An order of worship for New Zealand and Australia

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre, August 10 2009

In the week the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle remembers Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia
This order of prayer was prepared by Peter Prove, Emma Halgren and Michael Wallace

Call to worship
I runga i te ingoa o te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu.
(In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit)
Amine

Grace to you and peace from God our Creator, the love at our beginning and without end, in our midst and with us.
God is with us, here we find new life.

God of holy dreaming, Great Creator Spirit,
from the dawn of creation you have given your children the good things of Mother Earth. You spoke and the gum tree grew. In the vast desert and dense forest, and in cities at the water’s edge, creation sings your praise. Your presence endures as the rock at the heart of our land.

When Jesus hung on the tree you heard the cries of all your people and became one with your wounded ones: the indigenous people, the convicts, the hunted and the disposed. The sunrise of your Son coloured the earth anew and bathed it in glorious hope.

In Jesus we have been reconciled to you, to each other and to your whole creation.
Lead us on, Great Spirit, as we gather from the four corners of the earth.
Enable us to walk together in trust from the hurt and shame of the past into the full day which has dawned in Jesus Christ. Amen

Song These hills by Colin Gibson
Verses 1, 2 and 4

Confession
God of all life, in love you made us, in grace you sustain us; but we have failed your sacred trust.

Lost in the worship of ourselves, lost in greed and lost in power we are destroying your sacred gifts to us.

All that lives, the earth, the sea and the sky; we are choking them all.
God of grace, forgive us our greed, forgive us our carelessness, forgive us our faithlessness.
Restore to us a new spirit and open us to your leading towards a new way of being. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.

Reading 2 Corinthians 9: 6-10
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written,
‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.’
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Hear what the spirit is saying to the church
Thanks be to God

Song Tama ngakau marie Traditional Maori hymn
Verses 1, 3, 5

Reading John 12: 24-26
Jesus said, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.’

Hear what the spirit is saying to the church
Thanks be to God

Reflection by Michael Wallace, General Secretary of the World Student Christian Federation

Affirmation of faith He tikanga whakapono
(Michael Wallace warns that this English translation is rather approximative and a different translation will be added at a later date. The confession of faith was chanted in Maori by teh worship leader with the congregation joining in with those parts in bold - very powerful stuff)
Ko koe, e te Atua tapu, te tino Atua You are God, holy, truly God
Nou te mana, te ihi, te wehi Yours is the honour, the essential spirit, the awe
Nou to ao, te mauri, te ora Yours is the world, life
Nau te katoa, i te rangi, i te whenua Everything is yours, the heavens, the earth
Ko koe tonu te Atua You are God

Ko koe te maramatanga o te ao You are the meaning of the world
I tiaho ra koe i te pouri You shone in our darkness
Kia puta ake tau Tama ko Ihu Karaiti You gave us your son Jesus Christ
Hei pou tokomanawa mo te ao. To be the centre pole supporting the world
Ko koe tonu te Atua You are God

Ko koe te Wairua Tapu You are Holy Spirit
Ko koe taku rakau You are my tree
Ko koe taku tokotoko You are my rod/support
Ko koe taku oranga ngakau e You are the life of my heart

Ko koe tonu ra te Atua. Kororia ki a koe. You are God, glory to you

Intercessions
God of Justice and of Hope, we bring before you today those who welcome us into their midst and those who turn us away, those who travel with us, and those we cannot reach, those who share our struggle and those who ignore it.
God of Justice and of Hope, be our Pilgrim God.

You are there with the indigenous people of our lands who suffer from centuries of oppression, and continue to struggle under often harsh policies. And you are there with all those who work for healing and reconciliation.
You stride before us into communities devastated by grief after this year's bushfires in southern Australia in which hundreds of lives, and whole towns and villages, were destroyed.
God of Justice and of Hope, be our Healing God.

You are there on the road with us — at the dawn, as we head out to be with your people in their place. In the blaze of the midday sun, as we meet with traditional elders or work side by side with a farmer to repair a windmill, and in the evening, as we come home into the setting sun.

You are beside and beyond us as we settle our thoughts for the night, as we bring before you the needs and cares of those we have met (and even of those we have not). And as we gather our strength for tomorrow you are there to meet us, to inspire and refresh us, when we step out to do it all again.
God of Justice and of Hope, be our Pilgrim God.

We give you thanks for the trust you place in us — to do Your will, to be Your presence, in this Your land. We give you thanks for the courage you give us —
to say and to do the right thing at the right time and to know what matters most for these Your people.

And we give you thanks for being with us — at the day’s beginning as we go about Your business and at journey’s end.
God of Love, sustain each one of us.

God of Justice and of Hope, we bring before you today a world at odds, nations riven by inequality, peoples struggling for reconciliation.

You stride before us showing us the way to engage with each other in peace,
showing us the way to embrace justice and to love one another.

We ask you for the strength to be agents of your peace, we ask you for the fortitude to make justice reality and we ask too for your living, loving example –
that we may know again how to love one another as you have loved us.
God of Justice and of Hope, Pilgrim God, let your love live within us as we journey with you on the road. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Concluding prayer
Most loving God, creator and redeemer, we give you thanks for the life of St. Laurence and for all Saints, Martyrs and Prophets who have lead, loved and inspired your people.
Guide and enliven your church in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and all your people that we may be salt of the earth and light to the world.

Through Christ and with all your saints we offer ourselves and our lives to your service. Send us out in the power of your Spirit, to stand with you in your world. We ask this through Jesus Christ, the servant, our friend and brother. Amen

The Lord be with you
And also with you

Kia tau mai ano ki a koutou, nga manaakitanga a te Atua Kaha Rawa, a te Matua, a te Tama, a te Wairua Tapu.
(May the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you all)
Amine

Go now to love and serve the Lord. Go in peace.
Amen. We go in the name of Christ.

Song For you deep stillness by Julie Perrin

Anzac biscuits
We've heard about the role of Australians and New Zealanders in World War I, and the enduring effects of the Gallipoli campaign on the national psyche in both countries.

While hundreds of thousands of Australians and New Zealanders were at war, women in both countries were creating a cultural and culinary symbol.

ANZAC biscuits were made by Australian and New Zealand women for the ANZAC soldiers during World War I and were reputedly first called soldiers biscuits, then renamed ANZAC biscuits after the Gallipoli landing. These biscuits remain very popular national symbols in both countries.

Perhaps these biscuits are a symbol of alternative nation building: A way of finding national meaning other than through war and violence. The women of New Zealand and Australia used what they could find and used their energies in gathering the wheat and other ingredients to make these biscuits. While the soldiers were at war the women worked on providing nourishment for the hungry, in caring for the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffering.

We have some Anzac biscuits at the entrance for you to enjoy on your way out of worship today.