We acknowledge the sovereign and unceded land and waters of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.
We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and recognise the work of younger Indigenous leaders in the community.
We support the Uluru Statement from the Heart. There is no reconciliation without justice and the telling of truths hard to hear. There is much good work to do.
We are an ecumenical (open to many Christian traditions) and affirming congregation of the Uniting Church in Australia. The Eucharist is at the heart of our life together.
We offer opportunities for community participation and service via the South Sydney Herald newspaper, the Orchard Gallery for artists, and partnership with local organisations.
We grow flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables in our Eden Community Garden, a safe place for refreshment, sustainable practice, education and contemplation – a collaborative work.
We are a welcoming and diverse group of people from South Sydney and beyond.
We are open to God at work in the world. We seek to be a community of peace, justice, compassion and faithfulness.
We look for the Holy Spirit in all things and we strive to care for all creation.
With Christ, we dare to be honest in our lives and to explore difficult questions together. We are open to different points of view.
We share love, friendship, hospitality and hope with each other and with our neighbours, regardless of faith or sexuality. We seek to overcome both exclusion and abuse.
River Sunday | September 24, 2023
Psalm 104:27-33; Revelation 22:1-5; Matthew 28:1-10
‘Just as rivers flow’
The final chapter of the book/letter of Revelation depicts a heavenly city on Earth – the descent of a New Jerusalem – where the Lamb of God (nonviolence) rules, and God’s name (love/liberation …) is reflected in human faces. We are shown a street, a life-giving river and fruitful/medicinal trees. The vision is one of harmony, sustainability; illumination, salvation (wellness and wholeness).
This movement from above to below is significant. The vision counters conventional (otherworldly) notions of transcendence and calls us to lower our sights – to look around us for signs of truth, goodness and beauty – just as rivers flow from high to lowlands and to the sea.
