August 23, 2020

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

Today’s service is led by Rev. Peter MacKenzie

GATHERING

Come to this place to worship God.

We come to celebrate the Giver of Life.

Come to this place listen for God’s voice.

We come to hear the Word of God.

Come to this place to be with each other

We come together as the family of God.

 

PROCESSIONAL HYMN AA 36 ‘Every day I will offer you’
Words © 1992 Shirley Murray
Music by Colin Gibson, © 1993 Hope Publishing Company
Every day I will offer you,
loving God, my heart and mind,
every way I discover you
in the work your hand has signed;
help me see I’m your image, and
you have dreamed what I might be,
every day in the Spirit,
I’ll find the love and energy!

Every day I will look to Christ,
and give thanks for wine and bread
through the pain and the emptiness
where your world cries to be fed;
help me see I can work for change,
and wherever I might be,
every day in your Spirit,
I’ll find the love and energy!

Every day I will take your word,
answer your compassion’s claim,
celebrate every sign of hope,
every deed done in your name;
help me see you are always there,
and your light can shine through me,
every day in the Spirit,
I’ll find your love and energy!
WELCOME
Kia ora tatou.
Kia ora.
PRAYER
Loving God, we are thankful that we can come together to worship, even as churches remain closed in many countries.
We give thanks for this community of God in which we find a place.
We count our blessings for being able to gather in worship.
We are grateful that we are free to worship without fear of persecution or harm.
We give thanks for the peace within our community but recognise that such peace is fragile and needs to be cared for.
Loving God, shelter us from the storms of life and assure us of your presence in this church, in our homes and in our community.
In this place may we sense your Spirit with us –
in our prayer, our song and our thoughts.
Gracious God, be with us in our fears
that we might have courage to walk in your path.
Assure us that you will walk with us in dark valleys and rocky roads.
Forgive us for our lack of trust in you, our God,
and in others who share our journey.
Merciful God, you are with us even when we do not recognise you. Speak to us in the quiet whisper of your Spirit.
We know this, by the Grace of Jesus Christ, we are not alone. God is with us.
Thanks be to God. Amen

JESUS PRAYER Jim Cotter paraphrase

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.
LIGHTING THE RAINBOW ROOM CANDLE
TIME WITH CHILDREN Cameron Smart
BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
We send you to the Rainbow Room to hear stories, ask questions
and have fun together.
We bless you. Amen.
PASSING THE PEACE
Traditionally we shake hands to pass the peace and say “peace be with you. Now that Covid is here
we ask that you pass the peace without shaking hands.

THE WORD IN TEXTS Lois Robertson

Hebrew Bible Joel 2: 28-32
God’s Spirit poured out

Gospel Luke 10:1-11
The Mission of the Seventy
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
REFLECTION ‘Hope for a New Tomorrow’ Rev. Peter MacKenzie

HYMN: WOV 669 ‘I am the light of the world’
Words & Music © 1969 Jim Strathdee. Music (Admin. by Desert Flower Music)

“I am the light of the world.
You people come and follow me!”
If you follow and love
you’ll learn the mystery
of what you were meant to do and be.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and the shepherds
have found their way home,
the work of Christmas is begun:
Chorus

to find the lonely and the lost,
to heal their broken souls with love,
to feed the hungry children
with warmth and good food,
to feel the earth below, the sky above;
Chorus

to free the prisoners from their chains,
to make the powerful care,
to re-build the nations
with strength of good will,
to be at one with people everywhere;
Chorus

to bring hope to every task you do,
to dance at a baby’s new birth,
to make music in
an old man’s heart,
and sing to the colours of the earth.
Chorus
OFFERING PRAYER (said together)
We dedicate our lives and all that we have
for hope, for peace, for joy, and for love.
Receive our gifts and lead us in wisdom and courage. Amen.

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.
LIFE IN THE COMMUNITY OF ST ANDREW’S
People share notices and visitors are welcomed. If you have a notice, please move to the front row, ready to speak briefly from the lectern.
For the benefit of newcomers, please introduce yourself before you begin.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Ellen Murray
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Bolivia and the Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church. 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 James Shaw and Jamie Strange, list MPs. Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of St Columba's Presbyterian Church, Havelock North.
PRAYER FOR ST ANDREW’S

Renew your people, God,
and renew our life in this place.
Give us a new spirit of unity
with all who follow the Way of Jesus
and new bonds of love
with people of other faiths.

Bless the city in which we live
that it may be a place
where honest dealing,
good government,
and 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
HYMN AA 118 ‘Sing a happy alleluia!’
Words: © 1992 Shirley Erena Murray
Music: Colin Gibson, © 1992 Hope Publishing Company
Sing a happy alleluia!
Sing it out with heart and style,
we’re the echo of God’s laughter,
we’re the image of God’s smile.
Alleluia, all creation,
alleluia, everyone,
alleluia, all creation,
alleluia everyone.

We’re the proof of God’s good humour,
we’re the twinkle in God’s eye,
made to shine, reflect the glory,
given light and space to fly –
Alleluia.....

Sarah laughed at God’s good timing,
Mary sang and David danced,
Jesus smiled and hugged the children –
so for us is life enhanced.
Alleluia.....

Every day sing alleluia!
We are loved, though so absurd.
Human, foolish, chosen people, God still takes us at our word!
Alleluia.....
BLESSING
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE Choral Song (1842)
by Samuel Sebastian Wesley