… and welcome to Rev Dr Avril Hannah-Jones and members of the North Balwyn Uniting Church as we celebrate worship and share in community together this Pentecost Sunday.  Pentecost is recognised as the birth of the Church and the coming of the Holy Spirit in a new way to the people, when ‘they were all together in one place’ (Acts 2:1) so it seems fitting that we are gathering too.

The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and it is placed in the centre of the Uniting Church logo.  The dove, with wings of flame, represents the Spirit which empowers and guides us.  In the Basis of Union, we read ‘God in Christ has given to all the people in the Church the Holy Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end view for the whole creation.’ (BOU Para 3)

May we continue to follow the promptings of the Spirit, as we are enabled to be co-workers for reconciliation and renewal.

Blessings – Heather Hon (she/her).

Next Sunday we will wear red as we celebrate Pentecost.  From Monday 18 May, landmarks across Victoria are lighting up red – the colour of volunteering – in honour of National Volunteer Week!  In its 37^th year, the week marks Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteers, recognising the contribution of millions of individuals across the country.  The week also aims to encourage everyone to think about how giving their time and talents can create connection, purpose and stronger communities.

Many within our church communities volunteer, giving their time to support others.  BCO and Kids Hope are just a couple of examples.  It strikes me that as the Holy Spirit journeys with us, we might be spurred on to serve one another and share with them the inclusive love of God.

As you look out and see red landmarks this week, I wonder which volunteers you might think about and give thanks for.  As people look at us, I wonder whether they will see the welcoming invitation of God in our actions and words.

Blessings – Heather Hon (she/her).

Mother’s Day is a time to honour the nurturing resilience and profound impact of mothers.  It is also a wonderful day to acknowledge other women who have been significant in our lives, friends and mentors whose selfless love has helped shape our lives.  It is also a day that we recognise is difficult for some.

As we think of women today, I invite you to pray this prayer, adapted from Uniting World.

God of all people, today we pray for women –
Women who hold the hands of children through the night
Women who sit on Boards and make decisions for our nation
Women who give birth barely sheltered from the rain
Women who are the centre of their families and communities
Women who stay strong for their families
Women who’ve been silenced but continue to speak up with dignity.
God of all people, today we pray for women.  Amen.

Blessings – Heather Hon (she/her)

Last Sunday we were reminded of Jesus words, ‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly’. The invitation to us was that we might live as though we believe this promise and, as a response, be willing to share this abundance with others.

I have been blessed to see the abundance of this church community throughout the week as the number of Hope Boroondara Food Drive bags has grown in Watson Hall. I have had conversations with people at the church door as they have returned their bags, some who are contributing for the first time but wanting to do so in response to what this church community means to them. Likewise, many of the English Conversation students have contributed.

When we live out of a posture of abundance, what we have grows as we share it with those who do not have what we do. Both giver and receiver are blessed, even if we do not know one another. May we continue to be a community that lives out of the abundance of the opportunities God’s blessing presents.

Blessings – Heather Hon (she/her)

Saturday is Anzac Day, a significant day for many in our country, a day when we pause to remember the service and sacrifice of many men and women who have defended our nation in times of conflict, as well as providing support in peace-keeping missions throughout the world.

Yet Anzac Day also provides us with the opportunity for reflection.  As we remember the sacrifice of many, rather than glorifying war, we are invited to enter into a time of lament.  As we bring our sorrow and the wounds of history before God, we are reminded that we need to seek the peace that only God can provide.  This seems of particular relevance this year as we witness conflicts in the Middle East, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

While we honour those who have given their lives for others, may we also recognise our calling to be agents of reconciliation in whatever way we can, as we work to build a world with less violence and more compassion.

Blessings – Heather Hon (she/her)

Easter is over, or so the shops would have us think.  The vast array of chocolate eggs have gone from the shelves and the holidays are passed, and so we can also be tempted to put Easter behind us for another year.  But the reality is as people of faith living post-resurrection Sunday, we are invited to simply continue our walk with God.

As people who believe in that good news, we have a lot to offer, particularly in a world where many are fearful and uncertain.  While none of us know the future, we can walk into it, hopefully with a spring in our steps, knowing that we are not alone on the journey and that God is already in the future that we find hard to imagine.

As Jesus commissioned his disciples, he encouraged them, saying ‘remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Matthew 28:20b)

May we hold fast to that promise as we go and share the good news of Jesus with those we encounter on the journey.

Blessings – Heather Hon (she/her)

After Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples gather behind closed doors, unsure of what they might find outside, a little nervous of the reception that awaits them, possibly doubting what to believe.

As Charissa Suli, Uniting Church President, reminds us, it is into this reality Jesus comes …

   He stood among his disciples, not performing, not demanding, simply present.
   And he breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
   This is how his peace comes alive in them.
   Not by pretending everything is fine,
      but in the middle of real life.’

While we might feel safer behind the walls we build, God remains present with us when we step outside.  May we be courageous and continue to step outside, bringing with us the good news of Christ’s peace, where it is needed most.

Blessings – Heather Hon (she/her)

A poem, entitled Birdsong, by Rev Sarah Speed, for this day when we celebrate that Jesus is risen …

   Every morning the sun rises, majestic and steady.
   She is greeted in all her strength with the joyous cacophony of birdsong.
   I like to believe this holy chorus is the birds telling each other –
      I’m here.  We made it through the night.
      You’re not alone.  What good, good news.

   I think the resurrection is a bit like that.
   God is here.
   We made it through the night.
   We are not alone.  What good, good news.

Blessings – Heather Hon (she/her)

Risking hope in a man acting like a pretend messiah
in a procession of sorts, installed on a donkey,
insulting the empire along a way strewn with palm branches,
and a band of clowns hailing the one who comes in the name of the Lord,
seemed foolish.
But beneath the mockery something was being disturbed
in the frozen traditions of religion and the hard arrogance of empire,
and if they heard themselves with their hosannas
it was not a shout of joy they bawled but a cry,
a longing, a deep pleading in their souls:
‘Hosanna! Save us! Save us!’

© Spill the Beans Issue 58

Blessings – Heather Hon (she/her)