ANNOUNCEMENT & DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS:
Look to Jesus and See:
Beloved children of God don’t miss this:
You are forgiven! Jesus reveals the scandal
that God loves because that is who God is.
Confession doesn’t switch on God’s grace!
God’s ever-flowing grace is the context in which we can open to truth
And confess all that we would otherwise hope to hide.
Jesus’ whole ministry is doling out forgiveness
like fear, shame and secrecy are going out of fashion- and healing, light and love are breaking out.
So Look to Jesus and see:
There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. There nothing we can do to make God love us less. For love is who Jesus reveals God to be.
Look to Jesus and see:
We don’t repent to be forgiven.
We are forgiven so now we can repent!
For in Christ there is no condemnation.
Look to Jesus and see:
Confession doesn’t change how God sees us
Confession changes how we see God.
For God is light and in God there is no un-Christ-like-ness.
So let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace, that all we are might be soaked in the shower of God’s tender mercies, And find grace to help in our time of need.
CONFESSION:
Most merciful God, We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
We have not loved ourselves, our neighbour,
The stranger, or our enemies as you have first loved us.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your son Jesus Christ,
Have mercy on us and help us to know your forgiveness; That we might delight in your will and walk in your ways, To the glory of your name. Amen.
TABLE INVITE:
This is the Table, not of the Church but of the Lord.
It is made ready for those who love and for those who want to love God more.
So come – you who have much faith and you who have little.
You who have been here often and you who have come for the first time.
You who have tried to follow Jesus, you who have failed to follow Jesus,
and you who have just decided to follow Jesus – come!
Let nothing keep you from loves feast,
Let no one empty this table of loves power,
Leave judgement behind and receive mercy,
Leave indifference behind and recognise God’s family,
Leave now if necessary and go be a forgiver, then run back!
Because it is The Lord who invites you,
And it’s God’s will that those who desire healing,
and hunger and thirst for God’s justice should encounter the Holy Spirit here.
So come.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY / VISION & MISSION
We are a church with a long history in the midst of reimagining the way we are called to be, in, as, and beyond the four walls of the church building.
Our why is people and our vision is Jesus.
We are a church that is loved passionately by God to love people tangibly.
We are a church with high aspirations steeped in the love of God and grounded in the vision, the person, the work, and the witness of Jesus.
We see and aspire to be a life-giving, spirit-led, and scripture-fed, cultural and community-informed, formed church that gathers people and around, under, and in the name of Jesus.
A church that talks about, walks with, works with, and worships Jesus in all that we are and all that we do. He is our vision, the center and the head of our being and of our church.
We see and aspire to be a church that is far more than a program and bigger than a building. We are on a mission to love all and serve all with all we are all the time.
We are people committed to, connected to, and compelled by the love of Jesus for everyone and in our every day.
A church that is passionate in the rescue and restoration of any person with and through the complete, bold, and unconditional love of Jesus.
We see and aspire to be a church that is known for its generous hospitality. We love, welcome, and serve all people well, and every person is welcome in our home and at our table.
We see a church that is not content to sit on the bench, a church that actively participates in bringing reconciliation and restoration to fullness in our minds, in our church, and in our world through Jesus.
We see a church that lifts up, honors, and amplifies the voices and stories of those on the fringes in order to decolonize and dismantle systems and structures that seek to steal, kill, and destroy the dignity in others.
As followers of the way of Jesus, as ministers of restoration and makers of reconciliation, we have a responsibility to embody and ensure that all of creation, including every person, is treated with value and dignity and to build relationships based on truth-telling, trust, and respect that are free of racism and any "ism" that seeks to oppress, marginalize, and exclude others.
This means taking time to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage as a proud part of our shared identity.
We know that you might be viewing, reading, or listening to this acknowledgment from many different places and platforms, but Steeple Church gathers in, on, and around Naam, that you will find on a map as Melbourne, Australia, on the lands of First Nation peoples.
And as an extension of our friendship and in the spirit of reconciliation, along with our commitment to actively engage and co-conspire in the work of truth-telling and restoration, we acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the land upon which we gather to live, worship, work, and play. We recognize their continuing stories, their connection to land, waters, skies, and culture, that sovereignty was never ceded, and we pay our respects to their elders past, present, and emerging. We also acknowledge the Creator Spirit who sees all, is over all, through all, and in all things.