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Modern Australian Liturgies invites individuals and communities into sacred rhythms of prayer, lament, celebration and hope. They address the realities of our contemporary social and cultural context in language that honours both ancient Christian tradition and the distinct character of Australia’s peoples and landscapes. These liturgies speak with clarity, humility, and strength.
Each liturgy has been written in response to the author’s own context and comes from a range of perspectives and experiences. Many liturgies contain the words the author needed to hear at a threshold moment that was not addressed by traditional liturgies. Whether used in personal devotion, faith communities, or small groups, these rituals offer a thoughtful and grounded way to encounter God in the everyday and the extraordinary.
A voice for worship.
A resource for renewal.
An invitation to the sacred.
Please note: some liturgies address sensitive topics and individual discretion is advised.
Edited by: Michelle Eastwood, Catherine Lambert, Tracy McEwan
Dr Michelle Eastwood has been thinking about liturgies and liturgical forms since she was a child. After church on Sunday, over a bowl of tomato soup with cubes of cheese at the bottom, discussions about what worked, what didn’t, how people responded, and ideas about upcoming services were regular lunchtime fodder. Michelle comes from a long line of Australian– German Lutheran traditions, which included both her father and maternal grandfather as ministers in the Lutheran Church of Australia.
Michelle is co-editor of the recently released book Reading the Bible in Australia, and writes a substack at (Not) Rescuing the Text (https:// michellejeastwood.substack.com/) and contributes to the Women in Theology blog (womenintheology.org). Michelle lives, works and plays on the unceded lands of the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation. She dreams of a day when reconciliation between First and Second Nations people is a respectful and lived reality.
Rev Dr Catherine (Cathie) Lambert has a particular love for the use of ritual in worship, in community and in the home. As a Uniting Church minister she has had the privilege of walking alongside people in the joys and struggles of life. Creating ways to mark significant moments in life has been a welcome challenge. As a spiritual director, Cathie has also witnessed the transformative power of simple ritual actions at turning points, and forks in the road, in people’s spiritual journeys. Cathie has studied in the areas of education, theology and spirituality. She is privileged to live on the unceded lands of the Whadjuk People of the Noongar Nation. She is thankful for their enduring culture and care for Country, and ritual.
Dr Tracy McEwan is a feminist theologian and sociologist of religion and gender. Through her research and activist work, she seeks to empower women. Her writing and research interests include women in Catholicism; gender-based violence; and church participation, generations, and life stage. Tracy’s major projects include the podcast ‘Australian Women Preach’, which celebrates the diverse talents of woman preachers in Australia, and the International Survey of Catholic Women, a survey of more than 17,000 Catholic women from 104 countries. She is a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and an Honorary Fellow at the Australian Catholic University.
