Greetings Saltbush friends,
and welcome to this new year!

Our weekly Word Around The Bush liturgies and video reflections will resume in February, but for those of you looking for inspiration for this month, below are links to each week in our archive and a suggestion for a series of meaningful conversational gatherings that you can host during this time.

Please note that Mark has prepared a reflection for Epiphany, which is available at: Epiphany – a birth for all.

WATB ARCHIVES

Epiphany 1 – baptism of Jesus: God revealed

Epiphany 2 – wedding at Cana: God’s abundance

Epiphany 3 – Jesus at the synagogue: The response of the hearers

Table talks

An alternative to “traditional” worship over January is to gather around tables for fellowship and conversation around particular themes. This gives musicians and “regular” service leaders a break, builds community, and helps us reimagine worship in simple, creative ways. It also gives people the opportunity to share their stories. A suggested pattern of conversations for 2025 based on the Gospel readings above is:

Water stories

Cross cultural/multi cultural stories

Justice stories

A typical “service” would begin with a brief prayer (you could use the opening prayer in the liturgies above), followed by the Gospel reading, and 2 or 3 guest speakers asked to prepare a five-minute talk around the theme. After their presentations, folk can ask questions about what they have heard or offer a bit of their own story. This can be a very deep and meaningful time – especially if you have asked people from outside the congregation or from a different background or who don’t often say much to speak.

It also works very well to have these gatherings around tables with food – morning tea or brunch – and you can easily incorporate Holy Communion or a love feast into this time. The video below is of Rev. Tim Jensen presiding in a beautiful bush setting.

As you get ready to finish, people can be invited to share any prayer needs or requests that have arisen from listening to the stories. Then, sit together in the quiet for a few minutes, inviting God to hold these prayers and the unspoken prayers of our hearts.

This practice takes a bit of getting used to, but in congregations where I’ve introduced it, it’s become a much-anticipated time of togetherness.

***

Tess Ward writes this simple prayer of praise for this threshold time, which I’d like to leave with you as the Saltbush team heads into a couple of weeks of rest and reimagining for 2025:

God of promise,
praise to you that your hope does not fade
or become tawdry as the baubles when the festivities are done.
Praise that your love cannot be put away in the box with the angels
for you came in the darkness,
and reached out to us.
And when the return of routine is contemplated with relief
and in weariness, as at the bottom of a tall mountain,
praise for your promise of presence.