July 25, 2021
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
“As long as we live there is never enough singing.”
MARTIN LUTHER
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Today in word and song we celebrate liturgical music – a balm for those in need of healing and comfort, a source of hope for the downhearted, a mind opener for seekers of new insight. May this service strengthen our sense of belonging and connection.
May it be so.
SILENCE
PROCESSIONAL HYMN AA 36 ‘Every Day I will offer you’
Words © 1992 Shirley Murray
Music by Colin Gibson, © 1993 Hope Publishing Company 3 verses
- 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 your 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 your Spirit,
I’ll find the love and energy!
WELCOME
E te whānau a Te Karaiti
ngā mihi aroha ki a tātou katoa.
Kia ora tātou.
SPEAKER Anne Manchester
PRAYER
JESUS PRAYER © Revd Sherri Weinberg
God - heart of the world:
revealed through every aspect of creation:
understood through our awareness.
May we honour the holiness of creation and act accordingly
so that your love is reflected in the way we live.
May we always be thankful for the food we eat
and the friends we have.
May we forgive those who transgress against us
and be forgiven for our own.
In the freedom of love may we live as your heartbeat
and not be compromised by hesitation.
Through our freedom, may your justice
be seen and heard and experienced
forever and ever.
Amen.
LIGHTING THE RAINBOW CANDLE
BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
Children you may return to sit with your family or find some activities to do from the cupboard at the back of the church.
We bless you. Amen.
PASSING THE PEACE
Traditionally we shake hands to pass the peace and say “peace be with you.” Now that COVID-19 is here we ask that you pass the peace without shaking hands.
SPEAKER Russell Feist
HYMN AA 59 ‘He came singing love’
Music and Words Colin Gibson © 1994 Hope Publishing 3 verses
1. He came singing love
and he lived 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.
2. He came singing faith
and he lived singing faith;
he died, singing faith.
He arose in silence.
For the faith to go on
we must make it our song;
you and I be the singers.
3. He came singing hope
and he lived 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.
THE WORD IN TEXTS Gillian Feist
Hebrew Bible Psalm 118: 1-6
Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good:
his steadfast love endures forever.
Let Israel say “his steadfast love endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say “his steadfast love endures forever.”
Out of my distress I called on the Lord:
the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?
The Lord is on my side to help me;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
Gospel Matthew 26: 26-30
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
REFLECTION Rosemary Lawrence
SPEAKER Jennifer Bush
SONG ‘Let the Mystery Be’
by Iris Dement, American Midwest singer songwriter from Arkansas Delta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlaoR5m4L80
Chorus
Everybody is wondering what and where
they all came from.
Everybody is worrying about where they're going to go
when the whole thing's done.
But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.
1. Some say once gone you're gone forever
and some say you're going to come back.
Some say you rest in the arms of the Saviour
if in sinful ways you lack.
Some say that they're coming back in a garden
bunch of carrots and little sweet peas.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.
Chorus
2. Some say they're going to a place called Glory
and I ain't saying it ain't a fact.
But I've heard that I'm on the road to Purgatory
and I don't like the sound of that.
I believe in love and I live my life accordingly.
But I choose to let the mystery be.
Chorus
OFFERTORY MUSIC
OFFERING HYMN AA 62 ‘Here we bring, small or great’
Music © Colin Gibson
Words © 1992 Shirley Murray © 1992 Hope Publishing Co. - 1 verse and chorus
Here we bring, small or great,
gifts to offer on this plate,
what we’ve earned, what we own,
tithe or token, bread or stone.
Refrain:
Jesus said, “Have a care – your heart will always be
where your riches are, where your riches are.
OFFERING PRAYER (said together)
We are grateful for this community,
rich in spirit, music, friendship and thought.
Out of this gratitude we offer the gifts we bring today,
money for the church and food for the hungry.
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.
SPEAKER Mike Wespel Rose
GOSPEL SONG ‘Hand me down my silver trumpet’
Public Domain
1. Well, I've never been to Heaven, but I've been told –
hand me down my silver trumpet, Gabriel –
the gates are made of pearl and the streets are
made of gold.
Hand me down my silver trumpet, Lord.
Chorus
O hand me down, O hand me down,
O hand me down my silver trumpet, Gabriel.
Send it down, hand it down,
any ol' way, just get it down.
Hand me down my silver trumpet, Lord.
2. If religion were a thing that money could buy –
hand me down my silver trumpet, Gabriel –
the rich would live and the poor would die.
Hand me down my silver trumpet, Lord Chorus
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.
SPEAKER Pat Booth
HYMN COC40(ii) ‘Star-Child, Earth-Child’
Music: © Colin Gibson and Carlton R Young. Words: © Shirley Murray – 3 Verses
1. Star Child, earth-child
go-between of God,
love Child, Christ Child,
heaven’s lightning rod; Refrain:
Refrain: This year, this year,
let the day arrive,
when Christmas comes for everyone,
everyone alive!
2. Grown child, old child,
mem’ry full of years,
sad child, lost child,
story told in tears;
Refrain:
3. Hope-for-peace Child,
God’s stupendous sign,
down-to-earth Child,
star of stars that shine; Refrain:
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Catriona Cairns
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Iceland, Greenland and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland. 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 Dr James McDowall and Nicole McKee, list MPs. Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Upper Hutt Uniting Parish.
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
SPEAKER Catriona Cairns
HYMN CH4 533 ‘Will you come and follow me?’
Words: Graham Maule, Music: Kelvingrove John L. Bell
Words and Music © 1987 WGRG Iona Community
Reprinted with permission under One License A-623996. All rights reserved - 3 verses
1. Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,
will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
2. Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
3. Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
BLESSING
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE
THANK YOU
BLESSING
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE