On Reformation Sunday (29 October) as part of our Sunday Service, we commemorated 500 years since the start of the Protestant Reformation in 1517, when, by legend, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg.

As we began to think about how the world is changing, and what it might mean to be the church into the next 500 years, the congregation were invited to come and write their hopes of the church on a piece of paper, and nail them to a door we set up at the front of church. Here are what they said:

• ‘To live together peacefully’

• ‘A place where everyone can love God’

• ‘Safety, love and worth for all, but especially precious children.’

• ‘May more people come to know the Love of Jesus.’

• ‘I hope kids learn about God.’

• ‘Acceptance and love of all people from all backgrounds.’

• ‘I want church to be a gathering place for the family.’

• ‘May the seeds of love and tolerance, which are here in Crookwell, grow to embrace all.’

• ‘As we move into change, may we always remember “is this what God wants?”‘

• ‘A place where we can bring people who have never been to church.’

• ‘Equality. Fearlessness. Respect.’

• ‘Love one another as God loves us, and we forgive what we have done to us.

It reminded me of something that was mentioned at the recent Synod meeting of the Uniting Church in NSW.ACT: the Uniting Church knows it is called to be Diverse, Inclusive, and committed to Social Justice. It seems that this is true also in Crookwell.