November 15, 2020

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

Doing the right thing

 

GATHERING

We take this moment on our own faith journey

To connect in this place

We gather in this place with its beauty and its history

To feel a sense of belonging

Open our hearts and our minds as we seek to follow the Way of Jesus

And God is with us

Amen

 

PROCESSIONAL HYMN AA 49 ‘God of all time’
Words: © 1992 Shirley Murray Hope Publishing Co.
Music Highwood CH 246 Richard Runciman Terry © OUP 4 verses

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.

3. Spirit who draws our fragile selves together,
Spirit who turns a stranger to a friend,
be at this table where we greet each other,
be in the peace we pass from hand to hand.

4. Let us not die from poverty of caring,
let us not starve, where love is to be shared.
Come, break us open to receive your healing:
your broken body be our wine and bread.
WELCOME
Nau mai haere mai, tena koutou katoa.
Kia ora.
PRAYER
JESUS PRAYER

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 Dawn Cowdry
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 is here
we ask that you pass the peace without shaking hands.
HYMN AA 85 ‘Let justice roll down like a river’
Words and Music © 1994 Colin Gibson Hope Publishing Company (3 verses)
Refrain:
Let justice roll down like a river,
let justice roll down like a sea,
let justice roll down like a river,
let justice begin through me.

1. Justice for all who go hungry,
crying to God to be fed,
left in a world of abundance
to beg for a morsel of bread. Refrain

2. Justice for those who are homeless,
victims of warfare or need,
trapped on the borders of no-where,
lost in the canyons of greed. Refrain

3. Justice for all who are powerless,
yearning for freedom in vain,
plundered, and robbed of their birth-right,
silently bearing their pain. Refrain
THE WORD IN TEXTS Maxine Cunningham
Hebrew Bible Judges 4:1-7
Gospel Matthew 25:14-30
Contemporary reading From “The Man in the Arena”
by Theodore Roosevelt

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
REFLECTION “Doing the right thing” Sandra & Tony Kirby
THE AFFIRMATION Iona Community

With the whole church
We affirm that we are made in God’s image,
befriended by Christ, empowered by the spirit.

With people everywhere
We affirm God’s goodness at the heart of humanity,
planted more deeply than all that is wrong.

With all creation
We celebrate the miracle and wonder of life;
the unfolding purposes of God,
forever at work in ourselves and the world.
OFFERING & OFFERING PRAYER (said together)
Ana Gobledale
Gracious God,
you have blessed us with so many good things.
May these gifts from us,
be used to open doors of welcome for all people,
so they, too may experience the joy of abundance, and unity.

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.
WELCOME TO PARISH COUNCIL MEMBERS Catriona Cairns
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 Sonia Groes-Petrie

CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Central African Republic and the Congo and the Ecumenical Council of Christian Churches of Congo. 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 Jan Tinetti and Teanau Tuiono, list MPs. 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 AA 156 ‘Where the road runs out’
Music and Words: © 1992 Colin Gibson

1. Where the road runs out and the signposts end,
where we come to the edge of today,
be the God of Abraham for us;
send us out upon our way.

Refrain: Lord, you were our beginning,
the faith that gave us birth.
We look to you, our ending,
our hope for heaven and earth.

2. When the coast is left and we journey on
to the rim of the sky and the sea,
be the sailor’s friend, be the dolphin Christ;
lead us on to eternity.
Refrain

3. When the clouds are low and the wind is strong,
when tomorrow’s storm draws near,
be the spirit bird hov’ring overhead,
who will take away our fear
Refrain
THE BENEDICTION
Cynthia Landrum
We leave this community,
But we don’t leave our connection,
Our concerns, our care for each other.
Our service to each other, to the world, and to our faith continues.
Until we are together again,
be strong, be well, be true, be loving.
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE ‘Heart of Oak’
by William Boyce (1727–1787)