May 10, 2020

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

“Jesus reinvented as the way of the heart”

Welcome to St Andrew’s on The Terrace

Wherever you are on your faith journey,

wherever you have come from and wherever you are going to,

whatever you believe, whatever you do not believe, you are welcome here.

 

This Service is conducted by Rev Dr Niki Francis

 

MIHI WHAKATAU – WELCOME

Kia ora tatou

 

Today is Mothers’ day, a day on which we celebrate the wonderful mothers in our midst. However, we can also be mindful that motherhood is a delicate and sometimes difficult journey, and for some, this day can bring reminders of pain, emptiness, and grief – whether for new mums, old mums, single mums, grieving families, and those without children.

 

KARANGA – GATHERING CALL

We come together today

separated by level 3 restrictions

but together in our community

that enfolds us wherever we are.

We meet this way

to nurture and care for each other

as best we can,

to listen to stories from the Christian tradition

that might help us make sense of our lives today

and to enjoy the gift of music.

 

For those who are hurting

we aim to give hope.

For those who are exhausted

we aim to bring relief.

For those weighed down by expectations

we offer comfort and unconditional acceptance.

For those living in the shadows of anxiety

we to offer peace.

For those struggling with uncertainty

we offer reassurance,

and for those who are lonely

we offer companionship today.

 

 

HĪMENE – HYMN AA 59 ‘He came singing love’
Music and Words Colin Gibson © 1994 Hope Publishing

1. He came singing love
and he died singing love;
he died singing love.
He arose in silence.
For the love to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.

3. He came singing hope
and he died singing hope;
he died singing hope.
He arose in silence.
For the hope to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.

KARAKIA – PRAYER
We give thanks today for everyone who has nurtured us
loved us, cared for us, encouraged us, and inspired us.
We remember people who have not known the same love:
who have been hurt and damaged
by those whose role it was to love and protect them.
Let this community live the way of the heart
and be shelter for the lonely, the hurt, the aching ones.
Let us be the love this world
needs to nurture it forth from this Covid-19 time.
Let us enable each other
as the sun enables the koru to unfurl
from the ponga,
the moon enables the tides to ebb and flow,
the rain dampens the earth and from the darkness
urges seeds to sprout,
and the earth’s rotation gives us dark
that we may rest
until the sun rises on a new day.
Amen

E TO MATOU MATUA I TE RANGI – JESUS’ PRAYER

Eternal Spirit
Life-Giver, Pain-Bearer, Love-Maker,
source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
loving God, in whom is heaven:
the hallowing of your name
echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed
by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done
by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test,
strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory
of the power that is love, now and for ever.
Amen.

TE KĀNARA O TE WHARE ĀNIWANIWA – LIGHTING THE RAINBOW CANDLE
Emily and Lucy

THE SERENITY PRAYER Gillian Brookes

TE RANGIMARIE – PASSING THE PEACE
(We invite you to take this moment to greet those who are with you today, or to hold in your mind others from St Andrew’s, or your own loved ones)

KŌRERO PŪMAHARA – WORDS OF WISDOM Lynne Dovey

Gospel John 14:10-14

Contemporary reading “Beannacht”
From “Echoes of Memory”,
London: Transworld Publishers Ltd, 1994, 2009
By John O’Donohue
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets into you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green
and azure blue,
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

WHAKAUTU – RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.

KŌRERO – REFLECTION
“Jesus reinvented as the way of the heart” Niki Francis

HĪMENE – HYMN AA 8 Servant Song
Brother, sister let me serve you vv 2, 4
Words & Music by Richard Gillard
Words & Music © 1977 Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing
(Admin by Crossroad Distributors Ptd Ltd)
We are pilgrims on a journey,
and companions on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.

I will weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh I'll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow,
till we've seen this journey through.

KAWANGA – OFFERING PRAYER
We recognise and bless the gifts brought to the table, and those which wing
their way electronically from our banks to the church’s account.
Amen

INOI O NGA TANGATA – PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Jennifer Bush

CIRCLE OF PRAYER

We think today of the people of American Samoa and the National Council of Churches in American Samoa. We remember the detainees of Manus and Nauru Islands, yearning that their cases be resolved. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament, and today we name Nikki Kaye (Auckland Central electorate) and Matt King (Northland electorate). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Cook Islands Presbyterian Church, Porirua, and from the worldwide church for the Anglican Church of Kenya.

Renew your people, God,
and renew our life in this place.
Give us a new spirit of unity
with those of all faiths,
and a new spirit of love
towards all people.

Bless the city in which we live
that it may be a place
where honest dealing,
good government,
the desire for beauty,
and the care for others flourish.

Bless this church
that what we know of your will
may become what we do,
and what we believe
the strong impulse
of our worship and work.

Amen

HĪMENE – HYMN The Peace Song
Words and Music: Dorothy Buchanan
Sung by Georgia Gray

For you my friend I have one wish,
I wish that you will find
The way to know and love your friend,
Which comes from peace of mind.

No more of warring hate or doubt,
No talk or thought of gain,
Time now for sowing seeds of joy:
La paix, la joie, l'amour.

Peace, shalom,
Pax, aroha, La paix, la joie, l'amour
Peace to all who search for truth,
Peace and joy and love.

If we would buy with effort peace,
The cost to us would be
Our search for fortune, petty needs,
We'd find tranquility.

To find your true self seek for peace
With head and hand and mind,
With friends and lovers unite for peace,
Peace and joy and love.

Peace, shalom,
Pax, aroha,
La paix, la joie, l'amour
Peace to all who search for truth,
Peace and joy and love.

POROPOROAKIA MĀNAWATANGA – FAREWELL and BLESSING
May you feel nurtured by this time in virtual community
may you feel reassured, energised, loved and valued,
may you feel peace.

May a gentle Wellington wind
work these words around you,
an invisible cloak of love
to remind you of our community
and keep you warm until we can be together again.
Amen

TIME FOR A CUPPA

The end of our Sunday service is normally a time for catching up, meeting people and sharing what is happening in our lives. Perhaps you would like to phone a St Andrew’s person today.