January 15, 2023
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
Today’s service is led by Rev Dr Fei Taule’ale’ausumai
PRELUDE ‘Camberwell’ by Michael Brierley (b. 1932)
CALL TO WORSHIP
We come to re-weave the unravelling fabric of community,
to re-connect once more with the larger human family,
to find once more that place of calm,
to remind ourselves that we belong,
to remember what it is we belong to.
So, come into this place which we make special by our presence;
where the ordinary is sanctified,
the human is celebrated,
and the compassionate is expected.
Together we make it a holy place with our every act of worship.
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life
in the presence we name God.
SILENCE
GATHERING
We come to be opened by visions
that can enlist us in larger causes and more caring actions.
We come to hear stories that might take us
into a deeper kind of integrity, and reconnect us
with our better selves.
So may the warmer fullness that we seek
fill our hearts, our minds and our spirits.
PROCESSIONAL HYMN Praise our God eternal goodness (IHLC 82)
Words: © Jann Aldredge Clanton Music Praise my Soul (John Goss) 3 verses
1. Praise our God, eternal goodness
shining brightly all around.
Heaven and earth display her fullness;
with her gifts we all abound.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let us all God’s praises sound.
2. Praise our God, who gives us power,
for she dwells within us all.
By her grace we fully flower,
that we may fulfill our call.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Look, She breaks down every wall.
3. Praise to God, whose loving kindness
flows forth freely all our days.
Sing to Her a song of gladness,
for with us She ever stays.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Look, She shows us wisdom’s ways.
WELCOME
E te whānau a Te Karaiti. Ngā mihi aroha ki a tātou katoa.
Kia ora tātou.
Talofa lava.
Talofa.
PRAYER
O God, you are the gathering one
who calls us into community with each other;
to love and work, support and heal.
You are the gathering one
who calls us into community with all people;
to bring justice and hope, freedom and truth.
You are the gathering one
who calls us into community with the whole creation;
to live in harmony, to cherish and renew.
We worship you, the God who makes us one.
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
We light the rainbow candle to show that we are an inclusive community and
for our children.
FAMILY TIME Rosemary Lawrence
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 Isaiah 49:1-7
Gospel/New Testament John 1:29-42
Sung response: CH778 (tune Agnus Dei)
Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world have mercy on us. (repeat)
Give us your peace.
Contemporary reading: More than tolerance
(New Life rediscovering faith), By George Stuart
Coming to a place of candour
where beliefs and creeds confer;
we will not react with anger,
nor tell others where they err.
Can we speak of faith and doctrine?
Can we listen – really hear?
As we meet can we imagine
that new insights may appear?
When we hear some different teaching,
when we try to understand,
different faiths can be disturbing,
and can question where we stand;
We need not forsake devotion,
if it’s God whom we adore;
but we can share inspiration;
we can question and explore.
We can pledge to be accepting;
put behind us lack of trust;
we can practice understanding;
shun rebuke that is unjust.
If we can affirm each other,
be as friend and not as foe,
we can meet and share together;
plant respect and let it grow.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
HYMN: E te Atua AA31
Tune Kum ba ya, arr. Nicola Jansen & Guy Jansen
1. E te Atua, aroha mai (x3)
ake, ake tonu e
ake, ake tonu e.
2. E te Atua, manaaki mai (x3)
ake, ake tonu e
ake, ake tonu e.
3. E te Atua, awhina mai (x3)
ake, ake tonu e
ake, ake tonu e.
1. O God, love us
forever and ever
2. O God, bless us
forever and ever
3. O God, help us
forever and ever
REFLECTION Rev Dr Fei Taule’ale’ausumai
HYMN AA59 ‘He came singing love’
Words and music: © 1994 Colin Gibson. Hope Publishing Company, 4 verses
1. He came singing love,
and he lived singing love:
he died singing love.
He arose in silence.
For the song 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.
OFFERTORY MUSIC ‘Vruechten’ Dutch melody (1685)
OFFERING HYMN
Give thanks with a grateful heart,
give thanks to the Holy One
give thanks because He’s given many gifts to us.
And now let the weak say I am strong,
let the poor say I am rich,
because of what our God has
done for us, give thanks.
OFFERING PRAYER
Faithful God, you ask us to be faithful people.
In this community, you ask us to be people of justice.
In this community, you ask us to be people of mercy.
In this community, you ask us to be people of peace.
Be with us as we try to be faithful
in large ways and in small ways
so your eternal community may come in every way.
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 Cam Smart
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and all
those working to defend human rights in the region. We hold all refugees in our
hearts and pray in particular for those who are still detained in Nauru. We give
thanks for recent progress and pray that their calls for justice might yet be
answered with compassion. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament,
and today we name Penny Simmonds (Invercargill) and Scott Simpsom
(Coromandel). 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
HYMN WOV669 ‘I am the Light of the World’
Words & music: © Jim Strathdee 4 verses
Refrain:
I am the Light of the World.
You people come and follow me.
If you follow and love, you’ll learn the mystery
of what you were meant to do and be
1. When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and the shepherds have found their way home,
the work of Christmas is begun!
Refrain
2. To find the lost and lonely one,
to heal that broken soul with love,
to feed the hungry children with warmth and good food,
to feel the earth below the sky above!
Refrain
3. To free the prisoner from his chains,
to make the powerful care,
to rebuild the nations with strength and goodwill,
to call a man your brother everywhere.
Refrain
4. To bring hope to every task you do,
to dance at a baby’s new birth,
to make music in an old man’s heart,
and sing to the colours of the earth!
Refrain
BLESSING: The Everywhere Christ
Through human lips
Christ is speaking.
Through human hands
Christ is healing.
Through our hearts
Christ is loving.
Through us all
Christ is working.
So behold the truth
God is living, loving,
speaking and healing
through Christ our Saviour Richard Becher
Sing:
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 through you and me
May the God of safe homecomings, welcome you and me. John Murray
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE ‘Nun Danket Alle Gott’ by S. Karg-Elert (1877-1933)
THANK YOU
THANK YOU Peter Franklin
our musician today