Order of Service – 31st March 2024

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The Order of Service follows below.

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Brougham Place Uniting Church
Kardlayirdi Karnungga
A Light on the Hill

31 March 2024. 10.00 am
Easter
Preacher: Rev Linda Driver
Liturgical colour: White

We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional carers of the land on which our church is built.

Prelude

Easter Acclamation

Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!

Alleluia!
Alleluia!

The light of the world shines once again!

Introit and Lighting of the Candles

Hear the Bells Ringing.
Herring. Together in Song 389. Choir and Chimes

Welcome and Acknowledgment of Country

Niina marni!
Marni’ai!

Call to Worship

Today, we celebrate the Risen One. We experience the fulfilment of the way of love and justice that Jesus speaks about. We receive the gifts of grace and the promises of eternal life.

A new day dawns and all creation sings:
Alleluia. Christ is risen!

Light shines in the darkness, and even the deep darkness cannot overcome it. Christ, the light of the world, is risen!
Alleluia. Christ is risen!

Come and see, our hope is not lost, there is hope for our journey. Christ lives among us. Rejoice and sing, dance and be glad.
Alleluia. Christ is risen!

We Sing: Christ the Lord is Risen Today!

Christ the Lord is risen today:
    Hallelujah!
Let the whole creation say:
    Hallelujah!
Raise your joys and triumphs high;
    Hallelujah!
Sing now, heaven, and earth reply:
    Hallelujah!
Love’s redeeming work is done;
    Hallelujah!
fought the fight, the battle won;
    Hallelujah!
vain the stone, the watch, the seal:
    Hallelujah!
Christ has burst the gates of hell.
    Hallelujah!
Lives again our glorious king;
    Hallelujah!
where, O death, is now your sting?
    Hallelujah!
Once he died our souls to save;
    Hallelujah!
where your victory, O grave?
    Hallelujah!
Soar we now where Christ has led,
    Hallelujah!
following our exalted Head;
    Hallelujah!
made like him, like him we rise:
    Hallelujah!
ours the cross, the grave, the skies.
    Hallelujah!

Together in Song 370. Charles Wesley 1707-88 alt. Public Domain.

Prayer of Adoration and Confession

Loving God, we come to worship this Easter morning, each one of us with our own responses, our own questions, our own perspectives. We come, just as we are.

We come as we are, and trust with hope, that you are here present among us:
present in the Word,
present in the meal we will share,
present in the love and grace shared among us.
And for this, we give thanks!
Amen.

Passing of the Peace

May the peace of the risen Christ be with you.
And also with you.

Community News and Notices

Current or previous BP E-news and to sign up to receive BP E-news

Children’s Time

Children remain in during the service. Activities are available at the back. At the conclusion of the service children are invited to meet at the back of the church for an Easter Egg hunt.

Choral Anthem

Christ is Risen.
Wren / Rowan. Together in Song 394

Scripture Reading: John 20:1-18

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

The Gospel of Christ, Light of the world.
Thanks be to God.

We Sing: Halle, Halle, Hallelujah!

We sing through twice

Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Hallelujah, hallelujah!

Caribbean Traditional. Public domain.

Homily

We Sing: Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks …

Refrain:
Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
alleluia, alleluia, give praise to his name.

Jesus is Lord of all the earth;
he is the king of creation.

Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
alleluia, alleluia, give praise to his name.
Spread the good news o’er all the earth:
Jesus has died and has risen.

Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
alleluia, alleluia, give praise to his name.
We have been crucified with Christ;
and now we shall live for ever.

Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
alleluia, alleluia, give praise to his name.
God has proclaimed the just reward:
new life for all! Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
alleluia, alleluia, give praise to his name.
Come, let us praise the living God,
joyfully sing to our Saviour.

Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
alleluia, alleluia, give praise to his name.

Communion

Setting of the Table

Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

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.

Living God…

…We join together with the voices of heaven and earth and all of creation, saying:

Holy, holy, holy God,
of all creation and life,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory,
Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of God.
Hosanna in the highest!

Words of Institution

We remember…

…And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts of love and grace, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

Come Holy Spirit, in this act of eating bread and drinking wine, whether here, or online, flow in and around us, open our eyes to the brokenness of the world, fill our hearts with love for our neighbours, motivate us to become the hands and feet of God, and ready us to take our role as agents of change and reconciliation.

To the One who gives us life,
the One who breathes within us,
the One who poured out life on the cross,
the One who is risen
we give our thanks and praise. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Let us pray together in the words that Jesus taught us:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name,

your Kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in Heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours

now and forever. Amen.

The Breaking of the Bread

We break this bread and take this cup so that we can all share in the life of Christ.
God’s gifts for us, the people of God.

The Communion

Prayer After Communion

We thank you for this meal, God of love, and for welcoming us to this table.
May our lives be strengthened
to follow the example of Jesus,
who called us to share love and to serve others.
May God’s Spirit draw us closer
so that we may be found
centred in God’s grace,
enfolded in God’s love,
and reflecting God’s light
into the world. Amen

Prayers of the People

Risen God, Hear our prayers today, as we listen to the needs of the world around us.

God of renewal and restoration,
hear us as we pray.

For those whose spirits are heavy and burdened be their yoke. Help us find ways to lighten their load and renew their spirits.

God of love and justice,
hear us as we pray.

For those trapped within systems of injustice, be their peace. Help us find ways to liberate their paths and make justice flow.

God of renewal and restoration,
hear us as we pray.

For those feeling lost and alone, be their light. Help us find ways to shine in the shadowed places
so that community may be seen.

God of love and justice,
hear us as we pray.

For those marginalised and oppressed, be their voice. Help us find ways to speak words of forgiveness and love
to those who hate.

God of renewal and restoration,
hear us as we pray.

For those ravaged by illness or grief, be their hope. Help us find ways to transform their hearts and being
with your love and grace.

God of love and justice,
hear us as we pray.

God of love and justice,

hear us as we pray. Amen.

Offering

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.

We Sing: Yours Be the Glory

Yours be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory over death you’ve won;
angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes, where your body lay.

Yours be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory over death you’ve won.
See, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
let the church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
for the Lord is living, death has lost its sting.

Yours be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory over death you’ve won.
No more we doubt you, glorious Prince of life;
life is naught without you; aid us in our strife;
make us more than conquerors through your deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordan to your home above.

Yours be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
endless is the victory over death you’ve won.

Sending Forth and Benediction

We have come from darkness and despair to hope and joy.
We have been transformed by new life.

Go out into the world, with arms open to love, to share the good news we have received this day. Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed.
Alleluia!

Choral Blessing:

Let us Go in Peace
Rutter

Postlude

The Easter egg hunt begins for the children after the service.

Come and share morning tea together, downstairs in the basement. There are stairs behind the organ and a ramp between the church and the car park leading down to the basement.

Some of the liturgy in this service is adapted from the work of:

Roddy Hamilton: Spill the Beans

Amanda Nicholas in Leadership, Learning and Purposeful Life (L3)

The Abingdon Worship Annual 2006

The Scripture Reading is from the New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.