August 21, 2022
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
PRELUDE Largo from “Serse” (G.F. Handel 1685 – 1759)
GATHERING Rebecca A Edmiston-Lange
Come in. Come into this place which we make happy by our presence.
Come in with all your vulnerabilities and strengths, fears and anxieties, loves and hopes.
For here you need not hide, nor pretend,
nor be anything other than who you are and are called to be. Come into this place where we can touch and be touched, heal and be healed, forgive and be forgiven.
Come into this place, where the ordinary is sanctified,
the human is celebrated, the compassionate is expected. Come into this place.
Together we make it a holy place.
PROCESSIONAL HYMN Faith has set us on a journey
Lyrics: Shirley Murray Tune: Marching, WOV110
Faith has set us on a journey’
past the landmarks that we know,
taking risks with no insurance
but the Word that tells us “go”.
Friend or job or home or lover
we may have to leave behind,
outworn truths and ways of thinking,
baggage to the past consigned.
Some are swags of easy conscience
who with others hitch a ride,
some are tourist-package Christians,
dollar-safe, with book and guide.
There are others on this journey—
those who long and pray and search,
heave the stones to free the structures,
love the Christ and leave the Church.
We are this unlikely people
in the Body, knit as one,
company of clowns and cripples—
some are wise and some can run.
Prophets are our travel-agents,
gospel-makers lay this road:
to the place of peace and promise
faith will take us into God.
SILENCE
WELCOME
E te whānau a te Karaiti,
ngā mihi aroha ki a tātou katoa.
Kia ora tātou.
Talofa lava.
Talofa.
Prayer:
There are times when the journey seems too long
when the land of promise seems a hoax dangled before us and we wish for things we’d gladly left behind.
There are times when we rejoice in the destruction of Pharoah and his armies, take pleasure in the defeat of those who – but for grace or circumstance – we might have been,
forget our own journeys from bondage to freedom.
These times, in our past and present, we confess.
There are times when we search for images that fit,
and miss the wider view
when we weed out old concepts, but don’t create new meaning when we worry about the lyrics, and forget to sing
For these times, in past or present, we confess.
In small ways, in our busy lives, we confess that sometimes we close our ears to the voices of the many
close our eyes to the evidence of injustice all around us close our mouths when we should speak up, speak out!
There are times when we settle for being less than we can be when we live for the moment, not in it.
For these times, in past or present, we forgive ourselves. We forgive each other. We are forgiven. So may it be.
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:
We light the rainbow candle to show that we are an inclusive commmuity and also for our children.
BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
We send you to the Rainbow Room to hear stories, ask questions
and have fun together.
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.
THE WORD IN TEXTS John Morgan
Hebrew Bible Jeremiah 1:4-10
Gospel/New Testament Luke 13:10-17
Contemporary reading A prayer for humility, by John Howell
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)
Creator of the foundations of the earth.
May I wear the jersey of humility
with a self-knowledge found in the simple lifestyle.
Let those who quest for power and privilege
realise their deepest desires
are met, not in worshipping their own ego,
or putting others down,
instead in the contemplation
of parenting a maturity in others,
to let the meek inherit the earth,
through our courage to scrum together. Amen.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
HYMN Nothing is lost on the breath of God
Words: Colin Gibson, Tune: Greenlanme, FFS #50
Nothing is lost on the breath of God,
nothing is lost forever;
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 forever,
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 forever;
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 fullness;
no beginning too late, no ending too soon
but is gathered and known in God’s goodness.
REFLECTION “Working on the Sabbath” Rev Dr Fei Taule’ale’ausumai
HYMN Hallelujah! Sing to Jesus
Words: Mervyn Dine; Music Hyfrydol (Public Domain) WOV439 © 3 verses
Hallelujah! Sing to Jesus,
his the sceptre, his the throne,
hallelujah! his the triumph,
his the victory alone,
hark, the songs of peaceful Sion
thunder like a mighty flood:
‘Jesus out of every nation
has redeemed us by his blood.’
Hallelujah! not as orphans
are we left in sorrow now;
hallelujah he is near us,
faith believes, nor questions how:
though the cloud from sight received him
when the forty days were o’er,
shall our heart forget his promise,
‘I am with you evermore?’
Hallelujah! bread of heaven,
and on earth our food, our stay;
hallelujah! here the sinful
flee to you from day to day:
intercessor, friend of sinners,
earth’s redeemer, plead for me
where the songs of all the sinless
sweep across the crystal sea.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
By faith, Sarah and Abraham left family, household and land for the promise of a new life in Canaan.
This faith may lead us through labyrinths of doubt,
laughing hysterically, shouting in protest, lurching in denial, finally making it to green pastures.
By faith, Moses, Miriam and Aaron led their people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea and into the desert.
This faith might sometimes lead us down unpaved tracks, with people we don’t recognise,
to destinations we didn’t plan.
Faith is the opposite of belief:
a bright-side-up coin whose shadow-side is hope.
Faith means behaving as if there’ll be peace on earth— despite centuries-long evidence to the contrary;
acting to make poverty history—somehow; living as if the work of Christ has been left in good and sufficient hands.
Faith is relationship and way of life;
living with uncertainty yet acting with confidence.
Faith is supporting restorative justice and a living wage; ensuring girls in developing countries are educated; restoring the mana and resources of indigenous peoples; providing clean water and rescue helicopters,
creating micro-finance loans and green spaces; caring for orphans and widows, casting out demons of self-doubt and despair,
and occasionally raising the dead.
This is our faith: living as if we matter. Being the salt, the flavour, the zest. Following the spiral path that leads to our home country,
the heart of everything,
the commonwealth of peace and freedom:
Now, and here.
OFFERTORY MUSIC “Rusper” Hymn Tune (English Traditional Melody)
OFFERING HYMN Take my gifts
Colin Gibson, Tune: Talavera Terrace AA127 (1 verse)
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.
OFFERING AND DEDICATION
Compassionate God,
who calls all people to be one family,
teach us to share your gifts with each other, strengthen us to make peace by working together, and challenge us with a vision of the feast
where all are welcome. 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 Pat Booth
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We pray today for the people of South Africa and Lesotho and for the Presbyterian Church of South Africa. We hold all refugees in our hearts. We pray in particular for those detained for many years in Papua New Guinea and 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 Andrew Little (Taieri), Jan Logie List (Takanini). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of St James’ Presbyterian Church, New Plymouth.
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 Where the road runs out
Words & music: Colin Gibson, Tune: Columbus AA156
Where the road runs out and the signposts end,
where we come to the edge of today,
be the God of Abraham for us,
send us out upon our way.
Lord, you were our beginning,
the faith that gave us birth.
We look to you, our ending,
our hope for heaven and earth.
When the coast is left and we journey on
to the rim of the sky and the sea,
be the sailor’s friend, be the dolphin Christ,
lead us on to eternity.
When the clouds are low and the wind is strong,
When tomorrow’s storm draws near,
be the spirit hovering overhead
who will take away our fear.
BLESSING
Kia tau kia tātou katoa te atawhai o to tatou Ariki a Ihu Karaiti, me te aroha o te Atua, me te whiwhinga tahitanga ki te Wairua Tapu, ake, ake, ake, Amine.
Sung Blessing John Murray
May the God of new beginnings start with you and me
May the God of continuing story, speak through you and me
May the God of infinite wisdom shine through you and me
May the God of safe homecomings, welcome you and me.
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE
THANK YOU
Thank you Peter Franklin