New Zealanders thank God for chainsaws

NELSON, New Zealand -- For most New Zealanders, the combination of chainsaws and Sunday morning usually means being woken at an ungodly hour.

But the tiny farming community of Tapawera, in the remote far north of New Zealand's South Island, think chainsaws are literally God's gift to humanity.

And last Sunday they gave thanks, in a special church service dedicated to the timber-lopping devices.

About 30 people attended the Tapawera and Districts Community Church's first service dedicated to the chainsaw, according to the Nelson Evening Mail newspaper.

Many brought their chainsaws with them, placed them on the altar, and afterwards performed an impromptu "chainsaw orchestra," complete with Mexican wave.

Church council member Ian Cuthbertson gave thanks to the people who invented the first chainsaws, those who made them now, "and for people who use chainsaws for our benefit, farmers and forest workers," the paper reports.

Children were given pictures of chainsaws to color in, which they presented to the congregation at the end of the service.

One child drew Jesus holding a chainsaw.

Pastor Havell Stephens-Smith said the idea for the service came to him through God and it said something relevant to the community.