"You alone are my heart's desire"

Day 4 of the 17th Assembly meeting commenced with another session of spirit-filled and thought-provoking worship and teaching.

17th Assembly liturgists Rev Pablo Nunez, Rev Hee Won Chang and Rev Ellie Elia led the ‘Body Prayer’, spoken in Spanish, Korean and English, with symbolic actions to open people to the day ahead. The prayer has become a daily part of Assembly worship. 

“Turning to the day and to each other, we open ourselves to the day and to each other. This is the day the Lord is made and a day we will have to make our way through, whether with ease or pain, with patience or with joy. May we find opportunities for generosity with others and ourselves. May we find moments of encounter woven across cultures and boundaries. May we find gifts of stories and memories even in the most complicated corners of our hearts. May we start again, where we have failed again. May we confess and be confessed to, because this is a way of living that is worth living daily. So be it. Amen.”

The Call to Worship song ‘Into My Heart’ was sung in Spanish and Indonesian. An Acknowledgement of Country was given by Ofa Foiakau. 

Peihan Bu and Rev Vinnie Ravetali read John 4:1-42, the Samaritan woman at the well, the same Scripture reading given at the President’s Installation service.

Rev Dr Bec Lindsay brought the teaching, acknowledging the complex web of pre-existing interpretations of this well-known story. Building upon teaching from previous days, Rev Dr Lindsay highlighted how her own social location led not just to weaving threads of love, but unweaving theologies which are harmful and exclusionary.

“I have a lot of unlearning to do, unweaving of things I take for granted, particularly in my identity as a colonial inheritor in these lands,” she said.

Rev Dr Lindsay recognised the role of the church in perpetuating systems of oppression, rather than dismantling them.

“Our revised Preamble tells us the Church has been and continues to be complicit in maintaining racist hierarchies and controls. The Church’s institution and its structure has a lot of unlearning, a lot of unweaving to do.”

Rev Dr Lindsay encouraged the church to take heed of the mutual transformation depicted in the Scripture passage, as the experience of encounter between Jesus and the unnamed woman at the well breaks down barriers and prejudices.

“Genuine encounter gives a way in, a crack, a crack for the spirit to get inside of, a space between across whose difference dialogue and understanding may grow. This is the invitation the President invites us into, to hold onto the threads of love and unpick the threads which do not bring life.”

Providing a story from her own experience of learning to weave, she reminded members not to be afraid of the imperfect in seeking Jesus.

“Mess is embedded in the stories of scripture, in the stories of our common life and honest negotiation is what can lead to a different future outcome together.”

The Assembly had the opportunity for talanoa around the questions: “Is unpicking/unlearning/unweaving part of the work you are called to? What might that look like?”

Members of the Assembly were invited to “write down something you are hearing or learning in our conversation which feels like a sharp edge or an invitation to cross over boundaries” on threads of teal fabric. These prayers continued to be threaded onto the weaving wheels which have been a crucial symbol of the interconnectedness of the church during the Assembly thus far.

Following the singing of the final song, ‘Tapestry: Weave Us Together’, President Rev Charissa Suli offered a benediction.

“May you continue to drink from the well of life. Do not be afraid to unpick and unweave the toxic threads which keep us away from the business of the meeting. May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be always with you.”

Tim Littleford, Lead Pastor of the Henley campus of Encounter Church in Adelaide, gave a theological reflection in the afternoon to close the day. Concluding in joyful song, members sang, "You are alone are my heart's desire" (from As the deer pants for water).