June 16, 2019
WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE
Write your welcome here
GATHERING
We come today to the sacrament of baptism;
the Spirit is remembered and revered
as we bless the water and the child,
as we promise and pray,
as we combine as a community of faith,
as we welcome the children like Jesus did so long ago.
So may it be
Amen.
PROCESSIONAL HYMN ‘Our delight is in the living’
Words: © 2014-2015 Susan Jones
Tune: Praise my Soul WOV 68
Our delight is in the broadness
of the world dawn brings to sight;
Harbour, beach and islands’ structure,
plain and hilltop, mountains’ might;
Thanks be giv’n for nature’s beauty,
celebrate each new day’s light.
Our delight is in the living
of each moment every day,
working, playing, walking, sleeping,
being family, straight, bi, gay;
Grace be giv’n for every minute,
wisdom for each interplay.
Our delight is in the creatures
sharing with us this our place,
moths and birds with stunning markings,
dolphins moving with sweet grace;
Thanks be giv’n for all creation,
celebrate each life, each space.
Our delight is in the loving
of each other as we may;
Searching, finding, liking, loving,
talking, list’ning on the way;
Thanks be giv’n for our affections,
celebrate them night and day.
WELCOME
Kia ora tatou.
Kia ora.
PRAYER and JESUS’ PRAYER
LIGHTING THE RAINBOW ROOM CANDLE
TIME WITH THE CHILDREN Dawn Cowdry
THE WORD IN TEXTS John Harper
Gospel Mark 10: 13-16
BAPTISM of AMOS CONNELL THOMSON
Second son of Emma Schrader and Donald Thomson
Presentation and Narrative
…Baptism symbolises the church’s welcome for Amos. Baptism is not about opening the door to welcome God. God’s love is already present with us all and with Amos. Baptism is the church's way of celebrating and naming the grace of God living in every one of God's children. It is also how we welcome new members into the life of the universal community of faith.
Naming
Donald and Emma, by what name is your child known?
Amos Connell Thomson
Amos, born to love, surrounded by love,
child of the universe, one with all that lives,
we now confirm your name Amos Connell Thomson.
You are already making this name your own.
We pray you will continue to live in freedom and fullness
as you travel your journey of life.
Thanksgiving of the Congregation
God is the heart of life
and we are the heartbeat.
May our hearts be filled with thanks and praise and songs of joy.
We rejoice in the miracle of life and delight in our participation in it.
In our world, water is an increasingly precious commodity.
Water is everything. Water is life.
Amos’s brother Sol helps get the water ready
We claim the joy of water and the way it sustains and nourishes us.
May it flow and pour and sprinkle for all people.
that all may know each day the gift of God in water.
The biblical stories talk of the preciousness of water.
They remind us water is a blessing and the source and strength of life.
We use it now to baptise Amos, as many have been baptised over centuries.
May this water, holy and blessed,
be the vehicle which carries love and grace fully for us today.
Baptism and Blessing
Donald and Emma’s intentions
Emma and Donald, will you provide welcoming homes of love and trust for Amos? We will
Emma and Donald, will you teach Amos the stories and values of our faith?
We will
Will you encourage Amos to reach out to others with love and compassion?
We will
Will you teach Amos to be open minded and will you value his journey of spiritual discovery, wherever that may take him? We will
Godparents’ Intentions Greg Olsen & Michelle Hemmingway-Rushton
Greg and Michele, will you pay special attention to Amos as he grows and matures? We will
Will you recognise the sacredness within him and nurture it, never damaging or neglecting it? We will
Prayer
May Donald and Emma be guided by the spirit of wisdom in their decisions;
may they remain attentive to the sacredness in each other and Amos,
May they strive to make their family one grounded in God’s loving parenting.
May Amos always know that the Source of all Love
lives and comes to unique expression in him.
May we all live in love;
May we continue to draw encouragement from
the faith which connects our loving with the mystery we call ‘God’.
So may it be
AMEN
Response of congregation
Community of St. Andrew’s, we participate in this baptism because we are the people of God, celebrators of new life found in Jesus Christ. We are gathered as representatives of the whole Christian community throughout time and world-wide in this act of baptism.
We, friends and members of St. Andrew’s,
welcome you, Amos, into our church, part of the Body of Christ.
We do not presume to tell you what you must believe,
for ours is a community of free inquiry and searching.
We promise to share with you our experience of faith
and ask that you share yourself with us.
In this way we shall learn from one another,
grow stronger, and more often be faithful to God
as servants to all people. So may it be! AMEN
Affirmation of the Congregation said standing Dorothy McRae-McMahon
We trust in God, the Creator Spirit
who moved upon the face of the deep
at the beginning of creation,
who created all that is,
and who spoke through the prophets of old.
We trust in Jesus Christ
into whom God’s spirit was poured
in fullness and in power,
that the whole creation might be restored and unified;
and who promised that the Spirit would come
and fill the faithful with power to witness
to the mighty love of God.
We wait on that Spirit today with longing hearts,
seeking to be empowered to the witness to God’s love,
with fresh words and courageous actions
of love and hope and justice. So may it be.
The congregation remains standing to sing the blessing
SUNG BLESSING AA 95 “May the mystery of God enfold us”
Words © 1993 Joy Cowley. Tune © 1993 Ian Render
Words & Tune admin. by the NZ Hymnbook Trust
May the mystery of God enfold us, may the wisdom of God uphold us,
may the fragrance of God be around us, may the brightness of God surround us,
may the wonder of God renew us, may the loving of God flow through us,
may the peace of God deeply move us, may the moving of God bring us peace.
Baptismal candle and gifts
Baptismal prayer
Bless this newly baptised child. May he always know that the Source of all Love lives in, and comes to unique expression, in him.
So may it be.
Bless us all. May we all live in love and continue to draw encouragement
from the faith which connects our loving with the mystery we call ‘God’.
So may it be.
This is a day of great celebration for Donald, Emma, Solomon and Amos
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
HYMN WOV 236 ‘Silent Night’
Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round the tender mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light;
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
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 Harper
Hebrew Bible Psalm 103: 8-18
Contemporary reading Baptism: Thomas Keating
If you accept the belief that baptism incorporates us in the mystical body of Christ, into the divine DNA, then you might say that the Holy Spirit is present in each of us, and thus we have the capacity for the fullness of redemption, of transformation.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.
REFLECTION ‘Baptised in the Spirit’ Susan Jones
OFFERING PRAYER (said together)
We have been given all we have;
Today we bring some of it,
so the work here can continue and grow
and so those who need food, get it.
May both food and money be effective in their work,
may those who benefit know more of the Love
which energises this world
So may it be
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 Sue McRae
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Papua New Guinea and the Christian World Service supported literacy programme in Bougainville that seeks to provide local language literacy training to young adults in all 22 language group areas of Bougainville with the expectation that this will act as the first stepping stone towards gaining an education. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament, and today we name Grant Robertson (Wellington Central electorate) and Jamie-Lee Ross (Botany electorate). Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Takapau-Norsewood-Ormondville Presbyterian Church.
PRAYER FOR ST ANDREW’S on card
HYMN ‘We shall go out with hope of Resurrection’
Words by June Boyce-Tillman © 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Tune: Londonderry Air CH 4 729
We shall go out with hope of resurrection;
we shall go out, from strength to strength go on;
we shall go out and tell our stories boldly;
tales of a love that will not let us go.
We'll sing our songs of wrongs that can be righted;
we'll dream our dream of hurts that can be healed;
we'll weave a cloth of all the world united
within the vision of new life who sets us free.
We'll give a voice to those who have not spoken;
we'll find the words for those whose lips are sealed;
we'll make the tunes for those who sing no longer,
expressive love alive in every heart.
We'll share our joy with those who are still weeping,
raise hymns of strength for hearts that break in grief,
we'll leap and dance the resurrection story
including all within the circles of our love.
BLESSING
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE
THANK YOU Bruce Cash
our musician today
Unless otherwise specified all our music is used by permission CCLI Licence 341550
Words/music to new hymns and gathering statement, prayers and affirmation are original unless acknowledged. If Susan Jones is the worship leader any such liturgy will have been written by her. These words can be used in other worship and small group situations without seeking permission. Please acknowledge the source.
THANK YOU
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