All posts by admin

By grace, undone and re-made

In Communion I am undone.

I am taken apart, dis-membered.

My strengths are adrift, powerless.

My pretences are un-covered, laid bare.

I am made vulnerable, cast aside with the crucified one.

 

Forsaken? Never. Yet alone,

in the company of others, in the eternal presence

of God, the Holy one, the wholly One.

The Eucharist re-forms me, tells me again

that my story is part of God’s great story,

my life is woven into the story of God’s people

always on the way to the promised end,

reconciliation with the One beyond and beneath all.

 

Communion reconciles me, re-connects me,

re-shapes me, re-members me.

It tells me again, and again,

that I am a precious child of God

shaped by this story, re-minded of my place,

but more than me, the place of us all

at this table of the One broken

and poured out for the whole the cosmos.

 

This holy meal re-makes and re-unites me,

connecting me again to the broken body of Christ

through the living Spirit that calls eternally

for the reconciliation of all creation,

the broken whole becoming One once more.

 

Jesus, re-member me,

Spirit, re-unite me,

Eternal One, re-turn me

to discover again

my own true self in you.

Re-make me in grace,

through grace,

for grace.

 

Rohan Pryor 18/7/15

Welcome

Uniting Church resources on the sacraments

Understanding the Sacraments is an introductory course designed to enable lay people to explore the theology and practice of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (also known as Holy Communion or the Eucharist), as practised by the Uniting Church in Australia.

Rev Anneke Oppewal presides at the baptism of a child at Balwyn North Uniting Church

This site includes links to a rich range of Uniting Church resources on the sacraments, including the theology, guidelines and policies of the Uniting Church, plus educational resources and ecumenical links that enrich our understanding of the sacraments within the Christian Church.

Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress Chairperson Rev Dennis Corowa and Uniting Church President Stuart McMillan celebrate communion at the Uniting Church Assembly meeting, 2015 in Perth
Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress Chairperson Rev Dennis Corowa and Uniting Church President Stuart McMillan celebrate communion at the Uniting Church Assembly meeting, 2015 in Perth

Who is the course for?

  • Anyone who desires a deeper understanding of the sacraments in the life of the Uniting Church
  • Lay people who may be invited and authorised to celebrate the sacraments for a faith community (authorisation is by the relevant presbytery)
  • Authorised lay presiders who want a refresher or continuing education
  • Presbytery Pastoral Relations Committee members
  • Members of a local Church Council, which carries responsibility for local worship, including authorising baptisms.
  • Presbytery and Synod leaders
Rev Rronang Garrawurra, former national Chairperson of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and Ref Prof Andrew Dutney, former President of the Uniting Church
Rev Rronang Garrawurra, former national Chairperson of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and Ref Prof Andrew Dutney, former President of the Uniting Church