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A Contemplative Prayer Gathering for those who wish to meet the
Beloved in their home sacred space.
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Each week on Wednesdays at 6pm we invite you to light a candle, sit in your sacred space, and meditate with us via Facebook.
This week we offer a version of loving kindness practice adapted from meditation teacher, Steven Smith.
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To access this week's meditation (and those from previous weeks) please click the link below.
If you would like to be emailed the guided meditation, in advance, to accompany your contemplative practice, email Debbie at office@mruca.org.au Meditations from previous weeks can be viewed on our YouTube channel. Click the button below for access.
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If you would like to receive a pastoral visit, please contact with the Debbie in the church office via phone 3358 6945 or email office@mruca.org.au
In cases of an emergency, please get in touch with Murray directly, 0421 234 541.
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Giving to the work of the church
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If you would like to give to the work of the church, you are encouraged to give via a direct credit. This can be set up through your internet banking. If you need any help to set this up, please speak with Anne Copeland.
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The account details are:
BSB: 034-065
Account Number: 264-563
Account Name: Merthyr Road Uniting Church
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On-line church resources for children
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In our transition to online services there has been one really important thing that has been missing... age appropriate content for our children. Children are just as much a part of our community as any of us. Here are some resources generously offered by Saddleback Church in California called Saddleback Kids. Click on the links below to access these resources.
Each week Saddleback Kids uploads new videos to their youtube channel. There are videos for early childhood and primary aged children. These resources are a tool for the whole family and can be a starting point for some great conversations. We recommend watching them together with your children, encouraging them to ask questions and to talk about what they have learnt. If there are parts of these resources that approach Christianity differently to you and your family take that as an opportunity to discuss with your children why you believe different.
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Please pray for Amber, Anne W, Claire, Daphne K, Eugenie, Lisa Neill, Lindsay, Luke, Margaret G, Mervyn Thomas, Richard, Robyn, Rosemary Hillman, Sean and Vonda.
We continue to pray for our parishioners each week. This week we pray for Jesse, Lilian & Rory, Braden and Susanna.
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If you, or anyone you know, would appreciate our prayers or pastoral care, please contact
Murray on 0421 234 541 or Debbie in the church office on 3358 6945 or office@mruca.org.au
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To read the Uniting Church Qld Synod newsletter and the Moreton Rivers Presbytery newsletter, click on the buttons below.
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Reading
John 15:1-8
Jesus the True Vine
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. 2He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
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Reflection
There is the possibility to use this passage to take out the secateurs, list the practices and people that need to be pruned and set about cutting, but this would be the branches taking on the role of vine keeper. If the point of the passage is that the branches bear fruit, then looking deeply into the mutuality of branch and vine, and their abiding in the love of God, the vine grower, may lead to a more productive outcome than an easy listing of wrongdoings that need the chop. This reading is about belonging and intimate mutuality. The gospel of John calls us again and again into the understanding that God is love and when we abide in God, we abide in love, and it is in this relationship that all of us can thrive and bear fruit.
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