A Light on the Hill

Order of Service – 15th November 2026

The Order of Service follows below.

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Please join us in saying and singing the words printed in bold text. Items in red text are for information and explanation and are not spoken.

Brougham Place Uniting Church

Kardlayirdi Karnungga


15 November, 2026

Preacher: Rev Linda Driver

Passionate Giving Week 2

Storyteller: Karan Hudson

Liturgical week: Pentecost 25 (Ordinary 33)

Colour: Green


Welcome to Brougham Place Uniting Church.

We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional carers of this land on which we gather today.

As you wait for worship to begin, please turn your phone to silent.

Prelude

Welcome and Acknowledgment of Country

Naa marni?
(Are you all good?)
Marni Ai!
(Good I am)

Call to Worship

Come, you who have been entrusted with much and little.

We come, holding what we have.

Come, you who feel afraid to risk.

We come, just as we are.

Come, beloved of God.

We come, ready to be formed in trust.

Let us worship the God who meets us in our courage and fear.

Lighting of the Candles

We sing: Come One, Come All

1.

Let all the earth come join the song

and join the dance for all belong

creation beats with willing hearts

so come on saints, let’s play our part

Come one, come all

to life that’s whole

come one, come all

to love that’s full

2.

The hills and rivers sound their praise

and we join in for our God reigns

come to the table eat your fill

come rest by living waters still

Come one, come all

to life that’s whole

come one, come all

to love that’s full

3.

So take your place and know you’re loved

and spread the word, for there’s enough

to know our God and truly live

creation was made for this

Come one, come all

to life that’s whole

come one, come all

to love that’s full

Come one, come all

to life that’s whole

come one, come all

to love that’s full

4.

So take your place and know you’re loved

and spread the word, for there’s enough

to know our God and truly live

creation was made for this

Opening Prayer

God of abundance,

you place gifts into our lives,

not to burden us,

but to invite us into living.

Yet we hesitate.

We fear losing what we have.

We fear not being enough.

Meet us in that place.

Gently draw us toward trust.

Help us to offer what has been given,

with courage,

with openness,

with love.

Amen.

Prayer of Confession

God of mercy,

we confess that we are often afraid.

Afraid to try.

Afraid to fail.

Afraid to risk what matters.

So, we hold back.

We bury what we have been given.

We keep beauty behind closed doors.

We choose safety over life.

Forgive us.

Meet us in our fear,

knowing that you come,

not with judgement,

but with invitation.

(A short time of silence)

Words of Grace

Hear this:

God is not waiting to judge you

for what you have not done.

God is inviting you

into what is still possible.

Even now,

nothing is wasted.

Nothing is beyond redemption.

You are held in grace.

You are invited into life.

Thanks be to God!

We sing: For the Beauty of the Earth

1.

For the beauty of the earth,

for the beauty of the skies,

for the love which from our birth

over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to you we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

2.

For the beauty of each hour

of the day and of the night,

hill and vale, and tree and flower,

sun and moon and stars of light,

Lord of all, to you we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

3.

For the joy of ear and eye,

for the heart and mind’s delight,

for the mystic harmony

linking sense to sound and sight,

Lord of all, to you we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

4.

For the joy of human love,

brother, sister, parent, child,

friends on earth and friends above,

for all gentle thoughts and mild,

Lord of all, to you we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

5.

For each perfect gift divine

to the world so freely given,

graces all of your design,

flowers of earth and buds of heaven,

Lord of all, to you we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

6.

For the church that evermore,

lifting holy hands above,

offers up on every shore,

the pure sacrifice of love,

Lord of all, to you we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

Passing of the Peace

The peace of our God be with you.

And also with you.

Community News and Notices

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Children’s Time (Exploring the Theme)

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.

We sing: God the Great Imagination

1.

God the great Imagination

lit a spark and there was light.

In a far-flung constellation

this small rock was set in flight.

Redgums soar in bellbird forests,

creatures roam in pastures green,

circled by the loving promise

of God’s covenantal dream.

2.

Yet our world is still encumbered

by the heedless need for power.

Vested interests take and plunder,

human flourishing turns sour.

Still enslaved and still enslaving

can we yet uphold the dream?

Can God change our bad behaving

and our conflicts still redeem?

3.

Jesus knew the world’s temptations,

and the pull of pow’r and might.

Lure of praise and reputation

would distract from best and right.

Faithful to God’s great intention,

grace and love with pow’r imbued;

by his life, death, resurrection,

Jesus proved the cov’nant true.

4.

Gathered from across the nations,

pilgrims crowd the city square.

Tongues of fire and exclamations,

“Christ is Lord” heard everywhere.

Though our spoken words may differ,

Spirit still unites our hearts;

holy vision drawn in wonder

by the gifts that God imparts.

5.

Can we work in co-creation,

work with hearts and hands to see

hope and reconciliation,

freedom in our world of need?

Shall we yet live out Love’s image,

suffer till the task is done?

Love will labour till it’s finished

and the transformation won.

6.

God with cosmic inspiration

sets the possible to stir.

Christ the cosmic incarnation,

comes to change the way we were.

God beyond us, Christ beside us,

Spirit’s inward deep embrace.

Covenant of richest beauty

our Creator’s gift of grace.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 25:14–30

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. At once the one who had received the five talents went off and traded with them and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Gospel of Christ, Light of the world.

Thanks be to God.

Message

Passionate Giving Story: Beauty that opens the door

Karan Hudson

Offering

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.

Passionate Giving: to respond online, go to give.bpuc.church on or before Sunday 29 November.

Offering Prayer

Generous God, you entrust us with gifts we did not earn. Teach us to put them to work with courage and joy, so that nothing given to us is buried in fear, and our music, our art and our open doors welcome the stranger in.

Amen.

Prayers of the People

The Lord’s Prayer

And now with the confidence of the children of God, let us pray the prayer Jesus taught us saying…

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.

We sing: Lord of All Hopefulness

1.

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,

whose trust, ever child-like, no cares could destroy:

be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,

your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

2.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,

whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe:

be there at our labours, and give us, we pray,

your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

3.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,

your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace:

be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,

your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

4.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,

whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm:

be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,

your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

Sending Forth and Benediction

Go now,

not in fear of failure,

but in trust of grace.

Go,

and risk what has been given,

in kindness,

in courage,

in love.

Go,

and celebrate beauty

in all its forms.

And may the God who gives,

Christ who calls,

and the Spirit who nurtures life

go with you,

now and always.

Amen.

Postlude

Come and share morning tea together, in the basement. There are stairs behind the organ and a ramp between the church and the car park. All are welcome!

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. Alternatively, you can email our Minister, Rev Linda Driver:

This service has been prepared with assistance from

Liturgy, Learning, & (Purposeful) Life (L3).

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

Offering prayer: Passionate Giving prayer for 15 November, from Carolyn Kitto’s preaching notes, 2026.

Congregation Hymns/Songs:

Come One, Come All, Music and lyrics: Malcolm Gordon, arr. Fiona Chus. All rights reserved.

For the Beauty of the Earth, Together in Song 137. Folliott Sandford Pierpoint 1835–1917 alt. Public Domain. Modified version.

God the Great Imagination. Words: Sharonne Price. Tune: NETTLETON. Words © Sharonne Price.

Lord of All Hopefulness. All Together OK 405. Words: Jan Struther. Music: Irish traditional melody (SLANE). Words © Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

www.bpuc.org