Order of Service – 4th October 2026

God welcomes all, strangers and friends;

God’s love is strong and it never ends.

(repeat)

The Great Composer has written a song upon the earth.

We come to listen for our place in the melody.

The Vineyard-Maker has planted seeds of justice and joy.

We come to bear good fruit.

Though we have sometimes lost the rhythm,

God’s music of love continues.

Come, let us join the song of God’s relentless love.

Let us worship God.

God of the soil and the sun,

you have planted us in a world of beauty and abundance.

We thank you for the air we breathe,

the ground beneath us,

and the music of creation that hums in our hearts.

Help us to feel the earth beneath our feet

and your Spirit within us,

reminding us that we belong to you

and to each other.

Amen.

Gentle God,

we confess that we have not always lived in tune with your love.

We have tried to own what was meant to be shared.

We have ignored the voices calling us back to justice and peace.

For those times we have chosen anger, greed, or fear,

when you have called us to bear the fruit of your reign,

forgive us, and lead us again, O God.

When our lives become a clashing dissonance

against your mercy and truth,

tune our hearts again to Christ.

A moment of silent reflection.

God does not throw away the sheet music when we miss a note.

In mercy, God gathers us back into the song.

In Christ, the melody of love is restored.

We are forgiven, we are loved,

and we are invited back into the harmony of God’s grace.

Thanks be to God!

The peace of our God be with you.

And also with you.

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The children are invited to sit with their families.

May God be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts!

We lift them up to our God.

Let us give thanks to God our Creator.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

With all the faithful of every time and place,

we sing your praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy God –

God of power and might.

Heaven and earth are full –

are full of your glory.

(repeat)

Blessed is the one who comes –

in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest

Hosanna in the highest

Hosanna in the highest

Hosanna in the highest

As your people, we give thanks.

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

all glory and honor are yours, almighty God,

now and forever. Amen

We break this bread

and take this cup

so that we can all share in the life of Christ.

The gifts of God for the people of God.

Children and Young People may go downstairs for Sunday School and Youth. Parents, you are welcome to join your young children in Sunday School if you feel they may need your assistance. Alternatively, you may wish for your child to remain with you for the duration of worship. Activity packs are available at the entrances.

I will sing for my beloved

my love song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

He dug it and cleared it of stones

and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it

and hewed out a wine vat in it;

he expected it to yield grapes,

but it yielded rotten grapes.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem

and people of Judah,

judge between me

and my vineyard.

What more was there to do for my vineyard

that I have not done in it?

When I expected it to yield grapes,

why did it yield rotten grapes?

And now I will tell you

what I will do to my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge,

and it shall be devoured;

I will break down its wall,

and it shall be trampled down.

I will make it a wasteland;

it shall not be pruned or hoed,

and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;

I will also command the clouds

that they rain no rain upon it.

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts

is the house of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are his cherished garden;

he expected justice

but saw bloodshed;

righteousness

but heard a cry!

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went away. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them in the same way. Then he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

’The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is amazing in our eyes’?

“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces its fruits. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

For the Word of God beyond us,

for the Word of God among us,

for the Word of God within us,

Thanks be to God.

We pray for the earth, our shared garden,

that we might learn to walk lightly,

tending it with gentleness instead of greed,

and sing its praises through our care.

God, hear our prayer.

We pray for those who have been rejected, overlooked, or pushed aside:

those who are lonely, unhoused, unheard,

or made to feel they do not belong.

May they find honour, welcome, and community,

and hear the humming of your love.

God, hear our prayer.

We pray for those entrusted with power—

leaders, teaches, decision-makers, and communities like ours—

that we may steward what has been given

with humility, courage, and care for the vulnerable.

God, hear our prayer.

We pray for those on our hearts this day…

(a time of silence)

Help us to join your beautiful love song, O God.

Amen.

To give electronically please go to bpuc.org/give

Alternatively, there is an offering bowl near the lectern on the left-hand side as you exit the church.

God, we bring back a small part of what you have given us—

everything we have is a gift, and every gift belongs within your song of love.

May these offerings become food for the hungry and hope for the lonely,

and welcome for those who have been pushed aside.

Use what we give to show the world that your vineyard is open to everyone.

Amen.

Go out now as people tuned to the reign of God.

Listen for the rhythm of justice in the streets.

Look for the fruit of the Spirit in your neighbours.

May the God who plants and tends,

Christ the cornerstone of love,

and the Spirit who breathes the music through all creation,

keep you in perfect harmony, now and forever.

Go in peace.

Amen

Go now in peace, go now in peace,

may the love of God surround you

everywhere, everywhere you may go.

Thank you for joining us for worship!
If you would like to get in touch or request a prayer, please make use of the Contact Cards in the pews and next to the Offering Bowl. Alternately, you can email our Minister, Rev Linda Driver: lindad@bpuc.org

This service has been prepared with assistance from


Liturgy, Learning, & (Purposeful) Life (L3)
Rev Jesse Size. © 2026, Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of South Australia

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition (NRSVUE). Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Photo by Rev Linda Driver. Taken in Brda, Slovenia.

Congregation Hymns/Songs:


God Welcomes All
Text: John L. Bell, 2008 Music: South African song; transc. John L. Bell, 2008. Text and music transcr. © 2008 WGRG, Iona Community (admin GIA Publications, Inc)

Let All Creation Dance
Together in Song 187. Brian Arthur Wren 1936- based on Psalm 148. Words © 1991 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved.

Sanctus
One Licence #23807 Music by John L. Bell © 1995 WGRG, Iona Community. Glasgow G51 3UU Scotland

Touch the Earth Lightly
Together in Song 668 Shirley Erena Murray 1931- Words Shirley Erena Murray, Music: Colin Gibson. Words & Music © 1992 By Hope Publishing Co., Carol Street, IL60188. All rights reserved.

God Gives Us a Future
Together in Song 687. Elizabeth J. Smith 1956- Words © E. J. Smith Music from 30 Twentieth Century Hymn Tunes © 1960 Josepf Weinberger Ltd. London. All rights reserved.

Go Now in Peace
Together in Song 782. Natalie Sleeth 1930-92. Words © 1976, Hinshaw Music, Inc. All rights reserved.