Sunday Morning Worship from St Anne's, Porirua Anglicans

Opening Sentence.
Awake sleeper;
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine upon you.
Open our lips, O Lord;
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Alleluia.

This Song of Praise
The Spirit of the Lord
1 The Spirit of the Lord God ′ is up′on me:
because the Lord has anointed me‿
to bring good ′ tidings ′ to the · af′flicted.
2 The Lord has sent me to bind up the ′ broken-′hearted:
to proclaim liberty for the captives,
and re′lease for ′ those in ′ prison,
3 to comfort ′ all who ′ mourn:
to bestow on them a crown of ′ beauty · in′stead of ′ ashes,
4 the oil of gladness in′stead of ′ mourning:
a garment of ′ splendour · for the ′ heavy ′ heart.
5 They shall be called ′ trees of ′ righteousness:
planted for the ′ glory ′ of the ′ Lord.
6 Therefore I will greatly re′joice · in the ′ Lord:
my soul shall ex′ult ′ in my ′ God,
7 for God has robed me with salvation ′ as a ′ garment:
and clothed me with in′tegri·ty ′ as a ′ cloak.
8 For as the earth brings′ forth its ′ shoots:
and as a garden causes the ′ seeds to ′ spring ′ up,
9 so the Lord God will cause ′ righteousness · and ′ praise:
to spring ′ forth before ′ all the ′ nations.
Isaiah 61:1-3,10,11

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24  (CEV)
The Lord Is Always Merciful
1 Tell the Lord
    how thankful you are,
    because he is kind
    and always merciful.
2 Let Israel shout,
    “God is always merciful!”
.....
14 My power and my strength 
come from the Lord, 
and he has saved me.
15 From the tents of God’s people
come shouts of victory:
    “The Lord is powerful!
16 With his mighty arm
the Lord wins victories!
    The Lord is powerful!”
17 And so my life is safe,
    and I will live to tell
    what the Lord has done.
18 He punished me terribly,
    but he did not let death
    lay its hands on me.
19 Open the gates of justice!
    I will enter and tell the Lord
    how thankful I am.
20 Here is the gate of the Lord!
    Everyone who does right
    may enter this gate.
21 I praise the Lord
    for answering my prayers
    and saving me.
22 The stone that the builders
    tossed aside
    has now become
    the most important stone.
23 The Lord has done this,
    and it is amazing to us.
24 This day belongs to the Lord!
    Let’s celebrate
    and be glad today.
Glory to the Father and ′ to the ′ Son:
and ′ to the ′ Holy ′ Spirit;
as it was in the be′ginning · is ′ now:
and shall be for ′ ever. ′ A′men.

Scripture Sentence 
This day belongs to the Lord!
    Let’s celebrate
    and be glad today.
Psalm 118:24

Prayer (Collect) for Easter Day
Alleluia, faithful God:
on this day you raised Jesus from death,
and calmed our greatest fear.
Help us to celebrate with joy;
that, in greeting the risen Saviour,
we may be filled with the hope of resurrected life.
Through Jesus Christ our Liberator,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Alleluia. Amen.

Colossians 3:1-4  (CEV)
3 You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God’s right side.[a] 2 Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. 3 You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. 4 Christ gives meaning to your[b] life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.
​Footnotes:
3.1 right side: The place of power and honor.
3.4 your: Some manuscripts have “our.”

​Silence

Matthew 28:1-10 (CEV)
Jesus Is Alive
28 The Sabbath was over, and it was almost daybreak on Sunday when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord’s angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3 The angel looked as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards shook from fear and fell down, as though they were dead.

5 The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. 6 He isn’t here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would. Come, see the place where his body was lying. 7 Now hurry! Tell his disciples that he has been raised to life and is on his way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see him. That is what I came to tell you.”

8 The women were frightened and yet very happy, as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and greeted them. They went near him, held on to his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid! Tell my followers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

Silence

Brief Reflection

The Song of our Adoption
1 Blessèd are you, God and Father of our Lord ′ Jesus ′ Christ:
you have blessed us in Christ with every‿
spiritual ′ blessing · in the′ heaven·ly ′ realms.
2 Even before the world was made‿
you chose us to be ′ yours in ′ Christ:
that we should be holy and ′ blameless ′ in your ′ sight.
3 In love you destined us for adoption‿
as your children ′ through Christ ′ Jesus:
such was your ′ pleasure ′ and your ′ purpose,
4 to the praise of your ′ glori·ous ′ grace:
which you have freely given us in ′ your be′lovèd ′ Son.
Ephesians 1:3-6

​Silence

The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.   Amen.

The Lord's Prayer
E tō mātou Matua i te rangi
Kia tapu tōu Ingoa.
Kia tae mai tōu rangatiratanga.
Kia meatia tāu e pai ai
ki runga ki te whenua,
kia rite anō ki tō te rangi.
Hōmai ki a mātou āianei
he taro mā mātou mō tēnei rā.
Murua ō mātou hara,
Me mātou hoki e muru nei
i ō te hunga e hara ana ki a mātou.
Āua hoki mātou e kawea kia whakawaia;
Engari whakaorangia mātou i te kino:
Nōu hoki te rangatiratanga, te kaha,
me te korōria,
Āke ake ake.    Āmine.

Thanksgivings and Intercessions
O God, whose face shines upon us,
we offer the prayers we carry deep in our hearts;
that those who need deliverance
may know your steadfast love and salvation.

Prayers of the People, concluding with:

Merciful God,
release us from the time of trial and oppression,
that we may witness to the eternal hope
of grief becoming joy
and life rising from death. Amen.

A Morning Collect
God our creator,
yours is the morning and yours is the evening.
Let Christ the sun of righteousness
shine for ever in our hearts
and draw us to that light
where you live in radiant glory.
We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
Amen.

Dismissal
​Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Alleluia, Amen.

A poem by Ngāti Hine/Ngāpuhi writer Nadine Anne Hura.

​Rest now, e Papatūānuku (1)
Breathe easy and settle
Right here where you are
We’ll not move upon you
For awhile
We’ll stop, we’ll cease
We’ll slow down and stay home
Draw each other close and be kind
Kinder than we’ve ever been.
I wish we could say we were doing it for you
as much as ourselves
But hei aha
We’re doing it anyway
It’s right. It’s time.
Time to return
Time to remember
Time to listen and forgive
Time to withhold judgment
Time to cry
Time to think
About others
Remove our shoes
Press hands to soil
Sift grains between fingers
🍃 Gentle palms
Time to plant
Time to wait
Time to notice
To whom we belong
For now it’s just you
And the wind
And the forests and the oceans and the sky full of rain
Finally, it’s raining!
Ka turuturu te wai kamo o Rangi ki runga i a koe (2)
Embrace it
This sacrifice of solitude we have carved out for you
He iti noaiho (3) – a small offering
People always said it wasn’t possible
To ground flights and stay home and stop our habits of consumption
But it was
It always was.
We were just afraid of how much it was going to hurt
– and it IS hurting and it will hurt and continue to hurt
But not as much as you have been hurt.
So be still now
Wrap your hills around our absence
Loosen the concrete belt cinched tight at your waist
Rest.
Breathe.
Recover.
Heal – 
And we will do the same.


1. Papatūānuku
In Māori tradition, Papatūānuku is the land. She is a mother earth figure who gives birth to all things, including people. Trees, birds and people are born from the land, which then nourishes them. Some traditions say that the land first emerged from under water.

2. Ka turuturu te wai kamo o Rangi ki runga i a koe
Lit. Rangi's eyelids leap over you

3. He iti noaiho
Lit. Just a little