Sacred Season

Join a season of prayer and fasting

Click here or on image for daily resources - Liverpool Uniting Church.

We would like to invite you to take part in the 40 day Sacred Season of Prayer and Fasting from Friday 12th June 2009 to Tuesday 21st July 2009.

In Adelaide in September 2008, the ACC (Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the Uniting Church of Australia) determined to have a SACRED SEASON OF PRAYER AND FASTING in the 40 days leading up to and during the Uniting Church Assembly next year.

This sacred season of prayer and fasting is an invitation to the Uniting Church as a whole to come together to pray and fast for our church as we approach the 2009 Assembly. It is also to declare our readiness to go forward in sole loyalty to Christ, the living Head of our Church, remaining open to constant reform under His Word.

As described in the Basis of Union, we are a people of God on the way to the promised end. And we are encouraged to pray that through the gift of the Spirit, God will constantly correct that which is erroneous in the life of our church. We are able to live and endure through the changes of history only because our Lord comes, addresses and deals with us, His people through the news of his completed work. Christ is the Word of God, and he is present when he is preached among people. He is the one who acquits the guilty, who gives life to the dead and who brings into being what otherwise could not exist.

Together let us humbly ask the Lord to come, address and deal with us, as a church, and as an Assembly.

Together let us fast and pray in the hope that by His grace and through the work of the cross the dry bones of who we are could be brought together. Together let us fast and pray that the resurrection life, power and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, might raise to life the heartbeat of our Church, and through the breath of the Holy Spirit she might rise up on wings like eagles to soar in this land, to God’s eternal glory.

A cycle of 10 liturgies has been prepared for the 40 days before and during Assembly 2009. These liturgies draw their imagery and metaphors from 3 main areas: reference to the Assembly theme – “Living Water, Thirsty Land”; the Basis of Union; and Scripture incorporating the Assembly theme and the Basis of Union.

There will also be prayer points focussed specifically on the meeting of Assembly in July 09, such as partner churches, environment, trade issues etc., as well as general prayers for the Uniting Church as a whole. These liturgies, plus other resources on issues such as fasting, prayer etc, will be placed in this section, and can be downloaded for personal, group, or congregational use.

From February 2009 there will also be a weekly prayer and fasting day on Fridays, in line with one of our traditions – the World Methodist Council. This day each week, will help to prepare people who have never fasted before. It will also include prayer points of activities in the UCA leading up to Assembly. These points will also be placed on the website.

Thank you for the time you have taken in reading this letter. We pray that you might prayerfully consider joining us for the Sacred Season of Prayer and Fasting.

Blessings and God’s Peace to you,

Rev Anne Hibbard
ACC National Prayer Coordinator

If you would like receive the weekly prayer and fasting letter direct to your in-box before each Friday please ask Anne Hibbard to place you on the e-mail list:  prayernetwork@confessingcongregations.com.

Sacred season of prayer and fasting 40-day liturgy

UCA Prayer points leading up to Uniting Church Assembly,  provided by the Revd Terence Corkin, Assembly General Secretary.