May 16, 2021

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

GATHERING

We look with uncertainty

beyond the old choices for

clear-cut answers

to a softer, more permeable aliveness

which is every moment

at the brink of death;

for something new is being born in us

if we but let it.

We stand at a new doorway,

awaiting that which comes…

daring to be human creatures,

vulnerable to the beauty of existence.

Learning to love.                                                                                  Anne Hillman

 

PROCESSIONAL HYMN WOV 107 ‘Church of the living Christ’
Words: © 1992 Shirley Murray, Admin. Hope Publishing Company
Tune: Little Cornard 4 verses
1. Church of the living Christ
people of Easter faith –
speak to the Man who walks
free from the dark of death!
The Christ who burst the tomb apart
Comes questioning the Church’s heart.

2. No use old wineskins now –
new wine is here to stay:
no patching up old schemes –
new patches tear away,
old gear, old concepts have no place
where Christ’s own presence sets the pace.
3. Women and men of God,
come, as one Church to serve,
bring all the skills we have,
sharpen our every nerve:
to save a world in bitter need
the rule of love must come in deed.

4. We are the Body now –
our feet must mark the Way,
our speech declare the Word
and live it day by day,
the resurrection story ours,
disciples gifted with new powers!
WELCOME
Kia ora tatou.
Kia ora.

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LEARNING MOMENT: THE LORD’S PRAYER IN TE REO MĀORI
PRAYER
“In Between” by Kate R. Walker
………
In between, liminal, that space where we wait: Look, listen, feel, breathe.
Pause…..
LORD’S PRAYER (JESUS’ PRAYER)
E tō mātou Matua i te rangi
Kia tapu tōu ingoa.
Kia tae mai tōu rangatiratanga.
Kia meatia tāu e pai ai
ki runga ki te whenua,
kia rite anō ki to te rangi. Our Father in Heaven
Hallowed be your name
Your Kingdom come
Your will be done
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Homai ki a mātou āianei
he taro mā mātou mō tēnei rā. Give us today our daily bread;
Murua o mātou hara
me mātou hoki e muru nei
i o te hunga e hara ana ki a mātou. And forgive us our sins
As we forgive those
Who sin against us
Aua hoki mātou e kawea
kia whakawaia;
Engari whakaorangia mātou
i te kino: Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
Nou hoki te rangatiratanga,
te kaha, me te kōroria, For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
Ake, ake, ake. Amine now and forever. Amen

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LIGHTING THE RAINBOW CANDLE
TIME WITH CHILDREN Dawn Cowdry
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.

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THE WORD IN TEXTS Valerie Rhodes
Acts 1:1-14 NIV
Ephesians 1:15-23 NLT
Contemporary reading “Because”
by Grace Schulman
A complicated song of praise for a world that
is part heaven and part hell.

Because, in a wounded universe, the tufts
of grass still glisten, the first daffodil
shoots up through ice-melt, and a red-tailed hawk

perches on a cathedral spire; and because
children toss a fire-red ball in the yard
where a schoolhouse façade was scarred by vandals,

and joggers still circle a dry reservoir;
because a rainbow flaunts its painted ribbons
and slips them somewhere underneath the earth;

because in a smoky bar the trombone blares
louder than street sirens, because those
who can no longer speak of pain are singing;

and when on this wide meadow in the park
a full moon still outshines the city lights,
and on returning home, below the North Star,

I see new bricks-and-glass where the Towers fell;
and I remember my lover’s calloused hand
soften in my hand while crab apple blossoms
showered our laps, and a yellow rose
opened with its satellites of orange buds,
because I cannot lose the injured world

without losing the world, I’ll have to praise it.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
REFLECTION ‘Gasping in awe’ Fiona McDougal
A period of silent reflection
READING: “We see him: a disciple reflects” by Carol Dixon
Mike Wespel-Rose
Wild Goose Publications, www.ionabooks.com

HYMN AA 55 ‘Great and deep the Spirit’s purpose’
Words: © 1989 Marnie Barrell. Music © 1989 Colin Gibson 4 verses

1. Great and deep the Spirit's purpose,
hidden now in mystery;
nature bursts with joyful promise,
ripe with what is yet to be.
In a wealth of rich invention,
still the work of art unfolds -
barely have we seen, and faintly,
what God's great salvation holds.

2. Great and deep the Spirit's purpose
making Jesus seen and heard.
Every age of God's creation
grasps new meanings from the Word.
Show us, Holy Spirit, show us
your new work begun today;
eyes and ears and hearts are open,
teach us what to do and say.

3. Great and deep the Spirit's purpose
all God's children brought to birth,
freed from hunger, fear and evil
every corner of the earth.
And a million million voices
speak with joy the Saviour's name;
every face reflects his image,
never any two the same.

4. Great and deep the Spirit's purpose
nothing shall be left to chance.
All that lives will be united
in the everlasting dance.
All fulfilled and all perfected,
each uniquely loved and known,
Christ in glory unimagined
once for all receives his own.

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OFFERING HYMN AA 127 ‘Take my gifts’
Words © 1992 Shirley Erena Murray, (Admin. by Hope Publishing Company)
Music: ©1992 Colin Gibson Hope Publishing Company
Take my gifts and let me love you,
God who first of all loved me,
gave me light and food and shelter,
gave me love and set me free.
Now because your love has touched me,
I have love to give away;
now the bread of love is rising,
loaves of love to multiply.

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 Ken Irwin

CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Gabon and the Evangelical Church of Gabon. We hold all refugees in our hearts. We pray in particular for those detained for many years in Papua New Guinea & Nauru. We give thanks for progress that has been made and pray that their calls for justice might yet find a compassionate response. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament, and today we name Golriz Ghahraman and Hon Paul Goldsmith list MPs. Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Pacific Islanders – Church of Christ the King, Porirua.
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

HYMN ‘Remember Me’
Words: © 2009 Carolyn Winfrey Gillette Upper Room Books
Tune: O Waly Waly WOV 543 4 verses
1. Remember me — the God who saves —
for back in Egypt you were slaves;
then by my hand I set you free.
Now keep my law. Remember me.

2. Remember me in bread and wine
whene'er you share this meal of mine.
I gave my life to set you free.
With thanks and praise, remember me.

3. Remember me in all you do,
for I'm alive! I walk with you.
I was, I am, and I shall be.
O church I love, remember me.

4. Our God, we hear! We're called and freed!
Your Spirit gives us memory.
Now send us out that we may share
Your love's great story everywhere.

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BLESSING
May God’s glorious, unlimited resources
empower us with inner strength through the Spirit.
May Christ make his home in our hearts as we trust in him:
our roots will grow down into God’s love and keep us strong.
And may we have the power to understand,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is.
May we experience the love of Christ,
though it is too great to understand fully.
Then we will be made complete
with all the fullness of life
and power that comes from God.
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE Toccata from Suite Gothique, Opus 25
by Léon Boëllmann (1862 - 1897)