January 12, 2020

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

What might be different for us
this Epiphany, this year?

 

Our Gathering
We come this morning realising we live in a truly global society.
We can encounter many people of different ethnicities and faith traditions.
We face new issues with the future of our planet and environment.
Sometimes it is difficult to accept changes and different understandings.
Epiphany is a time for the ”ahha” moment.
What will we find this year to help us go forward together with others?

PROCESSIONAL HYMN ‘Our delight is in the broadness’
A hymn of delight in the world
Words: © Susan Jones 2014-2015 Used by permission
Tune: WOV 68 Praise my Soul

WELCOME
Kia ora tatou.
Kia ora.

PRAYER

JESUS PRAYER Jim Cotter paraphrase on card

LIGHTING THE RAINBOW ROOM CANDLE

BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
Children, you can return to sit with family go to the back of the church with Graham for some activities..
We bless you. Amen.

DIALOGUE Trish McBride and Barrie Keenan

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!

HYMN ‘O when I see the awesome world’
Words: Susan Jones © 2017 Used by permission. Music How Great Thou Art CH 4 #154

THE WORD IN TEXTS Joan Tyler

Hebrew Bible “The servant of the Lord” Isaiah 42: 1 -8

Gospel “The baptism of Jesus” Matthew 3: 13 -17

Contemporary reading From “A Time to Speak” by Lloyd Geering p 95

“We now need to take stock of just where we are. It is only in the last 150 years that humans have become increasingly aware of the phenomenon of change as something that permeates the whole of reality. From geology we have come to understand that, in geological time, the earth is continually changing its surface and the physical environment within which life is to be lived. Hard on the heels of the idea of a slowly changing earth came the notion of biological evolution. We had barely enough time to become adjusted to the ideas of evolution and historical development in the distant past before the current process of cultural and religious change began to accelerate. Thus, it seems that nothing in the world stays the same. The basic Buddhist idea that everything is impermanent has largely been confirmed. So radical is the current global change that many minority cultures and languages are now threatened with extinction and desperate measures are being taken to try to preserve them. We can therefore no longer take the future of the world for granted as our forebears tended to do. But neither can we afford simply to ignore the future and stoically await what comes. If there are still different possible futures for planetary life in general, and for human existence in particular, those futures have come to depend increasingly on decisions now being made by the human species. We now have to plan, not only for our personal future but also for the future of the earth itself.”

RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.

REFLECTION ‘Making the most of our opportunities’ Barrie Keenan

HYMN FFS 67 ‘We are many, we are one’
Words and Music: © 1998 Colin Gibson

OFFERING PRAYER (said together)
We give back what we have already been given.
We give out of gratitude and love.
May these gifts reach the people they need to reach
and achieve the purpose for which they are intended.
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 Lois Robertson

CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Turkey and the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey. We remember the detainees of Manus and Nauru Islands, yearning that their cases be resolved. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament, and today we name Gerry Brownlee (Ilam electorate) and David Clark (Dunedin North electorate). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of St Margaret's Presbyterian Church, Silverstream.

PRAYER FOR ST ANDREW’S on card

HYMN ‘We shall go out’
Words by June Boyce Tillman © 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd
Tune: Londonderry Air CH 4 729

BLESSING (said together)
Go safely into this day and this week
trusting that love is moving towards you,
because the God of love will go with you
and be with you in your encounters
with people and situations.

SUNG AMEN

THANK YOU


THANK YOU Judy Dumbleton
Our musician today

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