Diocese of Christchurch Bicultural Policy

SEPTEMBER 1998 - RATIONALE FOR THE BICULTURAL POLICY

The Constitution governing the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand obliges members to

• Undertake the Christian mission of proclamation, nurture, compassion, seeking justice, social transformation and care of creation
• Work within all cultures to seek to serve and bring everyone into the fullness of Christ
• Recognise that the Treaty of Waitangi was the basis for future government and settlement in Aotearoa New Zealand
• Know that the Treaty of Waitangi provides the basis for relationships between Maori and non-Maori
• Understand and apply the principles of partnership and bicultural development arising out of the Treaty of Waitangi.

In this document the Diocese of Christchurch sets out its bicultural policy which embodies the above principles and provides ways of developing partnership with Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu.

HEART OF THE BICULTURAL POLICY
The Diocese of Christchurch accepts the Treaty of Waitangi and :
1. Seeks to increase understanding and awareness of the Treaty of Waitangi and encourage people to discover ways of living it
2. Seeks to continually build and maintain relationships between Tikanga Pakeha and Tikanga Maori.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE BICULTURAL POLICY
Strategies for implementing and nurturing the bicultural policy follow the two strands identified through ministry unit consultation -
A. Education of Tikanga Pakeha
1. Each year Standing Committee through the Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee will consult with ministry units and with Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu to identify bicultural education funding priorities for the following year.
2. By May each year the Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee will work with Standing Committee to formulate the budget requested to fulfil the defined educational priorities for presentation to St John's College Advisory Board and to Synod.
3. After Synod's approval of the bicultural education priorities, Standing Committee through the Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee will commence implementing them.
4. Throughout the year other opportunities may be taken by the Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee and Diocesan staff to encourage ministry units to move forward in their bicultural journey.
B. Relationship Development
1. The Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee will continue to report every year to Synod and to Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu on achievements in bicultural education and development.
2. The Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee will establish with Standing Committee and Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu mechanisms for dialogue on effectiveness of bicultural education and implementation of the policy in the life of the Church.
3. The Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee will continue, in consultation with Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu, to explore appropriate relationships for ministry units with organisations such as Ngai Tahu runanga and Nga Maata Waka.
1998 SYNOD RESOLUTION
Synod resolved to adopt the Diocesan Bicultural Policy, as contained in the Report on the Diocesan Bicultural Policy.

DEFINITIONS
Pakeha: all people who are not Maori, not tangata whenua, who have settled in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Maori: the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, tangata whenua.
Tikanga Pakeha:
(a) under the Constitution -
(i) the Dioceses of the Anglican Church in New Zealand which include the Diocese of Christchurch
(ii) all who choose to identify with and worship under the umbrella of the Diocese of Christchurch
(b) under the Treaty of Waitangi - all people other than Maori who are New Zealanders by virtue of the Treaty of Waitangi (tangata tiriti).-

Tikanga Maori:
(a) under the Constitution -
(i) Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa which includes Te Hui Amorangi o T Waipounamu
(ii) all who choose to identify with and worship under the umbrella of Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa
(b) under Te Tiriti o Waitangi - iwi, hapu and Maori organisations.
Biculturalism: the willingness and the ability to venture into the culture of another people from the security of one's own cultural base.
(It should be noted that other definitions exist.)
Bicultural development: the process whereby two cultures grow and develop within one nation in a spirit of mutual respect and responsibility.
Partnership: co-operation and interdependence between distinct cultural groups within one nation.
Bicultural partnership: implementation of bicultural development within the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia.
Consultation: two parties agreeing to meet together in the spirit of willingness to change, discussing the proposal until there is mutual understanding, and making a decision together.

BACKGROUND TO THE DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH BICULTURAL POLICY DIOCESAN ACTION ON THE 1992 GENERAL SYNOD DECISION
In May 1992 at Hamilton the Anglican Church made exciting history. To quote Archbishop Brian Davis, "we have done something significant for the Church and beyond, for our nation and beyond our nation."
Representatives from our Diocese, together with others of the rest of our Church, changed the face of the Anglican Church. General Synod (the governing body of the Church) said YES to giving cultural difference full and equal importance in the life of the Church. The structures of our Church were changed.
As was said at the time, "the new structures offer the promise of real partnership, a partnership beyond paternalism and dependency, a relationship that respects and honours cultural diversity and gives to each tikanga the mana that is consistent with the mana God gives all as sons and daughters."
The key word in the new Constitution of the Church became "tikanga". "Tikanga" means "cultural strand"; three were recognised \u0013 Maori, Pakeha and Polynesia.
"The three partners became equals, and not one holds sway", stated Rev. John Paterson, General Secretary of the Church.
It meant, "the Church recognises a special bi-cultural partnership between Maori and Pakeha, founded upon the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, and seeks to express this in its life."
The following year the Christchurch Diocesan Synod decided to employ a Bicultural Educator. Kirstie MacDonald-Ashby spent two and a half years promoting bicultural understanding.
In 1995 our Christian Education and Nurture Division suggested that the Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee consider development of a bicultural policy for the Diocese of Christchurch.
In June 1996 the Committee set a programme for development of a Bicultural Policy. The programme was:
1. Education of people developing the policy in terminology and perspectives
2. Analysis of structures of the Church
3. a. Consultation with Pakeha ministry units
b. Consultation with Maori
4. Drafting of a policy for presentation to Synod
5. Strategies for adoption of the policy
6. Implementation of the bicultural policy
7. Maintenance of the bicultural policy.
Phase 3, consultation with ministry units and Tikanga Maori during early 1997 made clear that the policy needed to be dealt with over the period of two Synods. Accordingly, 1997 Synod resolved
... That this Synod receives the Draft Diocesan Bicultural Policy, as contained in the Appendix to the Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee Report, and commends it to ministry units and other bodies associated with the mission of the Diocese for study and consideration as the next stage in the development of a Diocesan Bicultural Policy to be presented to Synod in 1998 for adoption.
In response to the Synod resolution the Diocesan Bicultural Education Committee contracted Shona Hickey to train a team of Diocesan bicultural educators to provide bicultural seminars to ministry units. Fifteen ministry units took up the offer and provided valuable feedback on the usefulness of the seminars as a help to responding to the Draft Diocesan Bicultural Policy and initiating positive action.
Ministry units generally indicated the vital need for the bicultural policy to be a living document of clear practical benefit to every parishioner.
BASIS OF THE BICULTURAL POLICY
The Government and the courts have made a number of clear statements about the status of the Treaty of Waitangi. For example, in the booklet published to commemorate 150 years since the signing of the Treaty, the Government stated, The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document for our nation.
The Treaty obligation to partnership is with Maori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa. Constitutionally, the Anglican way of institutionalising this partnership is by structural relationships \u0013 cultural strands between Pakeha, Maori, and Pasefika.
Within the Church structure the Treaty partnership relationship is expressed between Dioceses and Te Pihopatanga. The local expression of Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa is Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu.
Parts of the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia were altered in 1992 to read in the Preamble:
AND WHEREAS (6) by the Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, the basis for future government and settlement of New Zealand was agreed, which Treaty implies partnership between Maori and settlers and bicultural development within one nation;
AND WHEREAS (12) the principles of partnership and bicultural development require the Church to:
a. organise its affairs within each of the tikanga (social organisations, language, laws, principles, and procedure) of each partner;
b. be diligent in prescribing and in keeping open all avenues leading to the common ground;
c. maintain the right of every person to choose any particular cultural expression of the faith;
AND WHEREAS (13) Te Runanga o Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa and the General Synod, meeting together in a General Conference in November 1990, covenanted with each other and agreed to certain amendments and revisions of the Constitution to implement and entrench the principles of partnership between Maori and Pakeha and bicultural development and to incorporate and extend the principal provisions of the Church of England Empowering Act, 1928;
In 1996 General Synod reinforced clause 6 of the Preamble of the Constitution with respect to theological training and ministry education by adding the words,
Te Tiriti o Waitangi guarantees te tino rangatiratanga to Maori and provides the framework for relationships between Tangata Whenua and other Tikanga within Aotearoa New Zealand.

MINISTRY UNIT CONSULTATION
Consultation with Diocesan ministry units during early 1997 identified two avenues along which a bicultural policy should be developed. One was through education of Tikanga Pakeha and the other was in development of partnership with Tikanga Maori. Bicultural seminars endorsed a desire by ministry units to raise awareness of the history of Aotearoa New Zealand leading up to the 1992 Constitution of the Anglican Church.
TIKANGA MAORI CONSULTATION
Tikanga Maori has been kept informed throughout the whole time during which the draft and proposed bicultural policy was developed. Face to face dialogue on the Policy has been maintained with
* Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu
* Ngai Tahu.
Commitment has been made to honour the ongoing relationships established through the process.

MAJOR ISSUES RAISED IN CONSULTATION
The major issue raised during Bicultural seminars and in ministry unit responses to the Draft Policy has been the question, "why have a bicultural policy when we are a multi-cultural society?"
Two Anglican Church leaders make clear that, although we live in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society, we have an agreement that we will work together as two cultures:
In the context of Aotearoa-New Zealand, biculturalism is the willingness and the ability of all peoples who have arrived in this country over the last 200 years to venture into the culture of the Maori people.
It is also the willingness and ability of Maori to venture into the cultures of all other people.
This relationship is cemented and encouraged in the Treaty of Waitangi..
(Canon Turi Hollis of Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu).
We talk about biculturalism, and there's a Pakeha understanding, and then there's a Maori understanding.
The Pakeha understanding of biculturalism is being sensitive to Maori issues, and Maori understanding of biculturalism is sharing power where decisions are made.
The two views have got to come together, and we must not kid ourselves that one viewpoint is the other. They've got to dialogue a little bit more. (Sir Paul Reeves, in tribute to Eva Rickard, 1998).

THE HEART OF THE POLICY
The result of fifteen months deliberation and consultation has been the defining of the heart of the bicultural policy of the Diocese of Christchurch as:
The Diocese of Christchurch accepts the Treaty of Waitangi and :
A. Seeks to increase understanding and awareness of the Treaty of Waitangi and encourage people to discover ways of living it
B. Seeks to continually build and maintain relationships between Tikanga Pakeha and Tikanga Maori.
ENCOURAGING PARISHIONERS TO APPLY THE POLICY
For a bicultural policy to be relevant it ought to be something that nurtures our Christian journey in practical ways. Examples of positive action can be seen in what some parishes are already doing.
Encouragement in developing partnership between Tikanga Pakeha and Tikanga Maori will be through education and relationship development:
A. EDUCATION OF TIKANGA PAKEHA
Ministry units will be encouraged to deal with one or more of the following:
* being a Gospel-based Treaty-honouring people, e.g. as we study and explore the Scriptures for their relevance for us today in our relationship to God, study and explore the Treaty of Waitangi
* acknowledging and accepting cultural differences, e.g. seek to understand ways in which we do and see things differently because of our different cultural background
* identifying and understanding Pakeha culture, e.g. explore our non-Maori roots and what we have cause to be proud and not proud of
* identifying and understanding Maori culture, e.g. learn about Marae protocol as a means of gaining insight into Maori culture and the people
* having ongoing programmes on the Treaty of Waitangi, and on New Zealand history, including the history of the Anglican Church, e.g. take opportunity to attend Treaty of Waitangi workshops and bicultural events
* helping Anglicans to make informed decisions about the Tikanga with which they choose to identify
* taking opportunities to use the Maori resources of He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa A New Zealand Prayer Book, e.g. learn the Lord's Prayer in Maori and the associated new insights into its meaning
* creatively observing Aotearoa Sunday and biculturally celebrating the Sunday nearest to Waitangi Day
* acknowledging the gift of Te Whanau Whakapiripiri, A Model for Covenant Partnership in Theological Education and Ministry Training, from the Working Group on Theological Education and Ministry Training to complement their Report to General Synod in May 1998, and exploring the covenant relationship illustrated
* developing programmes and strategies to address racism.
B. RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT
In terms of partnership obligations of Tikanga Pakeha, ministry units will be encouraged to strengthen ties with Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu and assisted to
* initiate dialogue and working with Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu
* recognise, value and share each other's gifts and resources as appropriate locally
* seek ways of being more inclusive in the way we as Tikanga Pakeha do things
* deal with tangata whenua and maata waka issues locally.