Wednesday, 23rd February 2011 at 12 noon. St Paul’s Cathedral, Dunedin

Welcome:  The Dean

All kneel or sit.

A Prayer

Eternal God, who loves us with an everlasting love,
 and can turn the shadow of death into the morning;

help us now as we wait upon you.

In the silence of this hour speak to us of eternal things,
 that we may have hope,
 and be lifted above our darkness and distress
into the light and peace of your presence;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

We meet in the presence of God

who knows our needs

hears our cries,

feels our pain,

and calms our fears.

All Stand — We will observe a minute’s silence

Hymn ‘Abide with me’

All Sit or kneel

Let us pray

The weight of grief and the shock we feel for the people of Christchurch
 bears heavily upon us, but we do not bear this alone.
 We hold our concern for Christchurch before the One who is Lord of life
 and of death, of the present and of the future.

We bring before you, Lord,

our confusion in the face of this shock,

our despair in the face of this tragedy,

our helplessness in the face of such devastation.

Grant us all the strength and hope we need,

and in your power renew us.

We bring before you, Lord,

the tears of all who have lost loved ones, friends or family,

the cries for help from those trapped in the rubble,

the anguish of all who are in pain, in distress of mind or body.

Grant us all the strength and hope we need,

and in your power renew us.

We bring before you, Lord,

the search teams in the crumbling buildings,

the triage centres in the open spaces,

the emergency camps for the displaced and traumatised.

Grant us all the strength we need,

and in your power renew us.

We bring before you, Lord,

our sense of frustration,

our feeling of powerlessness,

our fears for the future of Christchurch.

Grant us all the strength we need,

and in your power renew us.

God of the desolate and the despairing, your Son,

Jesus Christ, bore the cross of suffering that is for us

the source of life and healing.

Let not the destruction in Christchurch bring us to despair

but rather to find in you a fount of life and a spring of hope

that we may fearlessly uphold those who are afflicted,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

A Reading from Habakkuk, Chapter 3.

A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk

O Lord, I have heard of your renown,
 and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.

In our own time revive it;
 in our own time make it known;
 in wrath may you remember mercy. ...

He stopped and shook the earth;
 he looked and made the nations tremble.

The eternal mountains were shattered;
 along his ancient pathways
 the everlasting hills sank low. …
 You split the earth with rivers. 

The mountains saw you, and  writhed;
 a torrent of water swept by;
 the deep gave forth its voice. …

Though the fig tree does not blossom,
 and no fruit is on the vines;

though the produce of the olive fails
 and the fields yield no food;

though the flock is cut off from the fold
 and there is no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
 I will exult in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord, is my strength;
 he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
 and makes me tread upon the heights.

Psalm 102  A Psalm of Lament

Turn your ear to me;

Be swift to answer when I call.

Turn your ear to me;

be swift to answer when I call.

Lord, hear my prayer,

And let my cry come before you

be swift to answer when I call.

Do not hide your face from me

in the day of my trouble:

be swift to answer when I call.

You, Lord, endure for ever,

and your name from age to age:

be swift to answer when I call.

You will be moved to have compassion on Zion,

for it is time to have pity on her:

be swift to answer when I call.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Turn your ear to me;

be swift to answer when I call.

A Reading from Romans 8:

If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Proclamation of Hope

The light from this Easter Candle reminds us that when God the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead he defeated the power of death; his light shines in the midst of the darkness of this world; his light shines amidst the brokenness of Christchurch.

The Lord is my light and Salvation;

The Lord is the strength of my life.

The Lord is my light and Salvation;

The Lord is the strength of my life.

The light shines in the darkness

And the darkness has not overcome it.

The Lord is the strength of my life.

Glory to the Father and to the Son

And to the Holy Spirit.

The Lord is my light and Salvation;

The Lord is the strength of my life.

Prayers: Led by the Dean

Lord in your mercy
 Hear our prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,

  hallowed be your name,

  your kingdom come,

  your will be done,

    on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

  as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

  and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours

  now and for ever.  Amen

All Stand

Dismissal and Blessing The Bishop

The New Zealand National Hymn: