May 22, 2022
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
PRELUDE Salix by Percy Whitlock (1903 – 1946)
CALL TO WORSHIP
The world weeps,
but somewhere beyond our sight there is a dancing.
The creation groans,
but deep within its life there is still a singing.
Our hearts are empty of God
but suddenly Christ sits at table between us
and invites us to a feast of life.
Let us worship God!
SILENCE
PROCESSIONAL HYMN ‘Morning has broken’
Words © Eleanor Farjean & Yusuf Islam Music: Bunessan WOV 91
1. Morning has broken, like the first morning;
blackbird has spoken, like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! praise for the morning!
praise for them springing fresh from the world.
2. Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven,
like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
sprung in completeness where his feet pass.
3. Mine is the sunlight; mine is the morning
born of the one light Eden saw play.
Praise with elation! Praise every morning!
God’s re-creation of the new day.
4. Mine is the passion and inspiration,
new life inspires me to venture forth.
My love to offer, my obligation,
to leave the darkness, spread love on earth.
WELCOME
E te whānau a Te Karaiti
ngā mihi aroha ki a tātou katoa.
Kia ora tātou.
Talofa lava
Talofa.
GATHERING
Let us pause to give thanks
for those things we appreciate,
hold in our hearts those who need our concern.
We give thanks for sacred spaces all around us.
We seek wisdom in our decision-making.
May our liturgy – the work of the people –
be harmonious with our mission.
We who are privileged to meet
in this special place
reflect on our needs and the desires of our hearts.
PRAYER
Come and see the grace of God for us.
We are loved as we are, not as we believe we should be.
We are given forgiveness as a gift,
beyond anything we have deserved or earned.
Let us lift up our hearts and receive our freedom. Amen.
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
The rainbow candle represents the inclusive nature of our church where all are welcome and also celebrates our children.
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-19 is here we ask that you pass the peace without shaking hands.
THE WORD IN TEXTS Pat Booth
Hebrew Bible Psalm 67
Gospel/New Testament John 5:1-9
Contemporary reading ‘You who delight me’
By Bronwyn Angela White
You who delight me
welcome!
You who thrill me
to aspects of myself untried
welcome
You who enliven me
waking in me the forgotten things
the unborn things
the shadow things which unfurl and strive into light
You who satisfy me
welcome
You who overwhelm me
transcending words
taking my breath away
welcome
You who entertain me
asking the foolish questions
wearing the foolish robes and silly hat
the mask and wig and jester’s shoes to match my own
you who applaud when I prance and joke
play up to me and let me be unreal
matching me japer for jest
trading me tricks for tears
you who entertain me as I play my threadbare games
welcome
You who transport me
from who I seem in the world of day-to-day
to who I am – unique in the universe and full of wonder
welcome
You whose star shines over this stable door
twinkling, wobbling, unstabling me
finding among this straw
some miracle
oiling these creaky hinges
chancing this splintering wood, these brittle barriers:
come in and welcome!
You who delight me
you who are my delight
you in whose passion the Christ-life is reborn
welcome!
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
HYMN AA 115 ‘Purea nei e te hau’
Words and music © 2018 Hirini Melbourne
(English translation for information only)
Purea nei e te hau
Horoia e te ua
Whitiwhitia e te rā
Mahea ake ngā pōraruraru
Makere ana ngā here.
Scattered by the wind
washed by the rain
and transformed by the sun,
all doubts are swept away
and all restraints are cast down.
E rere wairua, e rere
Ki ngā ao o te rangi
Whitiwhitia e te rā
Mahea ake ngā pōraruraru
Makere ana ngā here,
Makere ana ngā here. Fly o free spirit, fly
to the clouds in the heavens,
transformed by the sun,
with all doubts swept away
and all restraints cast down.
Yes, all restraints are cast down.
REFLECTION ‘Healing the man at Bethesda’ Rev. Dr Fei Taule’ale’ausumai
HYMN CH4 360 ‘Jesus Christ is waiting’
Words: John Bell and Graham Maude
Music: Noel Nouvelet, French Carol harmonised by John Bell
© WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland (Admin. by Willow Publishing Pty. Ltd.) 5 verses
1. Jesus Christ is waiting,
waiting in the streets;
no one is his neighbour,
all alone he eats.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I am lonely too.
Make me, friend or stranger,
fit to wait on you.
2. Jesus Christ is raging
raging in the streets,
where injustice spirals
and real hope retreats.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I am angry too.
In the Kingdom's causes
let me rage with you.
3. Jesus Christ is healing,
healing in the streets;
curing those who suffer,
touching those he greets.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I have pity too.
Let my care be active,
healing just like you.
4. Jesus Christ is dancing,
dancing in the streets,
where each sign of hatred
he, with love, defeats.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I should triumph too.
On suspicion's graveyard
let me dance with you.
5. Jesus Christ is calling,
calling in the streets,
"Who will join my journey?
I will guide their feet."
Listen, Lord Jesus,
let my fears be few.
Walk one step before me;
I will follow you.
OFFERTORY MUSIC Danny Boy (arr. Richard Wright)
Played by Mike Wespel-Rose
OFFERING HYMN ‘Give thanks for life’
Words © Shirley Murray (AA 45)
Music: SINE NOMINE, Ralph Vaughan Williams (CH4 736&WOV 384)
Give thanks for life,
the measure of our days,
mortal, we pass
through beauty that decays,
yet sing to God
our hope, our love, our praise,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
OFFERING PRAYER
Hold out your hands, God of grace, and receive all that we offer. Take our lives, our love and all that we bring in faith today and use us and our gifts for the well-being of the world. 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 Lois Robertson
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Poland and the Polish Catholic Church. 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 Rawiri Waititi (Waiariki) and Vanushi Walters (Upper Harbour). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Hutt City Uniting Congregations, Lower Hutt.
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 WOV 558 ’When I needed a neighbour were you there?’
Words and music: © from Green Print for Song 1963 Stainer & Bell Ltd
1. When I needed a neighbour, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
Chorus:
And the creed and the colour and the name won't matter.
Were you there?
2. I was hungry and thirsty, were you there, were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there?
Chorus
3. When I needed a shelter, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a shelter, were you there?
Chorus
4. Wherever you travel, I'll be there, I'll be there.
Wherever you travel, I'll be there.
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter.
I’ll be there
SUNG BLESSING FFS 49 ‘May the God of new beginnings’
Words © 2000 John Murray, Music © 2000 Colin Gibson
Reprinted under One License A-623996. All rights reserved
May the God of new beginnings start with you and me.
May the God of continuing story speak through you and me.
May the God of infinite wisdom shine in you and me.
May the God of safe homecomings welcome you and me.
Maori benediction:
Kia tau ki a tātou katoa, te atawhai o tō tātou Ariki a Ihu Karaiti,
me te aroha o te Atua,
me te whiwhinga tahitanga ki te wairua tapu.
Ake, ake, Amine.
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE Fugue in D Major by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
THANK YOU
THANK YOU Peter Franklin our musician today