(From my friend Simon):

Leader: Peace be with this house and with all who live here. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Confession:

Leader: We acknowledge that we stand on the land of which the Wurundjeri people have been custodians from time immemorial. May we work through what it means to claim ownership of this land, and work for justice for those who have been dispossessed.

We honour their rich wisdom, traditions and history and commit ourselves to care for the land with them. May our lives, our worship and our service be work for reconciliation and healing with people and with our God.

We confess too that, like Jacob, our histories have often been characterised by blindness to your presence in this land, needing special dreams and visions to reveal you. We commit ourselves anew to recognising your presence in this place, and wherever we are.

We honour too the history of this house, and the many people who have passed through its doors before us; for the acts of love and the conflict these walls have been witness to; for those it has given shelter and been a safe haven for; and for the physical changes and developments it has undergone, we give thanks.

Together: Jesus, light of the world, we confess that you are here. Shine your light into the hidden places of our lives, and bring warmth to the cold places of our hearts. Amen.

Scripture reading: John 1

At the very start, there was one who is called the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. From day one, God and the Word were inseparable.

It was through the Word that everything was created. There is absolutely nothing that doesn't owe its existence to him.

In the Word was life. He is the source of the life that turns on the lights for everyone. The light of his life breaks open the darkness, and the darkness could not snuff it out.

He turned up on his own planet, among those he created, but his own people turned their backs on him.

Some people accepted him, though, and put their trust in who he said he was and what he said he was on about. He gave to those people all they needed to become children of God. Becoming God's children had nothing to do with sperm and egg, or three-stage labour; they became God's children when they were born of God.

The Word, though, was born flesh and blood like everyone else. He cast in his lot with us and rolled out his swag in our midst.

We have seen him in all his glory, like father, like son; warm and generous to a fault, solid and true to the core.

©2000 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Leader: When Christ became flesh through Mary, he made his home with us. May he always be here among us; may he nurture our love for each other, share in our joys, comfort us in our sorrows. Inspired by his teachings and example, may this home before all else be a dwelling place of love, diffusing far and wide the goodness of Christ.

May it be held to lightly, with a recognition for those who dwell here that they are the disciples of a man who had nowhere to lay his head, and who recognised his family as those who do the will of God.

May the concept of home extend from this structure into the surrounding neighbourhood in a steadfast commitment to locality; that your transforming presence might been seen concretely incarnated in this place.

Giving of gifts & prayers for home The hospitality of Abraham - Genesis 18:1-8. One blazing summer afternoon, Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent, when the LORD appeared to him. Looking up, Abraham saw three strangers approaching him. He immediately jumped up and hurried to welcome them as honoured guests. He said, "Please allow me the honour of sharing the hospitality of my home with you. Come in. Take a bath. Put your feet up for a bit. Let me serve you up a meal so that you can leave refreshed and strengthened. I would count it a favour to have the opportunity to serve you in this way." So they said, "Thank you, we accept." So Abraham hurried into the tent and said, "Sarah. Quick! Knock up a batch of scones while I organise the barbeque." Then he ran out to his grazing herd and butchered a prime calf. He instructed one of his workers to prepare the best cuts for the barbeque. When it was all ready, he served it up for his guests with a yoghurt dip and plenty to drink, and waited on them while they ate.

You are invited to give your gift to ________ and offer a prayer or a thought for them as they grow home here.

We recognise that unlike a house, a home is something that is grown, not rented. And so we present to you these seeds, that you might see in them what is important; patience, investment, nurture, growth.

[All go from room to room, offering prayers of intercession.]

At the entrance:

O God, protect those who use this doorway in their going out and our coming in. May this be a place of hospitality for all who enter, that those who visit here may know your love and peace. May those who go out from here do so refreshed and ready to do your work in the world. Lord hear us, Lord hear our prayer

In the living room:

O God, give your blessings to all who share this room, that they may be bonded together in companionship. May it be full of laughter and of deep sharing between souls. May it be a place of respite and rest from tiredness. Lord hear us, Lord hear our prayer

In the kitchen:

O God, you fill the hungry with good things. You provide us with food and drink to sustain our lives and make our hearts glad. May this be a place where food is treasured Send your blessing on those who work in this kitchen, and remind us to always be thankful for our daily bread. Lord hear us, Lord hear our prayer

In the bedrooms:

Protect those who stay here, Lord, as they wake; and watch over them as they sleep, that awake they may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, they may rest in his peace. Lord hear us, Lord hear our prayer

In the bathroom:

Blessed are you, Lord of heaven and earth. You formed us in wisdom and love. Refresh us in body and in spirit, and keep us in good health that we might serve you.

Lord hear us,

Lord hear our prayer

All recite the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father in heaven

Make your name holy

May your Kingdom come

May your will be done on earth

As it is in heaven

Give us today our bread for tomorrow

Forgive us our debts

As we forgive our debtors

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil.

For the Kingdom, the power and the glory are yours

Forever and ever.

Amen

Prayer of blessing:

Be our shelter, Lord, when we are at home, our companion when we are away, and our welcome guest when we return. And at last receive us into the dwelling place you have prepared for us in your Father's house, where you live for ever and ever.

Amen