Imaginative Prayer is a beautiful way to pray. Drawn from St Ignatius this way of praying invites us to allow our whole being to engage with the biblical text and to allow Spirit Holy to meet us as we are (not as we think we should be). Rather than seeking to analyse a biblical passage or trying to find the ‘right’...
In the ancient Psalm we read the words ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46.10). To be still, and enter into silence, can feel very uncomfortable, especially in our loud world that values busyness and productivity so highly. However, daring to enter into stillness can create the space for both greater authenticity and for healing. If you...
Watch TV or film and you could be given the impression that prayer is about bargaining with some unpredictable God, reciting a ‘shopping list of doom’ that lists all the things wrong in the world, or that prayer is about positive thinking, in which it is only permissible to praise God while denying suffering. Authentic prayer is not about these things....
An Awareness Examen can be used daily. It is a prayer practice, drawn from St Ignatius, that invites us to become aware of what is really going on within. It has three movements. You can engage in this practice for a couple of minutes or 10 minutes each day. Here are the 3 basic steps: Become still and open to God’s presence....
At Richmond Uniting Church we stand in solidarity with all those who seek to care for the earth. This is because we understand the earth as the Divine's good creation. This is not some simplistic literalist understanding of the earth being made in 6 days. The biblical text makes it clear that creation stories are not meant to be understood literally,...
Evidence indicates that in the early Jesus movement worship was often shared in homes, and holy communion, Eucharist, the sharing in bread and wine in Jesus' name, was shared over a meal in this home based worship. At RUC we are re-engaging with this ancient practice on the first Sunday in Advent, Sunday 29th November. We will be breaking with more 'modern'...