Church of All Nations

Last Sunday, 20 April, Mac Nicoll led prayers (pictured) at the Church of All Nations, two days after the passing of our beloved Doug Fullerton:

Gracious God,
you suffer in our suffering
you are distressed in our distress.

We acknowledge our sadness and sorrow as we take in the reality of Doug’s death and we want to reach out to Ethel and her family as they walk through this sad and painful time of grief.

In the quietness of our own hearts, we remember Doug and all he meant to us.

Leading worship with dignity and warmth
a teaching ministry with a challenging edge
a passionate desire to share the good news of your love for all people and the whole creation
a sharp mind and a willingness to grapple with the difficult questions
an awareness of the mystery of it all

Greeting people before and after worship
making strangers feel welcome
introducing them to others
inviting people home to lunch
remembering names
asking after our children and following their careers with interest

Unfailingly affirming and encouraging to those who led the worship,
always able to find some word to build up rather than to find fault
in meetings, invariably recommending a minute of appreciation for some one who had completed a significant task
visiting the local imam the morning after 9/11, building bridges of friendship with people of other faiths

We recall Doug striding out around his beloved Princes Park
returning on a Saturday afternoon with blue and white scarf and cap after the footy
supporting a lone protester perched up in the poplar tree to prevent the new grandstand being built
taking Probus members on walks in the area

We are grateful for Doug as friend in time of trouble
supportive without being intrusive
listening more than advising,
a strong, comforting presence
trustworthy, a true friend to many

We give thanks for his profound appreciation of Ethel and her gifts, and his valuing her partnership with him in their ministry of care for others
For their great love for their family and their encouragement of them to be themselves,
for their rejoicing in the lives their children have lived

And so we pray now for Ethel and their whole family, sister, in laws, children and partners and grandchildren, one strong family, all gathered together in this special time to support Doug and Ethel.
Their sense of loss is so keen because their love is so deep.
Be for them a strong consolation in the midst of their grief, a source of hope and reassurance in these days of remembering, of regretting, of rejoicing . . .and also in their sense of relief that the struggle is over.
May they all know in the depths that they are surrounded by love and enfolded in grace.

Gracious God, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.