March 18, 2018
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
Write your welcome here
GATHERING
We continue our journey of life and growth
Pondering what we need to die to
,
in order to live for something else
What does it mean to fall into the ground?
What does it mean to let go?
What would new growth mean on this journey of life?
PROCESSIONAL HYMN FFS 57
͚
Song of faith that sings forever.
͛
Words © 1999 Shirley Murray.
Music by Colin Gibson. Music © 1999 Hope Publishing Co
.
Song of faith that sings forever
through God's people, ages long,
Word that holds the world together
when our hearts take up the song,
always, always, somewhere sounding,
though the source we do not see,
counterpoint to all despairing,
it is hope that sets the key.
Song of faith in exaltation,
rising through the vaults of prayer,
tune of simple celebration
offered up in open air,
song in chapel and cathedral,
descant to our daily tone,
song from sickbed or in prison,
faith must often sing alone.
And when life would overwhelm us,
when there seems no song to sing,
hear the constant voice of courage
out of fear and suffering:
all who've loved and trusted Jesus,
all who lift us to be strong,
endless, endless are the voices
of the faith that makes the song.
OPENING RESPONSES
(please remain standing)
Dorothy McRae-McMahon
God conceives, within humanity, a promise
- a small seed which could grow into the Divine life.
It lies there in a womb of faith and prophetic hope,
waiting to be nurtured and celebrated.
Its fragile being may be immersed in hard times,
almost overwhelmed with challenges and conflicts
and wondering whether there will be any place
for its precious and sacred birthing.
We can be those who prepare for the coming,
the miracle of unearned eternal grace.
WELCOME
Kia ora tatou.
Kia ora.
PRAYER and LORD
͛
S PRAYER
(5th of 6 possible renderings of the Aramaic Lords Prayer)
O Silent Sound,
whose shimmering music pulsates at the heart of each and all,
Clear a space in us where thy melody may be perceived in its purity
.
Let the rhythm of thy counsel reverberate through our lives,
so that we move to the beat of justice, love, and peace.
Then, our whole being at one with thy song,
grant that the Earth may be filled
with the beauty of thy voice.
Endow us with the wisdom to produce and share
what each being needs to grow and flourish,
And give us courage to embrace our shadow with emptiness,
as we embrace others in their darkness.
But let us not be captive to uncertainty,
nor cling to fruitless pursuits.
For from thee springs forth the rhythm, the melody, and the harmony,
which restores all to balance, again and 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 CHILDREN Dawn Cowdry
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!
A LENTEN MOMENT Susan Jones
THE WORD IN TEXTS Roger Jones
Hebrew Bible Jeremiah 31: 33-34a
Gospel John 12: 20-32
HYMN CH 4 417 ͚Now the green blade riseth
Words: John Macleod Campbell Crum, Martin Shaw
Music: Noel Nouvelet
Now the green blade riseth, from the buried grain,
Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.
In the grave they laid Him, Love who had been slain,
Thinking that He never would awake again,
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.
Forth He came at Easter, like the risen grain,
Jesus who for three days in the grave had lain;
Quick from the dead the risen One is seen:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.
When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
Jesus' touch can call us back to life again,
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.
Contemporary reading ͚Prophets of a Future not our Own
This prayer was quoted by Pope Francis in 2015. It is an excerpt from a homily written for Cardinal Dearden by then-Fr. Ken Untener on the occasion of the Mass for Deceased Priests, October 25, 1979. Pope Francis quoted Cardinal Dearden in his remarks to the Roman Curia on December 21, 2015. Fr. Untener was named bishop of Saginaw, Michigan, in 1980. He died 2004.
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent
enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of
saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission. No set of goals
and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along
the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the
master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture, for the Word among us, for the Word within us, we give thanks
REFLECTION ͚Letting the new emerge Susan Jones
HYMN (sung remaining seated)
Bring Many Names # 23 Joyful is the Dark
Words by Brian Wren © 1989 Hope Publishing Co.
Music © Veronica Bennetts
1. Joyful is the dark,
holy, hidden God,
rolling cloud of night beyond all
naming:
Majesty in darkness,
Energy of love,
Word in Flesh, the mystery
proclaiming.
2.
Joyful is the dark,
Spirit of the deep,
winging wildly o'er the worlds creation,
silken sheen of midnight,
plumage black and bright,
swooping with the beauty of a raven.
3. Joyful is the dark,
shadowed stable floor;
angels flicker, God on earth confessing,
as with exultation
Mary, giving birth,
hails the infant cry of need and blessing.
4. Joyful is the dark,
coolness of the tomb,
waiting for the wonder of the morning;
never was that midnight
touched by dread and gloom:
darkness was the cradle of the dawning.
5. Joyful is the dark,
depth of love divine,
roaring, looming thundercloud of glory,
holy, haunting beauty,
living, loving God.
Hallelujah! Sing and tell the story!
Joyful is the dark.
Joyful is the dark.
Joyful is the dark!
OFFERING PRAYER (said together)
May these offerings and our lives, bring hope to those who have
little, and may these gifts be a symbol of our commitment to justice
in our world. 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
͛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
Paul Barber
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Czech Republic and the Ecumenical
Council of Churches in the Czech Republic. In New Zealand, we remember
those in Parliament. Today we name list MPs Alfred Ngaro and David
Parker. Here in Central Presbytery, we pray for leaders and people of St
Paul's - St Mark's - Westmere Memorial Presbyterian Church, Wanganui.
PRAYER FOR ST ANDREW͛S on card
HYMN AA 36 Every day
Words © 1992 Shirley Erena Murray
Music: Colin Gibson. Music © 1993 Hope Publishing Co.
Every day I will offer you, loving God, my heart and mind
every way I discover you
in the work your hand has signed;
help me see I'm your image,
and you have dreamed what I might be
every day in your Spirit, I'll find the love and energy!
Every day I will focus on Christ, and lift my courage high
through the tides and the tossing of waves th
at drown,
and hopes that die;
help me see stepping out of the boat,
I'll learn what risk might be
--
every day in your Spirit, I'll find the love and energy!
Every day I will look to Christ, and give thanks for wine and
bread,
through the pain and emptiness
where your world cries to be fed;
help me see I can work for change,
and wherever I might be,
every day in your Spirit, I'll find the love and energy!
Every day I will walk with you, answer your compassion's clai
m,
find my feet and my bearings
to try deep places in your name:
help me see I can speak for the faith
when you're at work in me,
every day in your Spirit, I'll find the love and energy!
Every day I will take your word, answer your compassion's claim,
celebrate every sign of hope,
every deed done in your name;
help me see you are always there,
and your light can shine through me,
every day in your Spirit, I'll find the love and energy!
BLESSING AND SUNG AMEN
THANK YOU
Bruce Cash Our musician today
THANK YOU
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