A Light on the Hill

Order of Service – 16th August 2026

The Order of Service follows below.

For improved text clarity and easier reading, e.g. change text size, you can use ePub on iPhones, iPads and other devices with an ePub application. If you want to see it exactly as printed, or print your own there is a pdf.

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

A Light on the Hill


August 16, 2026

Preacher: Rev Linda Driver

Guests: Seasonal Sketches

Pentecost 12. Green

Welcome to Brougham Place Uniting Church.

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

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)

Lighting of the Candles

We sing: Come and Find The Quiet Centre

1.

Come and find the quiet centre

in the crowded life we lead.

find the room for hope to enter,

find the frame where we are freed:

Clear the chaos and the clutter,

clear our eyes that we can see

all the things that really matter,

be at peace, and simply be.

2.

Silence is a friend who claims us,

cools the heat and slows the pace,

God it is who speaks and names us,

knows our being, touches base,

making space within our thinking,

lifting shades to show the sun,

raising courage when we’re shrinking,

finding scope for faith begun.

3.

In the Spirit let us travel,

open to each other’s pain,

let our loves and fears unravel,

celebrate the space we gain:

There’s a place for deepest dreaming,

there’s a time for heart to care,

in the Spirit’s lively scheming

there is always room to spare.

Call to Worship

Let us be still for a moment as we draw near to worship God… Take just a few seconds to remind yourself why we are gathered together today… Listen, God speaks even through the background noise of the world around us…

A silence is held

Lord God, in this time we have together, open our ears and our eyes to see your vision for this place and our part within it. Teach us, hear our prayers and enable us for service wherever you might take us, to your praise and glory. Amen.

Psalm 133

It is truly wonderful

when the people of God

live together in peace.

It is as beautiful as olive oil

poured on Aaron’s head

and running down his beard

and the collar of his robe.

It is like the dew

from Mount Hermon,

falling on Zion’s mountains,

where the Lord has promised

to bless his people

with life forevermore.

Opening Prayer

Family of God, we gather today to unite our voices and our lives in praise to God!

How wonderful it is when we live together in peace!


We gather to celebrate how God calls us together to live, work, play, and rest as the Body of Christ!

How wonderful it is when we live together in peace!


We gather to remember how God has worked through us to share Christ’s love with one another and our neighbours through our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness.

How wonderful it is when we live together in peace!


Family of God, today we come as diverse and unique members of the Body of Christ to learn and grow not in uniformity but in unity to love God, self, neighbour, and all creation.

How wonderful it is when we live together in peace!


Thanks be to God! Amen.

We sing: All Are Welcome

1.

Let us build a house where love can dwell

and all can safely live,

a place where saints and children tell

how hearts learn to forgive.

Built of hopes and dreams and visions,

rock of faith and vault of grace;

here the love of Christ shall end divisions:

Refrain:

All are welcome, all are welcome,

all are welcome in this place.

2.

Let us build a house where prophets speak,

and words are strong and true,

where all God’s children dare to seek

to dream God’s reign anew.

Here the cross shall stand as witness

and as symbol of God’s grace;

here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:

All are welcome, all are welcome,

all are welcome in this place.

3.

Let us build a house where love is found

in water, wine and wheat:

a banquet hall on holy ground

where peace and justice meet.

Here the love of God, through Jesus,

is revealed in time and space;

as we share in Christ the feast that frees us:

All are welcome, all are welcome,

all are welcome in this place.

4.

Let us build a house where hands will reach

beyond the wood and stone

to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,

and live the Word they’ve known.

Here the outcast and the stranger

bear the image of God’s face:

let us bring an end to fear and danger:

All are welcome, all are welcome,

all are welcome in this place.

5.
Let us build a house where all are named,

their songs and visions heard

and loved and treasured, taught and claimed

as words within the Word.

Built of tears and cries and laughter,

prayers of faith and songs of grace,

let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:

All are welcome, all are welcome,

all are welcome in this place.

Prayer of Confession

God of mercy,

For the times when we have not been humble,

… we are sorry

For the times when we have discouraged others from seeking you, through our choices and behaviour,

… we are sorry

For the times when we have not sought your wisdom,

… we are sorry

Forgive us, we pray.

Give us the light of your wisdom and your ways.

Through Christ our Lord

Amen

Words of Grace

People of God,

The Lord hears, forgives, and saves.

Therefore, let us be reconciled to one another

And walk humbly before our God.

Amen

Passing of the Peace

The peace of our God be with you.

And also with you.

Community News and Notices

You can sign up to receive BP E-news by email and read past issues on our website: www.bpuc.org

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

May the Spirit of God open our eyes to see, our ears to hear,

and our hearts to understand.

Children’s Time (Exploring the Theme)

Creative Offering: Seasonal Sketches – New Bart

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.

Message

We sing: O Christ, the Healer, We Have Come

1.

Christ, the healer, we have come

to pray for health, to plead for friends.

How can we fail to be restored

when reached by love that never ends?

2.

From every ailment flesh endures

our bodies clamour to be freed;

yet in our hearts we would confess

that wholeness is our deepest need.

3.

How strong, O Lord, are our desires,

how weak our knowledge of ourselves!

Release in us those healing truths

unconscious pride resists or shelves.

4.

In conflicts that destroy our health

we diagnose the world’s disease;

our common life declares our ills:

is there no cure, O Christ, for these?

5.

Grant that we all, made one in faith,

in your community may find

the wholeness that, enriching us,

shall reach the whole of humankind.

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.

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.

Offering Prayer

We sing: Be Thou My Vision

1.

Be thou my vision, O lord of my heart,

naught be all else to me, save that thou art

thou my best thought, by day or by night,

waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

2.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word;

I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;

thou my great Father, thy child let me be;

thou in me dwelling, and I one with thee.

3.

Riches I scorn and the world’s empty praise,

thou my inheritance, now and always:

Thou and thou only the first in my heart;

high King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

4.

High King of heaven, after victory won,

may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

still be my vision, O ruler of all.

Sending Forth and Benediction

May your eyes be blessed

that they might see

God’s beauty revealed

in the world this week.

May your ears be blessed

that they might hear

God’s glorious whisper

in the breeze this week.

May your voices be blessed

that they might share

God’s love and mercy

in the world this week.


And may the blessing of God—

the Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer—

be with you and remain with you always.

We sing: Threefold 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. 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

Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion
Liturgies for Year B. Volume 2 ed. Kimberly Bracken Long

Faith and Worship website
https://faithandworship.com John Birch

Discipleship Ministries website (The United Methodist Church)
https://Umcdiscipleship.com
Dr. Lisa Hancock

Christian Aid website
https://www.christianaid.org.uk/pray/prayer-diary

Worship Ways website
United Church of Christ
https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/after-pentecost-12a-august-16/
Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay

The Psalm is from the Contemporary English Version (CEV). Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society

The Gospel Reading is from New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Photo by Marc Schulte on Unsplash

Congregation Hymns/Songs:


Come and Find the Quiet Centre
Words: Shirley Erena Murray. Words © 1982 Hope Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

All Are Welcome
Marty Haugen b.1950. © 1994 GIA Publications Inc. All rights reserved.

O Christ, the healer, we have come
Words: Together in Song 638
Frederick Pratt Green 1903-
Words by permission Stainer & Bell, London.
Tune: Together in Song 558 (Tallis’ cannon)
Shortened form of melody by Thomas Tallis c. 1505-85

Be Thou My Vision
Together in Song 547.
Gaelic c.8th cent. Tr. Mary Elizabeth Byrne 1880-1931. Verified by Eleanor Henrietta Hull 1860-1935 alt. Public Domain.