July 12, 2020

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

The Service is conducted by Fiona McDougal

GATHERING

We gather today

still aware of how fortunate we are

to be able to meet.

In lockdown we missed each other

and longed to be together.

We gather today,

recognising shared connections,

history and values.

With warm greetings and listening ear

we honour the sacred within

each one of us.

We gather today

to share our dreams, explore what could be

and support each other in the ups and downs

of our lives.

May our time together

ground us in love,

inspire in us trust and

fill us with hope.

 

PROCESSIONAL HYMN AA 49 God of all time vs 1-2
Words: © Shirley Murray Hope Publishing Co. 1992
Music Highwood CH 246 Richard Runciman Terry © OUP
1 God of all time, all seasons of our living,
source of our spark, protector of our flame,
blazing before our birth, beyond our dying,
God of all time, we come to sing your name.

2 Here in this place, where others have been building,
we come to claim the legacy of faith,
take in our turn the telling of your story,
and, though we tremble, speak your hope, your truth.

WELCOME
Kia ora tatou.
Kia ora.
PRAYER

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
TIME WITH CHILDREN Dawn Cowdry

HYMN WITH THE CHILDREN FFS 39 It all depends on where I’m going Vs 1-3
Words ©Colin Gibson and Music © Te Horo Colin Gibson Hope Publishing Co. 2005

1. It all depends on where I'm going if I reach my anywhere,
but this I'm surely, surely knowing that I'll never leave God's care;
it all depends on when I'm travelling, maybe now or maybe then,
but the Son of God will lead me through each where and why and when.

2. It all depends on how I'm choosing for the life that is in me,
but I will never lose the hand of Christ, the one who walks with me;
if I stumble or I falter he will steady me once more,
for there is no darkest pathway that we cannot both explore.

3. It all depends on who comes with me if I break or if I bend,
but this I'm surely, surely knowing, God will be there at the end;
in the laughter and the sadness, in the pleasure or the pain,
by my side and all about me God's own Spirit will remain.

BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
May you walk your path with courage and know yourselves in God’s care.
We bless you. Amen.

PASSING THE PEACE
Traditionally we shake hands to pass the peace and say “peace be with you”. The response is “peace be with you, or “and with you.” You can also simply say hello. Now that COVID-19 has arrived in the country, we are all asked to take precautions again transmission. We invite you all therefore to try different methods of acknowledging and greeting each other. For example, placing both hands together in the prayer position and bending the head towards the other person. This is a greeting practiced in many countries. A hand on the upper chest and bowing slightly to acknowledge the other person is also an option. Feel free to simply observe if you wish.
THE WORD IN TEXTS Wendy Matthews
Hebrew Bible Genesis 25: 19-34 NLT
Contemporary reading “The Tradition of Meditation for a Time of Crisis”,
from Meditatio Talk Series 2010 B April-June, by Laurence Freeman OSB

Every time we sit to meditate, we are entering a tradition. Faith is the active passing on of this tradition. Tradition doesn’t mean a freezer-fresh set of beliefs or customs or rituals. It is not something that is frozen in time. Tradition itself literally means a passing on, a handing on, tradere. It’s like a relay race, a passing on without dropping the baton, and it is this passing on of a wisdom, of this knowledge, of this capacity for faith.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
REFLECTION Mixed up blessings Fiona McDougal

HYMN FFS 31 God who carved this timeless landscape Vs 1-3
Words: Colin Gibson© Hope Publishing Co. Music CONVERSE CH4 547 Charles Crozat Converse
1.God who carved this timeless landscape,
Snow-clad ridge to valley plain,
power of surging race and river,
limestone crag and scarred terrain;
Maker still of earth, fire, water,
artistry of sight and sound,
Southern lights and sunset splendour,
raise our eyes and you are found.

2.Calendar of nature’s balance,
rhythms of the farming year,
shearing, milking, ploughing, pruning,
Manger setting ever near!
Lonely struggles in the byways,
nor’west dust or snow and flood,
fellowship of tears and laughter:
God, with you, we’re understood.

3.Giving thanks for those before us,
city life and tussock track,
as we turn to face the future,
history’s wind upon our back;
scattered are our congregations,
each now shares in ministry,
bonding strength of work together:
spirit of community.
OFFERING PRAYER
So many blessing have come our way,
we are glad, we are grateful.
May what we offer now be a blessing to others,
bringing hope, giving life.
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 Barrie Keenan
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha. We remember the detainees of Manus and Nauru Islands, yearning that their cases be resolved. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament, and today we name Mark Patterson and Winston Peters list MPs. Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Mangapapa Union Church, Gisborne and from the worldwide church for the the Church of Pakistan.

PRAYER FOR ST ANDREW’S

Renew your people, God,
and renew our life in this place.
Give us a new spirit of unity
with those of all faiths,
and a new spirit of love
towards all people.

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 FFS 57 Song of faith that sings forever vs 1-3
Words: Shirley Murray © Hope Publishing Co. 1999
Music: Abbeyfield Colin Gibson © Hope Publishing co. 1999

1.Song of faith that sings forever
through God's people, ages long,
Word that holds the world together
when our hearts take up the song,
always, always, somewhere sounding,
though the source we do not see,
counterpoint to all despairing,
it is hope that sets the key.

2.Song of faith in exaltation,
rising through the vaults of prayer,
tune of simple celebration
offered up in open air,
song in chapel and cathedral,
descant to our daily tone,
song from sickbed or in prison,
faith must often sing alone.

3.And when life would overwhelm us,
when there seems no song to sing,
hear the constant voice of courage
out of fear and suffering:
all who've loved and trusted Jesus,
all who lift us to be strong,
endless, endless are the voices
of the faith that makes the song.