Our Vision
The Diocese through this decade is working on Regeneration. We dream of each of our ministry units being populated with new generations of believers. We pray for each of our churches to have a spread of generations in its congregations.
Our focus is on making disciples, strengthening families and building communities.
Come and join us!
Our Story
In 1850 Christchurch and the Canterbury plains and foothills were settled with migrants from Great Britain, many of whom were members of the Church of England. Anglican churches were founded. Anglican missioners shared the Good News with local Māori.
In 1856 the Diocese of Christchurch was established, Christchurch was declared a city by Queen Victoria, and Bishop Henry Harper arrived as our first bishop.
Nearly 170 years later we are onto our ninth bishop. The Diocese incorporates all of Canterbury, Westland and the Chatham Islands, divided into 54 parishes and one Cathedral ministry unit in the centre of Christchurch.
Safeguarding and Complaint Process
Safeguarding is about prevention of harm and early intervention to minimise the opportunity for the child, young person or vulnerable adult to be harmed.
If you wish to make a complaint about an office bearer in the Anglican Church (for example, a priest, deacon, bishop, licenced lay minister, trustee, etc) we encourage you to put it in writing and send it directly to the independent Registrar, either by email or post.
What is faith?
Is Christianity true?
What happens when I die?
Finding faith in a busy world.
Coming soon: We talk to 5 people with fresh stories of finding faith & community.
News and Announcements
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Read more: The Archbishops’ 2024 Christmas Message
The Archbishops’ 2024 Christmas Message
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Read more: Upcoming Events (Christmas & Holiday Services)
Upcoming Events (Christmas & Holiday Services)
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Read more: 2024 Christmas Message from Bishop Peter Carrell
2024 Christmas Message from Bishop Peter Carrell
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Read more: Presbyterian Church publishes response to the Commission’s recommendations
Presbyterian Church publishes response to the Commission’s recommendations
Anglican e-Life
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Read more: Anglican e-Life | 15 January 2025
Anglican e-Life | 15 January 2025
Dear Friends,
New Year greetings!
I am pleased to announce that Rachelle Mathews has been appointed to be our new Diocesan Manager. Rachelle is a committed Christian and a member of Grace Vineyard church. She has several tertiary qualifications and is a member of Educate Plus and a member of the Institute of Directors.
For the past seven years Rachelle has been Marketing and Communications Manager, at Medbury School, Christchurch. In this role she has been an ex-officio member of the school trust board including role of Board Secretary. She has experience in managing substantial budgets, overseeing archives, maintaining stakeholder relationships, managing change, building management, health and safety compliance and highly proficient in digital tools including MS Office, Adobe Suite, and Google Docs. Concurrently with her employed role, Rachelle has also been a director of Equitas Care Limited and deputy chair of Kilmarnock Enterprises Trust.
Rachelle will begin work with the Diocese on Thursday 23 January 2025, overlapping with Edwin Boyce, until his last day at work, Wednesday 5 February 2025.
My first day at work after some annual leave will be leading the Reverend Joe Keighley’s Induction as Vicar of Burnside-Harewood Parish. All are welcome to this service at 6.30pm on Wednesday 22 January at St Timothy’s, Kendal Avenue, Burnside. Clergy are welcome to robe, especially those attending from the local Archdeaconry of Selwyn-Tawera: alb and red stole.
Arohanui,
+Peter
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Read more: Anglican e-Life | 11 December 2024
Anglican e-Life | 11 December 2024
Dear Friends,
The Venerable Dr Anne Van Gend, Ministry Educator in the Diocese of Dunedin, has been elected as the next Bishop of Dunedin. There is a report at Taonga. At this stage, there is no date set for Anne’s ordination as bishop and installation as the Bishop of Dunedin, but it is hoped that this will be in the first part of 2025. Bishop-elect Anne was a speaker at our Clergy Conference around 2016; and she made a number of visits to Anglican schools in our Diocese in the years when she was Executive Director of the Anglican Schools Office. Please pray for Anne, and Michael, her husband, as they prepare to embrace this new role with its many joys and challenges.
Please pray for the Reverend Tina Thorpe (Rangiora)and her family as they prepare to celebrate the life of Alan Thorpe, Tina’s husband, at 1pm, this Friday 13 December, at St John the Baptist, Rangiora.
The Reverends Annette and Harvey Eggleston have served the Parish of Mayfield-Mt Somers for many years, in their respective capacities as priest and deacon. This Sunday at 10am at St Aidan’s, Mt Somers, Annette and Harvey will be farewelled from the parish. Teresa and I are looking forward to being with them and the congregation for this important occasion. All welcome. I am delighted that Annette and Harvey will continue to be available for ministry in Mid Canterbury where they will continue to live.
Some lovely news out of our Cathedral in the Square this week. It is very encouraging to see the interest taken in our cathedral with full bookings for the tours which have been arranged in the run up to Christmas. Unfortunately, this morning’s news from the Christchurch City Council highlights unnecessary uncertainty on the Council’s part about the recommencement of reinstatement. We are committed to that work restarting and are working continually on securing the necessary funds to do so. We are counting on the prior commitment of the Council to fund $10m (so far, we have received $3m).
Tomorrow, Thursday, 12 December 2024, a refreshed and redesigned Diocesan website goes live after midday. Visitors are very welcome to our site.
Congratulations to the following who this week graduate with theology qualifications: the Reverend Dr Andrew Butcher (Otago), and the Reverend Robert Jamieson (Laidlaw) – both Bachelor of Theology; Azaria Brooker, our Children’s Ministry Developer, and Nathan Muirhead, our Safeguarding Educator who both graduate NZ Diploma Christian Studies (Christian Ministry – Theology stream); and five students graduating with the Theology House Certificate in Ministry and Leadership who will receive their certificates in their local parishes on Sunday: Amy Clark, Nadia Fox, Riley Sutton, Sarah Coulson and Deen Coulson.
I remind readers that all are welcome to a farewell for Archdeacon Mark Chamberlain, from his role as Archdeacon for Regeneration and Mission, at 4pm, Thursday 19 December, in the Anglican Centre, 95 Tuam Street, Christchurch.
Theology House’s Lenten study for 2025 is available to order now. In the Spirit of Lent follows the lectionary’s Gospel readings for the six weeks of Lent. (Ash Wednesday is 5 March 2025.) For each week there is a written reflection by Theology House director Gareth Bezett and a visual reflection by the Reverend Sarah West from the Diocese of Auckland. Questions for discussion and prayers are provided in the expectation that groups who use the study will encounter the Word of God afresh. While there is no intentional theme lying behind the reflections, you will find that the discussion questions tend towards appropriately Lenten self-reflection, especially corporate self-reflection for our churches. Place your Lenten study orders here. Orders will be sent and invoiced from late January 2025.
It was a privilege last Friday to join with several hundred family and friends of the Reverend Jo Latham Gribbon to give thanks to God for her life and ministry. On Sunday morning Teresa and I worshipped with God’s people in the Church of the Epiphany, Hanmer Springs – Jo’s most recent parish.
Through the past two weeks (and concluding next Tuesday), it has been a joy to share in prize-givings and carol services for our Anglican schools. Tonight, I look forward to participating in the City Mission’s annual Carol Service in the Transitional Cathedral at 7.00pm.
The Reverend Lawrence and Mrs Elizabeth Kimberley have worked for many years on the NZ Lectionary, our church’s essential guide to Sunday and weekday Scripture readings and celebrations of feasts and festivals. I am delighted to see in Taonga this article which reports on their faithful work on this important annual publication.
The latest Anglican Life e-magazine is out, in time for Christmas, with the theme of Hope and a lot of really great reading as we head through Advent towards Christmas and the NZ holiday season.
The Gospel Reading for Sunday 15 December 2024, Advent 3 is Luke 3:7-18. As we journey through Advent, get ourselves ready not only for Christmas celebrations but also for the judgement of God, we find in this reading one of the greatest questions we can ever ask, “What then should we do?” (verse 10).
Arohanui,
+Peter.
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Read more: Anglican e-Life | 4 December 2024
Anglican e-Life | 4 December 2024
Dear Friends,
The Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the Reverend Joanne Latham Gribbon will be at 1.30pm this Friday 6 December 2024 in the Transitional Cathedral. All are welcome to this service. Clergy (at the wish of Jo) are asked not to robe but to wear our clerical shirts. Please pray for Brent Gribbon, Jo’s husband, and the Latham family as they mourn Jo’s death and prepare for this service. (the service will also be live streamed and can be accessed here)
It is good to hear that Dr Nick and Dr Tessa Laing are home on leave from their mission work in Uganda. All are welcome to hear from them at an NZCMS sponsored meeting at St Barnabas Fendalton, 7.30pm Wednesday 11 December 2024. They will be speaking on the intriguing topic of Colonial Hangover or The Best Job Ever: the Overseas Mission Question.
The latest Anglican Life e-magazine is out, in time for Christmas, with the theme of Hope and a lot of really great reading as we head through Advent towards Christmas and the NZ holiday season; read it here.
I congratulate Archbishop Don Tamihere on achieving his Doctor of Philosophy from Charles Sturt University on the topic “Ka kohia atu awau ki tōku iwi: A Kauwhau Whakapapa Reading of Genesis 49:1-50:14.”
Recently a new theological studies diploma was launched at Hoani Tapu—St John’s Theological College, Auckland, with Gareth Bezett, Director of Theology House, representing our diocese at the event. This diploma is an NZQA-Christian Studies diploma with Te Takawai, an education network of Te Manawa o Te Wheke, Te Waipounamu, Te Tairāwhiti, and Te Upoko o te Ika Hui Amorangi, in which traditional Anglican theological studies is blended with mātauranga Mihinare to deliver world-class theological education. Beginning in 2025, this NZQA-accredited Level 5 diploma offers part-time study over two years in partnership with Te Takawai. The course will be delivered across Aotearoa New Zealand, combining block courses, online lectures, and local formation, ensuring graduates are equipped with a ministry foundation that authentically resonates with their communities. For Expressions of Interest, please click here. For prospective students from the Diocese of Christchurch, note that the main teaching site in our island will be at Te Waipounamu, Ferry Road, Christchurch.
On Saturday, Standing Committee and the Diocese’s Senior Leadership Team met in a joint workshop to begin work aligned with the Diocesan Mission Action Plan as we continue work on how our diocese is structured. The plan is to have a paper and any proposals in it for Synod to consider ready by early June 2025. One basic question for us as a diocese is whether we are “fit for purpose” in ever changing contexts of society as a whole and in respect of local communities.
On Sunday it was good to be with God’s people at St Mary’s Addington in the morning and at the Transitional Cathedral on Sunday evening. In both services we celebrated the first Sunday in Advent—our season of anticipation of the coming of Christ into the world.
On Monday morning, Dean Ben Truman and I led an early morning service inside the Cathedral in the Square. Since Monday was the last day on site for construction staff (that is from Naylor Love and from associated contractors), we gave thanks for their work to date and for the progress made on reinstatement of the Cathedral, and prayed that we may yet complete the work begun. Between now and Christmas there are opportunities to join tours of the cathedral, and as part of those tours to make donations for the City Mission, including presents to be placed at the foot of the City Mission’s special Christmas tree which has been reassembled inside the cathedral.
The Gospel Reading for Sunday 8 December 2024, Advent 2 is Luke 3:1-6. If last week we looked ahead through the words of Jesus himself to his Second Coming, then this Sunday we look through the eyes of John the Baptist, who envisages the mission of Jesus as God’s anointed servant who calls all humanity to repentance—to a change of mindset so that we are aligned with the rule of God in the world.
Arohanui,
+Peter.
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Read more: Anglican e-Life | 27 November 2024
Anglican e-Life | 27 November 2024
Dear Friends,
The Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the Reverend Joanne Latham Gribbon will be at 1.30pm Friday, 6 December 2024 in the Transitional Cathedral. All are welcome to this service. Clergy (at the wish of Jo) are asked not to robe but to wear our clerical shirts. Please pray for Brent Gribbon, Jo’s husband, and the Latham family as they mourn Jo’s death and prepare for this service. The service will be livestreamed and the link is here.
We had a wonderful ordination service on Saturday during which Robert Jamieson (for St Michael’s and All Angels), Andy Dickson (for All Souls, Merivale-St. Albans), Anne Shave (for the Transitional Cathedral) and Sage Burke (to be based in Methven, serving within Rakaia, Methven, and Mayfield-Mt Somers parishes) were ordained deacons. A big thank you to our preacher, Archdeacon Indrea Alexander, to the Reverend Jenny Wilkens for planning for the service, to Dean Ben Truman and the Cathedral staff for their hospitality, and to our musicians and morning tea organisers.
At the end of November, several clergy are concluding roles in our Diocese.
The Reverend Les Memory had his last Sunday in the Parish of Hornby, Templeton and West Melton on 24 November 2024. After eight years in charge of this parish, Les is moving into a different mode of life and ministry. I am very glad that after a long holiday through the summer, Les will be available for interim ministry. Thank you, Les and Margi, for your ministry together through these past eight years in this parish and wish them well for the future.
The Reverend Sue Dickson has also had her last Sunday, in the Waimate and Pareora district. Sue has been Priest-in-Charge since 1 December 2022 of firstly the Waimate District Cooperating Venture, then, since it was been dissolved, of the Mission Unit of Waimate District and Pareora. Thank you, Sue and Neil, for your ministry together through these past two years in this southern-most region of our Diocese’s east coast. I am glad you will continue to be available for ministry in South Canterbury.
The Reverend John de Senna at the end of this month completes his contract with the Diocese for the preparation and delivery of safe ministry training across our Diocese for licensed ministers. Nearly all our clergy, for instance, have participated in one of the many training days that John has organised and taught. A huge amount of work has both gone into this training and into development of our administration system in respect of knowing who among our licensed ministers has been trained and when that has occurred – safe ministry training is always recurrent and never “one off”. Thank you, John for your work among us.
In respect of safe ministry training and the future, I observe here that in 2025 we expect to see further progress on a national Anglican training response in the light of the Royal Commission on Abuse’s recommendations. During 2025, in the Diocese of Christchurch we will offer safe ministry training to licensed ministers provided by a contracted trainer external to the Diocese. We will continue, through the work of Nathan Muirhead, to continue training for our ministry unit safeguarding officers.
On Sunday evening, during Evensong at the Transitional Cathedral, Marcus Read was installed as a new Lay Canon. Across the Diocese services celebrated Christ the King and/or this “Sunday Before Advent” as “Stir Up Sunday”. One such celebration was at St Augustine’s, Te One, Chatham Islands, where our Missioner Priest to this parish, the Reverend Mike Hawke and Patsy Hawke have been on a pastoral visit.
On Monday evening I was able to hear and see Cole Yeoman‘s presentation on the suffering of Palestinians in the West Bank. Cole was able to visit the West Bank earlier this year and has brought back superb photos and short videos. Whatever views we may hold generally on conflict in the Middle East, or particularly about the genesis and continuity of the current conflicts in Gaza and southern Lebanon, it is manifestly unjust and frankly “terrifying” (i.e. a form of terrorism) that the Israeli government and Israeli Defence Force continually presides over the destruction of Palestinian homes and livelihoods on the West Bank, and permits two forms of law to apply there so that recent Israeli settlers are always privileged over Palestinian families who have lived for generations on their traditional land. I thank Cole for his vivid and challenging presentation of the raw deal Palestinians receive on the West Bank.
Archdeacon (also Canon) Mark Chamberlain has announced his retirement from his role as Archdeacon for Regeneration and Mission, effective 31 December 2024. Mark has also resigned as a Clerical Canon of Christ Church Cathedral from the same date. An opportunity to honour Mark’s contributions to our Diocese will take place at 4pm, Thursday 19 December 2024 in the Anglican Centre, 95 Tuam Street, Christchurch. All welcome.
We are blessed across our Diocese with superb musicians, excellent singers and a variety of worship styles to potentially choose from as we worship our God. Two special services of worship during the Advent season, to which all are welcome, take place in the Transitional Cathedral: the Advent Carol Service, 7pm this Sunday evening, and the Christmas Carol Service, at 7pm on Sunday, 22 December.
Congratulations to the Reverend Chris Ponniah has a new 0.5 FTE role. He will be the Director of Mission Interlink NZ – an organisation which supports a host of NZ mission agencies in their work in global and local mission.
The Chapel of the Upper Room at College House was re-opened a couple of years ago, after substantial fundraising to pay for its strengthening and post-quake repair. I am delighted that it is used through the year for College House services on significant occasions. It was also very pleasing to learn last week that it would be used for worship during a national conference of Spiritual Directors and then, this week, by Bishop Michael Gielen and the priests of the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch during their annual retreat.
The Gospel Reading for Sunday 1 December 2024, Advent 1 is Luke 21:25-36. It is all but impossible at this time of the year not to focus on the celebration at Christmas of Christ’s first coming, to say nothing of a busy round of End of Year events. Yet the first focus of the Advent season is on Christ’s Second Coming, on the day yet to come when Christ returns to judge the world and end human history. Our gospel reading, drawn from the Gospel of Luke, the gospel for the Year C of our lectionary cycle which begins this Sunday, looks ahead to that Coming and not back to Christ’s birth. Christ foresees a future time of trial and tribulation for his followers before the End takes place. Are we ready and waiting for Christ’s return? Are we active in doing what Christ wants us to do as his faithful servants?
Arohanui,
+Peter.
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Our Purpose
To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
To respond to human need by loving service
To pursue peace and reconciliation
Protect the integrity of creation, sustain and renew the life of the earth