September 20, 2020

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

Today’s service is led by Ellen Murray

GATHERING

We gather in the Season of Creation

aware of the amazingness of our Earth.

We gather in this place of welcome,

aware that being together makes this space sacred

We affirm the impulse of the sacred towards justice for all Creation,

let us celebrate life in the presence we name God.

 

PROCESSIONAL HYMN AA 26 ‘Come to our land’
Words © 1992 Shirley Murray
Music by Colin Gibson, © 1992 Hope Publishing Company

Come to our land, come to our hearts
Spirit of peace, Spirit of truth
bring in the spring, the hope and the green,
Spirit of growth and Spirit of youth.

And all our people will sing together:
Wairua Tapu, holy your name,
there’s one great Spirit in all creation,
one great Spirit of God!

Come to our land, come to our hearts
Spirit of life, breath of new birth,
teach us to care for water and air,
Nourish the seed and cherish the earth,

Come to our land, come to our hearts
Spirit of bush, Spirit of bird,
speak to the soul of Aotearoa
joy in your world, and joy in your Word,
WELCOME
E te whānau a Te Karaiti
ngā mihi aroha ki a tātou katoa.
Kia ora tatou.

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 CANDLE

EARTH CONNECTIONS AND THE RAINBOW COVENANT
Following each speaker, we will sing a verse of the Rainbow Covenant Hymn
Words: © 2010 Norman Habel, Music: Morning Has Broken

Catriona Cairns – words of connection

Red is the fire of God's holy presence
Filling with life the planet we share;
Here is our vow to hold the Earth sacred,
Tend it with love and covenant care.

Graham Howell – words of connection

Orange the clay that makes us all mortal
Filled with God's breath since humans were born.
Given a mission: treat Earth as partner!
Now we affirm that calling once more.

Pat Booth – words of connection

Yellow, like gold, means all things are precious,
Each with a right to sing and be free;
This is our pledge to hold all that's living,
Valued as part of Earth's majesty.

Kezia Ross – words of connection

Green pulses flow through veins of creation,
Till humans clear great forests in seed;
This is our promise: keep all things growing,
We will reverse our violent greed.

Fionnaigh McKenzie – words of connection

Blue is the song felt deep in the ocean,
Blues are the groaning deep in the sand.
Now with our souls we promise to listen,
Publicly giving a voice to the land.

Lois Robertson – words of connection

Indigo sounds a signal for danger:
Refugees facing drought and despair;
Here we respond as climates are changing,
We will take steps, find ways to prepare.

Paul Franken – words of connection

Violet announces Christ in our cosmos,
Holding our Earth in all of its pain.
Christ now invites us: join in my mission!
Cov'nant with me to heal Earth again.
BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
We send you to the Rainbow Room to hear stories, ask questions and have fun together. We look forward to seeing you again later in the service.
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.
THE WORD IN TEXTS Jenn Keenan
Hebrew Bible Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 33:4-9
Gospel Mark 16:14-15
Contemporary reading “Book of Genesis”
by Kei Miller
Suppose there was a book full of only the word,
let – from whose clipped sound all things begin: fir
and firmament, feather, the first whale – and suppose
we could scroll through its pages every day
to find and pronounce a Let meant only for us –
we would stumble through the streets with open books,
eyes crossed from too much reading; we would speak
in auto-rhyme, the world would echo itself – and still
we’d continue in rounds, saying let and let and let
until even silent dreams had been allowed.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture and poem,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
REFLECTION ‘Breathing the Rainbow Covenant into life’ Ellen Murray
HYMN AA 54 ‘God of the galaxies’
Words: © 1992 Shirley Erena Murray
Music: by Douglas Mews © 1992 Hope Publishing Co.

God of the galaxies spinning in space,
God of the smallest seed, our living source,
yours is the gift of this beautiful place.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.

Careless and covetous, gross are our greeds,
taking the riches, the garden provides,
wasting its goodness, forgetting its needs.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.

Forests and rivers are ravaged and die,
raped is the land till it bleeds in its clay,
silenced the birdsong and plundered the sea.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.

Let there be beauty, and let there be air
fragrant with peace, never poisoned with fear,
freed from the plagues of pollution and war.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.

Life is a holy thing, life is a whole,
linking each creature and blessing us all,
making connections of body and soul.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Dorothy McRae-McMahon

We believe in a God who is
never confined to our imagining,
is never in bondage to our beliefs,
and never held fast in our dwelling places.

Our God is the mystery
of divine and human bound together,
of power and vulnerability,
of crucifixion and resurrection.

Our God is the wonder of truth and compassion,
of liberation and responsibility,
of eternal wisdom and costly grace.

We celebrate this God
who leaps free of all our boundaries
in love stretching out from horizon to horizon,
and in mercy bending deep into fragile human hearts.

OFFERING PRAYER (said together)
We bring our commitment to bring good news to all Creation,
We bring our offerings, to share in the work of opening up the world for justice,
We bring ourselves.
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 Ken Irwin

CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Brazil and for strength and wisdom for church leaders in dealing with growing religious restrictions. We remember the detainees of Manus and Nauru Islands, yearning that their cases be resolved. In New Zealand, we remember those who work this election season as candidates, members of all political parties and all voters. Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Island Bay Presbyterian 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

TIME WITH THE ADULTS

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,
mountain 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 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 and 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.

BLESSING (Season of Creation liturgy, adapted)
May the rainbow remind you of your promises
and the meanings behind those promises that we sung at the beginning of the service:

red for the fire of God's holy presence,
orange for the clay we share with our partner Earth,
yellow, like gold, for the great worth of all that is,
green for the power of new growth,
blue for the groaning and cries deep in creation,
indigo for the dangers our environment faces,
and violet for the healing presence of our cosmic Christ.

Go in peace!
Following Jesus and loving Earth!

We go in peace,
following Jesus and tending Earth.

SUNG AMEN

POSTLUDE