What do you feel about the world in which you live? 

Do you see it as the best of all possible worlds? Or do you long for a world that is better—more compassionate, just, peaceful, secure, sustainable, and good for all its inhabitants? If you were to describe your dream of what your world could be, what would it look like?

We all yearn to live in peace and safety, to get along with our neighbours, and to have all the resources and opportunities we need for our family to thrive. 

Yet somehow we just don’t seem to be able to create that world. 

Polarisation, conflict, and inequality seem to be growing by the day. And religions, that are meant to bring wholeness and unity into the world, are a big part of the problem.

That’s why I am excited to introduce my new Liturgical and Devotional Guides,

Building Bridges

Across the globe, millions of people agree that the teachings of Jesus describe a way of being that can make our world the place we long for. And at the heart of Jesus’ way is the call to include one another, celebrate our differences, and build bridges of understanding, compassion, and connection between us. But this way of love and justice doesn’t come naturally to us. It requires us to make the difficult, daily choice to turn away from our self-interest and self-protection and reach out to one another in kindness, acceptance, and celebration of our uniqueness. 

Building Bridges is both a Liturgical and Devotional Guide and a manual of sorts for learning to live in the inclusive way of Christ. It is a six-week journey based on the readings for Year A and beginning on Pentecost Sunday. But it can easily be used at any time during the Ordinary Time season.

The BUILDING BRIDGES Liturgical Guide includes:

• Reflection chapters for every service of the series based on the Lectionary readings for Year A;
• Purpose-written prayers and liturgies for all services;
• A theme-based Table Liturgy that can be used at any service in the series;
• Theme-based graphics for your projection software, including welcome screens and backgrounds for song lyrics, liturgies, and sermon notes.

The BUILDING BRIDGES Devotional Guide includes:

• Preparing, Responding, and Integrating practices for every day of the series to ensure that you can easily apply the message of each day to your own life;
• Copies of the Reflection chapters for each week for quick reference in your daily devotional practice;
• Daily reflection questions to enable you to listen more deeply to the message of the Scriptures and apply it to your life and relationships.

The BUILDING BRIDGES Bundle includes:

Designed for communities that want to journey together, while also providing a meaningful personal journey for congregation members, the Bundle includes both the Liturgical and the Devotional Guides. It also includes a license to share the Devotional Guide through any or all of the following channels: 

• Printed handouts to distribute to congregation members; 
• Digital copies sent to members via email; 
• Posted on your church's social media channels; 
• Posted on your church's website.

The six chapters of BUILDING BRIDGES are shaped around the following themes:

Chapter 1: All In One

Pentecost reveals that God is less concerned with dogma than with diversity, with purity than with people, and with rightness than with relationships. This is why the Spirit calls us to be bridge-builders who celebrate diversity and seek ways to connect across differences.

Chapter 2: The Other Side

The idea of Trinity is not a test of doctrinal purity or theological correctness. It is a metaphor that tells us something about God—that God is a diverse community within God’s Self. And that means that being part of God’s beloved community always includes diversity, non-conformity, and creativity.

Chapter 3: Healing Touches

Holiness in not about separation and purity. It is about wholeness—receiving it for ourselves, sharing it with others, and bringing more of it into our world.

Chapter 4: The Way of Compassion

We get to choose what world we live in. We can live in a polarised, divided, and fragmented world, or we can build bridges and work towards a united, compassionate, and loving world.

Chapter 5: The Cost of Inclusion

It may hurt to do the difficult work of learning to love those who see, think, live, love, and believe differently than we do. But, as Bishop Peter Storey once declared, “The pain of being together is far less than the pain of being apart.”

Chapter 6: The Gift of Hospitality

Imagine what would happen if our communities were known for their openness, inclusivity, and love. Imagine what the world could be if we used the gift of hospitality to create spaces where strangers become friends, where wounds are healed, and where God's love is made manifest.