January 16, 2022

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

PRELUDE

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

O God who called all life into being,

the earth, sea and sky are yours.

 

Your presence is all around us.

Every atom is full of your energy.

 

Your Spirit enlivens all who walk the earth.

With her we yearn for justice to be done,

for creation to be free from threat,

for the hungry to be fed,

for captives to be released,

for your kingdom of peace to come on earth.

Iona Community

 

SILENCE

 

PROCESSIONAL HYMN                                                                    FFS 63 ‘These Hills’

Words and music by Colin Gibson

Words and music © 1998 Hope Publishing Company

 

1. These hills where the hawk flies lonely,

beaches where the long surf rolls,

mountains where the snows meet heaven,

these are our care.

Pastures where the sheep graze calmly,

orchards where the apples grow,

gardens where the roses cluster,

these are our prayer.

 

2. Cities where the young roam restless,

lives brought to deep despair,

homeless and powerless people,

these are our care.

Places where the Word is spoken,

hands held in serving love,

faiths of our many cultures,

these are our prayer.

 

3. All that the old world gave us,

all that the new world brings,

language, ideas, customs,

these are our care.

Life finding joy and value,

faith seeking truth and light,

God heard and seen in all things,

this be our prayer.

WELCOME

Kia ora tātou.

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.

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LIGHTING THE RAINBOW CANDLE
TIME WITH THE CHILDREN Sandra and Tony Kirby
BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
For all those of our community on summer holidays and especially for our children, we pray for fun, relaxation and adventure.
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.

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THE WORD IN TEXTS John Harper
Hebrew Bible Psalm 36:5-10
Gospel Luke 4: 16-21
Contemporary reading:
The Presence of the Past: Māori History in Contemporary Reflection
Dr Nēpia Mahuika
Paper presented to 22nd Pacific History Association Conference 2015 Guam

E tipu e rea mō ngā rā o tōu ao
Grow up in the days destined to you.
Apirana T. Ngata
This is the opening line of a famous saying in my tribe. For our people - Ngāti Porou - these words have become embedded in our tribal identity as important directives that we are encouraged to aspire to. In the “days destined to you”, Ngata reminds us that each generation has its own mana (or authority), our own responsibilities and challenges, our own dreams and destinies to fulfil, and our own histories to tell about Ngāti Porou: who we are, our past, present, and future. If we consider this expectant, and I think hopeful, affirmation as a gift and responsibility, then taking real ownership of the “days destined to us” requires us to know what our forebears have entrusted us with.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.

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REFLECTION ‘Catching and sharing the dream’
Sandra and Tony Kirby
MUSIC FOR REFLECTION
Hine Raukatauri (Goddess of Music) Oceania1
Hinewehi Mohi

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OFFERTORY MUSIC

OFFERING HYMN AA 127 ‘Take my gifts’ verse 3
Words © 1992 Shirley Erena Murray, (Admin. by Hope Publishing Company)
Music: ©1992 Colin Gibson Hope Publishing Co.
Take whatever I can offer –
gifts that I have yet to find,
skills that I am slow to sharpen,
talents of the heart and mind,
things made beautiful for others
in the place where I must be:
take my gifts and let me love you,
God who first of all loved me.
OFFERING PRAYER
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.

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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 Catriona Cairns
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Malaysia and Brunei and we pray for understanding between people of different faiths and religions. 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 Angie Warren-Clark and Helen White, list MPs. Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Foxton-Shannon Co-operating Church.

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 669 ‘I am the light of the world’
Words & Music © 1969 Jim Strathdee. Music (Admin. by Desert Flower Music)
Chorus
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!
Chorus

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!
Chorus

3. 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!
Chorus

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BLESSING
May the God of Peace inspire us.
May the God of Justice empower us.
May the God of Hope encourage us.
as we seek to live out the dream of justice, peace and equality.
Adapted from Iona Community
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE Tuba Tune in D Major
by C.S. Lang (1891 – 1971)