Dear Friends,
The photo above is of the representatives of the New Zealand Dioceses who gathered for the Tikanga Pakeha Conference at St. Peter’s Willis Street, Wellington, last Friday and Saturday, Major issues discussed were the health and vitality of our church, revision to the way our senior bishop is chosen in the future, and where we are at in our Tikanga on the matter of same sex marriage. See further about this conference in an article below.
A further highlight for my weekend was participation in The Cathedral Grammar School’s annual Founders Day service on Sunday afternoon in the Transitional Cathedral. Tonight there will be another highlight: sharing with our Choristers in a Sung Evensong in the Cathedral in the Square.
With respect to other matters in the world and in the church this week, I want to begin with Gaza.I want to begin with Gaza. The destructiveness of the Israeli army to the people and property of Gaza is going well beyond any bounds of a just war response to Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023. I am glad to see governments such as the UK taking action in respect of trade with Israel—though Israel’s response is defiant and resolved to continue its pathway of death. What they are doing in Gaza is a modern form of “abomination of desolation.” I see that our Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, says that it is “intolerable” that Israel has blocked aid from reaching Gaza residents for weeks. I agree with him.
Recently, Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem, has addressed the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland about the war in Gaza with these words:
“Hospitals continue to be bombed and advocacy is urgently needed for Israel’s adherence to the Geneva Conventions as the current policies are unacceptable.”
His appeal is for “No bombing of hospitals and lifting the siege, the restoration of humanitarian supplies including food and medicine, no targeting of civilians, especially emergency workers and medical staff and also media personnel. Also for “A permanent ceasefire is needed to end the war and the rebuilding of Gaza.” ++Hosam’s prayer is:
“We all pray for the just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, for a two-state solution and it continues to be the only way, as churches in Jerusalem, living side by side in security and peace and neighbourhood conviviality as we did for so many centuries.”
Also, in a focus on Gaza, Israel and the West Bank, please pray for a young Anglican woman, Layan Nasir, from Birzeit on the West Bank, who has been imprisoned without charge for many months, and now finally is being brought to court—this was meant to be last Sunday but is postponed till 15 June. Please pray for a fair and just trial and thus for an end to her torment at the hands of the Israeli government.
On Sunday the Reverend Lucy Flatt, Vicar of the Parish of Highfield, Kensington and Otipua announced that she will be leaving her position at the end of June in order to become the next Vicar of Johnsonville in the Diocese of Wellington. I congratulate Lucy on obtaining this position and also congratulate Cameron, her husband, who has a new position in the NZ Police, also based in Wellington. Please pray for the Flatt family as they prepare to move and pray for the Parish of Highfield, Kensington and Otipua as they work with me and Archdeacon Ben Randall on arrangements for interim ministry and for a new vicar to be appointed in due course to this parish.
The process for choosing the new Archbishop of Canterbury is being experienced by some as slow. The most recent mark of progress has been the finalization of the five members of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) being formed for this selection process. One of the five is the Reverend Canon Isaac Beech, a priest in Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa, based in Hawkes Bay. Read more here. I see from that article that a decision will be reached at the earliest much later this year, after meetings of the CNC in July, August and September.
I remind you of two calls to prayer: A Call to Prayer for our younger generations, our “first third”, is being planned for 5 pm, Sunday 25 May 2025. This is at the end of Youth Week and the invitation and encouragement is for Christians to gather in small or large groups to prayer for our tamariki, our children, our rangatahi, our young people. Then, the Reverend Tim Handley (Westland), on behalf of the Diocese, is working on a Day of Prayer, 9 am to 5 pm, Saturday 7 June 2025. Further details about have been mailed out to ministry unit leaders and to all members of the Diocesan Prayer Community.
This week is Budget week, with our Finance Minister, Nicola Willis due to deliver the Budget tomorrow. All messaging is geared towards the need for our country to find a way forward to lessen the burden of debt we carry, which currently requires $8.9 billion dollars in interest (compared with $3.6 billion in 2014). We are not a poor country and announcements already made in recent days demonstrate there is funding for important things. Conversely there is not enough funds for everything we desire, including, as recently announced and protested about, funding for Pay equity on the terms set up by the previous Labour government—particularly in respect of salaries and wages the government is responsible for paying. This reality is discussed in this article by Catherine Beard, director of advocacy at BusinessNZ. That does not mean, however, that a structural issue of injustice has gone away with an urgent sitting of parliament. Melissa Ansell-Bridges, secretary of the NZ Council of Trade Unions, carefully makes the case for our society to pursue justice in pay for all genders. This can be read here. There is work to be done but that includes how our massive annual interest payments can be reduced: we could do a lot of good in society with $8.9 billion not funding investors in our debt.
I am very pleased to learn that the College House Chapel of the Upper Room—beautifully renovated and strengthened by Wilkie + Bruce Architects—has won the Heritage Category at the recent Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Canterbury Awards.
The Reverend Natasha Glenderran, one of our clergy, currently working as Chaplain at WesleyCare in Papanui, writes that a pianist or pianists are needed for chapel services where there is a Kawai grand piano, in the beautiful chapel. Services are on Sunday and Wednesday mornings. If you are able to help, please contact Natasha on natasha.glenderran@mmsi.org.nz or 027 232 9147 | 03 375 1264.
All are welcome to the Hura Kōhatu (unveiling of the grave) for the late Bishop Richard Wallace at 11 am Wairewa [Little River] Urupā Saturday 31 May 2025 followed by Hākari at Te Pā Mihinare o Te Waipounamu, 290 Ferry Road, Waltham. Please RSVP to admin@waipounamu.org.nz
This coming Sunday, 25 May is Easter 6. The Gospel reading is John 14:23-29. Jesus teaches his disciples with clarity: if we want to say we love God—Father and Son—then we need to keep Jesus’ word to us—that is obey his teaching. If we want to know what Jesus has taught then the Advocate/Counsellor, that is, the Holy Spirit, will bring to the disciples’ minds all they need to know—now handed onto us through the New Testament.
Arohanui,
+Peter.