March 25, 2018
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
GATHERING
The journey to Jerusalem has been accomplished
Jesus arrives in quietness within a cacophony of sound
Our journey is ongoing
Where is the quietness in us among the noise of life?
PROCESSIONAL HYMN CH 4 370 Ride on ride on, the time is right
Words: John L Bell (b. 1949) & Graham Maule (b. 1958)
Words © 1988 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow,
Scotland, G2 3DH (Admin. by Willow Publishing Pty. Ltd.)
Tune: Gonfalon Royal WOV 318
Ride on, ride on, the time is right:
The roadside crowds scream with delight;
Palm branches mark the pilgrim way
Where beggars squat and children play.
Ride on, ride on, your critics wait,
Intrigue and rumour circulate;
New lies abound in word and jest,
And truth becomes a suspect guest.
Ride on, ride on, while well aware,
That those who shout and wave and stare
Are mortals whom with common breath,
Can crave for life and lust for death
Ride on, ride on, God's love demands;
Justice and peace lie in your hands
Evil and angel voices rhyme
This is the man and this the time
WELCOME
Kia ora tatou. Kia ora.
PRAYER AND LORD'S PRAYER (6th of 6 renderings of the Aramaic Lord's Prayer)
O Parent of the Universe,
manifesting thyself as generative energy,
Bend over us and remove all that clutters our being
and set apart a place where thy sacredness may dwell.
Fill us with thy creativity,
so that we may be empowered to bear the fruit of thy vision.
Then, moving to the heartbeat of thy desire,
make us the embodiment of thy compassion.
Drawing from the ground of our humanity
grant that we may renew each other
with love, understanding, and sustenance.
Empty us of frustrated hopes and despair,
as we restore others to a renewal of vision.
And let us not fall into agitation,
but save us from precipitous actions.
For thou art the ground
of the fruitful vision, the birthing-power, and the fulfilment,
as all is gathered and made whole once again. Ameyn.
Used by permission from Mark Hathaway (author) who works with Neil Douglas Klotz .
Their respective websites are www.taoofliberation.com and www.abwoon.com. This prayer is found at: http://visioncraft.org/aramaic/index.htm
LIGHTING THE RAINBOW ROOM CANDLE
TIME WITH THE CHILDREN Susan Jones
HYMN AA 22 Come into the streets with me
͛Words © 1992 Shirley Erena Murray
Tune: See Saw Saccara Down arr. Charles Strange
Come into the streets with me! Come to where the crowds will be,
see a strange and gentle king on a donkey travelling.
REFRAIN: Come and follow my leader, come and follow my leader,
Jesus Christ is riding by, come and follow my leader!
All the people shout his name, waving branches, sing his fame,
throw their coats upon his road, glad to praise the Son of God. REFRAIN
If the soldiers draw their swords, will we dare to sing these words,
be his friends for just a day, cheer him on, then run away? REFRAIN
Jesus goes where things are rough, Jesus knows when life is tough,
always comes to us, his friends, so his story never ends. REFRAIN
PASSING THE PEACE
Feel free to pass the peace with those nearby or move to greet others
further away. Passing the peace consists of shaking hands and saying
͞ Peace be with you. The response is Peace be with you
or just And with you. Or, simply saying Hello is a good idea. Also feel free to simply observe if you wish!
THE WORD IN TEXTS Colma Froggatt
Gospel Mark 11: 1-11
Contemporary reading Palm Sunday by Malcolm Guite
From The Word in the Wilderness (Canterbury Press, Norwich 2014)
Now to the gate of my Jerusalem,
The seething holy city of my heart,
The Saviour comes. But will I welcome him?
O crowds of easy feelings make a start;
They raise their hands, get caught up in the singing,
And think the battle won. Too soon they'll find
The challenge, the reversal he is bringing
Changes their tune. I know what lies behind
The surface flourish that so quickly fades;
Self-interest, and fearful guardedness,
The hardness of the heart, its barricades,
And at the core, the dreadful emptiness
Of a perverted temple. Jesus, come
Break my resistance and make me your home.
RESPONSE For the Word in scripture, for the Word among us, for the Word within us, we give thanks
ST ANDREW'S SINGERS Conducted by Vivien Chiu
Unseasonable Journey
Words © 1993 Susan Jones; Music © 2017 Vivien Chiu
[ ]=text omitted from music setting
I remember it as if it were yesterday
the day he set his face
and turned towards Jerusalem.
We all knew that look,
all of us women who followed him
Mary, Joanna,
Susanna and the rest,
we knew, all of us,
once that look was in his eyes
and his jaw set in that determined way
nothing any of us could say could change his mind.
An autumn chill
whispered its way
around my heart
the long, lovely summer
of camaraderie and companionship
was over
for I knew
we all knew
(especially him, although he never said)
death
lay at the end of this unseasonable journey
Looking back now,
I remember the slow,
inevitable
irrevocable
feel of that time
his words falling on our ears
as leaves fall
one by one
from trees
weeping away their life
in golden tears
[afterwards, we looked back,
surprised at the depth
of golden leaves
which had gathered at our feet]
the first few leaves
fluttered gently to the ground
as
he told the men to let the children be
"the kingdom belongs to such as these"
, he said.
We women knew what he meant
we know children
the gut honesty
that hasn't been veneered with social graces yet.
We knew what he meant.
And it seemed a single golden leaf
gently touched my hair
As I heard him say
"Mary has chosen the better part
it shall not be taken from her"
and it hasn't
A few more leaves fell
when he wept over the city
the stormy tension was all through Jerusalem
like one of those autumn storms
that pulls leaves from the trees in jealous fury
but once,
there was a lull,
when, through the heavy scent of ointment
above the woman's tears he said to the stony faces
above him
"she has done this for my burial"
and a shower of golden leaves
joined the others on the ground.
But autumn ends
with gaunt skeletons
against a wintry sky
and so his end came
on a gaunt tree
starkly black
amidst a darkened day
and a chill of winter
settled on my soul
the pile of leaves
about my feet
lost their glow
as the promises lost their power.
The cold went deep within me,
and even when love had burst forth
out of season
life in the middle of death
warmth in the heart of winter,
and the leaves at my feet
had regained their golden glow
[for now I knew the promises were true]
the memory of that desolation remained
Reminding me God does not wait for spring
but offers life in winter
for love knows no season.
Luke 8:2-3 Luke 9:51
REFLECTION Choosing Susan Jones
OFFERING
We recognise and bless the gifts brought to the table, and those which wing
their way electronically from our banks to the church's s account.
A SORT OF STATEMENT OF FAITH
by Roddy Hamilton, posted on Listening to the Stones.http://newkilpatrickblog.typepad.com/nk-blogging/mucky-paws/
(For reading together, following these guidelines:
Bold italics said by the leader. Bold font right hand side of church, Plain font left hand side of the church. Plain italics of last line said by all who want to)
some shout hosanna
some shout crucify
some shout Jesus
some shout Barabbas
some wave palms
some shake their fists
today we choose...
some break bread
some break silence
some proclaim Jesus
some deny Jesus
some carry the cross
some run from the cross
today we choose...
some are angry
some rejoice
some anoint with costly perfume
some complain at the waste
some like the light
some prefer the shadows
today we choose...
some weep
some conspire
some follow
some hide
some believe
some betray
today we choose
to shout for life
to follow the cross
to break bread
to hold belief
to trust love
and tell the world
we choose to follow Jesus
LIFE IN THE COMMUNITY OF ST ANDREWS
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 Lynne Dovey
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Denmark and the National Council of Churches in Denmark.
In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament, and today we name MPs Greg O'Connor
(Ohāriu electorate) and Simon O'Connor (Tāmiki electorate). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pra
y for the leaders and people of Waverley-Waitotara Co-operating Church.
PRAYER FOR ST ANDREWS on card
HYMN Through the crowds
Words: © Palm Sunday 2018 Susan Jones
Tune: Blaenwern WOV 165(ii)
Through the crowds a donkey passes
Grey and humble, young and small
Makes its way among the masses
Carrying Jesus through it all;
Quietly, gently, rides the stranger
Loud and boisterous is the crowd
Calm and centred, into danger,
Sure his pathway to his shroud.
Symbols stand at every corner
Coats and donkeys, stones and palms
Raucous joy, no sadness or mourners
Spirits high, with ringing psalms;
Simple triumph is all their agenda
Welcoming a King above kings
Not a thought of evil offender
Streets with glad hosannas ring
In our lives we face such choices
Which the leader we will choose?
Here one whom the crowd rejoices
Over there, one bound to lose;
One has riches and prestige and power
One has only love to expend;
Every day and even each hour
We decide which we'll befriend.
May we find the courage to ponder
Not the easy, but the best;
In our hearts make room for wonder
Find, through myst'ry, the truest quest
Which demands the fullest commitment
Life and love, possessions too
Heart and mind both fully recruited
All now making a journey true.
BLESSING AND SUNG AMEN
THANK YOU
Peter Franklin
Our Musician today