On Sunday our youth and young adults led our worship service, to which all animals were invited. We celebrated God's wonderful creation, all creatures great and small, weird and wonderful, bright and beautiful.
Rev Anne led the Blessing of the Animals. The youth led the music, readings, prayers and reflections. We had a drama based on the fable of the Lion and the Mouse. We were reminded that we are each unique and perfectly planned and created by God, and no matter how small we are, we can do great things... sharing the love of God with others.
Today was Storm Sunday and we celebrated that through all life's storms, big and little, God is right here with us - giving us love, care, shelter and strength.
We performed a skit, based on the book 'Underneath a Cow' by Carol Ann Martin.
The rain came down, lightning flashed, thunder roared (and thanks to percussionists Izak and Jack, we had all the awesome sound effects!) and the animals ran to find shelter. Maude, the brave and kind cow, offered a dry, safe place to shelter, underneath her. So, all the animals squished in to shelter from the storm.
At the end of the story Maude said, 'It's good to be in a safe place, but sometimes we have to bea safe place.' We thought that this was a bit like God asking us to show hospitality to others, and share kindness, caring and love to help others through the storms in their lives.
Our ukulele group, AbsolUKE (together with help from percussionists) led the congregation in singing Tūtira mai ngā iwi, which talks about standing together, in love.
I particularly like this translation, from the Ministry of Education website, which has the words let us enfold each other.
Stand together people, in unity
Stand together people, in unity
Seek out the clearest vision and our love so strong
O our people, let us enfold each other
That we may all be one
It makes me think of Madge the cow, with all the other animals in her warm, loving care, sheltering from the storm. It reminds me of the way God embraces us with loving arms, holding us up and helping us through our troubles.
Last Saturday night at FISH, we enjoyed some of our old favouries, such as GIANT PICTIONARY, If You Love Me Honey Smile, a puzzle race and an interesting version of Hockey.
A new game was GOBLIN, where one person was the tagger and chased everyone all around the complex. Spencer was our speedy goblin, and we had to be quick and clever to evade him. If he tagged someone, they had to freeze and could only be unfrozen by two people and a zippy sound effect.
The only way to defeat the goblin, was to locate the pieces of a torch, which were hidden all around the building, assemble the torch and shine it onto Spencer. It took a lot of teamwork, but eventually Peatalisa 'saved' everyone from the cackling Spencer with the torch. A lot of fun!
Today was Spring Flower Sunday. The church was beautifully decorated with flowers, and as we were also celebrating animals, some of our children had brought soft toy animals along to add to the display too.
Peatalisa, Angie, Sophia and Bella helped Rev Anne in leading our Call to Worship, with a dramatic reading about the plants and animals.
In Awesome Time. Richard and Jillian organised a BIG game in the hall, with a giant dice, and a playing board large enough to have people as the playing pieces. We talked about looking after our plants, animals and environment - by not wasting water, not littering and remembering to turn that bedroom light off in the morning!
This morning Smith & Co. led our worship once again, with Yet Not I, But Through Christ in Me. Enzro on guitar and vocals, Roslind on vocals, Monica on keys, Ruard on percussion and Dave on trumpet. Awesome! What a beautiful start to our worship service this morning.
Last Sunday was the first Sunday in our Season of Creation. Our Awesome Kids, and in fact the whole congregation, celebrated Ocean Sunday. We followed the fish into church, through the waves, and sang Julie Wylie's beautiful song, Listen to the Waves, Jesus is Lord.
In Awesome Time the young people made pearl and shell necklaces for someone special, and some goodie bags filled with delicious treats to give to a Dad, grandad, uncle, or caregiver, or another someone special on Father's Day:
Popcorn - because you are my 'Pop'
Pretzels - because you love me and teach me through all life's twists and turns
Raisins - because you are 'raisin' me to love God
Kisses - because you give me the best kisses
Carol told a great story in church...
Have you noticed that when you walk along the beach you find things that have been washed up, after rolling around deep in the ocean? Seashells are often washed up and the crashing of the waves sometimes leaves these seashells broken, chipped, or less than perfect.
Life can take all sorts of twists and turns, and ups and downs, and we might feel a bit like we are a seashell crashing about in a storm on the sea. The winds are violent around us, the waves crashing and bashing and it might feel like we may drown. But then, just like the waves of the sea are calmed, God steps in and calms our own storm.
When we put our trust in God, we can see that even in the murky waters of trouble, God is with us. Like the seashell that washes up on the shore, that has withstood the violet waves, so shall we. The treasure that we see in that lovely seashell is also how God sees you and me... a treasure that is beautiful and worthy to hold on to!
And, no two shells are exactly alike, just like no two people are exactly the same. Each shell has its own individual markings and identity. Just like us - we all have our own unique beauty..
So, when you see a seashell, let it be a reminder to you that you are special and unique and that God is faithful, even in the storms of life.
