Marion Uniting Church

25/05/2026

Today marks National Sorry Day.

Since the tabling of the Bringing Them Home Report in 1997, this day has been recognised as an important moment to take responsibility as a nation and remember the Stolen Generations and share the truth of the trauma, pain and injustice that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities endured through child removal practices and policies.

It is a day to acknowledge and grieve the ongoing impact of the Stolen Generations on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities, and a moment to join together in lament and prayer.

“What does Sorry mean? On National Sorry Day, the word ‘sorry’ carries many layers of meaning. It speaks to sorrow — grieving the pain, trauma, loss, and ongoing impacts experienced by the Stolen Generations and their families. It is about acknowledging that serious wrongs were committed, and accepting responsibility for the role governments, churches, and institutions played in those harms. It is also an expression of compassion and solidarity — standing with survivors and communities in truth-telling and healing. And finally, it is an apology, both personal and national, reflected powerfully in the National Apology in 2008.” Safina Stewart, proud Wuthathi and Mabuiag Island woman

Today, we invite you to deeply listen to the voices of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters and recognise ‘sorry’ as an important ongoing step on our nation’s healing journey. As followers of Jesus, may our love and our ‘sorry’ be not only in word but in actions and in truth (1 John 3:18).

We echo the calls of the Healing Foundation for the Australian Government to implement the outstanding recommendations of the Bringing Them Home Report (1997).
https://healingfoundation.org.au/stolen-generations/

We invite you to join us in prayer today led by Gomeroi woman Bianca Manning -
www.commongrace.org.au/prayer_for_the_stolen_generations

Read the Bringing Them Home Report
https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/pdf/social_justice/bringing_them_home_report.pdf

17/05/2026

Rev Beth Seaman conducted her final worship service at Marion today. As well as concluding her placement, Beth has retired from ministry. Thanks Beth and blessings for your future.

03/05/2026

A Prayer Group meets for a time of silence and prayer where we bring to God our needs, those we love, and those who need prayer in the world. All are welcome.
https://thechapel.ucasa.org.au/activities/

28/04/2026

A 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿, Rev Peter Morel, regarding the disruptions at Anzac Day services:

“Like many others, I was surprised and saddened to hear of the booing from a handful of the crowd during the Acknowledgement of Country at the Adelaide ANZAC Day dawn service, and in other services around the country.

The Uniting Church remains committed to working towards a country in which our First Nations people are celebrated at the very heart of what it means to be Australian, and to our Covenant relationship with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC).

We will continue to walk together, as First and Second Peoples, listening and learning from one another, and seeking justice, peace, healing and reconciliation.

I commend to you the message from Rev Charissa Suli, President of the Uniting Church of Australia, on the link below”.

Read the President's statement 👉 https://bit.ly/4ubIaLM

24/04/2026

This 𝗔𝗡𝗭𝗔𝗖 𝗗𝗮𝘆, Army Chaplain and Uniting Church Minister Rev Matthew Stuart offers a prayer of lament and hope:

“We remember those who served defending freedom,
their bravery and dedication,
their commitment and humour,
their resourcefulness and hope.

We remember sailors, soldiers and aviators
and their loved ones who suffered
in times of quietness.

Some of us remember the sounds of battlefields,
the hopelessness of defeat, and the poverty of captivity.

We remember those buried in foreign shores
who paid the ultimate sacrifice for peace.

We remember Australians from Albany to Atherton,
from Balmain to Burnie,
from Geelong to Gawler.

We remember sons and daughters,
husbands and wives,
fathers and mothers who served in times of war.

Lord, we remember,
we honour,
and we are grateful to them.

May we strive for peace
in your name, Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.”

📺 Watch Rev Stuart's full ANZAC Day message here:
https://bit.ly/4cIDoOZ

23/04/2026

Today, we remember the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

On this day in 1915, authorities began carrying out the systematic destruction of Armenian Christians resulting in the devastating deaths of approximately 1.5 million people through to 1923.

Retired Uniting Church Minister Rev Dr Krikor Youmshajekian has lovingly written the following prayer in honour of the lives lost and the generations impacted by this atrocity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

Gracious and Sovereign God,
God of mercy, justice, and steadfast love.

We gather in Your holy presence with hearts that remember.
We remember the sorrow and suffering of the Armenian people,
the lives taken, the families torn apart,
the ancient communities uprooted in the darkness of human cruelty.

Lord, we bring before You the weight of history—the grief that has not faded,
the wounds that echo across generations.
You are the God who sees,
the God who knows,
the God who does not forget.

We lament before You.
We cry out for all who perished,
and for all who carried their pain in silence.
Receive their memory into Your eternal care, and grant that truth may shine where denial has lingered.

Compassionate Christ,
You who bore suffering and injustice upon the cross,
draw near to those who still feel the ache of loss.
Comfort the descendants of survivors,
those whose hearts carry stories of sorrow and resilience.
Wrap them in Your peace,
a peace the world cannot give.

We lift before You also the people of Artsakh—Karabagh—
those who have lost their ancestral homes, who now walk the uncertain path of displacement and exile.
Be their refuge and their strength,
a present help in times of trouble.
Provide for their needs, restore their dignity,
and plant within them a living hope that cannot be extinguished.

Righteous God,
we confess that all of history lies in Your hands.
Even in the midst of human sin and brokenness,
Your purposes are not defeated.
You call us to be a people of truth,
a people who remember rightly,
a people who seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with You.

Empower Your Church in this land of Australia
to stand in solidarity with the Armenian people,
to bear witness to truth,
to work for justice,
and to be instruments of Your peace in a fractured world.

Renew in us the hope of the resurrection—
that death does not have the final word,
that light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness shall not overcome it.

We entrust all who suffer into Your eternal care,
and we look toward the day when You will wipe away every tear,
and justice and peace will embrace.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

Amen.

𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘷 𝘋𝘳 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘰𝘳 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘫𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘢𝘯
𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭
𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵/𝘊𝘌𝘖 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢

04/04/2026

He is Risen. He is Risen, indeed! Easter Day Holy Communion service at 10am in Marion Church. All welcome.

🌅 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆

Happy Easter! Today, we celebrate the hope of Jesus’ resurrection and share in the joy of the women who discovered his empty tomb.

Easter Sunday promises a future of renewed, everlasting life, but it also offers comfort for today. Suffering and violence don’t have the final word – God’s love is stronger than death.

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.” (John 11:25)

03/04/2026

Holy Saturday Tomb Watch begins at 6pm in The Chapel, Marion.

🙏 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆

Holy Saturday is a time of waiting. Jesus’ friends are processing their grief at his death. Some tend to his body, going through the rituals of burial, while others, frightened and disoriented, hide away in locked rooms.

Between the anguish of Jesus’ death and the promise of his resurrection, we hold space for those times of doubt and uncertainty when hope feels distant.

“I wait for the Lord; my soul waits, and in his word I hope.” (Psalm 130:5)

02/04/2026

Good Friday service today begins at 3pm in Marion Church.

✝️ 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆

While Good Friday marks the capture and ex*****on of Jesus, we call it ‘good’ because these events reveal the ultimate expression of God’s extraordinary goodness and love.

In his death, Jesus took on all the injustice, shame, and darkness of the world, opening the way for reconciliation with God and harmony between people and all creation.

“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

20/03/2026

Marion UC is a polling booth today.
Come to vote and buy your Democracy sausages here. Also on sale plants, books and puzzles, and home baked treats.