April 24, 2022
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
PRELUDE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Come before the God love.
Come as you are, no pretence, no judgement.
Come with your thoughts and your feelings, in the highs and lows of life,
Come with your successes and failures.
Come knowing that you are loved unconditionally.
Come before God
in the quiet spaces and the busy places,
in worship, praise and thanksgiving,
for all we have and all we are is a gift from God.
SILENCE
GATHERING
After Easter’s change in direction, the Word is alive!
Spirituality shifts from darkness into a new and living day;
following a Spirituality of Life we
trust in the Way we have been shown,
trust in each other,
trust in the One who leads us.
The Word is Life, the Way is Life
Let us celebrate Life.
PROCESSIONAL HYMN AA59 ‘He came singing love’
Words: Colin Gibson © Music Colin Gibson© 4 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.
4. He came singing peace
and he lived singing peace;
he died singing peace.
He arose in silence.
For the peace to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.
WELCOME
Kia ora tātou.
Kia ora.
Talofa lava
Talofa
Good morning special happy birthday to Valerie Rhodes who is celebrating her 90th birthday today.
Can we sing to the tune of “Happy birthday” this blessing for you.
“As you stand here today on your birthday we say, birthday greetings dear Valerie, may God bless you always”. (by Alison Coates).
PRAYER (Tom Gordon)
God of our togetherness
show me what we have in common,
When I can’t see it for myself.
God of our sharing,
offer me what brings us ever closer
even when I thought we were close enough already.
God of our communing,
show me what true communion means
with those who do things differently from me.
God of our connectedness,
show me how to strengthen our bonds,
especially when they threaten to break apart.
God of our understanding,
show me more of the mystery
which takes us beyond our limited knowledge.
God of our tiredness,
re-energise, restore and renew me
With your Spirit’s unseen power.
God of our reluctance,
show me more of what is possible
With your way and in your love.
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 Rosemary Lawrence
BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
Thank you for being here with us here today.
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.
HYMN HIOS 61 ‘Honour the Dead’ vss 1-3
Music: © 2005 Colin Gibson. Words: © 2005 Shirley Erena Murray Tune: ANZAC 2005
1. Honour the dead, our country’s fighting brave,
honour our children left in foreign grave,
where poppies blow and sorrow seeds her flowers,
honour the crosses marked forever ours.
2. Weep for the places ravaged with our blood,
weep for the young bones buried in the mud,
weep for the powers of violence and greed,
weep for the deals done in the name of need.
3. Honour the brave whose conscience was their call,
answered no bugle, went against the wall,
suffered in prisons of contempt and shame,
branded as cowards, in our country’s name.
THE WORD IN TEXTS Ken Irwin
Hebrew Bible Psalm 118: 21-25
Gospel/New Testament John 20: 19-31
Contemporary reading ‘God I’m trying, Louise Gough, UK’
God loves a try-er
or so ‘they’ say.
And God,
you know that I’m trying.
But somehow
I never feel good enough.
There’s always something
just beyond my reach;
something I can’t get right.
And somehow
I always seem to let me –
and you –
down.
Living Spirit
uplift me, I pray.
Breathe a warm waft of your love
under my wings
and give me the strength I need
to serve you
and be the person I know I can be.
Help me to accept myself
as I am,
and not compare myself with others.
Show me
that I am wonderfully made,
unique and precious
in the sight
of the One who loves me
freely
and unconditionally.
May there come a day
when I can accept that of myself
and afford the same grace
to others,
especially those
who are trying too!
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
REFLECTION ‘To doubt is to be honest’ Fei
HYMN AA 158 ‘Who is my mother?’
Words © 1992 Shirley Erena Murray
Music © 1993 Ian Render
1. Who is my mother?
who is my brother?
All those who gather around Jesus Christ:
spirit blown people
born from the Gospel
sit at the table, round Jesus Christ.
2. Differently abled,
differently labelled
widen the circle round Jesus Christ,
crutches and stigmas,
cultures’ enigmas
all come together round Jesus Christ.
3. Love will relate us
colour or status
can’t segregate us round Jesus Christ:
family failings,
human derailings,
all are accepted, round Jesus Christ.
4. Bound by one vision,
met for one mission
we claim each other, round Jesus Christ.
here is my mother,
here is my brother
Kindred in Spirit, round Jesus Christ.
OFFERTORY MUSIC
OFFERING HYMN AA 127
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.
OFFERING PRAYER
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 Pat Booth
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Palestine and Christian World Service Partner the Middle East Council of Churches and their work in Palestine focusing on income generation, water access, vocational training, community participation and health services. We hold all refugees in our hearts. We pray in particular for those detained detainees of Manus and Nauru Islands. 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 Chlöe Swarbrick (Auckland Central) and Rino Tirikatene (Te Tai Tonga). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Karori St Ninian's 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
HYMN ‘We shall go out with hope of resurrection’
Words by June Boyce-Tillman © 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Music: CH4 729 Londonderry Air
1. We shall go out with hope of resurrection;
we shall go out, from strength to strength go on;
we shall go out and tell our stories boldly;
tales of a love that will not let us go.
We'll sing our songs of wrongs that can be righted;
we'll dream our dream of hurts that can be healed;
we'll weave a cloth of all the world united
within the vision of new life who sets us free.
2. We'll give a voice to those who have not spoken;
we'll find the words for those whose lips are sealed;
we'll make the tunes for those who sing no longer,
expressive love alive in every heart.
We'll share our joy with those who are still weeping,
raise hymns of strength for hearts that break in grief,
we'll leap and dance the resurrection story
including all within the circles of our love.
BLESSING Ruth Burgess
The Maker’s blessing be yours
On your road
On your journey
Guiding you, cherishing you.
The Son’s blessing be yours
Wine and water
Bread and stories
Feeding you, challenging you.
The Spirit’s blessing be yours
Wind and fire
Joy and wisdom
Comforting you, disturbing you.
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE
THANK YOU
THANK YOU Judy Dumbleton
our musician today