July 29, 2018
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
Write your welcome here
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
Wherever you are on your faith journey,
wherever you have come from and wherever you are going to,
whatever you believe, whatever you do not believe, you are welcome here.
Please join in the congregational responses printed in bold italics.
Please stand if you are able, for the hymns and the offering prayer.
We usually sing the hymns without announcement.
To use the loop system in the church, turn your hearing aids on to the appropriate setting.
Printed copies of the reflection are available at the back of the church for people with extreme hearing loss. For others they can be picked up at the end of the Gathering.
Please note your nearest fire exit.
The church and hall have been earthquake strengthened. In an earthquake: drop, cover and hold.
GATHERING
We have come to this place of peace
May its quiet heal our spirits;
We have come to this place of memory
May its history warm our souls;
We have come to this place of prophecy and power
May its vision change our hearts.
PROCESSIONAL HYMN ‘Bring many names’
Words © 1989 Brian Wren from Bring Many Names
Music Carlton R Young © 1994 Hope Publishing Co.
All rights reserved. Reprinted under One License A-623996
Bring many names, beautiful and good,
celebrate, in parable and story,
holiness in glory,
living, loving God.
Hail and Hosanna!
bring many names!
Strong mother God, working night and day,
planning all the wonders of creation,
setting each equation,
gen-i-us at play:
Hail and Hosanna,
strong mother God!
Warm father God, hugging every child,
Feeling all the strains of human living,
caring and forgiving,
till we’re reconciled:
Hail and Hosanna,
warm father God!
Old, aching God, grey with endless care,
calmly piercing evil’s new disguises,
glad of good surprises,
wiser than despair:
Hail and Hosanna,
old, aching God!
Young, growing God, eager, on the move,
seeing all, and fretting at our blindness,
crying out for justice,
giving all you have:
Hail and Hosanna,
young, growing God!
Great, living God, never fully known,
joyful darkness far beyond our seeing,
closer yet than breathing,
everlasting home:
Hail and Hosanna,
great, living God!
WELCOME
Kia ora tatou.
Kia ora.
PRAYER
JESUS PRAYER Jim Cotter paraphrase on card
LIGHTING THE RAINBOW ROOM CANDLE
TIME WITH CHILDREN Patricia Booth
BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
We send you to the Rainbow Room programme to hear stories, ask questions
and have fun together. We bless you. Amen.
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 John Morgan
Hebrew Bible Deuteronomy 32:11-12; Hosea 13:4-8
Gospel Luke 15:1-10
Contemporary reading from The Divine Feminine:
the Biblical Imagery of God as Female
by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, publisher Crossroad New York 1984, quoting Rev Kathryn Piccard “Bible Images of God” (1977)
I like Kathryn Ann Piccard’s emphasis on using the full spectrum of Biblical images of God - human, non-human, material and non-material.
If we use only material analogies (God as rock, water and so forth) we are underemphasising the transcendent nature of God; we need also such nonmaterial images of God as love, word, spirit, verb, or light.
If we use only human images of God (male or female) then anthropomorphism can be overdone and chauvinistic abuse of the natural environment can result.
If we use role images (God as Father, or Husband, or Mother, for instance) to deify and/or justify sex role stereotypes, then a “sin of sexism occurs”.
It is all too easy to divert ourselves away from worshipping God to worshipping one particular image of God: and that is idolatry. The best way to heal ourselves of the idolatry we have fallen into is to utilise the full range of biblical imagery for God.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks
REFLECTION “How interesting is your God?” Patricia Booth
HYMN FFS 50 ‘Nothing is lost on the breath of God’
Words & Music © 1996 Colin Gibson
Nothing is lost on the breath of God,
nothing is lost for ever;
God's breath is love, and that love will remain,
holding the world for ever.
No feather too light, no hair too fine,
no flower too brief in its glory;
no drop in the ocean, no dust in the air,
but is counted and told in God's story.
Nothing is lost to the eyes of God,
nothing is lost for ever;
God sees with love and that love will remain,
holding the world for ever.
No journey too far, no distance too great,
no valley of darkness too blinding;
no creature too humble, no child too small
for God to be seeking and finding.
Nothing is lost to the heart of God,
nothing is lost for ever;
God's heart is love, and that love will remain,
holding the world for ever.
No impulse of love, no office of care,
no moment of life in its fulness;
no beginning too late, no ending too soon,
but is gathered and known in God's goodness.
OFFERING PRAYER (said together)
We give thanks to God for our life
and the courage we are given to live it.
Let our gratitude for life be expressed in our generosity.
Let our faith be expressed in just living.
Let our hope for the future find full expression
In our daily attitude of mind.
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, 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 Sue McRae
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Guinea and the All Africa Conference of Churches. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament, and today we name Hamish Walker (Clutha-Southland electorate) and Louisa Wall (Manurewa electorate). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Plimmerton Presbyterian Church.
PRAYER FOR ST ANDREW’S on card
HYMN AA 114 ‘Out of such sun and air’
Words and Tune © 1988 Colin Gibson
Out of such sun and air
what Christ may come,
shining with new and lovely light
on our dim and shrouded lives;
stirring our sleepiness with dreams,
visions of life beyond compare.
Out of this sun and air
come, Christ, however you will come.
Out of such cloud and mist
what Christ may come,
blurring the clear and simple lines
of our settled scheme of things;
calling on faith and hope and trust,
daring to danger, trial and risk.
Out of this cloud and mist
come, Christ, however you come.
Out of such sudden storm
what Christ may come,
sweeping across the startled sky
of our calm and peaceful ways;
driving with tempest winds of change,
testing with tumult and reform.
Out of this sudden storm
come, Christ, however you will come.
BLESSING
If here, you have found freedom,
take it with you into the world.
If you have found comfort,
go and share it with others.
If you have dreamed dreams,
help one another, that they may become true!
If you have known love,
give some back to a bruised and hurting world.
SUNG AMEN
THANK YOU Bruce Corkill
Our Musician today
Unless otherwise stated all hymns are used by permission CCLI Licence 341550
Words/music to new hymns and gathering statement, prayers and affirmation are original unless acknowledged. The offering prayer is by Susan Jones. The Gathering and Blessing for today are based on sources from “Singing the Living Tradition” (the Unitarian Universalist Association). These words can be used in other worship and small group situations without seeking permission. Please acknowledge the source.
There is a 2-hour parking limit on the street in the Wellington CBD on Sundays.
If you are staying for an after-church activity, you can to move your car into the car park,
or move to a new space on the street.
Add each part of the service. click the "add new" button to add the next hymn, prayer, blessing etc...
THANK YOU
Write the Thank You here