February 14, 2021

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

GATHERING

We have come into this place of hope
where our hearts and minds are opened to the future.

We have come into this place of justice
where we set aside our fear
to name freely every oppression.

We have come into this place of song
where we unite our voices in the somber
and the beautiful melodies of life.

So let us celebrate this richness and diversity of life.

 

PROCESSIONAL HYMN WOV 80 ‘Immortal, invisible, God only wise’
Words: Walter Chalmers Smith (1824-1908) alt.
Music: St Denio WOV 80
1. Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

2. Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above,
thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

3. To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on a tree,
and wither and perish: but nought changeth thee.

4. Creator of glory, creator of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
of all thy rich graces this grace, God, impart –
take the veil from our faces, the veil from our heart.

5. All praise we would render: O help us to see,
‘tis only the splendour of light hideth thee;
and so let thy glory, Almighty, impart
through Christ in the story, thy Christ to the heart.
WELCOME
Kia ora tatou.
Kia ora.
PRAYER
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 CANDLE
TIME WITH CHILDREN Ellen Murray
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.
HYMN FFS 47 ‘Maker of Mystery’
Words: © Marnie Barrell. Tune: Down Ampney WOV 310
1. Maker of mystery,
dreamer of what will be,
well-spring and fertile ground of all our growing:
tending the buried seed,
foreseeing every need,
you draw us into life beyond our knowing.

2. Christ, strong and living vine,
spreading through space and time,
deep rooted in the love of God our mother:
dying, you live and share
your strength with us, to bear
ripe fruit in season for the life of others.

3. Wild Spirit, springing green,
coiled in the depths unseen,
promise of fruit within the seed maturing:
new life, you grow and swell,
burst from the outgrown shell,
hundredfold yield in every age ensuring.

4. Living and loving God,
sing in the pulse of our blood,
help us to know you in your own creation,
love you, the life of all,
serve you and hear your call
from our first forming to our full salvation.
THE WORD IN TEXTS Linda Wilkins
Gospel Mark 9: 2-13
Contemporary reading “Transfiguration” by Walter Wink
Excerpt from an article in Interpretation

Transfiguration is living by vision: standing foursquare in the midst of a broken, tortured, oppressed, starving, dehumanizing reality, yet seeing the invisible, calling to it to come, behaving as if it is on the way, sustained by elements of it that have come already, within and among us. In those moments when people are healed, transformed, freed from addictions, obsessions, destructiveness, self worship or when groups or communities or even, rarely, whole nations glimpse the light of the transcendent in their midst, there the New Creation has come upon us. The world for one brief moment is transfigured. The beyond shines in our midst—on the way to the cross.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
Music for Reflection: "Ode to simplicity "from the album "The Secret Garden"
Composer Rolf Lovland
A READING by Malcolm Guite

(I believe the glimpse of glory in Christ they saw on the mount of the Transfiguration was given in order to sustain the disciples through darkness that would lead to Good Friday. Indeed it is for a disciple, looking back at the transfiguration from Good Friday, that I have voiced the poem.)

For that one moment, ‘in and out of time’,
On that one mountain where all moments meet,
The daily veil that covers the sublime
In darkling glass fell dazzled at his feet.
There were no angels full of eyes and wings
Just living glory full of truth and grace.
The Love that dances at the heart of things
Shone out upon us from a human face
And to that light the light in us leaped up,
We felt it quicken somewhere deep within,
A sudden blaze of long-extinguished hope
Trembled and tingled through the tender skin.
Nor can this blackened sky, this darkened scar
Eclipse that glimpse of how things really are.
HYMN ‘We wait upon the mountain’
Lyrics: Mary Pearson, Tune: Thornbury, WOV 389
1. We wait upon the mountain,
our hearts and minds confused,
to penetrate the mystery
of love by light suffused.
The darkness of our living
obscures our sight till we,
with fear changed into boldness,
find life in Christ set free.

2. We find new inspiration
in glimpses of your grace;
we see once more before us,
your love with human face.
We see again the mystery
of Christ on earth, and find
life given for the needy,
and poor of humankind.

3. No selfish place of safety
will keep us in the light;
it's only in life's valleys
we truly find our sight,
O help us heed the prophets,
and clear our eyes to see:
the way you show before us,
where now our steps should be.
A LITANY ‘Light of the World’
(Adapt.Rebecca A. Edmiston-Lange)
Our tradition says that Jesus is the light of the world…

We all can be the light of the world
if we seek to act in ways that enlarge
the realms of love and justice.
When we share another's pain or offer
a comforting ear to a friend in need,
We are the light of the world.
When we give bread to the hungry
or support ways to house the homeless,
We are the light of the world.
When we fight temptations to wrongdoing within ourselves
and treat our neighbours with respect,
We are the light of the world.
When we try to overcome differences with understanding
and solve conflict with peaceful means,
We are the light of the world.
When we look for the good in other people and in ourselves,
We are the light of the world.
When we do not stay quiet in the face of prejudice,
but speak our minds firmly and gently,
We are the light of the world.
When we fight despair within ourselves and side with hope,
We are the light of the world.
When we use our powers justly and in the service
of love for humanity,
We are the light of the world.
Amen and Amen.
OFFERING PRAYER (said together)

Faithful God, you ask us to be faithful people.

In this community, you ask us to be people of justice.
In this community, you ask us to be people of mercy.
In this community, you ask us to be people of peace.
Be with us as we try to be faithful
in large ways and in small ways
so your eternal community may come in every way. 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 not already in the order of service, 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 Sandra Kirby
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Denmark and the National Council of Churches in Denmark. We are thankful for progress which has been made for some of the detainees in Papua New Guinea and Nauru and continue to hope for a satisfactory resolution for those who remain. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament, and today we name Phil Twyford (Te Atatū) and Hon Louise Upston (Taupō). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, New Plymouth.
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,
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
POEM "Boroka Lookout - The Grampians"
By Richard Treloar. Searching & Finding/57
We arrived at the hilltop;
the sun shone despite the cloud,
invigorated,
delighted,
we paused, drew breath, drinking in
the beauty,
the wonder,
the vision splendid.
Briefly our hands touched,
grasped lightly
yet firmly.
There was beauty,
the beauty of life,
of birdsong,
of wildflower,
of panorama,
of togetherness.
We turned from the hilltop;
the cloud shadowed the sun,
the panorama disappeared,
the hilltop was but a brief glimpse of joyous beauty.
We could not stay,
but the memory remains.

HYMN AA 155 ‘Where Mountains Rise’
Words © 1971, Shirley Erena Murray
Music by Vernon Griffiths © 1971 Faber Music Ltd. 5 verses

1. Where mountains rise to open skies
your name, O God, is echoed far,
from island beach to kauri’s reach,
in water’s light, in lake and star.

2. Your people’s heart, your people’s part
be in our caring for this land,
for faith to flower, for aroha
to let each other’s mana stand.

3. From broken word, from conflict stirred,
from lack of vision, set us free
to see the line of your design,
to feel creation’s energy.

4. Your love be known, compassion shown,
that every child have equal scope:
in justice done, in trust begun
shall be our heritage and hope.

5. Where mountains rise to open skies
your way of peace distil the air,
your spirit bind all humankind,
one covenant of life to share!
BLESSING
SUNG AMEN