Sacraments
Collects from the Basis of Union Paragraph 6
Image description: Montville Uniting Church, Qld; banner design by Shiloh Moore.
O Christ,
you have commanded us to proclaim the Gospel
in both word and sacrament.
May you be visibly active in everything
that the Church does in obedience to this command,
in order that forgiveness is conferred,
and freedom, new life and community is enacted
by the gift of the Spirit. Amen.
O Christ,
who acts in everything
that the Church does in obedience to your command,
awaken, purify and advance in your people,
the faith and hope by which alone
the benefits of your promises may be accepted
as gifts of the Spirit. Amen.
Paragraph 6
The Uniting Church acknowledges that Christ has commanded his Church to proclaim the Gospel both in words and in the two visible acts of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Christ himself acts in and through everything that the Church does in obedience to his commandment: it is Christ who by the gift of the Spirit confers the forgiveness, the fellowship, the new life and the freedom which the proclamation and actions promise; and it is Christ who awakens, purifies and advances in people the faith and hope in which alone such benefits can be accepted.