39th Synod in Session Reflection - Speak Lord, Your People are Listening

Reflection by Rev Bruce Moore, Moderator, Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod

For forty days, people across the Queensland Synod have been praying.

In congregations and faith communities, presbyteries, agencies, schools, homes and small groups, we have been invited to pause, become still and place ourselves before God. Our theme, Renewal: Praying Without Ceasing, reminds us that renewal is not something we can manufacture through harder work, better plans or more efficient structures. Renewal is God’s work before it becomes ours. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit, received as we pray, listen deeply and respond faithfully.

The 40 Days of Prayer have been about much more than preparing for a meeting. They have been about preparing ourselves as the people of God.

Throughout this journey, we have been invited to listen for God’s voice, behold Christ and the life around us, reflect honestly upon our life as a Church, open ourselves to renewal, respond courageously and perceive where God is already making all things new. We have prayed that God might soften our hearts, challenge our assumptions, reshape our thinking, deepen our discernment and give us courage to follow beyond what is comfortable and familiar.

The reflections have also called us to be honest. What have we become so busy maintaining that we no longer notice what God is doing among us? What are we carrying that needs to be released? Where have fear, weariness or familiar habits narrowed our imagination? Where is God stirring new life, healing relationships, restoring hope and inviting us to take the next faithful step?

Now, as we approach the 39th Synod, the call to prayer becomes even more urgent.

Synod will bring together members from across Queensland for worship, Bible study, conversation, discernment and decision-making. We will hear reports, consider proposals, participate in Yarning Circles and listen to voices from across the breadth of our Church. Yet beneath every report, proposal and decision lies a much deeper question:

What kind of Church is God calling us to be?

That question cannot be answered by debate alone. It cannot be settled simply by defending the position with which we arrived. It requires us to listen before responding, to disagree well, to remain open to the wisdom carried by another person’s experience and, together, to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit.

This is why I am calling our whole Church to remain on its knees in prayer.

For some, that may mean kneeling physically. For all of us, it means adopting a posture of humility, surrender and expectation before God. It means praying for those who will gather at Synod: for wisdom, patience and courage; for generosity towards differing perspectives; and for hearts willing to hear what the Spirit may be saying through Scripture, worship, silence, conversation and one another. Synod can be demanding, and the way forward may not always be obvious. Yet there will also be joy, celebration and powerful stories of what God is already doing across Queensland.

We do not pray because we already know the outcome we want and need God to endorse it. We pray because we trust that God may speak, unsettle, redirect and renew us. We pray with expectation that the living Christ is present among us and that the Spirit can lead us into the very place God calls us to be as the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod.

As we discern the future, we also honour those who have brought us to this moment. For forty-nine years, generations of faithful people have worshipped, witnessed, served, prayed, struggled, taken risks and followed Christ as part of the Uniting Church in Australia. We give thanks for those who dreamed of union, those who laid foundations, and those whose quiet faithfulness has sustained congregations and communities across this vast and diverse state.

Next year, as we celebrate the 50th birthday of the Uniting Church in Australia, we will remember this inheritance with gratitude. But faithful remembrance is not about living in the past. We honour previous generations most deeply when we receive what they entrusted to us and remain open to where God is calling the Church now.

We come to the 39th Synod bringing our experience and convictions, but also our curiosity. We come prepared to speak and ready to listen. We come not simply to be informed, but to be transformed; not simply organised, but attentive; not merely gathered but renewed.

The future of the Church does not rest upon our strength alone. God is with us. The Spirit is at work. Renewal is possible.

So let us pray without ceasing. Let us listen deeply, discern faithfully and follow Christ boldly. And may we be ready to go wherever God leads.

Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Renew your Church.
Speak, Lord, for your people are listening.