Worship’ s“ The Blessing.” The song and video connect deeply and broadly in New Zealand, beautifully portraying both diversity and unity.
THE SET LIST Take a look through our Karakia program and set list. I imagine most of these songs will be familiar to most readers, though some may not be.
“ Wairua Tapu” is widely sung only in New Zealand. It is a beautiful, simple refrain in the Māori language, followed by its English translation:“ Holy Spirit, welcome. You are welcome here.” It was especially appropriate for our celebration of Pentecost.
Similarly,“ Whakaaria Mai” is a loose Māorilanguage translation of the hymn“ Abide with Me,” sung to the melody of“ How Great Thou Art.” Written at the request of Billy Graham for his New Zealand tour in the late 1950s, it has since become something of a New Zealand Christian national anthem.
Knowing that different churches tend to use music differently— and often favor certain song types over others— we deliberately combined:
• newer, older, and middle-aged songs;
• songs with simpler, more frequently repeated lyrics and songs with deep, rich, theologically sound lyrics;
• upbeat, energetic songs and songs that allowed for deeper reflection and contemplation;
• songs sung from the first-person“ I” and songs using the collective“ we”; and
• songs we could sing directly to God and songs that reminded us of truth about God.
In every case, we chose keys with the congregation’ s voice in mind. We pitched the songs so that every man, woman, and child in the room could sing the melody. We featured no vocal performances or featured soloists from the platform. Instead, our choir and six vocalists usually sang the melody in both male and female registers, supporting the congregation’ s singing.
Our instrumental arrangements were simple and uncluttered. We used vocal harmony sparingly, reduced repeats, and included only minimal extended musical moments— features that tend to appeal to only some worshippers.
CONCLUSION With careful, loving consideration of the diversity within the one Christian Church— and with a servant-hearted, respectful posture— worshiptogether events can become a wonderful catalyst for greater oneness in Christ.
Let’ s intentionally focus on what we can agree
BAND / TECH SET LIST“ KARAKIA” @ St Thomas, Motueka Sunday, May 24th, 2025, 7pm
@ 6:52pm“ The Blessing | Aotearoa / NZ” VIDEO( with lowered lights)
@ 7pm- WELCOME, PRAYER & BIBLE READING # 1: 1st, 2nd & 3rd Readers
1. Wairua Tapu [ E ]
2. Holy Spirit [ E ] 3. God So Loved [ D ]
____________ BIBLE READING # 2: 4th Reader 4. King of Kings [ C ] 5. Holy Holy Holy [ C ]
_________________ BIBLE READING # 3: 5th & 6th Readers 6. Worthy of it All [ E ] 7. What a Beautiful Name / I / We Exalt Thee [ D ]
_____________ PASTOR PRAYER LINE 8. Amazing Grace [ E to F #] 9. We Are One in the Spirit( Redemption’ s Song) [ Dm ]
_________________ BIBLE READING # 4 ____________
10. Father I Adore You [ E ]( Grant solo NO SCREEN LYRICS)
Lord’ s Prayer- SMALL GROUP PRAYER( Quiet background music) 11. Whakaaria Mai / How Great Thou Art [ A ] 12. The Blessing | Aotearoa / NZ [ E ]
_____ PRAYER & DISMISSAL ______________
on and what we can do together.
This article expands on ideas I introduced in my two previous articles. For helpful background, you may wish to read the first:“ Combined Church Events: Building Unity or Undermining It?”
Grant Norsworthy Grant is the founder of More Than Music Mentor- providing online & onsite training for the heart & the art of worshipping singers, instrumentalists & technicians. Grant’ a passion is to IMPROVE musicality, INCREASE participation, INSTILL unity & INSPIRE worship in The Church worldwide. An Aussie who also lived in Nashville, TN, USA for 17 years as a pro CCM muso, today Grant lives and works from his Nelson New Zealand home base.
MoreThanMusicMentor. com Facebook. com / GrantNorsworthy
66 August 2026 Subscribe for Free...