May 17, 2020

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

Simple generosity: two small fish and five barley loaves

 

This Service is conducted by Niki Francis

PRELUDE                                                                                         “Wonderful World”

by Bob Thiele and George Weiss

MIHI WHAKATAU – WELCOME

Kia ora tatou

Kia ora

KARANGA – GATHERING CALL

Rex A.E. Hunt (adapted)

 

We gather in our homes today to honour and affirm life.
We come to consider again being the change we wish to see in the world.
(Silence)

 

This morning we acknowledge the challenges of life, faith and religion.
And we celebrate a journey filled with
new thoughts and commitments,
born out of critique and letting go.

 

This morning we celebrate the unfolding of the universe,
and our ability and possibilities for creating brighter and gentler futures
for our communities.

 

The symbols of life are all around us:
light and noise,
infants and adults,
birds and animals,
colours and movement,
words of goodwill, songs of joy.

 

May we recognise these symbols as life affirming.
May we seek to renew them everyday.
May we be inspired to share them generously.
(Silence)

 

As we gather – apart yet together,
may we again commit as individuals and as a community
to the values and ideals that would contribute to
the transformation of this world.

 

May each of us undertake again the appraisal and joy
of living out what is dear to us, and what truly advances and invites
compassion, grace, forgiveness,
kindness, justice and love to flourish and transform.

 

May we abide in the assurance that goodness goes on
even in our wavering… in our waffling… in our doubts and questions.

 

This is our prayer.
May it be so.

 

 

HĪMENE – HYMN AA 94 (i) ‘Loving Spirit’
Words: © 1989 Shirley Erena Murray. Music © 1990 David Dell

Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be,
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me.

Like a mother you enfold me,
hold my life within your own,
feed me with your very body,
form me of your flesh and bone.

Like a father you protect me,
teach me the discerning eye,
hoist me up upon your shoulder,
let me see the world from high.

Friend and lover, in your closeness
I am known and held and blessed:
in your promise is my comfort,
in your presence I may rest.

Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be --
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me.

E TO MATOU MATUA I TE RANGI – 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.
TE KĀNARA O TE WHARE ĀNIWANIWA – LIGHTING THE RAINBOW ROOM CANDLE Keira
TE RANGIMARIE – PASSING THE PEACE Sandra Kirby
(We invite you to take this moment to greet those who are with you today, or to hold in your mind others from St Andrew’s, or your own loved ones)
KŌRERO PŪMAHARA – WORDS OF WISDOM Ross Scott
Gospel John 6:1-21

Contemporary readings Taiawhiowhio
By Haare Williams
From ‘Karanga’, Coromandel Press, 1981
I can still hear
the echo
children laughing

On the beach
in the swirling water
we dug in the sand

And still laughing
collected fat pipis
from their beds

On the shore
we lit a fire
and placed a sheet
of iron on top
we sang as we waited
rubbing smoke
from our eyes

With burnt fingers
we scooped
juicy pipis
from sizzling shells
no matter
our burnt fingers
and sand

On the back
of the old truck
we were too tired
to join the sleepy song

When we stopped
the echo remained
turn now.

“Some people”
By Anne Powell
From “Firesong”, Wellington: Steele Roberts, 1999

Some people know what it’s like to wait
for hip replacements
or the bus in the drizzle
or a job

for the phone to ring
or benefit day
or enough white, sliced bread

for TB
or the rent collector
or glue ear to skip the house

for the next quick fix
slow foxtrot
or fight to stop

or love without bruises

and others don’t.

WHAKAUTU – RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.

KŌRERO – REFLECTION
Simple generosity: two small fish and five barley loaves” Niki Francis

HĪMENE – HYMN ‘Take my Gifts’
Words © 1992 Shirley Murray. Music ©1992 Colin Gibson. Hope Publishing Company
Take my gifts and let me love you,
God who first of all loved me,
gave me light and food and shelter,
gave me life and set me free,
now because your love has touched me,
I have love to give away;
now the bread of love is rising,
loaves of love to multiply!
Take the fruit that I have gathered
from the tree your Spirit sowed,
harvest of your own compassion,
juice that makes the wine of God;
spiced with humour, laced with laughter--
flavour of the Jesus life,
tang of risk and new adventure,
taste and zest beyond belief.
KAWANGA – OFFERING PRAYER
These gifts we offer: of money or time or ourselves
express our deep desire to transform our world
into one in which all people
may know respect, love, security
enough food in their bellies
a warm dry place to rest their heads
and time to enjoy life.
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.

INOI O NGA TANGATA – PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Sandra Kirby

Introduction
As you may have heard earlier Tony and I have our granddaughters living with us. Over the past seven weeks we have seen Frozen movies several times and the theme for today’s prayer comes from these movies. There are parallels with the lessons Jesus taught his disciples and the ways we who follow the Jesus way try to live.
So with thanks to Elsa and Anna from Frozen

Wairua tapu
As we live in times of uncertainty help us to remember that some things never change. Like the love of family/whanau; like the connections between members of a community. We need to be aware of our own needs and those of the community around us.
During times of transformation and change, fear is ever present, but need not stop us from moving ahead. Transition can be hard but our central core remains strong. Sometimes we do not know what lies ahead and we don’t know what to do. At those times all we can do is the next right thing.
Help us to live these universal messages in our lives.
This week we celebrated international nurses day. I invite you to name nurses in St Andrews on Terrace, in your family/whanau or perhaps a nurse who has cared for you. We hold our candle out to these people. [moment of silence]. Nurses tell us that they never work alone; it takes a team to create a healthy person and a healthy community and that health is more than the absence of illness. Let us give thanks for all those who work to make our community a healthy place.
I invite you now to name the people in your thoughts. This is the time we would read prayers from the book. [moment of silence]

CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Andorra and the Conference of European Churches. 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 Jenny Marcroft and Ron Mark, list MPs. Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Knox Presbyterian Church, Dannevirke and from the worldwide church for the Armenian Apostolic Church.
KARAKIA O ST ANARU – 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
HĪMENE – HYMN For Me to Dare (David Childs)
Queen Margaret College Chorale
A recording to enjoy.

POROPOROAKIA MĀNAWATANGA – FAREWELL and BLESSING
“Blessing” by Anne Powell, from “Firesong”

As we part now, even though we have not physically been present together
Let us remember that we are together in spirit
That we are part of a community and are loved
And are just an email or phone call away from someone who will listen to us because that is what we as followers of Jesus are about:
He told his disciples to love one another.
These past weeks have been difficult times and we hope things will become easier and that soon we can meet again in person.
In the meantime:

May the soft light
at the end of the day
heal you.

May the purr of the sea
on the shells of the beach
heal you.

May the dance of the wind
on the grass of the dunes
heal you.

May the Maker of water
and air and fire
heal you
who walk the earth.
TIME FOR A CUPPA

The end of our Sunday service is normally a time for catching up, meeting people and sharing what is happening in our lives. Perhaps you would like to phone a St Andrew’s person today.
POSTLUDE “Trumpet Voluntary”
by John Stanley ( 1712 – 1786)