Inside the Intercultural Neighbouring Sunday Resource Guide 2026
On Sunday 19 July, communities across the Uniting Church are invited to join in the fourth annual national celebration of Intercultural Neighbouring Sunday.
On Sunday 19 July, communities across the Uniting Church are invited to join in the fourth annual national celebration of Intercultural Neighbouring Sunday (INS).
Emerging from a decision of the 16th Assembly in 2022, INS celebrates the rich tapestry of cultures and languages that make up the body of Christ, and encourages us to push deeper into what it means to live our life and faith interculturally in the Uniting Church. It is also an invitation to go beyond our own communities to make connections with culturally diverse communities around us, and to join in with what God is already doing in our neighbourhood.
This year's theme, Belonging: One Body, Many Members, takes up the Assembly's 2012 statement of the same name. In her message for INS 2026, UCA President Rev Charissa Suli reflects on marking 200 years of Christianity in Tonga this year, and writes that the Church is at its best when people of different cultures, languages and traditions recognise they belong to one another as the Body of Christ. She invites every congregation to ask who belongs, whose gifts are still waiting to be discovered, and who is still waiting to know they truly belong.
The 2026 Prayer, jointly written by Rev Dr Sarah Agnew and Rev Dr Paul Goh, gives voice to that question through two speakers, moving between English and Korean, reflecting on what it costs the majority culture to make room, and what it means to build a table together rather than simply keep a seat warm for someone else.
Resources for a full worship service, the 2026 Prayer, and ways to get involved are now available on our website. There's a lot on offer this year, so here's a quick guide to what you'll find.
The Celebration Guide is the ready-to-use Order of Worship for Sunday 19 July, following the Church's traditional Gathering, Word, Thanksgiving, Sending shape, so start there if you only have time for one document. It includes the President's message, the 2026 Prayer, multiple options for calls to worship, prayers of confession and assurance, an Acknowledgement of Country (with a bilingual poster available in 11 languages), testimony pieces on racism and belonging, scripture readings, a Litany of Commitment, a multilingual Communion liturgy, and prayers of intercession naming the Bondi Beach attack and the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
Alongside it sits a Companion Resource, with the deeper material for those planning further ahead: sermon notes working through Genesis 28, Psalm 139, Romans 8, Matthew 13 and 1 Corinthians 12, a multilingual Kyrie prayed in more than a dozen languages, a symbolic "build the body together" activity, separate resources for children and youth, and a full list of Together in Song selections drawing on Taizé and songs from Ghana, Korea, Nigeria, Argentina, Zulu and Caribbean traditions. It also points to a paper on Intentionally Anti-Racist Worship and a compiled list of anti-racism resources for congregations.
Happy Intercultural Neighbouring Sunday!
