September 11, 2022
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
Today’s service is led by Rev Dr Fei Taule’ale’ausumai PRELUDE GATHERING Planet earth is our home and home to other creatures with us. We live and breathe and sleep and work here on this blue teardrop hanging in space. We all need to breathe freely, live bravely, and love deeply; we and all who share this home with us. So may it be. Amen PROCESSIONAL HYMN Great is your faithfulness, CH153 Music: William W. Marion Runyan, Words: © Hope Publishing Great is your faithfulness, O God Creator, there is no shadow of turning with thee; thou changest not, your compassions they fail not, as thou hast been thou for ever wilt be. Great is your faithfulness! Great is your faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed your hand has provided – great is your faithfulness, God unto me. Summer and winter, and seed-time and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above, join with all nature in manifold witness to your great faithfulness, mercy, and love. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside. WELCOME E te whānau a te Karaiti, ngā mihi aroha ki a tātou katoa. Kia ora tātou. Talofa lava. Talofa. PRAYER Gracious God, we may only see our small corner of this earth. You will see the whole expanse of countless universes, yet we are called to bring our prayers not only for ourselves, but for those around us. In a world fraught with fear and violence and greed, we pray that darkness is driven out by the light of compassion, of open-handedness, and of peace. Let these not be mere words we pray, but words we put into action through our support of causes and charities and individuals who make it their mission to be the light-bearers in every darksome place. We pray today for the healers who practise their gentleness in every hurt place of heart and soul and body; where the encouraging word, and the unflinching compassion brings hope like a cleansing flame into every wound. 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 ROOM CANDLE, We light the rainbow candle to show that we are an inclusive community and also for our children. TIME WITH CHILDREN Dawn Cowdry BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand) We send you to the Rainbow Room programme 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 Tony Kirby Hebrew Bible Genesis 1: 1-25 Ancient writers pieced together the beginning of the world as it seemed to them it might have happened Contemporary reading “Memories” from Psalms for the Road by Joy Cowley I own my memories and honour them and give God thanks for the way they have shaped my being and my becoming. I give thanks for the people who have loved me, for they revealed to me the essence of God. I give thanks for the people who did not like me, for they taught me how to look to my own heart. I give thanks for moments of beauty, for they perfumed the sacred path of life. I give thanks for experience of the ugly, for without it I would not have recognised beauty. I give thanks for the journeys through pain and loss, for they emptied me of all that was false. I give thanks for the times of spiritual gain for they flooded my emptiness with light. I give thanks for all the giving from the two hands of God, the sweet, the sour, the soft, the hard, the lessons that come together in growth. For every memory, including those I once tried hard to forget, my heart spills out gratitude. And now, in trust I give thanks to God, for the memories I will make today. RESPONSE For the Word in scripture, for the Word among us, for the Word within us, we give thanks HYMN: Out of such sun and air, AA114 Colin Gibson Words: Colin Gibson, Music: © Colin Gibson Out of such sun and air, what Christ may come, shining with new and lovely light, on our dim and shrouded lives; stirring our sleepiness with dreams, visions of life beyond compare. Out of this sun and air come, Christ, however you will come. Out of such cloud and mist, what Christ may come, blurring the clear and simple lines of our settled scheme of things; calling on faith and hope and trust, daring to danger, trial and risk. Out of this cloud and mist come, Christ, however you will come. Out of such sudden storm what Christ may come, sweeping across the startled sky of our calm and peaceful ways; driving with tempest winds of change, testing with tumult and reform. Out of this sudden storm come, Christ, however you will come. REFLECTION Dave Lowe HYMN May the mystery of God enfold us, AA95 Tune: Marlborough Sounds, Words: Joy Cowley, Music: © Ian Render May the mystery of God enfold us, may the wisdom of God uphold us, may the fragrance of God be around, may the brightness of God surround us, may the wonder of God renew us, may the loving of God flow through us, may the peace of God deeply move us, may the moving of God bring us peace. OFFERTORY MUSIC Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (Dearest Jesus, we are here) by J S Bach BWV 731 OFFERTORY HYMN Here we bring small or great AA 62 Words: Shirley Murray, Music: © Colin Gibson 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 Jesus said, “Have a care – your hearts will always be, where your riches are where your riches are.” OFFERING PRAYER For all who live on planet earth, for all who feel defeated and worn, hungry and homeless, for all who need to hear good news with fresh meaning, we ask justice, compassion, and peace as we dedicate these gifts to alleviate want in this world. So may it be. 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 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 Jenn Keenan CIRCLE OF PRAYER We think today of the people of Sudan and Christian World Service partner, the Sudan Council of Churches, providing assistance and services to people in the villages and displaced within the region including income generation, peace building, HIV and AIDS awareness, and opportunities for youth, especially former child soldiers, to get a formal education and livelihood options. 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 The Hon Nanaia Mahuta (Hauraki-Waikato)and The Rt Hon Trevor Mallard (List). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Opunake Co-operating Church (Presbyterian-Methodist). 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 Where are the voices for the earth, FFS 75 Words: Shirley Murray, Music: © Jillian Bray Where are the voices for the earth? Where are the eyes to see her pain, wasted by our consuming path, weeping the tears of poisoned rain? Sacred the soil that hugs the seed, sacred the silent fall of snow, sacred the world that God decreed, water and sun and river flow. Where shall we run who break this code, where shall tomorrow’s children be, left with the ruined gifts of God, death for the creatures, land and sea? We are the voices for the earth, we who will care enough to cry, cherish her beauty, clear her breath, live that our planet may not die. BLESSING Kia tau ki a tātou katoa te atawhai o tō tatou Ariki a Ihu Karaiti, me te aroha o te Atua, me te whiwhinga tahitanga ki te Wairua Tapu, ake, ake, ake, Amine. We hold the line. Our planet’s future hangs by a slender thread. We hold the line. Our brothers the birds, our sisters the animals, need our help. We hold the line because it makes a difference how we live in this home of ours. We go out now, knowing that together we must be enough to love this world well enough. We go out now, knowing that love surrounds us all every moment of every day. SUNG AMEN POSTLUDE
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THANK YOU
THANK YOU Judy Dumbleton
Our musician today