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Good morning and welcome to worship at Saint Andrews on the terrace, everyone is welcome. Our service begins with the gathering words which are inside the front cover of the order in this place. All are welcome. The tall, the th the shy and the out there in this place all are accepted. [00:00:30] Sis and trans gay, lesbian, straight and bisexual in this place all are loved simply because we are all human beings in this place. All are honoured for the struggle between commemoration and celebration goes on for all of us all of the time. Blessing. [00:01:00] [00:01:30] [00:02:00] [00:02:30] [00:03:00] [00:03:30] [00:04:00] [00:04:30] Please be seated. It's really good to have you all here today. Um, the glamour phones had a concert last night, and so, um, they'll be falling asleep during the sermon. We expect that, but it's really wonderful of them to come today, Um, given that all the energy they put out last night, [00:05:00] so thank you very much for coming. And, uh, thank you, everyone for being here on this day. It would be great if we didn't have to have a day like today where we remember those who have had shorter lives than the majority of the of the population, some of them through natural causes, some of them through the extra wear and tear on their lives and some of them through violence. And so we remember, um, today [00:05:30] So it's good that you're all here. Let's pray when everyone is together. There is a wholeness and a fullness that we miss when we are a part. And so together. Today we come in the special day to remember those [00:06:00] whose lives have been a struggle and whose lives have been cut short. And we remember today, too, those who continue that struggle to be truly who they are to be alive and free and able to be an authentic human being on every in every facet of their lives. And so today as we think and remember as [00:06:30] we sing as we pray as we light candles in the darkness, may we know the peace of the spirit. May we know serenity and our heart, and may we resolve to make sure that our world becomes better and better and safer for everyone to be. And so we say together, the prayer that's printed in your [00:07:00] order of service, one that was written in 2016 for such a service in the States, our mother and father, our beloved parent and whom we move and breathe and have our being. The hallowing of your name shines forth in the diversity of your Children. May your peace and love, justice and equality, inclusion and belonging reign here [00:07:30] on Earth as in heaven. Grant that our transgender loved ones might have in their daily needs, that they might find gainful employment without discrimination, that they might have access to medical care without fear that they might have their rights and lives protected, and that they might find a loving community to belong to and [00:08:00] call their own. Forgive us for the ways that we have fallen short and failed. Your transgender Children forgive us of the times we turned away or did not care for the times. We laughed or judged their unique expression of your image for the times we have misspoken, asked too much or failed to hear as we [00:08:30] forgive those who might have failed us. Lead us away from the temptation to be complacent in the face of injustice, but instead give us courage to stand up and stand with your beloved Children. for your love and justice is to be made manifest now and forever. I've been might be interesting to go home and dig out a copy [00:09:00] of the original Lord's Prayer and do a comparison. That'd be an interesting comparison to make. Uh, every Sunday we light a rainbow candle here as a sign of inclusion. But it's not, um, an inclusion necessarily of the LGBT community. It's to include Children as well, and it's a hotly contested honour to light the rainbow candle. And before the service, someone booked themselves in the new Angus. [00:09:30] Angus is gonna light the candle, but the other Children are going to come forward because they know this is time for a story. Perfectly done. Well done. Thank you. And we have a picture here of Zeena, who was killed last year, and she's there amongst us today and her dad is here too. Right? So, Ellen, you're going to take the story. But we need a chair for you, don't we? [00:10:00] I'm gonna read a book that I really love. It's called Maurice Micklewhite in the tangerine dress. Maurice Micklewhite has a mother named Moira and a cat named Moon Morris likes Sundays because his mother makes some pancakes on Sundays. Most of all, Morris lacks the oops, there we go. Mondays are great, [00:10:30] too, because on Mondays Morris goes to school. Morris likes a lot of things about school. He likes to paint, do puzzles, the apple juice at snack time and singing the loudest during circle time. Most of all, Morris likes the dress up centre and the tangerine dress. Morris likes the colour of the dress. It reminds him of tigers, the sun and his mother's hair. He likes the noises. The dress makes swish [00:11:00] when he walks and crinkle crinkle crinkle. When he sits down your dad, he takes turns wearing all the different shoes, but his most favourite ones go click, click, click across the floor. Sometimes the boys make fun of Morris. Sometimes the girls do, too. Morris pretends he can't hear their words over the swish, swish wishes, crinkle crinkle crinkles and click click clicks he makes when he walks. Maurice pretends [00:11:30] he can't hear their words, but he can. On Monday, Becky tried to pull the dress right off his back. You can't wear it. You're a boy. On Tuesday, Eli Henry and the other boys wouldn't let Maurice ride on their spaceship unless he took it off. Astronauts don't wear dresses, they said. On Wednesday, Ben Lila noticed Morris's fingernails. His mother had painted them for him the night before. [00:12:00] They chased him around the playground, shouting pinky fingers. On Thursday, the boys wouldn't sit in MRS. At the snack table. On Friday, Morris pretended he had a tummy ache and he thought of all the kids in his class and all the main things they did and said his tummy ache for real. His mother let him stay in his bed and read books about elephants. Mo sat in his lap. Mo liked elephants. Too [00:12:30] good. On Saturday, Morris's mother brought him some apple juice. As he took a sip, she stroked his hair and elderly Morris suddenly felt well enough to do a puzzle. He come to himself and felt better Still. On Sunday, Morris crawled out from under the covers after a wonderful dream about being on a space [00:13:00] safari with Moo. In the dream, they saw big blue elephants and tigers, the colour of the sun that Morris could hold in the palm of his hand. The elephants swish, swished as they moved through the grass and the Tigers, they giant leaves that crinkle crinkle crinkled as their tiny teeth chewed them. The buttons on the spaceship click Click clicked under Morris's fingers. [00:13:30] Morris wanted to share all the amazing things he'd seen. He took out his brushes, put on his smock and began to paint, using every colour he could imagine. He showed his painting to his mother. When he was done, he pointed out the big blue elephant, the tiny tiger, the colour of the sun, the tall grass and the giant leaves. He pointed out Moo and his shiny round space helmet. [00:14:00] And who's that? His mother asked, pointing at the little boy in the tangerine dress riding atop the big blue elephant. Maurice was hoping she'd ask. That's me, he said. On Monday, Morris went to school with his painting rolled up in his backpack. When he had the chance, he put on the dress that reminded him of tigers in the sun and his mother's hair. [00:14:30] Morris swished the tangerine dress crinkle, crinkle, crinkled his shoes click, click clicked. Morris felt wonderful. Eli and Henry wouldn't let him on the spaceship, so Morris built his own. He hung his painting on the front of it and climbed in, ready to take off. Are they really elephants in space? Eli asked. And Tigers. If you [00:15:00] follow me, we can find out, Morris offered. Eli and Henry followed Morris to a planet they had never visited before. As they explored Maurice Swish swish, the tangerine dress crinkle, crinkle crinkled his shoes. Click, click, click. By the time they returned to Earth, Eli and Henry had decided that it didn't matter if astronauts wore dresses or not. The best astronauts were the ones who knew where all the good adventures were hiding. [00:15:30] Morris smiled. He already knew that when snack time was over, Becky demanded the dress. Boris told her she could have it when he was finished. Boys don't wear dresses, Becky sniped. Morris smiled as he swished, crinkled and clicked back to his spaceship. This boy does, and we've got some special people here who are going to sing to us [00:16:00] now, and we thought you'd like to hear that before you went to Rainbow Room. Here they come. Look, they're all over there to sing a called. Um, that comes from where I grew up And when I grew up, I heard the story many times about and how she fell in love with who lived on the island in the middle of the [00:16:30] lake. And, um, there were, I think there were differences between the tribes and and she was kicked from him and eventually she across the lake to be with him. Um, but what I found out when I was older was that in some of the early, um recorded examples of the story, there's another character in it. And, um, had this male intimate companion. And the word [00:17:00] that's used in the story is in one of the early Maori English dictionaries that's translated as an intimate companion of the same gender or same sex. Um, and there's I've heard different stories of this story since then, and then some of them, um, two as with and then he falls for and then Tiki's heartbroken. And in other stories, it's told us more of a marriage of convenience. [00:17:30] And she was a really staunch woman who didn't really want to settle down, and he wanted to stay with his his lover, and, um, they got married to take off some of the social things they needed to do. But each had their, um, were happy in their own way. Um, and then another story. They all end up living together, I think. Anyway, um, so that's, um, That word has been reclaimed by, um, Maori people in the rainbow community since, um, that story has been retold. [00:18:00] Yeah. Yeah, [00:18:30] I You don't? [00:19:00] Yeah, right. [00:19:30] Um, [00:20:00] her kids. [00:20:30] Bye. Yeah, time [00:21:00] again. One. Me? [00:21:30] [00:22:00] Yes. [00:22:30] [00:23:00] Black. [00:23:30] Yeah. [00:24:00] [00:24:30] The gospel reading this morning is Matthew Chapter 26 Verses 36 to 39. Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, Sit here while I go over there and pray He took Peter [00:25:00] and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me going a little further. He fell with his face to the ground and prayed. My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me yet not as I will, [00:25:30] but as you will the contemporary reading from young in The New Age, by David Tay, is but Young argues that conventional religion's morality has misread its own religious symbols. The way of Christ is not, he argues, a way that leads to the privileging of the light above the dark, but a radical way that leads to the integrative or both, [00:26:00] and perspective. This is why young often argues that Christ is a symbol of the self, namely the archetype that leads to psychological integration and whose dynamic energies lead to wholeness. For young, the symbol of Christ upon the Cross is a major world symbol for the inevitable suffering that results from the human experience of being pulled in opposite directions [00:26:30] or from enduring the pain of the tension between the archetypal opposites. For the word in Scripture, for the word among us, for the word within us, we give thanks. Amen. When Jem and I were talking about, um, preparing the service, I, um she was saying that a lot of Trans people in the community don't know that this is a church that doesn't go [00:27:00] on about Jesus Christ, and we laughed, Um, and she's right in the sense that I think that she meant it which was that We don't, um uh bash people and say that you've got to do this and this and this and this kind of thing. Um, but strangely enough, um, I'm going to talk a bit about Christ and actually the cross today, which I find a bit amazing. And I have to say it's one of those things. It's either gonna work brilliantly or it's not. So let's [00:27:30] go over it and I'll explain why Let's pray as we sit and reflect for a few moments, May our minds be clear and our hearts be open. So may it be I in. And this is the reason I was thrilled to get an academic paper sent to me this week from Francis Bird. Do people remember Francis Bird? Francis has been awarded a PhD on her thesis on the glamour phones. [00:28:00] She's also written the paper from the thesis specifically on the relationship between the choir and Saint Andrews. It's fascinating. I skimmed it on my phone during my holiday, and something jumped out at me hence today. So I want to bounce off a a comment that she quoted in her paper right near the beginning. It's about what we could call the elephant in the room. The great Big cross at the front of the building. [00:28:30] Crosses aren't very popular these days when they're waived by conservative and domineering, abusive church members. And yet, strangely, they're popularly used on roadsides at crash sites where people have died. I've just been in Dunedin, where 4000 white crosses made by the local men's shed have were a feature of the armistice celebrations at the Ceta. The triumphal use of the cross is a trademarked [00:29:00] logo waved to dominate. Other people contrasts with this use of the cross as a symbol of sacrifice. But David Tay, in our contemporary reading suggests that perhaps neither of those readings are quite right. And David, for your information, is actually, uh, a retired professor of English literature who used to lecture at La Trobe University in Melbourne. The meaning [00:29:30] to which Tay refers in that dense little contemporary reading, which you might have to read about three times to make sense of, is important today when we're enjoying having the GMO phones with us, and as we commemorate the struggle and in all too many cases, the deaths of transgendered people here and overseas, though this cross here at Saint Andrews is larger than life and imposing. Built in dark wood and shining with varnish, it is in fact, [00:30:00] an Iona cross. This echoes the spirituality of the Celts of Earth friendly organic spirituality with a grounded rooted quality. The circle at the centre of the cross symbolises wholeness, a completeness that comes when we achieve authenticity ourselves and in our relationships, a key word for a transgender day of any sort. Authenticity. The ultimate goal in the [00:30:30] search made through gender transitions. But the Christian Cross is one of many examples of the tree of life, and you may have seen many symbols of the tree of life. They often have a lot of branches at the root and a lot of branches, branches at the top and roots at the bottom. This one, also like that tree of life, connects Earth and what we call heaven. It keeps contact between our ordinary human [00:31:00] lives here in the mud and the joy of life, with the joy and love and lightness associated with the word heavenly. Years ago in Christchurch Cathedral, at a contemplative service, um, I was present and There was a little boy about this high who was sitting with his grandma. His grandma sat back in the shadows of the cathedral most of the time, um, not admitting her relationship with the little boy because he wandered around in this quiet, adult, contemplative [00:31:30] space. But when the, um when the choir stood every time the choir stood and they were in red roads, you see, so they made an impression he would go, and it was just delightful. I forgave him all the noises he was making every time he went like that. And it made me think of this, the cross rising up like that and yet at the same time, being rooted in reality and the horizontal bar of the cross is like arms stretched wide open and an accepting, loving [00:32:00] embrace wide enough for the whole world to be included. But even more than the loving wide embrace, the cross can also be seen as one person. And Jesus is the Christian example of this stretching wide to hold the opposites of our life together to keep the lovers and the haters in dialogue to keep those who suffer in the circle to keep male and female, connected for as a female makes the transition to male and vice versa. They find [00:32:30] that still within is the other. It is not rejecting one for the other, but embracing both, though each perhaps in a different proportion. And it's here that our wholeness is forged here in the intersection of our ground, our grounded and our lightness here in our holding together of the opposites that are inevitable in our human existence. And the Iona Cross gives us that [00:33:00] symbol, above all, cross shapes with the circle of tension and struggle right at the intersection of those two continuum. And for some of us, there are not only two continuum crossing each other at that point of struggle. But there's multiple continuum as we deal with being lover, sister, brother, wife, husband, colleague, friend and much more. Some suggest that the circle at the heart of a Celtic cross comes [00:33:30] from the pagan symbol of the sun God and supremely, that suggests all our lives are crucibles, in which we are being formed and refined more and more into our true likeness into wholeness and authenticity. For Christians, the cross is a reminder that Jesus knows about. See, I mentioned Jesus knows about pain and struggle and is with us in solidarity in so many of those dark [00:34:00] moments of our lives. It's no wonder that it's hard work, sometimes simply being human, that it's hard work transitioning our mode of being human, that it is hard work coming out and being true to yourself. You have to be brave. It's no wonder that life expectancy for trans people can be as low as 35 years in the Americas. [00:34:30] Even worse, if you're a person of colour, for when we deal with all these changes and rearrangements and returns to ourselves, we are making ourselves. We are holding opposites together. Intention. So let's make that tension a loving, creative one, so we can all grow from it. When we do that, we are doing God work and thank God. There are moments, sometimes [00:35:00] even within the struggle, when we experience the joy of being fully alive because we have endured the struggle. That's what Christianity is about, not a triumphal waving of a dominating cross symbol of pain and torture to keep victims down. It's about a cross that shows us all standing tall, and proud on this earth and holding opposites together in tension. It's about loving ourselves as we are. [00:35:30] It's about loving others enough to die for the right if needed, like Jesus did. And for most of us, it's about living well here and now. So the good and the right and the tolerance and intolerance and justice will flourish here on the earth for all of us. A space of quiet. [00:36:00] So may it be, I mean, so we have candles here to spread the light and to commemorate those who have died and those that we wish to remember who are struggling. And so you're invited to come up if you wish. And light candles. [00:36:30] Um, if anyone wants to say anything briefly, you could come and speak from here as you light your candle. Uh, and towards the, um, at the beginning, the offering baskets are going to be placed on a couple of chairs at the front here. And so those who are used to giving the offering on a Sunday you can just put your offering in there. And if you're not used to it, Well, um, this is a free experience for you. Uh, And then towards [00:37:00] the end, the glamour phones will have gathered at the back and they will sing, uh, send in the clowns for us as part of the commemoration. So I will spread the light to the tables, and then let's remember those who need to be remembered [00:37:30] just while you're all lighting the candles. Um, I'd just like to say a few words to acknowledge, um, this is our third year of holding the service at Saint Andrews. And this year, for the transgender community, it's a lot more real, because, um, we've lost quite a number of, um, well known people in our community, uh, for various reasons. And [00:38:00] I'd like to start off by acknowledging, uh, Zea Campbell, whose family is with us today, um, whose uh, life was tragically taken from us at such a young age and so early in their transition. Um, we had a memorial for Zeena earlier this year in the square. Um, we've also lost two of our older members [00:38:30] of the community a Dana and Jenny. Um, and again, people may not understand that even though they were older, they died before their time. Um, they were pioneers. Oh, which is, and Shelly Shey Howard. Um, the first generation of people to go through a medical transition were [00:39:00] kind of guinea pigs. And there were a lot of side effects from those, um, protocols, shall we say? And that was behind. As I understand it, the terminal illnesses that, um, that they got, and that's something that affects that generation of trans people. And we almost lost another one of our icons. Um, thankfully, they're still with us. And, um, just on a personal note, I'd like to acknowledge I'm not going to name them, but, um, [00:39:30] I was quite shocked to find out just over a week ago, um, a fellow transgender activist that I'd got to know this year, um, apparently committed suicide. So yes, for me, particularly this year, is quite a poignant transgender day of remembrance service, but I'd like to thank the community for turning out and the glamour phones again for coming along and supporting us. Thank you very much. [00:40:00] I wish to remember not only a transgender grandchild, but the mother of that child who is finding it so hard to come to terms with what has happened. And so I would pray too for the parents of all transgender Children. [00:40:30] Yeah. [00:41:00] [00:41:30] [00:42:00] [00:42:30] Yes, [00:43:00] [00:43:30] those. [00:44:00] [00:44:30] They're offering prayers in the order of service. We light these candles so that we remember those who have died or been killed for who they are. We sing into [00:45:00] the darkness and the hope light will spread beyond these walls. We bring this money so this church continues to be able to spread its message of love and acceptance. We bring this food for those who do not have enough make candles and song money and food being able to do their work. Well, Amen. And let's indeed thank [00:45:30] the Glaber phones for their gift of soul. And just to alert people if you hadn't already recognised her. Geordi Georgina Baer is with us today fresh from her triumphs in Oxford and Cambridge, Oxford and Cambridge. And, uh, it's love. It's really wonderful to have you here. Thank you. [00:46:00] And the rest of you are all here too wonderful. And now we're going to pray. Let us pray. Our mother and father beloved parents. We gather as an inclusive community to recognise and remember those for whom rejection is a more frequent experience than welcome. We remember all the trans people in our community, [00:46:30] our country and the world. May they be for each person, at least one other who loves them unconditionally. Our thoughts are also with the families of transgender parents, uh, transgender people that their love can indeed know no bounds and be unconditional. May they find the strength to support their loved ones through everything we recognise the teachings of Jesus that God's love is for all. May we in Saint [00:47:00] Andrews and in our lives continue to draw our circle wide, so that, indeed all people are welcome in this place. We give thanks and say Ah, for the talents of the glamour phones who also count the space as their home. We are blessed to experience their talents as well as share the space we think today. Of all the people in our community struggling to live a whole life, those [00:47:30] coming to terms with identity and sexuality, those struggling with health, mental health and physical health, those struggling to find work and those with work who are still struggling to make ends meet, we celebrate the changes that have been made and recognise that much more is needed Before we can truly call this God's own country. We think of the people in the book, and we pray [00:48:00] for Melissa and her wife, Daria, and their Children. As Melissa is recovering from a heart attack in our circle of prayer today, we think of the people of Kazakhstan, and we pray for the dialogue between Muslims, Christians and Jews in Kazakhstan and throughout the world. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament and today we name Marama Davidson and Christopher Finlayson list MP S. Here in the Central Presbytery. We [00:48:30] pray for the leaders and people of Saint David's Union Church in Carterton. And as we move out from here, let us take the wonderful words from the song the gleno sang this morning. And indeed, let us go forth and be brave and let those words fall out ask you to join me in this prayer for Saint Andrews. If this is not your regular community, please make this prayer for your community as well as for ours. Renew your people God [00:49:00] and renew our life in this place. Give us a new spirit of unity with all who follow Christ and a new spirit of love towards all people bless the city in which we live that it may be a place where honest dealing, good government, the desire for beauty and the care for others flourish. Bless this church. That what we know of your [00:49:30] will may become what we do and what we believe. The strong impulse of our worship and work. Amen. [00:50:00] [00:50:30] [00:51:00] [00:51:30] [00:52:00] We have sung and prayed. We [00:52:30] have laughed and cry. We are all wonderful beings on the wonderful planet. Thanks be given for all of this. Let us go now and continue to make the world an even better place in which to live and play, pray and laugh, love and work.
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