We give thanks for this space, a place where the making and unmaking of history are pronounced, public good debated, mistakes learned, global events informed. 

We give thanks for the faith-based ministry and the rights-based actions come to the same table, to share a communion of love and discern a purpose to serve.

We give thanks for calling us to this event, to place people at the centre of our attention. In loving and serving our neighbour, we discover each person as the beloved, made equal in God’s image.

We give thanks for the footprint of UnitingCare Network. More than numbers, more than locations, they are human relationships. God is indeed in the margins, using the margins to reshape the centre.

We give thanks for professional staff and volunteers who have broadened the scope of our national-self, by changing lives and communities and changing our agencies.

We give thanks for the Uniting Church, its Covenant with the First Peoples, its celebration of diversity among the Second Peoples, its vision for justice and renewal of the whole creation.

We give thanks for the organising committee and UnitingCare staff, they have made this event possible. We bless them. And we bless each other with our joy and delight.