He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
[Excerpted from “The Quiet Work of God” by Sue Palmer, Australia Herald 2024, Volume 2]
It was 1999. I sat on the back step of my home in Merrylands, New South Wales, looking out over the back yard, aware of an unsettled feeling within me. “What is going on?” I asked as I looked for God in this moment of contemplation. I was sensing a stirring to be doing something more, something…but I wasn’t sure what.
A few weeks later I found myself in discussion with our region president, Matt Naylor, about what the church could be doing to help LGBT people. Fast forward a couple of months, and we were meeting for the first time at a church-owned building in Cranebrook as a coming out and spirituality group. Six months later we decided to call this group the Open Door. Over the years since then there have been many chapters of amazing new experiences, seeing how God’s love weaves people from diverse backgrounds into a faith community.
In 2008 the Open Door was welcomed as a congregation of Community of Christ. In 2014 we celebrated our first ordinations for people in same-sex relationships. And, two years later, we rejoiced in the sacrament of marriage also being made available to same-sex couples.
Fast forward to 2022. It was Communion Sunday and the worship was starting. A stranger walked in during our first song and sat down. He sat quietly at the back and partook of the emblems with us. During prayer time I felt an awareness that this stranger needed God’s blessing and felt the nudge of the Good Spirit to extend an invitation for the laying on of hands for the sick. The man immediately stood up and came forward, and we prayed for him in the sacrament of administration.
A couple of Sundays later, this man returned. He was excited as he told us about how he felt he had received a blessing of healing and was so thankful to God. He began attending our Sunday gatherings and later brought his wife and his sister. And so we started getting to know this new family, Gulzar and Zarina, from Pakistan.
Gulzar told me that his church closed, so they went to another one in Birkenhead. I was amazed to discover that 30 years earlier Gulzar and Zarina had, in fact, been worshipping with people in our church. “Peter,” Gulzar said. “Peter and Anne.” Our connection was cemented.
None of these snippets of God’s great and marvelous work that I have seen in my life over the past 25 years may ever make the headlines. But I have seen love change lives. I am filled with awe at how God continues to provide new opportunities for us to be about Christ’s mission. It is my experience that God truly does partner with us every step of the way. Let us continue to be faithful and ready to respond to where God is leading us.
Prayer Phrase
“We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Sea of Light
Quiet and center yourself. Ask for God’s healing and guidance as you enter this time of prayerful presence. Close your eyes, breathing deeply and calmly. Imagine that you are floating in a beautiful sea of light that rises and falls with each cycle of your breath. The golden light of this sea buoys you up, so you float effortlessly. Waves of light carry and wash over you, bringing wholeness and peace. Rest in the sea of God’s love, then offer a prayer of gratitude.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.