Martin Luther nailed a list of 95 statements

that told of his concems about the church

to the castle church door.

While we remember this act

as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation,

Luther was neither the first nor the last

to seek to re-form and renew the church.

God of new beginnings,

this day we remember and celebrate

those who challenge us

to see things in new ways,

to expand and explore our sense

of what it means to be the body of Jesus Christ.

We give you thanks for the many people

whose words

images

music

sermons

writings

questions

ideas

and laughter

have helped to shape us as a church.

God of our past, our present, and our future,

thank you for those who have gone before us

and who share the wisdom of the ages with us all.

We thank you for those who are young

or new to our community,

who bring a freshness and new way of understanding,

whose new questions invite us to reflect on the past

and plan for the future. ~

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us.

Give us courage to let our future

be guided by the Spirit’s wind.

We put our trust in you, O God,

trusting that, through all the changes,

the seasons, and the re-formations of our lives,

you are ever with us.

(Lindfield Killara Uniting Church. All Saints Day. 1 November 2020)