October 24, 2017
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
This Sunday Roger Jones reflects on the High Country.
GATHERING
In the name of the Creating force, the fountain of life,
the name of Christ, the pulse of life,
and the name of the Spirit, the breath of life. Amen.
Holy! Holy! Holy!
Earth is filled with God’s presence.
CHANT (sung softly while seated) Tune: ‘Be Still and Know That I Am God’
Words: Norman C Habel (adapted)
Be still and feel the presence of Love,
the presence pulsing, pulsing through Earth,
be still and feel the pulse of Love.
Be still and hear the Spirit of Love,
the Spirit breathing, breathing through Earth,
be still and hear the breath of Love.
Be still, behold the glory of Love,
the glory filling, filling this Earth.
Be still, behold the face of Love.
CALL TO WORSHIP
We invite the High Country to worship with us:
Aoraki and the volcanic centre,
deep gorges and mountain ranges.
We invite the flora to sing in the sun:
snow tussock and beech tree,
matagouri and rimu.
We join with the fauna of the Outback in praising God:
Kea and kakapo, jewelled lizard and hovering hawks.
We celebrate the song of the High Country!
Sing, High Country, sing!
We celebrate the song of the High Country!
Sing, High Country, sing!
Adapted from Season of Creation worship resources www.seasonofcreation.com
PROCESSIONAL HYMN AA 155 ‘Where mountains rise to open skies’
Words: ©Shirley Murray Music: Dunedin by Vernon Griffiths 1971 Faber Music Limited London
Where mountains rise to open skies
your name, O God, be echoed far
from island beach, to kauri’s reach
in water’s light, in lake and star.
Your people’s heart, your people’s part
be in our caring for this land,
for faith to flower, for aroha
to let each other’s mana stand
From broken word from conflict stirred
from lack of vision, set us free
to see the line of your design,
to feel creation’s legacy
Your love be known, compassion shown,
that every child have equal scope:
in justice done, in trust begun
shall be our heritage and hope.
Where mountains rise to open skies
your way of peace distil the air,
your spirit bind all humankind,
one covenant of life to share!
WELCOME
Kia ora tatou.
Kia ora.
PRAYER
We remember the wilderness,
the wild places on Earth,
the worlds of wonder and mystery,
We remember the wild worlds
and hiding places of our childhood,
where we felt the mystery of caves
and wild creatures in the mountains.
We remember and rejoice.
We give thanks for the High Country,
the wild places that stir us with wonder.
CONFESSION/LAMENT
We lament and confess that we have become alienated from Earth
and have disturbed the ecosystem of the High Country of our land
and our garden planet.
We are sorry.
We have polluted deserts, and created erosion,
we have torn holes in the ozone layer,
we have disturbed delicate microclimates,
we have destroyed the homes of wild creatures.
We are sorry.
We are sorry. We are sorry.
Your confession is heard
and any offences committed against the High Country are forgiven.
May we learn to love Earth and return to Earth as our home.
I invite you to come home to Earth
by rejoicing in the High Country.
Shalom! Shalom!
We are coming home!
Adapted from Season of Creation worship resources www.seasonofcreation.com
JESUS PRAYER Jim Cotter paraphrase on card
LIGHTING THE RAINBOW ROOM CANDLE
TIME WITH CHILDREN Mike Wespel-Rose
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 Heather Macfarlane
Hebrew Bible Exodus 19: 16-20
Gospel Matthew 17: 1-8
Contemporary reading ‘Brian Turner’
By Brian Turner
https://bellamysatfive.wordpress.com/the-poets/brian-turner/
I much love the high country rivers and valleys – tussock-clothed hills with forests and snow-capped mountains farther off. Alas, I have come to agree with David Attenborough who said recently that he’d had to admit how that we humans were ‘a plague’ upon the earth. I agree. At times I recall Denis Glover’s sequence Sings Harry where he refers to sheep ‘like a pestilence / Pouring over the slopes’. We’re pestilential in too many ways. Outrageous. We don’t appear willing to do much about it. What a scandal, a crime, that is.
Gone
When I heard
my friend had gone
I went outside
and looked at the hills
and the broad
blue sky,
just stood there
a while,
then I went inside,
took one of his books
from a shelf
and listened to him
again, one
more time.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks
REFLECTION ‘Life’s General Store’ Roger Jones
HYMN ‘In our world we find delight’
Music: ©2016 Vivien Chiu Words: © 2016 Susan Jones
In our world we find delight
For creation, day and night
Brings us solace, joy;
Spirit grows, refreshes, gleams
as the earth fuels richer dreams
just by being here;
May this beauty never end
May this solace always be here
May the human race take notice
And show divine compassion.
Mountains march to distant heights
Wilderness tests all our might
Where the tussocks blow;
Windswept tors define the land
Desert plateaus, mountains stand
Old eruptions’ scars;
May this beauty never end
May this rock and earth remain here
May the human race take notice
And show divine compassion
It’s a mystery who made this -
evolution, hand-made care -
multiple ideas.
But it’s not a mystery who
needs to care for green and blue -
We have all been charged
To make sure this never ends
That this beauty does remain here
That the human race takes notice
And show divine compassion
REFLECTION ‘Confession in this century’ Susan Jones
OFFERING PRAYER (said together)
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 Sonia Groes-Petrie
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Canada and the Presbyterian Church in Canada. In New Zealand, we remember those who have worked this election season as candidates, members of all political parties and all voters. We think especially today of those who have lost their place in New Zealand’s political landscape and those who have found it. Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of St Luke’s Co-operating Church, Patea.
PRAYER FOR ST ANDREW’S on card
HYMN Ch 4 710 ‘I have a dream a man once said. ’vss 1-4
Words © Estate of Pamela J. Pettitt (1954 – 2005), reproduced with permission
Tune: Repton WOV 519(ii)
“I have a dream”, a man once said,
“where all is perfect peace;
where men and women, black and white,
stand hand in hand, and all unite
in freedom and in love.”
But in this world of bitter strife
the dream can often fade;
reality seems dark as night,
we catch but glimpses of the light
Christ sheds on humankind.
Fierce persecution, war, and hate
are raging everywhere;
God calls us now to pay the price
through struggles and through sacrifice
of standing for the right.
So dream the dreams and sing the songs,
but never be content:
for thoughts and words don’t ease the pain:
unless there’s action, all is vain;
faith proves itself in deeds.
BLESSING
SUNG AMEN
THANK YOU Judy Dumbleton
Our Musician today
Unless otherwise stated all hymns are used by permission CCLI Licence 3341550
Words/music to new hymns and gathering statement, prayers and affirmation are original unless acknowledged.
THANK YOU
Thank you for joining us.