Greetings from the Vicar General, Mark Barlow.
October seems to be the month of ‘fairs’, celebrating the spring season. We have photos from the Garage and Car Boot Sale at St Peter’s, Upper Riccarton-Yaldhurst Parish. All are warmly welcomed to visit the parishes across our Diocese – see more in Upcoming Events (& Fairs) of this e-Life.
In Bishop Peter’s absence, I occasionally have the privilege of representing the Diocese at meetings, gatherings and events. One such instance occurred last week when I attended a meeting of the Christchurch Heads of Denominations group. This gathering is known as ‘Te Raranga’ (in English, ‘The Weaving’ or ‘The Net’). Leaders from most of the various denominations in our region gather three or four times a year to discuss matters of the moment for the church and to pray together.
This time we were hosted at Te Hepera Pai in Ferry Road by the Venerable Susan Wallace, Archdeacon in Te Pihopatanga O Te Waipounamu and Bishop’s Commissary following the death of her dear and much-loved father, Pihopa Rihari Wallace.
Susan gave the assembled leaders a brilliant and gripping summary of a Māori view of the outworking of the gospel in New Zealand, from the first sermon preached by Reverend Samuel Marsden at Oihi Beach on Christmas Day 1814, to the current strategy of the Te Waipounamu diocese for sharing the Good News. We were told that, from the moment when Māori decided to follow Jesus, the Gospel became part of this land; ingrained in the soil! The strategy is to take three ‘pou’ or posts and drive them into this gospel soil as strong anchors for the message.
The first pou is ‘Aroha!’–an unconditional, all-encompassing love that welcomes all. This, of course is redolent of αγαπη (agápē or pronounced as ‘aga-pay’) in the New Testament.
The second is ‘Rongo!’ –Peace. Peace with God through our Lord, with each other and with the earth. Again, reminiscent of a biblical concept familiar to us, namely Shalom, which is so much more than the mere prevention of conflict by a third-party force, but the removal, by God’s grace, of the things that cause division, which brings healing and unity such as we continue to pray for in Gaza and the Middle East.
The third is ‘Hari!’ –Celebration or joy. When people love one another and live in peace, celebration follows, usually involving singing and food! I think that we have a lot to learn from this Tikanga Māori mission action plan.
One way to start is to make time to attend the following:
Prayer Vigil for Peace
This Sunday evening, 19 October,
7pm to midnight at the Transitional Cathedral.
This is an opportunity to thank God for the advancement of the peace accord between Israel and the Palestinian people and to pray for its success, as well as for healing of hurts; the comforting of griefs, and the planting of hope in the Holy Land.
Deeper camp is a space for families and intermediate youth groups to grow deeper in relationship with each other and God. See the new promotional video in the Deeper article of this e-Life. Saturday, 1 November 2025 is a day full of activities and fun! There will be music, talks, waterslide, bouldering wall, archery, air rifles, competitions, crafts, a preschool space and lots more. It is a great opportunity to connect with some fun community and faith. This is a dedicated space for whānau and intermediates to create connections in your parish and across our Diocese. Any questions: please email Azaria Brooker. Book in for Deeper through this link.
This Sunday we continue our journey through the Gospel of Luke. In recent weeks, we have focused on the matter of faith; the mustard seed in 17:5-10; the faith of a healed, gentile leper in 17:11-19. This week, in 18:1-8, Jesus asks the question in verse 8:
“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Maybe a strange question to be asking, following a story about an oppressed widow and a diffident judge – or maybe not? How easy is it for us, despite our faith, to miscast our life of prayer and relationship with God along the lines of that between a put-upon individual on the one hand, and an apparently disinterested God on the other?
My prayer for us is that we will grasp our mustard seed of faith and trust that our prayers reach a God who loves us utterly and boundlessly, caring deeply about the people who concern us and things that trouble us. In addition, we can trust the Almighty One, who sees ahead, not only to hear us, but to act as may be best for us and for those for whom we pray!
Arohanui ki a koutou katoa
Vicar General Mark Barlow