January 30, 2022
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
PRELUDE
GATHERING
Welcome to our gathering today.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another,
for love comes from God.
Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.
But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
If we love each other, God lives in us,
and God’s love is brought to full expression in us.
SILENCE
PROCESSIONAL HYMN CH4 557 ‘O Love that wilt not let me go’
Words: G. Mathesom Music: A. Peace
- O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.
- O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
my heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
may brighter, fairer be.
- O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not vain,
that morn shall tearless be.
- O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
and from the ground there blossoms red
life that shall endless be.
OPENING WORDS
Holy Spirit,
come like a mother
to tend the wounds of a hurting world.
Come like a lover
to inspire the unloved.
Come like a worker
to labour for justice and peace.
Come like a child
to open our eyes to God’s love.
Come like a sister
to support us in our need.
Come with power and tenderness
to rule our hearts. Kate Mcllhagga
WELCOME
E te whānau a Te Karaiti
Ngā mihi aroha ki a tātou katoa.
Kia ora tātou.
PRAYER
LORD’S PRAYER IN TE REO MĀORI
E tō mātou Matua i te rangi
Kia tapu tōu ingoa
Kia tae mai tōu rangatira-tanga.
Kia meatia tāu e pai ai
ki runga ki te whenua,
kia rite anō ki tō te rangi.
Homai ki a mātou āianei
he taro mā mātou mō tēnei rā.
Murua ō matou hara
Me mātou hoki e muru nei
i ō te hunga e hara ana ki a mātou.
Aua hoki mātou e kawea kia whakawaia
Engari whakaorangia mātou i te kino.
Nōu hoki te rangatiratanga,
te kaha, me te korōria,
Ake, ake, ake.
Amine
CANDLEMAS CEREMONY
Introduction.
Candlemas commemorates the ritual purification of Mary, 40 days after the birth of Jesus. It also marks the ritual presentation of the baby Jesus to God in the Temple at Jerusalem. The Gospel of Luke says that Jesus was met by Anna and Simeon. Simeon held Jesus and called him a Light to the World. The festival is called Candlemas because this was the day that all the church's candles for the year were blessed.
Candles light up many sacred moments in our community throughout the year and at gatherings large and small.
Purple during Advent – a penitential colour – a longing for life to be different.
White during Christmas – the colour that speaks of Love.
Green during Epiphany – the colour of new growth and possibilities
Purple (again) during Lent – the colour for grief, sadness and regret as we follow Jesus to Calvary
White and Gold – for Easter and the triumph of LOVE
Red for Pentecost and the Sundays following – representing the fire of the Spirit warming and encouraging the fledgling Church.
Blue for the Season of Creation – the colour of the Earth when seen from Outer Space.
Green during the time between Creation and Advent. Sometimes referred to as “Ordinary Time” – green is the colour of vegetation and growth.
Our Rainbow Candle celebrates our children and our diversity.
The Blessing
So now we remember all those occasions
and bless these candles for the year ahead.
We give thanks for the warm light they shine within our gatherings
and the moments of illumination that come to us in this place.
May the radiance recognisable in the baby Jesus
shimmer within our lives
and bring light and healing to all those we encounter.
Bless these candles, light up our lives.
LIGHTING THE RAINBOW CANDLE
TIME WITH CHILDREN Frank Cook
BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
We are glad of your presence with us today and bless you as you return to a new school year. May confidence, curiosity and eagerness to learn be yours.
We bless you. Amen.
There are activities at the back of the church for children to enjoy
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.
THE WORD IN TEXTS Wendy Matthews
New Testament 1st Corinthians 12:31-13:13 NRSV
Contemporary reading ‘This love of God……’
“Making men whole” J.B.Philips
This love of God of which so much can be expected, is not so different in quality that we cannot recognise it as love when we meet it. It is love, our old familiar friend, higher and better, more splendid and more generous, but still love, the most precious thing that we know, the quality of which, even in our duller moments we know can outlast everything. It is not so much that we do not understand what love is, but that we are slow to grasp love’s methods of working. Love takes awful, patient ways, of which we know very little. Yet…. It is of unutterable comfort and gives rise to unspeakable hope in our hearts to know, not only that God is wonderful and beautiful and good, but that God is also that strange quality which lives in our inmost heart- love itself.”
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
HYMN AA 94 (i) ‘Loving Spirit’
Words: © 1989 Shirley Erena Murray. Music © 1990 David Dell
1. Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be,
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me.
2. Like a mother, you enfold me,
hold my life within your own,
feed me with your very body,
form me of your flesh and bone.
3. Like a father, you protect me,
teach me the discerning eye,
hoist me up upon your shoulder,
let me see the world from high.
4. Friend and lover, in your closeness,
I am known and held and blessed:
in your promise is my comfort,
in your presence I may rest.
5. Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be,
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me
REFLECTION ‘Look out for love!’ Fiona McDougal
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH ‘So many kinds of awesome love’
by Nicola Slee
“Praying like a woman”
LEADER:
There are so many kinds of awesome love,
We bless them all:
LEFT SIDE
Love of kindred for their kin
Love of lover for their mate
Love of country for the native
Love of land for the explorer
RIGHT SIDE
Love of the labourer for his work
Love of the scholar for her truth
Love of the artist for the muse
Love of the preacher for the word
Love of the disciple for the way
Love of the mystic for their God.
There are so many kinds of awesome love,
We need them all:
LEFT
Love of brother, sister, father, mother
Love of parent, grandparent, uncle aunt
Love of the beloved, love of the friend,
Love of the stranger, love of the needy
RIGHT
Love of the woman for the man
Love of the man for the woman
Love of the woman for her woman
Love of the man for his man
Leader:
There are so many kinds of awesome love,
why must we set one above the other,
say some are worthy and others base?
Why must we choose one love
when we need all the kinds we can get?
LEFT
The love that knocks you off your feet
and sets you to desperate things;
the love that is gentle and kind
and swells the compassionate heart.
RIGHT
The love that is joyous and life giving
and keeps you singing for days;
the love that is steadfast and loyal
and sits out long nights of pain.
LEFT
Young jocular love
Old, wise love
Rich, extravagant love
Poor pitiful love
RIGHT
Strong, encouraging love
Passionate, sensual love
Free, filial love,
Fiery, prophetic love
Self-emptied, contemplative love
LEADER:
There are so many kinds of love,
we bless them all.
OFFERTORY MUSIC
OFFERTORY HYMN AA 127 ‘Take my gifts’ vs 1-3
Words©1992 Shirley Erena Murray Music 1992 ©Colin Gibson Hope Publishing Co
1. Take my gifts and let me love you
God who first of all loved me,
gave me light and food and shelter,
gave me life 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!
2. Take the fruit that I have gathered
from the tree your Spirit sowed,
harvest of your own compassion,
juice that makes the wine of God,
spiced with humour, laced with laughter--
flavour of the Jesus life,
tang of risk and new adventure,
taste and zest beyond belief.
3. Take whatever I can offer--
gifts that I have yet to find,
skills that I am slow to sharpen,
talents of the hand and mind,
things made beautiful for others
in the place where I must be:
take my gifts and let me love you,
God who first of all loved me.
OFFERING PRAYER
“Love is expressed through the small gestures: kind words, genuine courtesies, criticisms swallowed back and forgotten, delight in the moments of greeting, sweetness in the moments of saying goodbye, time spent on a shared activity that might not have been your first choice, thoughtful encouragement, a delicious meal, a hug held for several moments, flowers next to the bed, a candle lit by the bath, fewer demands, delight in someone else’s pleasure.
What comes gift wrapped can be gorgeous. Far more sustaining are the priceless gifts of good humour, reliability, thoughtfulness, kindness, awareness, accepting, listening, care and presence.”
Stephanie Dowrick
We seek the opportunity to express love in any way we can find
and through the offering of gifts of our money and resources today.
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 Cameron Smart
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Morocco and we pray for the safety of economic migrants. 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 Adrian Rurawhe (Te Tai Hauāuru), and Dr Deborah Russell (New Lynn). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of St David’s Presbyterian Parish, Gisborne.
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 TIS 648 ‘Help us accept each other’
Music: WOV 509 Morning Light. George James Webb
Words: © 1975 Stainer & Bell Ltd. Fred Kaan
1. Help us accept each other
as Christ accepted us;
teach us as sister, brother
each person to embrace.
Be present, here, among us
and bring us to believe
we are ourselves accepted
and meant to live and love
2. Teach us, O God, your lessons,
as in our daily life
we struggle to be human
and search for hope and faith.
Teach us to care for people,
for all – not just for some,
to love them as we find them
or as they may become.
3. Let your acceptance change us,
so that we may be moved
in living situations
to do the truth in love;
to practice your acceptance
until we know by heart
the table of forgiveness
and laughter’s healing art.
4. God, for today’s encounters
with all who are in need,
who hunger for acceptance
for righteousness and bread,
we need new eyes for seeing,
new hands for holding on:
renew us with your Spirit;
God, free us, make us one!
BLESSING
May the love of life
fill our hearts.
May the love of earth
bring joy to heaven.
May the love of self
deepen our souls.
May the love of neighbour
heal our world.
As nations, as peoples, as families this day
may the love of life heal our world. John Phillip Newell
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE
THANK YOU
THANK YOU Judy Dumbleton
our musician today