Dear Friends,
I am very pleased to announce that:
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the Reverend Les Memory will be 0.5 FTE Associate Priest in the Parish of Avonhead for the remainder of this year, supporting the Reverend Dr John Fox who remains as Priest-in-Charge of Avonhead but only at 0.5 FTE because John has now resumed his 0.5 FTE role as Senior Ecumenical Chaplain at the University of Canterbury.
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the Reverend Patrick Chrisp, currently on mission work in Liberia, will return to the Diocese soon to take up the role of Interim Priest of Hornby, Templeton and West Melton for 12 months.
In relation to Patrick Chrisp’s appointment, if any reader knows of a house/flat to rent (with at least two bedrooms) in the Hornby or adjoining suburbs’ area, please contact Veronica Cross, my EA, at bishopsea@anglicanlife.org.nz .
I am very grateful that in 2025 a number of clergy and lay appointees will be sharing the task of theological education, mission and ministry training and development in our Diocese – generously supported in respect of educational funding by the St. John’s College Trust Board, along with a Diocesan contribution through our annual budget. Our ministry among the generation loosely described as the “Under 40s” continues with the Reverend Sammy Mould, Paul Hegglun, and Azaria Brooker; work with the Household of Deacons continues under the guidance of Archdeacon Nicky Lee. Theology House’s work is sustained by its Director, Gareth Bezett and his staff team, Sarah Larritt and Sarah Dunning. Gareth Bezett will continue his work advising people on study leave, scholarship and theological education advice. Within the sphere of ministry and missional education and support our Diocesan Director of Ordination, the Reverend Jenny Wilkens has increased responsibilities which include leadership of Post Ordination Training, and in this training, she is assisted by Archdeacon Nick Mountfort, the Reverend Chris Orczy and Gareth Bezett.
In 2025, specific portfolios of responsibility are Rural Ministry Development Archdeacon Indrea Alexander; Discipleship Development, the Reverend Sampson Knight; Missional coaching for clergy, the Reverend Carolyn Robertson; and Mission Impact Reviews (MIRs), the Reverend Mark Chamberlain, supported in administration by Archdeacon Nicky Lee. Indrea, Sampson and Carolyn will undertake their work in conjunction with their parish responsibilities.
One of the most important areas of education in the church today is for Safe Ministry. Nathan Muirhead will lead this work in the Diocese and a significant part of our training this year will be led by the Reverend Jemma Allen from the Diocese of Auckland (on a contractual basis).
A final reminder in this pre Lenten period: studying the Bible at any time of the year is a very good thing and I commend study groups being formed in our ministry units for the six weeks of Lent (beginning 5 March 2025). 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.) Read more.
It was very rewarding to be part of the 175th celebrations for Christ’s College at the weekend. Later this year, the weekend of 28 – 30 November, College House (also part of the Anglican vision for education in Christchurch) will celebrate its 175 years of educational life. Finally, on the theme of “175”, I was pleased to see in the news yesterday that the Mayor of Christchurch, Phil Mauger, has intervened to override a staff recommendation not to celebrate 175 years of the founding of Christchurch as a European settlement. It is a good thing that we deepen engagement with Māori history of our region and that we acknowledge that many ills have flowed from founding a colony here (and from colonisation across Aotearoa New Zealand). But to pretend that we might not have had a significant moment in the history of this region on 16 December 1850 when the First Four Ships sailed into our harbour serves no purpose in the development of our modern identity as inhabitants of this land.
A word to leaders in our co-operating parishes: you should be aware by now of an important UCANZ Forum in Auckland at King’s Birthday weekend, later this year. I am planning to be there and look forward to conversation in the forum about our experiences of co-operation between denominations – in our case, with Presbyterians, in parishes such as Hinds, Mackenzie, Pukaki and Amuri. (The recently formed co-operating parish for Akaroa-Banks Peninsula falls outside the ambit of UCANZ).
I am saddened on a number of counts that members of the Destiny Church were part of a protest in a library in Auckland at the weekend. One count is that such news does nothing to enhance the standing of churches generally in the minds of non-Christians in our country. Another count is that the form of protest seems to have had remarkably little, or even no care for children present at the occasion being protested about. A third count is that, whatever our views on any given issue are, we are a liberal democracy which values freedom of expression. Where people choose to express that freedom in a responsible way (such as an event in a library), any protest (which is also a freedom being expressed) should be carried out in a responsible manner). I cannot see how Destiny Church has acted in a manner befitting the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This coming Sunday, 16 February is Ordinary 7. The Gospel reading is Luke 6:27-38. This passage is just as searching a passage for us to engage with as last week’s passage.To love our enemies is a terrific challenge. But it is a distinctive feature of being Christian that we are called to love even our enemies, to forgive one another and thus to live differently in a world in which wars are fought for gain, revenge is enacted as response to unjust treatment and so on. There is much more to be said and I hope our preachers this Sunday can develop ways in which we can faithfully respond to the radical nature of Jesus’ call to his disciples in this passage.
Arohanui,
+Peter.