April 22, 2026
By Matthew Julius, Growing in Faith Circle Panel Member
The National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is starting a new project of “Liturgical Renewal.” The word ‘liturgy’ refers to Christian worship, and is part of the “core business” of the Assembly (alongside doctrine and governance). This project seeks to foster renewal through building shared understanding about how we worship, why we worship, and, most importantly, who we worship.
‘Liturgy’ is often translated as ‘the work of the people.’ The origin of the word is more specifically associated with ‘public works’ (the Greek here is leitos + ergon = leitourgia), originally public monuments like statues or stadiums. Perhaps a better translation of liturgy might be the Church’s ‘public work,’ our task in worship is to make public an encounter with God. This is the beating heart of worship: an encounter with the life-giving God, whose Spirit makes Jesus heard and known.
This project is about celebrating the diverse expressions of worship across our church, which in their own ways help make public an encounter with God. Our hope is to reflect our church’s diversity in how the Assembly speaks about and resources worship into the future.
This has to begin with acknowledging that this hasn’t always been the case. The Assembly’s resourcing of worship has often favoured patterns of worship which emphasise scripted forms of prayer, and more traditional forms of gathering. This approach is understandable: there is so much beauty and wisdom in the ecumenical tradition, and sharing common words and patterns of worship with others is a powerful symbol of unity. (We are still the Uniting Church!) At the same time, the face of the church has changed: the centre of gravity for the church has moved to the Global South, and there are significant movements within contemporary evangelicalism and pentecostalism which are renewing parts of the Uniting Church. These changes challenge us to consider how our worship can continue to be a symbol of unity with new ecumenical partners, without stepping away from long-standing relationships with existing partners.
The Word of God on whom salvation depends is to be heard and known from Scripture appropriated in the worshipping and witnessing life of the Church.” `~ Basis of Union ❡ 5
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you want to get the latest news from the Uniting Church in Australia then subscribe to our weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox.
We are also challenged about whether we have lived up to all of our commitments as a church in how we approach worship: Has our commitment to covenanting and walking together truly changed our Church? Beyond acknowledging Country, have we allowed ourselves to renew our love for the Creator and God’s good creation by listening to the wisdom of First Nations members of our church? And what have we been willing to share in return?
Have we truly lived out our claim that, “We are a multicultural church”? Not simply by offering translations of resources developed from the majority culture centre, but allowing minority culture communities to reshape inherited practice.
Does our commitment to worshipping as a symbol of Christ’s reconciling unity and love for all people truly extend to all? In particular, to those who have historically been excluded from churches, and alienated by inherited language? The last Assembly resolved to commission guidance on “language which welcomes and affirms transgender, gender diverse, and intersex people.” (Assembly Minute 24.21.07) How might our language make public God’s reconciling love for all people?
Our diversity must be seen as an instrument of our unity, because our unity is a proclamation of Jesus: who reconciles all people to God and to one another. Our diversity is not a challenge to our unity, but a gift from God, and that’s where our worship begins: with the life-giving God, the Creator who makes us all unique and who draws us all together.
Whether your community is bound together by a deep connection to Country, drawn from across the moana, or shaped by stories of migration old and new — or maybe your community is “a colourful mess” (to quote the Moderator from my Synod, Rev. Salesi Faupula). Whether your church has organs, guitars, drums, or just voices. Whether the Spirit lingers with you during the week as you craft every word, or the Spirit inspires you with fresh words at the moment you begin to pray. Whether you have always felt welcomed and accepted by our Church, or you have had to struggle to find love and acceptance. Whether your theology is conservative, progressive, evangelical, liberal, pentecostal, liberationist, or something else entirely — or, if we’re honest, a mixture of everything!
Everyone is invited to participate in this project of liturgical renewal, because everyone is invited to worship the life-giving God we meet in Jesus.
Sign up to be involved!
More news from the Assembly
Standing for Justice
Standing for JusticeThe Uniting Church’s Submission to the Racism InquiryBy Michael ZewdieOn 8 May 2026, the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) and the Uniting Church in Australia made a joint submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, which is conducting an inquiry into racism, hatred and violence…
A Weekend of Welcome: The Assembly Pride Circle Gathers for the First Time
By Rev Greer HudsonResponding to both our commitment to being a loving, safe and inclusive Church and the long history of struggle and marginalization of LGBTIQA+ members within the UCA, and guided by resolutions from the 15th,16th and 17th Assemblies, the Assembly Standing Committee resolved to form an Assembly Circle of Interest for LGBTIQA+ members and…
For the Love of Our Neighbours: The UCA's Call to End Fossil Fuels
By UCA minister Rev. Meredith WilliamsThe Uniting Church in Australia has always understood that faith without action is incomplete. Our Assembly Strategy 2026–31 calls us to use our voice and our actions to confront injustice — not just within our own borders, but across the world. Nowhere is that prophetic call more urgent than in…
Breaking Every Yoke: A Reflection from AEYA 2026
Breaking Every Yoke: A Reflection from AEYA 2026By UCA Assembly, Amelia Lavaki and Christian ConolIn May 2026, four young leaders from the Uniting Church in Australia travelled to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to take part in the Fifth Asian Ecumenical Youth Assembly (AEYA 2026) — a gathering of young Christians from across Asia united…
A Reflection on the Life of Rev Professor Dr Jione Havea
By President Rev Charissa SuliAll the Scriptures for this week have resonated with us differently today. As the Uniting Church in Australia, we mourn the passing of Jione Havea—a husband, father, brother, colleague, mentor, theologian, and faithful servant of the Church. There’s something about this moment that feels both heavy and sacred.In Acts, we hear of…
Meet Paul Wallbank
By Michael ZewdieThe Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia is pleased to welcome Mr Paul Wallbank as its incoming National Manager, Media and Communications — a significant appointment as the church continues to deepen its public witness and strengthen how it tells its story to the nation. Paul joins the Assembly from a career that…
Assembly Job Alerts
The Uniting Church in Australia Assembly is recruiting for four senior leadership positions that will shape the national life of the Church for years to come. The roles — Director, Faith & Theology; Director, Identity & Mission; Director, Advocacy & Justice; and Associate General Secretary, Strategy & Governance — each carry significant responsibility for advancing…