what we pray for our Church during this time – that we might give thanks for what we are, that the Spirit might guide us, that our hearts may be open to possibility, that we might hold our hopes and dreams – and our Church – before God in love and hope.

Thank you to all across the Uniting Church who took part in Uniting in Prayer. We’d love to see your photos and hear your stories. Now, watch this space for the launch of the Act2 report and the beginning of a new phase of discernment and imagination as part of this significant national project.

We pray for so many communities of faith who are going through significant times of change. Come Holy Spirit, bring comfort and courage!

Come Holy Spirit - guide and lead us on the way, in your way!

We pray for our local communities of faith, and those who minister to us

Please help us to listen to your Spirit's guiding and enable us to follow boldly where we are being led. May we work together for the sake of your Kingdom

Our discernment about our properties - may our buildings be centres of mission and places of sending

Prayer for the continuing ecumenical heart of the Uniting Church and for joint congregations around Australia

Loving God, we pray for all the Uniting Churches across our land, the lands we call Australia. We pray for your Spirit to move across us and to inspire us, help us to be faithful and prayerful

We pray for the Voice referendum, that it may achieve a new step in recognition, justice and empowerment for our First Peoples

My grandfather was part of the process of Union, and was very strong on the word "uniting" as a process and a goal. I unite my intentions with his and yours that the Church continues to unite us all

We are blessed in your love Lord as we come together, sharing with You our hopes and dreams, handing our lives to You for You know what we are able to do and who we are able to be

Give us your grace as we walk together, seeking your will for the future of our Church

We pray for the Northern Synod and all of its rich and beautiful ministry

For elderly members of our church who have contributed much and are still contributing more

Holy Spirit, go before us, every mind and heart prepare for good news of hope in Jesus

We pray for the Synods meeting in the coming months - for discernment, courage and hope

Prayer for the Sudanese communities within the UCA and broader Australian community

We give thanks for the ministry of Frontier Services

Various upcoming Synod meetings including installations of new moderators, the voice referendum & Congress, those impacted by the Hunter bus crash