Order of Service – 18th October 2026

(reach down)

We care for Kaurna land

(reach up)

We care for Kaurna sky

(wavy movement)

We care for Kaurna waters

(touch hearts)

We touch our hearts and say:

Thank you, Kaurna people.

(hands pointing up)

God above us –

Trees, birds, sunshine and cloudy skies,

Stars and moonlight –

God above us.

(hands pointing down)

God beneath us –

Earth, rocks and rivers,

Roots and tunnels –

God beneath us.

(arms spreading out)

God around us –

Rivers, winds and cities,

Animals and people –

God around us.

(hands pointing to yourself)

God within us –

Hope, tears and laughter,

Love and wonder –

God within us.

(hands pointing down)

God above us,

(hands pointing down)

God beneath us,

(arms spreading out)

God around us,

(hands pointing to yourself)

God within us,

We celebrate that

You made us,

You love us,

And you call us to work and rest and play with you.

Amen!!

Come all you people,

Come and praise your maker

Come all you people,

Come and praise your maker

Come all you people,

Come and praise your maker

Come now and worship the Lord.

(repeat)

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

praise God in the heights!

Sun and moon, and all you shining stars,

Praise the Lord!

wind and spring rain, gum trees and river red gums,

the green grass of the Park Lands under our feet,

Praise the Lord!

Wild animals and all the creatures in our care,

things that creep and burrow,

lorikeets and galahs, rosellas and corellas,

and yes, even the swooping magpies,

Praise the Lord!

Young and old together, neighbours and strangers,

dog-walkers and coffee-drinkers, children and elders,

let everything that breathes

Praise the Lord!

In the light of your word

And your call to care for creation,

We come to say sorry, God.

We’re sorry for the times we’ve messed up,

Sorry for bad decisions we’ve made,

Sorry for people we’ve hurt,

Sorry for damaging your world.

We are sorry.

In the silence, we seek your forgiveness for ourselves

And healing for the world.

(moment of silence)

Listen to what God says to us:

’I made the heavens and the earth.

I call you to be good servants and responsible stewards.

Come and work with me,

I will always be with you.’

Thanks be to God!

Amen

The peace of our God be with you and all our animal friends.

And also with you.

Breathe into us

the spirit of peace;

breathe us into your world.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

God breathes life’s mysteries

into all that’s made.

We share life’s frailty

with all that breathes today.

Refrain

Cry out for love, for the world needs tenderness.

Cry out for love that will never fade.

Cry out for love;

let it take flight like a thousand raucous cockatoos!

Oh, cry out for love.

God holds each one of us

as the dawn holds the sun.

We share such blessedness

and the story’s just begun.

Refrain

Cry out for love, for the world needs tenderness.

Cry out for love that will never fade.

Cry out for love;

let it take flight like a thousand raucous cockatoos!

Oh, cry out for love.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

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

and our hearts to understand.

God of every living thing,

the whole creation is groaning and waiting,

and you hear every voice.

We pray for creatures whose song is growing quiet:

the orange-bellied parrot, the grey-headed flying-foxes,

the little pygmy blue-tongue, the koalas and all creatures losing their homes as trees and bushland are cleared,

and all the creatures we will never see again.

Teach us to live gently, so that nothing more is lost.

Creator God,

hear our prayer.

We pray for those who care:

vets and nurses, RSPCA SA and the Animal Welfare League,

and the wildlife rescuers out at all hours

Creator God,

hear our prayer.

We pray for anyone grieving an animal companion this morning,

and for every creature that is lost, hungry or afraid.

Creator God,

hear our prayer.

We pray for all those who are in pain, suffering, lonely or grieving.

We pray especially for Barbara’s family and those of us who remember Barbara as a dear friend and beloved member of our Congregation.

Creator God,

hear our prayer.

Amen

To give electronically please go to bpuc.org/give

Alternatively, there is an offering bag on the table. Please place your cash offering there after the service.

(For the Dogs)

To the One whose name spelled backwards is dog,

for those companions who shadow us through life:

For every lab and Lhasa apso,

for every sheepdog and doodle,

for every golden retriever and Great Dane,

for every furry, four-footed best friend:

we give you thanks.

(For the Birds)

God of six-winged seraphim,

for the birds who send our hearts soaring:

For every squawk and tweet,

for every flitter and flutter,

for every feather which brushes our cheek with gentleness,

for every beak which nips us with grace:

we give you thanks.

(For the Cats)

God of gentle contemplation and contentment,

for those feline friends who see us for who we are,

even in the shadows of our lives:

For every tiger and tabby, for every Manx and Maltese,

for every tortoiseshell, marmalade and Russian Blue,

for every loquacious Siamese and every unique moggie,

for every short-hair, long-hair, no-hair and in between:

we give you thanks.

(For the creatures who share this park with us)

God of the Park Lands and the open sky,

for every creature who calls this place home:

For the magpie carolling at dawn,

for the possum in the gum tree at dusk,

for the lorikeets that shout across the lawn,

for the bees in the bottlebrush,

for every small life hidden in the grass,

we give you thanks.

(For all our other creatures)

For the rich, rainbow variety of your creation

and all those we are given to love and care for by your grace,

we give you thanks, and we lift their names to you:

(Names of all our animals may be spoken aloud, or held in the silence of people’s hearts …)

Hold your animal, or its photo, or place a hand on your heart.

God of every creature,

you made each one of these and called them good.

Bless these animals:

those here with us, those at home,

and those we hold in our hearts.

Keep them safe, let them be loved,

and may they bring joy to all who care for them,

as we care for them and for all your creation.

Amen.

We bless all animals.

We remember our animal companions

who are no longer with us.

We give thanks for the gifts they give us

and all the ways they enrich and bless our lives.

May our Creator continue to care for us and them.

Amen

Refrain

All things bright and beautiful,

all creatures great and small,

all things wise and wonderful –

the Lord God made them all.

The wildflowers in their beauty,

the mountain ranges tall,

the billabongs and rivers,

and friendly birds that call,

Refrain

All things bright and beautiful,

all creatures great and small,

all things wise and wonderful –

the Lord God made them all.

The coloured walls of gorges,

the gum trees green and tall,

the rocks, and pools, and palm trees,

the sparkling waterfall,

Refrain

All things bright and beautiful,

all creatures great and small,

all things wise and wonderful –

the Lord God made them all.

God gave us eyes to see them,

and lips that we might tell

how great is God – Creator

who has made all things well.

Refrain

All things bright and beautiful,

all creatures great and small,

all things wise and wonderful –

the Lord God made them all.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make today happen, and to all of you, and your animals, for joining us!

Go out into the world,

speak kindly,

bark and scratch, meow and purr,

and love one another.

Care for each other,

and be blessings of hope,

that all creation may know God’s love.

We go in peace!

Serving Christ and loving all creatures!

Amen

Please bring your animal forward for an individual blessing, and stay for a free barista coffee (donations welcome).

Thank you for joining us for worship!
If you would like to get in touch or request a prayer, please email our Minister, Rev Linda Driver: lindad@bpuc.org

If today’s prayers have stirred painful memories, you are not alone. You can speak with Rev Linda, call the Blue Knot Helpline on 1300 657 380 (7 days, 8.30am‑4.30pm Adelaide time), or contact the Uniting Church’s National Safe Church Unit: safechurch.uca.org.au

This service has been prepared with assistance from


Call to Worship and Prayer of Regret: Creation Liturgy, Iona Abbey Worship Book, The Iona Community, Wild Goose Publications.

A litany of blessing by Thom M. Shuman (adapted), from The Blessing of Animals: Poems, prayers, reflections and stories, ed. Neil Paynter, Wild Goose Publications, 2025. www.ionabooks.com. Used with permission.

Unison prayer and Sending Forth (adapted) by Rebeka Maples, from Creatures worship together, in the same book.

Paws of peace, Psalm 148 for Brougham Gardens, prayers for all creation, offering prayer, the native-wildlife stanza, the blessing of the animals and the individual blessings: original, written for Brougham Place.

Bible readings 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.

Cover photo by Joe Caione on Unsplash

Congregation Songs:


Come All You People
All Together Whatever 419. Words and music © Alexander Gondo, arrangement © 1995 WGRG Iona Community, administered by Willow Connections Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.

Breathe
Words and music: Rosie O’Reilly © 2020.

Cry Out For Love
Words and music: Gerry Holmes © 1996 Gerry Holmes. Administered by Willow Publishing Pty Ltd, www.willowpublishing.com.au. All rights reserved. ONE LICENSE song #228197.

All Things Bright and Beautiful
Together in Song 135. Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–95) and Brian Black (b. 1926).

Permission to stream / podcast the music and lyrics displayed in this service obtained from:
ONE LICENSE, License #A‑604444. All rights reserved
and CCLI Streaming License: 41427
CCLI Church Copyright Licence: 137219
Music Reproduction Licence: 137226