Anglican Taonga Spring 2012 by Anglican Taonga

SPRING 2012 // No.40

Taonga ANGLICAN

Pasifika welcomes

General Synod/ Te Hīnota Whānui

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Mike Coleman Christchurch’s crusader in a collar ART

Don Binney Divine echoes in the painter’s art

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Anglican Taonga

SPRING 2012

THE COMMUNION

Once in a lifetime

he biggest-ever international Anglican gathering to hit these shores is almost upon us. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) will be in Auckland in October for almost two weeks. This is, truly, a once-in-a-lifetime event: the first and last chance to see and hear this Archbishop of Canterbury in our part of the world, and the only chance most of us will ever have to sample an ACC meeting firsthand. The Anglican Consultative Council, of course, is one of the four ‘Instruments of Communion’ that hold Anglicans together. And in the mind of Bishop John Paterson, who chaired the ACC from 2002 until 2009, and who chairs the hosting group for ACC15, it may be the most important. That’s because it’s the only one of those four, which is fully representative. In other words, it’s the only one which includes elected lay people, and clergy – as well as bishops. “The ACC provides the only opportunity,” he says, “for Anglicans to talk through their mission and ministry opportunities and challenges in a fully representative forum.” Bishop John spoke to the General Synod about the upcoming Auckland ACC meeting, and he drew particular attention to four events within its 10-day schedule. The first event to note, he said, is the powhiri – and grand opening event – that will kick off at 10.00am on Saturday October 27th at the Telstra Events Centre in Manukau. Everyone’s invited. And Bishop John urged the members of General Synod to invite people in their churches “to fill that stadium to capacity that morning.” An Anglican schools kapa haka party will

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ensure that powhiri is an eye-opener for our international guests. Anglican schools from Auckland and Waikato will be on stage – hopefully strengthened by a group from Te Aute and Hukarere. Of course, there’ll be speeches and more song, too, and there’ll be a forum in which young people get the chance to ask the Archbishop of Canterbury about the state of our church and its future. Bishop John made a droll suggestion as to the kind of off-spinners that the Archbishop of Canterbury could find himself facing there: “Dr Williams… are you related to Henry and William Williams? “No? “Then what about Sonny Bill?” Next up, there’s the opening Eucharist, which will take place in Holy Trinity Cathedral the following day, Sunday October 28th, at 10.00am – and the Archbishop of Canterbury will preach the sermon. That service, which is also open, will be a unique chance for New Zealanders to see and hear Dr Williams in action. Later that Sunday, the Cathedral will host the “Networks Fayre” – a display of the work of the 14 networks which tackle issues of mission and social justice for the communion. That will be open to all comers, too, for the hour before the Cathedral Evensong begins at 5pm. Of course, the ACC has a full business agenda, which will be anchored around daily worship and Bible study, and there’ll be three public presentations in the cathedral, each chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury. On the evening of Tuesday, October 30th there’ll be a presentation on ‘Gender-based Violence’, which will be followed, two days later, by another on ‘The Environment’. And on the following Tuesday, there’ll be a third, which will focus on ‘Witness’. Undoubtedly, though, once ACC15 is actually under way, its emotional highpoints will come on the two days when it actually

clears out of Auckland. On the Thursday of the first week the entire ACC will travel to Ngaruawahia, and spend the day at Turangawaewae marae with the Kingitanga. And on Sunday, November 4th, midway through the gathering, the Archbishop of Canterbury will fly south to see for himself what has befallen ‘our’ Canterbury. He’ll preach in Christchurch that day. And if the new transitional cathedral is ready in time, he’ll deliver his sermon there. Dr Williams is not the only one who’ll be heading out of Auckland on that middle Sunday, in fact. Because all the members of the ACC will fan out to cathedrals, parishes and pastorates, and to the major hui amorangi centres that day for a “Mission Encounter”. They’ll engage in a discussion on mission with the people of these local churches – and then return to Auckland primed to take part in ACC15’s own discussion on mission, which is scheduled for Monday November 5th. Bishop John told the synod that ACC15 is a unique opportunity for this province. “The three-tikanga church which we hold so dear”, he said, “is still perhaps the Anglican Communion’s best kept secret.” “We have a wonderful opportunity to throw open our doors and our hearts to the Communion as we host this meeting – and to experience for ourselves something of what Archbishop Robert Runcie described as the “bonds of affection’ which still characterise us as Anglicans.” – by Lloyd Ashton

Anglican Taonga

Anglican Taonga SPRING 2012

REGULAR

Contents 04

SPring 2012

19 Youth: Tikanga toru launches a new ministry challenge 26 Theology: Tim Meadowcroft unpacks the word on suffering 32 Children: Julie Hintz raises the stakes for faith at home 38 Poetry: Trevor James lauds Rhian Gallagher’s verse 41 Crossword: Test your saintly knowledge 42 Film: John Bluck’s take on Spiderman and the Dark Knight 43 Imogen de la Bere: Queen’s Jubilee was an opportunity missed

Anglican Taonga is published by the Commission on Communications and distributed to all ministry units and agencies of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia – Te Haahi Mihinare ki Aotearoa ki Niu Tireni ki nga Moutere o Te Moana Nui a Kiwa. Editor Julanne Clarke-Morris 786 Cumberland Street Otepoti - Dunedin 9016 Ph 03 477-1556 julanneclarkemorris@gmail.com Design Marcus Thomas Design Ph 04 389-6964 marcust@orcon.net.nz Distribution Chris Church Ph 03 351-4404 cfchurch@orcon.net.nz Advertising Brian Watkins Ph 06 875-8488 Mob 021 072-9892 Fax 09 353-1418 brian@grow.co.nz Media Officer Lloyd Ashton Ph 09 521-4439 021 348-470 mediaofficer@ang.org.nz Front cover: Bishop Apimeleki Qiliho

Features

How the Spirit worked through Pasifika at the Nadi synod

Sue Burns presents a smouldering new metaphor for ministry

Let there be light

Landmark decision on assets General Synod signals change in education funding

Love & relationship

Synod talks on same-sex marriage, ordination rights & the Covenant

Mike Coleman: 'Crusader'

Carrying the flame

Coal or conservation? The real impact of lignite mining in Southland

Satan’s earthly empire Overcoming violence in the theology of Walter Wink

Don Binney: artist Painting with a palette for the divine

Meet Christchurch’s champion for the post-earthquake fair go

For the latest on the Anglican world, check out our website: www.anglicantaonga.org.nz Page 3

Anglican Taonga

SPRING 2012

H Ī N O TA W H Ā N U I – G E N E R A L S Y N O D

Let there be

he uplifting Spirit of Polynesia’s opening Eucharist set the scene for Te Hinota Wha-nui/General Synod’s most generous decisions this year. At least, that was the consensus when Taonga spoke to delegates on synod’s final night. Anyone in the big tent at St Christopher’s Nadi for the opening Eucharist seemed to tell the same story. That liturgy was a “defining moment”

...when the youth stood in the aisles and just enveloped us with their waiata. It was mind-blowing...

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light

for the whole nine-day event. Perhaps the tropical heat had affected the 150 or so Anglicans there, most of them just off the plane from winter. Or perhaps it was the sight of 200 Pasifika youth clothed in white, singing with all their might, that took synod’s breath away. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a single person there who felt anything less than a tangible movement of the Spirit that day. Bishop Kelvin Wright was moved to tears: “It was just astonishing,” he said. And on his blog: “It was one of the most powerful and moving services of worship I have ever attended.” The Bishop of Dunedin wasn’t the only one who had to dab at moist eyes. Ms Saachi Kepa, a youth intern from Waiapu, had the same reaction. And so did Rev Joel Rowse, a priest from the Diocese of Waikato. To be fair, the opening Eucharist was fine Anglican liturgy: elegant, orthodox and well crafted. It had good music, good participation, good prayers and a

cracker of a sermon from Polynesia’s Youth Coordinator, Ms Sepiuta Hala’api’api. Ms Gaylene Stevens from Te Waipounamu recalls: “The moment that really did my head in was when the youth stood in the aisles and just enveloped us with their waiata. It was mind-blowing...” That waiata was “Let there be light”, a new song written especially for synod by Fijian songwriter Mr Saiasi Tukana. He was there to lead it, too, with help from Pasifika’s youth and lead singer Ms Seini Tawa. Nelson’s Bishop Richard Ellena, himself a musician and composer, described it as “stunning.” But it was more than just the melody, or even the warmth and the beautiful liturgical setting, that made the waiata so memorable. The whole congregation, from hardened synod veterans to dazedlooking newcomers, got the real message, loud and clear: “Look and listen members of synod – and especially those of you who might be feeling

Anglican Taonga

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GENERAL SYNOD JULY 2012

tired or cynical. Here’s a multitude of young people, full of energy and life. And they’re here in front of you now, with hearts full of love for Christ, and for the mission of his church.” That’s powerful stuff. And not so easily shrugged off – even in the face of seven whole days of reports, bills and motions. Gaylene Stevens reckoned the Eucharist gave the synod its place to stand. “The worship on that second day became like a wha-riki1 for the whole hui,” she said.

Generosity of Spirit

Selwyn Parata of Te Taira-whiti recognised signs of that same Spirit as synod progressed. He could see the generosity that Polynesia was feeding into the hui: in the way they led the daily worship, in their diplomacy, and in the quiet way, as hosts, they chose to care for others without concern for themselves. Te Waipounamu’s Bishop John Gray was equally impressed. “The worship and the hospitality both extended beyond the financial capabilities of Pasifika,” he said. “Even though they might come from impoverished backgrounds, their cultural being is intact and they really demonstrated that... Congratulations to Pasifika.”

Of course, a huge effort undergirded Polynesia’s achievement. When Mrs Taomi Tapu-Qiliho and the Vanua Levu – Taveuni youth arrived in Nadi, for example, she could see that they were exhausted. And yet the young people pulled themselves together and gave it 100% anyway. Taomi felt proud, too, that those youth saw their dance and musical offerings not just as performance, but as part of their role in God’s mission. A nice flipside was there for them, too. Alongside the fun of being together as youth, that is. For once, here was a Pacific church meeting where Anglicans weren’t standing in the shadow of their Methodist, Congregationalist or Roman Catholic cousins. Moreover, their Anglican extended family was close at hand. “As rural Anglican youth from Vanua Levu and Taveuni they won’t need to feel isolated, because they’ve seen you all here ... and now they know they’re part of this much bigger church,” Taomi says.

What about the song? Saiasi’s song was learnt by Polynesia youth without the aid of a musical score. In the final days of synod, Archbishop Winston Halapua asked for help to share that song. Bishop Richard Ellena stepped up to the task. And when he and Saiasi finish transcribing the piece, they’ll make it available to the whole church. Watch this space. Julanne Clarke-Morris is the editor of Taonga magazine. 1. Whāriki: a woven mat, a floor-covering.

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Anglican Taonga

SPRING 2012

H Ī N O TA W H Ā N U I – G E N E R A L S Y N O D

Landmark decision

he resolution to grant Tikanga Maori tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) over half of the funds in the church’s main educational body, the St John’s College Trust is, without doubt, a landmark decision. It was the most significant decision on partnership matters since, well, since the church adopted the three tikanga constitution itself back in 1990. And, in effect, it was the most significant acknowledgement by this church of Treaty of Waitangi partnership principles since then. At present, the St John’s College Trust has assets of $315 million, and the synod resolution will give Tikanga Maori effective control over half those assets. The Synod unanimously passed a

the fundamental issue at stake was not “a grab for money” – but tino rangatiratanga

on assets

motion brought by Professor Whatarangi Winiata which asked it to set up a sixperson working party to advise how this should be done. This three-tikanga working party will report back to the next meeting of the General Synod – in 2014 at Paihia, near Waitangi, exactly 200 years after Samuel Marsden and Ruatara, in effect, planted the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand. In proposing his motion Professor Winiata explained that for Tikanga Maori, the fundamental issue at stake was not “a grab for money” – but tino rangatiratanga. “Tino rangatiratanga did not get into the constitution in 1992,” he said. “It was understood at that time that we would not deal with all the issues at the time, but as they arose. “Tikanga Maori have decided it’s time to deal with tino rangatiratanga. This is about the importance of recognizing kaupapa tuku iho” (inherited values). He said that while the motion was not a claim for more money, it was a claim to full sharing, and a claim to exercise tino rangatiratanga over the setting of investment policy for 50 percent of the trust’s assets.

Roller-coaster ride The resource-sharing debate happened on the final, roller-coaster day of the synod. Earlier in the day, the synod had been debating the Te Aute Trust Board’s request

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for synod to back its application for another major dollop of St John’s money to stave off the banks, which are hovering over Te Aute and Hukarere College. It became clear that Tikanga Pakeha wasn’t going to agree to that. For its part, it wasn’t prepared to be part of a church decision to throw good money after bad. In effect, though, it was at serious risk of being seen to be Pakeha planting the kiss of death on those iconic Maori colleges – and to be denying Tikanga Maori, who had come begging on their behalf. To be saying to Tikanga Maori, in effect: “We know better.” That was not a good look. Bishop Justin Duckworth could see that, too. So he asked for a tikanga caucus and urged the Pakeha caucus to bring forward the debate on resource sharing, so any rejection of the Te Aute request would be seen in the light of an overall willingness to share the St John’s putea, and so Tikanga Maori would have the means, if they so chose, to rescue the colleges themselves. He was supported by another of the synod’s best minds, who on purely pragmatic grounds urged the Pakeha caucus to say yes to the 50/50 motion – or face endless debates about resource sharing at future general synods. No-one in the Pakeha caucus disagreed with him about that – or indeed the principle of full resource sharing. One

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Pakeha bishop, for example, told his caucus that he looked forward “with absolute joy” to his tikanga engaging with its partners to work out how best to do that. Later, Archbishop David Moxon, the senior bishop of the New Zealand dioceses, described the resolution as a “landmark decision in the history of this church”. It was a resolution, he said, “which honours our partnership in terms of the treaty and the church,” and he predicted it would have “huge, long-term implications.” Professor Winiata and Bishop John Gray will represent Tikanga Maori on the six-person working group, while Bishop Api Qiliho will hold one of the seats with another Tikanga Polynesia representative to be announced following the Diocese of Polynesia synod. The two Pakeha representatives will be named shortly by the Inter-Diocesan Council.

Te Aute request declined Professor Winiata’s other motion, which asked the synod to support further Te Aute Trust Board requests to help save Te Aute College was, as we’ve said, declined. The issue went to a tikanga vote, with Tikanga Maori and Polynesia supporting the request and Tikanga Pakeha voting against. Synod itself does not make those funding decisions – that is the work of Te Kotahitanga, which advises the St John’s College Trust Board on its funding distributions. Nor does the synod decision stop the TATB making its requests directly to Te Kotahitanga and the St John’s College Trust Board. That was always the plan, and that will continue as before. The General Synod decision does,

Linking the

JULY 2012

however, send those bodies a signal. Tikanga Pakeha reached its view on Te Aute in a caucus it called after Professor Winiata had presented the TATB report. In reporting back to the plenary session of the synod, Archbishop Moxon said that while his tikanga “recognized the huge efforts” made by the Te Aute Trust Board, and remained “fully committed to the development of Anglican Maori education”, it “was not in a position to support the motion” because of “material uncertainties” about the prospects of Te Aute College. Professor Winiata told synod that survival of the school “was a matter of great significance to Maori people.” He asked, too, whether further funds to save Te Aute could be tapped now, as an advance on Tikanga Maori’s share of the

putea it will likely control after 2014. But Archbishop Moxon said the Tikanga Pakeha caucus felt that the working out of Motion 27 (on resource sharing) “should drive everything else. “We want everything you want, in principle,” he told Professor Winiata. “We want motion 27 to flourish. But we cannot gainsay its consequences.” He then asked Tikanga Maori to allow the motion about Te Aute to lie on the table. But Tikanga Maori asked for it to be put to a tikanga vote. And even though there was a two-to-one majority in favour, the motion was lost. The constitution requires that tikanga votes must be unanimous. Lloyd Ashton is the Church’s Media Officer.

North & South Islands

Of New Zealand

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Anglican Taonga

SPRING 2012

H Ī N O TA W H Ā N U I – G E N E R A L S Y N O D

What’s love

got to do with it?

– sharing from the heart about sexuality

he Anglican Communion has, since 2004, spent a staggering amount of its resources and time debating same-sex matters – and it would be salutary to know how many minds have been changed by it all. But just occasionally, there are contributions to that debate, which truly touch the heart – and this General Synod was privileged to witness two of those. The first came after Glynn Cardy had introduced his motion about the nature of marriage. He was asking Episcopal units “to hold conversations in our church and with the wider community” about that subject. There’s no doubt where Glynn hopes such a discussion will lead – to the possibility for gay and lesbian couples to get married in Anglican churches. And when the mover and seconder’s speeches were done, Bishop Api Qiliho, big man that he is, strode to the microphone. He told the synod how he and his wife Taomi are caregivers to people living with HIV/AIDS. Told them that he’s also the chairperson of Fiji’s AIDS association. And his voice cracked, and he had to pause and regather himself as he talked about how people living with HIV/AIDs felt rejected by the church. “This is not theology. This is not liturgy. This is humanity we are talking about… Page 8

and this is what hurts me the most.” He went on. He had struggled, he said, “to discern God’s will and not to judge” in these matters. Struggled too, with the possibility that his own son, who is gay, might one day ask his clergyman dad to marry him. What would happen then? Because, unbearable thought, as the rules of the church now stand, he would be forced to turn his own flesh and blood away… The second of these especially real contributions came the following day, and from the conservative end of the spectrum. The presenting issue, that day, was Waiapu’s motion asking the synod to “affirm the long tradition” of episcopal autonomy where discernment for ordination is concerned. Nothing radical about that, of course. In the Anglican world, bishops have always had the right to pick candidates for the priesthood. But while candidates for ordination in Waiapu must meet a number of criteria, sexual orientation is not now one of them. And the Waiapu speakers wanted the General Synod to endorse that autonomy. That’s when Captain Peter Lloyd, leader of The Church Army here for many years, got to his feet to speak. Peter has always believed, and still does, that the Scriptures teach that marriage is, and can only ever be, the faithful union of a

man and woman before God. And here he was, telling synod that his beloved daughter has come out. What’s more, she has entered a civil union with her partner. But there’s a twist. Because here’s the plea that his daughter, and her partner, had insisted Peter make to synod: “Please Dad”, he shouted to the synod. “Don’t let them do anything that would hurt the church!” “Don’t let them do anything that would hurt the church!” Coming out, said Peter, had cost his daughter and her partner. They’d been worship leaders in their local church, and they had volunteered to resign before they came out, and before their civil union. If their union was going to hurt their much-loved church – well, they’d rather carry the pain themselves and resign. But still, they were begging Peter to keep his integrity. “Please don’t change, Dad,” they told him, “unless you’re personally convinced that this is what the Scriptures say.” Peter still doesn’t agree with his daughter and her partner’s lifestyle. But there’s no question about the steadfastness of his love for his daughter and her partner. “I love them passionately,” he told the synod.

Anglican Taonga

He’d been to his daughter’s civil union ceremony. He’d spoken there, too – just as the father of the bride would do at his daughter’s wedding. “There is nothing that you can do,” he’d told her that day, “that will make me love you more. “And nothing you can do that will make me love you less.” We swallowed hard after that. *

So what of the five motions that, directly or indirectly, concerned same-gender matters?

Nature of Marriage Glynn Cardy’s motion was passed, without dissent. Even some of those in the Synod who have not been standard bearers for gay rights welcomed a broad, backto-first-principles look at the Church’s involvement in marriage.

Episcopal Autonomy The synod heard legal advice from Judge Chris Harding – who is convinced that Bishops do not, in fact, despite Waiapu’s plea, possess absolute autonomy. They are, he said, “expressly subject to the canons of this church.” And any bishop who defines chastity in a way that departs from what the canons stipulate could end up before a church disciplinary tribunal. And that, he suggested, could a) damage the bishop and the ordinand in question, and b) mean that a tribunal, rather than General Synod, was making decisions about serious doctrinal matters. Dr Tony Fitchett found the right words to rescue the motion. His amendment talks about synod affirming “the long tradition and practice of Episcopal autonomy, within canonical limits, in the discernment of a person’s call to ordination.” Jo Crosse and Brian Dawson, the movers and seconder of that motion, were happy with that. Happy, too, for the Ma Whea Commission to consider the matters they had raised – and for their actual motion to lay on the table till the next General Synod, in 2014.

Liturgy for same gender blessings Waiapu sought leave to withdraw this

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motion, which asked for progress on the development of an “authorised liturgy for same-gender blessings.” That was granted, and that notion of a liturgy for same gender blessings also becomes part of the material the Ma Whea Commission will consider.

JULY 2012

The covenant As expected, the General Synod said a final ‘No’ to the proposed Anglican Covenant. But it did so gently, and the original motion was amended to stress this church’s desire to remain tightly knit with the Communion. The first clause of the draft motion, proposed by Dr Tony Fitchett and Ven Turi Hollis, and set out in the synod agenda, simply proposed that this church: Declines to adopt the proposed Anglican Covenant. That was replaced by the resolution which says this church: Is unable to adopt the proposed Anglican Covenant due to concerns about aspects of Section 4, but subscribes to Sections 1, 2, and 3 as currently drafted as a useful starting point for consideration of our Anglican understanding of the church. And where the second clause of the proposed motion – as set out in the synod papers – had proposed that this church affirms the commitment of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia to the life of the Anglican Communion. The resolution passed turns the fullstop after ‘Communion’ into a comma, and adds a clause which reads: including the roles and responsibilities of the four Instruments of Communion as they currently operate. The amendments are subtle. But Archbishop David Moxon, who drove the changes, felt they were necessary to send the right signals to the wider Communion, and to stay consistent with the resolution passed by the 2010 General Synod in Gisborne which had agreed to the first three sections of the covenant ‘in principle’. He had made contact with Tony Fitchett and Turi Hollis a few days before the synod, and they were happy to go with his amendments. A second covenant-related motion, from Waiapu, which had also proposed that Synod “declines to adopt the Covenant”, was withdrawn. *

Sir Anand Satyanand presents Ma Whea.

The Ma Whea commission Sir Anand Satyanand made an appearance at the synod to talk about his hopes for the Ma Whea Commission - which the church hopes will lead it out of the impasse over questions about the ordination and blessing of folk who are in same gender relationships. Sir Anand traced his own life’s journey, sketched profiles of the other members of the commission – Justice Judith Potter, Mrs Mele Tailai, Professor Paul Trebilco and Sir Tamati Reedy – and then suggested why he was optimistic that a small group in the South Pacific might be able to help resolve some “really difficult and seemingly intractable problems.” He gave three reasons for his hope: First, that South Pacific countries have operated as neighbours “for much longer than living memory can trace” – and people from those Pacific nations were now “part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s life”. Secondly, in the last part of the 20th Century New Zealand has developed mechanisms, such as the Waitangi Tribunal “which, by listening and hearing, has time and again been able to point towards resolution of long held injustice and being deprived. Thirdly, he had faith in ‘the Pacific way’ of talking things out. In short, he said, the experiences of our part of the world may help the commission find “helpful pathways”. NB: To listen to Sir Anand describing how the Ma Whea commission intends to go about its work, go to: www. youtube.com and search "Sir Anand Satyanand Ma Whea".

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Anglican Taonga

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H Ī N O TA W H Ā N U I – G E N E R A L S Y N O D

Above: Commissioner Gail Thomson Left: Te Kotahitanga Chair, Bishop Kito Pikaahu

College canon suspended further

he examiner’s verdict? Please resubmit, with further amendments. That, in effect, is the message General Synod delivered to Te Kotahitanga, which had come to synod with a bill to change the legislation that governs St John’s College. In 2010 the General Synod had

... the college "has reached a turning-point in attitude"

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accepted, in full, the recommendations of the Reeves/Beck report into the college. To put those recommendations into effect, it suspended various clauses of the canon that govern the college – so it could wind up the Board of Oversight, do away with the three constituent colleges, and enable the commissioner, Mrs Gail Thomson, to take over the running of the place. That suspension of those clauses was scheduled to last for just two years – enough time, it was thought, for college reforms to be effected, and for a new canon to be drafted. Easier said than done, no doubt. Because there were a “myriad of issues which required urgent attention”, Bishop Kito Pikaahu told this year’s synod, and sorting those out “was never going to be a walk in the park”. Nonetheless, he said, real progress has been made. Under Gail Thomson’s leadership the college “has reached a turning-point in

attitude” and is now “a viable, vibrant place of theological learning.” The second leg of the double was the legislative work required to lock in those changes. In other words, the canonical changes to return St John’s to one college (with three parts) with one principal to take over from the Commissioner, all under the governorship of Te Kotahitanga. Te Kotahitanga produced a draft bill to do that. But this year’s synod didn’t go with that. It decided, instead, to pass a slimmeddown bill that simply allows the suspension to be rolled over for another two years – but also allows Te Kotahitanga to appoint a Manukura, or College Principal, to take over the reins from Gail Thomson, whose contract expires this year. So why did it balk at the bill? Well, that’s mostly to do with Tikanga Maori’s concern to ensure that the college is a place where Maori students will flourish.

Anglican Taonga

And its insistence that the college canon reflects that. And that ties back to an amendment Professor Whatarangi Winiata had moved at the 2010 Gisborne General Synod, which placed on Te Kotahitanga, the new college governors, an extra responsibility. They were “to introduce systems to allow them to report on the expression of kaupapa Maori in the life of the College.” And indeed that requirement, said Bishop Pikaahu, had been “at the forefront” of Te Kotahitanga’s thinking about the draft legislation. It had selected five kaupapa to become poupou (pillars) for its work on drafting the new bill – rangatiratanga (leadership) manaakitanga (hospitality) whanaungatanga (relationships) Te kotahitanga (unity) and pukengatanga (research). But it had also felt the need, he said, to express these kaupapa “not simply from a cultural perspective, but also from a biblical and theological one.” For example: the Te Kotahitanga report about St John’s College defined rangatiratanga this way: “To exercise responsible leadership with integrity, fairness and respect. Arahina matou, nga iwi katoa hoki I nga huarahi o te tika o te rangimaire / Guide us and all people in the way of justice and peace (ANZPB/HKMOA p483).” But while those kaupapa might have been uppermost in Te Kotahitanga’s thinking, they weren’t spelled out in the bill. Those values were already there, Bishop Pikaahu told the synod, as a consequence of our baptism. And for that reason, they didn’t have to be named in the legislation. But that wasn’t enough for Professor Winiata. He was concerned on two counts. He says there are a number of kaupapa tuku iho (inherited values) that are missing from that Te Kotahitanga list. Furthermore, he told the synod that all those kaupapa need to be embedded in the draft canon. Along with explicit reference to the Treaty of Waitangi. The upshot of all this is that Te Kotahitanga has been asked to rework that draft legislation – and resubmit in two years’ time. By Lloyd Ashton

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Work piles up for Standing Committee

t the eleventh hour, this year's General Synod/te Hinota Whanui elected to lay aside its planned business. That made space for synod’s two toughest challenges: on the 50-50 split of St John’s College Trust funds, and financial support for Te Aute and Hukarere schools. While issues of that magnitude will take the time they need, some delegates believe synod might have managed more. Archdeacon Anne Mills (Waikato) says the meeting could have run at a snappier pace. "I was really surprised at the lack of process at times... Some reports went on way too long and we ended up failing to address a whole lot of business." Bishop Victoria Matthews (Christchurch) agrees. She thinks synod would benefit from an appointed chancellor – "someone whose role was to guide the synod... to be impartial, and not part of the debate.” When General Synod closed shop for 2012, a total of 17 motions still lay on the table. They will now have to be picked by Synod Standing Committee, which meets in late November.

The 17 remainders include proposals on: • 2014’s bicentenary commemorations • the church’s legal status, licensing, hiring and firing rules • provincial communications • fracking and lignite mining • a carbon-neutral footprint • an Anglican audit on power and violence • a review of how this province defines and communicates its agreed ways of worship • a proposed Decade on Mission (2015-2025) The General Secretary, Rev Michael Hughes, reports that the Order Paper Committee (OPC) has taken careful note of the gaps at this year’s synod. A few weeks out from Fiji, an OPC review of synodical process was already looking at agenda, chairing, participation, time management and reporting. Recommendations from the review will go to Standing Committee and those planning General Synod 2014.

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The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia Page 11

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Worst affected

and most

I said: No. No, you cannot put these people out of their homes without giving them a way forwardâ&#x20AC;Ś

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Two years on from the first of the Christchurch quakes, and those of us who don’t have to go on living in busted homes in a broken city are probably going about our routines, pretty much as we ever did. Out of sight, out of mind, perhaps.

Photo David Wethey

And that’s precisely why The Rev Mike Coleman continues to speak out. Lloyd Ashton has been learning about the path that Mike has come down – and about what stirs him up now.

f you have a squizz at a map of Christchurch, you’ll see that the river Avon almost does a complete loop around the suburb of Avonside. By the time the dust settled after the February 2011 quake, just about every house in that loop had been munted. Including the one at 15 Morris St, which had been home to the Rev Mike Coleman his wife Robyn and their family for 16 years. “Our section was stuffed,” Mike says. “All the foundations were gone, we had 200mm difference between one room and another, and holes, and cracks running everywhere – and we weren’t nearly as bad as others.” Most of those Avonside residents had no choice but to remain where they were – and to freeze, as the southern winter began to bite. They weren’t getting much help from their insurance companies. While the ground was still shaking, they were hanging back from rebuilding broken homes. On June 23, ten days after the third massive Christchurch jolt, Gerry Brownlee spelt out the Red Zone announcement – detailing those areas where, in CERA’s view, the land itself was beyond repair.

Except that Mike Coleman didn’t think the government’s offer was all it was cracked up to be. He thought it mightn’t be that much help to Red Zone residents. Mike had been looking at the issues and implications ever since the February quake. He has a BCom, he’s qualified in accountancy, and his research was telling him that sections in Christchurch – average sections, that is – were selling for $240,000, or thereabouts. Yet most of the homes in Avonside were sitting on sections valued at about half that – $120,000 to $130,000. Homes in poor, battered Bexley were built on land valued at even less than that again. There is another issue. The Government’s price to buy those Red Zone properties is based on their rateable value. Mike felt that wasn’t a fair basis to be operating on, because it didn’t – as the government had said – protect people’s equity in their properties. We’ll go more into that rateable value stuff in a minute. But the upshot of all this was that Mike felt that the average Red Zoner might have to borrow $100,000 to $200,000 to buy a

Avonside was Red Zoned. Its residents had to go by April 2013 – but the Crown was offering to buy those ruined properties (using the homeowner’s own insurance and EQC money) so residents could make a fresh start elsewhere. A few hours after that announcement, TV One’s Close Up had invited Avonside people to a televised street corner meeting with Gerry Brownlee. No doubt, Gerry was hoping to reassure those folk, on live television, of the merits of the government’s Red Zone rescue package.

replacement home in Christchurch. Finding that kind of money, he was convinced, was an impossible burden for many, particularly for the elderly and lowincome earners. So there they all were, at 7pm on the corner of Keller St and Retreat Rd on June 23 live on Close-Up with Mark Sainsbury. And Mike wasn’t at all persuaded by the line Gerry was taking. “He was throwing one-liners out to the country to convince everyone that it was OK. “I just thought: ‘No.’

“And so I spoke over him. “I said: No. No, you cannot put these people out of their homes without giving them some kind of way forward, and some movement into the land. “And people were yahooing. It was a bit of a scene, really. “Gerry said there were 11,000 sections in Christchurch, and only 5000 Red Zone home owners, and you’re going to get a really cheap section, because if you put 5 into 11, the price is going to come down. “But, as it turned out, there were not even 1000 sections. “And the prices were extremely high. “And nothing has changed to this day.” *

hat same evening, a solo mum who has three kids came up to talk to Mike. She was at her wits’ end. She’d been crying all day, she had no insurance, and she was fretting about being kicked out of her wrecked home. Maybe that pricked the Irishman in him. It definitely hit his ‘love of neighbour’ nerve. Mike knew there was no use appealing to CERA, which has enormous powers

t neglected?

and whose decisions, by law, cannot be reviewed or appealed, even in the courts. Or to Gerry Brownlee or John Key, who set CERA up to be that way. So Mike set about emailing folk in his address book. They’d email back, other folk would dive in, and he learned more, firsthand, of the problems people were facing. One thing led to another. Mike got together with a couple of others to form WECAN – that’s the Wider Earthquake Communities’ Action Network – and they advocated and organised rallies on behalf

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Setting off to school from Morris St Avonside in August 2011 – Mike with his daughter Emily, some school friends and neighbours. Morris St is in the heart of Red Zone Avonside.

of the folk who felt they were getting a raw deal. And that’s how it’s been for Mike ever since. Speaking up for the voiceless. Being interviewed – frequently – on TV, radio and by The Press. Getting clobbered, too. But sticking doggedly to his task. *

ed Zoners were told they had to be out of their homes by April 2013, and they were presented with two options for making their exit. Their first was to take the Government’s offer to pay them out at the 2007 rateable value of their properties. If they thought they could do better by negotiating with their insurance companies, well, they were free to explore that second option. But let’s look further at option one. As Mike Coleman sees things, rateable value (RV) is not a fair way to assess the true pre-quake value of those doomed homes. His research – he was looking at a 2009 study which compared RV with market value – was telling him that the RV of a home could be as much as 40 percent less than the price a home would fetch on the market in pre-quake days, and that one Page 14

in three homes could be affected by this discrepancy. RV, says Mike, is a figure that local authorities use to strike their rate demands. In the old days, local authorities would rely on government valuations for the same purpose. But where government valuers would actually inspect homes – and GV was a pretty good guide to a home’s market value – nowadays, rateable valuations are computer-generated. RV is simply a function of the size of a house in a particular location. But a problem here, says Mike, is that if you’ve renovated your home – put in a new kitchen and bathroom, for example – those improvements don’t translate into any change in your home’s RV. It’s only when you increase the size of the home that the RV changes. So if you found yourself getting far less for your home than you thought you would, and you have to buy a home on a market where prices are set by the law of supply and demand – and demand in 2012 far outstrips supply – that RV option could look pretty sad. *

Well then, why not just go for that second option?

Your house is totalled. But you’ve paid premiums for years to get full replacement cover – so why not just phone your friendly insurance agent, and call in your insurance? If only it were that simple, says Mike. Because the insurance companies are arguing that they’re not the ones who imposed the Red Zones. They’re not the ones who chose to say that the land is stuffed. In effect, says Mike, even though the land is broken beyond repair, the insurance companies are acting as though that’s not a problem. Not their problem, anyway. So unless your house is an total write off, they’ll assess it as a repair job – it’s much cheaper to repair than rebuild, of course – even though the house is going to be demolished anyway. “After the June announcements,” says Mike, “some companies went back to homes they’d earlier said were rebuilds – and reassessed them as repairs. “They don’t actually have to do the repair. They only have to say it’s a repair.” So as far as Mike is concerned, then, that “offer” – you choose between CERA’s RV offer and the insurance company’s offer – is a “pseudo offer.” Because unless your insurance company assesses your home as a total rebuild, there’s only one way you can go.

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Doing nothing is not an option, either. “At the bottom of your CERA letter, it says, in fine print: ‘If you choose not to take this offer, we can compulsorily acquire your land, and it will be valued at the date of that acquisition.’ “Which means, sometime after the quakes. Your land is stuffed. They’ll value that land as it is – stuffed – and you’ll get paid out at that price. “So everyone knows this has always been forced. You have no choice but to take the offer.” “It’s quite despicable, actually.” *

here are issues, too, in Mike’s mind, about where the Red Zone falls. In large measure, he says, the boundaries of the Red Zone reflect economic criteria. The Crown has looked at the billions it would have to pay to fix land in a particular area, and set that cost against the value of the land in that area. So there are properties beside streams in Fendalton, for example, that have been severely damaged – but Fendalton will never be Red Zoned, says Mike. Equally, there are streets in Kaiapoi where the houses and streets have suffered minimal damage – they’ve not lost power, sewerage or water – which have been designated as Red Zone. Mike knows of one such Red Zoned 200 m2 Kaiapoi home, on a quarter acre section, which was this year – ie, post the quakes – awarded ‘garden of the year’. Inevitably, says Mike, the insurance company’s assessment to repair that home will be very low – but the Rateable Value of the home is just $240,000. And remember, Mike reckons the price of an average section in Christchurch – section alone – is $240,000. “Those people in Kaiapoi,” says Mike, “they’re in terrible anguish.” *

“Apportionment”. That’s a word that won’t mean much to folk outside Christchurch – but where folk within the city are concerned, it has an ominous ring to it. Anybody who owns an insured home pays a levy to the Earthquake Commission. In the event of a quake, the EQC stumps up for the first $115,000 to repair damage to that home, and the first $20,000 of damage to its contents.

That $115,000 is a trigger point. And a big problem, says Mike, because the insurance companies and the EQC have been wrangling about that in court for months. “The insurance companies have claimed that each earthquake is a new event – and therefore should trigger a new $115,000 EQC payment on that property. “So effectively,” he says, “if they had a rebuild on their hands, they were going for multiples of $115,000. All they had to do was to prove that there was a significant amount of damage in each of the quakes. “And the courts agreed with them. “So EQC responded by saying – well, if you’re going to do that, we’ll apportion the damage we feel that a house has sustained in each of the quakes. “So the first quake, in September 2010, they might have given it 20%, and the next might be 70%, and the June one might have been 10%. “It’s ended up being a massive issue. Pretty much everyone in the city has been affected by that battle – or will end up being affected by it.” *

ed Zoners have until April next year to move. But move where? The insurance companies want to minimise their exposure to Christchurch. Writing new policies that cover earthquake risk in Christchurch is, they say, like issuing fire insurance for a house that’s on fire.

Where major repairs or new building is concerned, they want to wait till the land has stabilised. And that could take years, of course. So insurance companies are coming back to their ‘full replacement’ policy holders with offers for their houses, based on square metre rates. Those offers tend to be for significantly less than the cost of a new rebuild, says Mike. They are, nonetheless, for “quite a bit more than their RV” and they’re available now. “Most people are thinking: ‘Blimey. I don’t want to be hanging out in my Red Zone home. I’ve got to go next April anyway, no-one’s going to have their house built by next April, and I’ll be entering the rental market after next April with thousands of others…’

“Those people in Kaiapoi,” says Mike, “they’re in terrible anguish.”

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Same story with rental property. “At times,” says Mike, “they were having auctions. You’d have people standing outside a rental house – and the agent saying: ‘Who’ll give me $450? Who’ll give me $480?’ “And there are 50 people there, bidding on this jolly house.” “We’ve got a distorted market here, and Gerry cannot let people be bludgeoned by it. “I’ve challenged him many times about that. But he won’t enter into any discussion on it.”

We’ve got distorted market here, and Gerry cannot let people be bludgeoned by it.

* “So most have taken the money and gone.” At last count, 5053 Red Zoners had already settled with the government or the insurance companies. *

ithin a week of the June Red Zone announcement, the prices of houses and land in the undamaged areas of Christchurch had shot up. In some of these suburbs, says Mike, houses were going for $50,000 to $100,000 more than their market value of just a few weeks before.

In this story we’ve mostly focused on how things are for Red Zoners. Of course, the damage and destruction in Christchurch is not limited to that zone. Far from it. Red Zoners are just the folk who have to leave their properties. Late last year the government divided the Green Zone into three further categories. The TC3 zone – which is mainly in the east, on the fringes of the Red Zone – is the land which CERA believes is next most at risk of severe liquefaction in another quake. There are 28,000 homes in that TC3 zone, and all those homeowners are in limbo. Thousands of their homes have been

damaged, and few have had more than emergency repairs. We’ll end this story by quoting from an email that Mike has circulated, in which he urged Cantabrians to meet on July 30, and to meet and march on August 8 in support of TC3 property owners: "It took 100 days to build the temporary stadium and 100 days to plan the whole of the new central business district, while for 100 weeks (23 months) 28,000 TC3 homeowners have had only a trickle of repairs made to the most damaged homes in the city. “In May only 60 building consents were issued for TC3 homes. At this rate they won’t be waiting the 5-7 years they have been told by EQC and their insurance companies, but more like decades! “Some elderly folk will not see their homes repaired or rebuilt in their lifetime. And, while they wait, young children are being hospitalised with respiratory conditions due to liquefaction coming through their floors.” Lloyd Ashton is Media Officer for the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, NZ & Polynesia. mediaofficer@ang.org.nz

"He's a Crusader" L

Lianne formed her assessment of Mike long before the quakes struck.

And the Christchurch East MP is ready to confer on Mike Coleman the highest accolade that one Cantabrian can bestow on another.

She saw that Mike was “utterly committed to his congregation, and to his community.”

ianne Dalziel represents many of the folk hardest hit by the quakes.

“He’s a Crusader,” she says. “There is a climate of fear in Christchurch around speaking out. “So many people here feel they can’t do that because they’ll get attacked. Or they feel the funding of their NGO might be threatened if they say anything publicly. “And Mike is fearless. “He doesn’t owe anybody anything – other than a commitment to telling the truth.” Page 16

She met him when she began to represent Christchurch East in 1999. And she saw “extraordinary” things happening at St Ambrose.

But what really appealed to her, she says, was the way that Mike didn’t divide the community into “the churched and the unchurched”. “He saw his church as being part of the community, which I really valued.” In Lianne’s eyes, the Government – and Gerry Brownlee in particular – has misjudged the kind of leadership the Christchurch recovery needs. “They mistake that kind of heroic, we’ll-make-all-the-decisions leadership that you see in the dramatisations of disasters for genuine

leadership. “Mike Coleman understands the need for proper communication with affected people. He is also aware of the need to use a disaster such as this to build resilience, and to have genuine community engagement.” “He’s not seeing any of that. And nor am I.” Lianne says that while people in the red zone may “technically” be in a position to move on, accepting the government’s offer to buy them out may cost them five to six-figure sums. “And you’re not allowed to say that publicly, because the government narrative is that it’s a fair offer. They keep saying it’s a voluntary offer, and it’s a success, because 5000 people have signed up. “But there is no real choice, and Mike is very aware of that. “I have nothing but admiration for him.”

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or sure, it’s a miracle that Michael Sean Coleman is Anglican at all. His dad is Irish, and Mike and his three brothers grew up in the bosom of the Catholic church in Aranui, in Christchurch’s east, and on the West Coast. Mike loved that Catholic world. As a youngster, he’d sometimes shimmy out his bedroom window to serve as an altar boy at the 7am mass at St James Aranui and, when his dad became Westport’s policeman, Mike joined the Legion of Mary at St Canice’s Church. As those legionnaires are taught to do, Mike committed to praying the rosary with others – in Westport, they were mostly older ladies – and to loving his neighbour through acts of service. For an eight or nine year old boy, that might mean helping an old man dig his spud patch. The Colemans returned to Christchurch in time for Mike to start at Xavier College and, because he was a gun soccer player (centre half for the school’s 1st XI, and later, for the High School Old Boys premier team) that move – and that mix of deepdyed Catholic spirituality, sport and study – suited him to a tee. But then, Mike’s settled world started to shake. As his parents’ marriage began slowly to unravel. That left him struggling. Groping for “something deeper and experiential” in his spiritual life, too. He found the release he needed when he responded to an altar call at a youth camp at Living Springs in Governor’s Bay. Mike saw no reason to ditch his Catholicism. But drinking deep at the Living Springs did change him, and it seemed to unlock his destiny. Because a couple of days later, he met Robyn, his wife-to-be, and within a couple of weeks he’d been accepted into teachers college. By 1987, with a BCom and Dip Tchg in his back pocket, Mike was teaching accountancy at St Bede’s College. That’s where he first bumped into Gerry Brownlee, who was teaching woodwork there at the time. Mike and Robyn married in 1987, spent the next year backpacking around South America – and that included helping out in a mission church in Paraguay, which is where Mike first sensed a call to work with

What other point have I got? the urban poor. They spent another year at a Bible college in the US before returning, in 1990, to Nelson, where Mike again taught, and built up a thriving Catholic youth group in his free time. By now, though, Mike was also at ease in the wider charismatic world – and because Robyn didn’t have Catholic roots, in Nelson they made the move to a Baptist church. And, from there, in 1992, to Carey Baptist College in Auckland, where Mike trained to become a Baptist pastor, and earned his BTheol. The Colemans returned to Christchurch in 1995. North Avon Baptist Church, which is in Richmond, had called Mike to plant a congregation for city strugglers. If you were to inspect the boarding homes in Richmond – there are a few – you’d see plenty of folk in that community who wrestle with psychiatric or physical affliction. So that’s how Delta Community Church came to be and, on Monday nights, Mike would lead about 70 folk – the halt and lame among them – in a simple but rich service. Delta wasn’t just a Monday night matter, either. They’re serious there about grappling with people’s physical and

emotional needs, as well. Mike gained a psychiatric care qualification so he’d be of more use to folk who struggle in that way, and he invented some new ways of reaching out into the community. The Richmond Working Men’s Club, for instance, is legendary in those parts. It has about 4000 members, and Mike formally applied to become chaplain there. Didn’t matter to Mike that they’d never advertised for one. Or ever felt the need for one, for that matter. Turns out the club was delighted to have Mike as their chaplain anyway.

Quote here... “I loved them,” says Mike. “All of them. I did, and I do.”

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Quote here... Quote here...

Pretty soon, people who’d been slumped in front of telly... had something better to do

In that role he’s still marrying their barmaids, burying their dead, running their Anzac and Christmas services, and sometimes, well, just having a beer at the bar with the men. Then Mike and Anne McCormack dreamed up the idea of running Christmas balls for the disabled – and when you get 350 or so disabled folk turning up to a ball in limos, resplendent in their bow ties and ball gowns, with 60-odd volunteers helping out, you know you’re on to a winner. Mike loved his seven years at Delta. But, by 2000, he was yearning to be connected to a Eucharistic community again. So he put out feelers to Bishop David Coles – who, not long after that, installed Mike as missioner priest at St Ambrose, Aranui. Mike swung into action in Aranui, just as he had in Richmond. He took to the streets. He pulled out the pews, and pulled in the people. He started a foodbank and the Ambrosia Café and he invited a Maori Legal Service and a budgeting service to

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set up shop there. Pretty soon, people who’d been slumped in their boarding homes watching Days of Our Lives on telly at midday were deciding they had something better to do at that time. They’d rather be making toasted sandwiches for community lunches at the Ambrosia Café. Didn’t matter, either, that those helpers weren’t all straight-laced Christians. Didn’t matter if some looked, well, a bit unkempt or flamboyant. “I loved them,” says Mike. “All of them. I did, and I do.” “I think they saw me as someone who never judged them. It’s not my place to do that. They knew that if they needed some support, they’d get it. “Surely that’s what the jolly church is about. “None of this other bollocks. You just want people to be able to come and feel loved. “Ultimately, it’s love that changes us. And it’s through Jesus showing acts of love on the cross that we are drawn back into heaven. “Love is the number one thing. I’ve no doubt about that.” Four years into life at St Ambrose, though, and black clouds came scudding across the Coleman family’s horizon. One of Mike and Robyn’s teenage sons became seriously unwell. “To see him in that much pain,” says Mike, “that just broke my heart.” To cope, Mike and Robyn swapped roles. She returned to work, and Mike stayed home to look after their youngest daughter. Then, as patches of blue began to break through the clouds, Mike became a school counsellor, and a ministry enabler at St Mary’s, Addington.

Then, in September 2010, the first quake hit. We’ll leave Mike’s quake work, and those quake issues, to the other article. But we will draw attention to a couple of periods in Mike’s life that have shaped his attitudes. First, there’s his walk through his son’s illness. Going through that valley, Mike reckons, made him a better person – and made him able to shrug off the criticism he cops now. “You know what it’s like,” he says. “You get a bit of suffering – and, if you feel you have to say or do something to advocate for peoples’ needs, frankly, you don’t care if you cheese someone else off.” The other time was when he used to help old men dig their spud patches in Westport. That’s when he caught that ‘love-thyneighbour’ vision. And that’s still the only way he can make sense of things, he says. “What other point,” asks Mike, “have I got?” *

Then there’s a third incident that shines another light on the kind of person Mike Coleman is. Some time back, he was with some other priests in downtown Christchurch. As they walked they passed a glue sniffer, sitting by the side of the road, who called out: Mike! Mike walked up and wrapped that glue sniffer in a big hug. “That’s who I am, really. “I am that kind of peasant Catholic boy who just wants to embrace.” – Lloyd Ashton

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YO U T H

Make the

first move W

one mentoring with young people, indeed, with young disciples. We can and have to make the first move.” And we must do that, the site says, with no other motive than love. “There's an old saying "I don't care what you know until I know how much you care." It's a cliché, but it is true. “Young people don't need more events or church camps, they need someone willing to share their lives with them and to walk alongside them. Someone to make the first move.”

hen the Archbishops made their move to get down to the nitty-gritty of synod… they seemed determined to draw attention to that fact. Because there was Archbishop Brown Turei walking into the convention centre sporting, over his purple cassock, a vivid green tee shirt bearing the legend: ‘Make the first move’. And if you found yourself thinking: Hmmm… why is he wearing that? Archbishop David Moxon had the answer to hand: He was wearing a yellow tee shirt on which was written: ‘Because it matters. ’ And not to be outdone, there was Archbishop Winston Halapua wearing a sky-blue tee shirt sporting the slogan: ‘Every moment is the right moment’ . There was method in their sartorial madness. Because the three slogans are the punch lines of a new Tikanga Toru Youth Commission campaign, which they unveiled at the synod, for the development of youth ministry. At http://makethefirstmove.org/ the thinking behind those steps is outlined:

Every moment is the right moment

Make the first move

Because it matters

“This step is about stressing the importance of mentoring and discipleship. “The most effective way to get young people living Christ centred lives is to live that life ourselves and to share that life, in intentional relationships, through one-on-

“We all know that if we want our youth ministries to succeed we must resource them, provide training for their leaders and give of our time and talents. “Youth ministry is so very important; our young people navigate a knife edge, trying

“This step is about eliminating a gatekeeping mentality wherever it exists in this church. Often we feel like we have to wait for the right moment before allowing young people to have a go. “And by this token young people don't get a chance to be involved until we're ready to invite them in. And we don't invite them until we think they're ready… “But… Every Moment is the Right Moment to include young people, to make way for young people to be involved and contribute to the life of this church.

to deal with incredibly complex societal pressures while having deep questions about their faith going unheard. Our young people want us to be involved in their lives, and they need us. “Like the first two steps Because it Matters must be lived. “We must continue to back up our priorities with actions, Because Youth Ministry Matters.” At the end of the presentation, Bishop David Rice (The Liaison Bishop for the Commission) stressed that youth ministry is about more than mere slogans. "Youth ministry does not happen by chance,” he said. “You need to remember the slogans – but we are after something far deeper..."

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MINISTRY

ue Burns has found herself drawn to a new image for thinking and talking about ministry. Finding inspiration in a traditional Maori technique, she offers us a metaphor that’s set her imagination on fire.

Bearing God's

flame

ords do things. Metaphors carry meaning. In fact, Greeks call their delivery vans metaphora. Like those vans, some metaphors are reliable, while others are best avoided. We need to use words that carry meaning in our context. That’s never more important than as we describe our part in God’s ministry and mission. At the University of Waikato, where I’m ecumenical chaplain, the word Christian is often met with suspicion. At St John’s College, where I am a lecturer, such words of shared faith carry

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rich history and meaning. The space created by words is different in different contexts. It’s a delicate business to transfer meaning from one place to another – one that requires care and listening. *

I pray on Maungakawa, a mountain that overlooks the Waikato region. One August, my eye picked out a line in the winter landscape, leading from one surveyor's mark to another. It was a line cut by the colonial government in 1865, to mark the boundary of 1.2 million acres of land confiscated from Waikato Maori. Lines like that one mark confiscated land in the Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, South Auckland, Hauraki, Te Urewera, Hawke's Bay and the East Coast. Land marked by injustice. As I prayed – in sight of that line – I was drawn to question the word pioneer, which has been revived of late in the language of our Church. I was distressed that the church could import the label pioneer ministry from the UK and seek to train pioneer ministers without critique. My gut responded again, when I heard that Jenny and Justin Duckworth's radical

expression of discipleship (in Urban Vision) was being supported under legislation for pioneer ministry. That title seemed so at odds with Urban Vision’s prophetic vision and commitment to justice – demonstrated by following Jesus on the margins. I asked myself “Is there a different word for what God is doing here? “Is there a word that wouldn't struggle so much with our colonial history?” Up on the hill as I pondered how to meet our context in new ways, God impressed upon me a different image of ministry. Ministry as ‘fire carrying’. I remembered a conversation from another high place, Panekiri, in Te Urewera. There, I’d heard about the practice of carrying a smouldering plant from place to place to rekindle fire – to nurture life with warmth, light, and the preparation of food. I thought about this on and off for some years and sought knowledge from many people. As time went on, I wondered if the idea might have died. But it kept returning. This year, a scientist on the East Coast (Chris Ward) referred me to Rebekah Fuller (Ngapuhi) and her work Matauranga o Nga Harore/ Maori Knowledge of Fungi.

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Is there a different word for what God is doing here?

Rebekah identified the fire-carrying plant as the fungus puku tawai or putawa. I had found it at last. As a metaphor for ministry, fire carrying seems rich with possibilities. It weaves biblical and liturgical traditions with narratives from Aotearoa New Zealand. Way back on that winter hill, I recalled Paul's words to the young Timothy. For this reason, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. (2 Tim 1:6-7)

In our prayer book, these words appear at the ordination of a bishop, but their challenge and encouragement is for all of us who live as Christ in places suspicious of his name. The gift is the Spirit of power and love and self control who is gifted to us in Christ. That gift is neither confined to particular people, nor is it one particular spiritual gift. At each ordination we're reminded, By the Holy Spirit all who believe and are baptized receive a ministry to proclaim Jesus as Saviour and Lord, and to love and serve the people with whom they live and work. (NZPB/HKMoA p.890)

This instruction to rekindle the Spirit recognizes that opposition or circumstance can obscure God's potential within. At the same time, Paul is confident that Timothy's heritage of faith, and the faithfulness of God in Jesus, means that God's Spirit will burst into flame again. Paul reminds Timothy to attend to the gift. Whether we speak of a smouldering ember, or the gift within, kindling the fire requires patience and persistence. The image of fire is not only about the life within. It is about creating a place, about being where God is. Kindling fire from puku tawai enabled sustenance for a group as they travelled. On the Exodus journey, fire is a sign of God's presence. I've heard it said that people in this country are more interested in whether something works, than if it is true. Could fire carrying become a reliable metaphor for ministry here? For me it carries meaning. It helps form who I am and what I do in the communities where I work. We are dependent on God's breath to rekindle God's Spirit through rhythms of prayer. We pray using candles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and their flames are signs of God's presence.

We gather round the Eucharist and are sent out, creating space for conversation and relationships. We offer food and hospitality. In one place hope burns brighter, in another justice is fanned into flame. At St John's we listen for metaphors that enrich our Tikanga. We develop courses to equip people with skills for ministry, based on Christian spirituality, biblical narratives and narratives of this land. I suggest that ministry as 'fire carrying' carries hope in our place. It draws on puku tawai, an image that calls us to rekindle the fire of God's life, to journey â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sent by God, with God, creating community around God. Do these ideas open up possibilities for you and your community? Rev Canon Sue Burns is Ecumenical Chaplain at the University of Waikato and Director of Anglican Studies at St John's Theological College in Auckland. sueburns@waikato.ac.nz References: Rebekah Fuller, Maori Knowledge of Fungi/ Matauranga o Nga Harore in Fungi of New Zealand Vol. 1, Ed. Eric McKenzie, Fungal Diversity Press, Hong Kong, 2004.

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ENVIRONMENT

A different kind of Rosemary Penwarden set off for this year’s “Keep the Coal in the Hole” festival with a growing sense of despair. But by the end of that weekend, not even its prophecies of doom could quell her renewed sense of hope.

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outhland was in drought, in the hottest, driest December on record. By January in the Mataura Valley, Mike had lightly mown the camping paddock and his woolly bears had been off it for a few weeks. But drought? I had to spread the thick matting of grass roots before pushing in the tent pegs, but then down they slipped, easily, to the hilt. The soil is deep and black. Edendale loam covered in a thick layer of roots and pasture. It had been unseasonably dry, but on this paddock pasture provided its own layer of mulch,

and while growth had slowed, the grass lived. But then of course, as our little coloured domes of plastic sprouted up in the sheep paddock, the rain came down. So, what were 150 people doing in the middle of a sheep paddock in the Mataura Valley in a southerly gale? To look at us you’d never guess. Ranging in age from 20 months to 77 plus, from students to university professors, farmers, teachers, politicians and grandparents, our reasons for being there might have been as diverse as we were. But we have one thing in common; we don’t want the Mataura Valley turned into

Photo Southern Exposure Invercargill

Anglican Taonga

NZ’s largest open cast mine. Mike Dumbar’s farm is surrounded by Solid Energy-owned land. Almost all of his neighbours have sold up, and if Solid Energy’s plans go ahead, he will be surrounded by a massive open cast lignite mine. Mining this land will not only destroy farms, it will risk the health of nearby residents, especially the children. It will harm the environment and tarnish our ‘clean green’ image overseas. The people at Coal Action Network Aotearoa’s “Keep the Coal in the Hole” Summer Festival were also there for another reason: we know we have to stop digging up coal.

Fossil fuels are warming the atmosphere and destabilising our finely balanced climate. Coal is the dirtiest of the fossil fuels. Everyone at Mike’s farm was there because they want their grandchildren to inherit a world where they can grow, prosper and flourish; not one compromised by the extreme effects of climate change. There was an air of excitement as we talked, listened and learned together. Local and national newspapers, radio and television, gave us a big voice and our little coloured tents were splashed across the media for all to see. Not only our tents though. Meridian Energy and BNZ marquees had been kindly donated by local offices for the weekend. Such is the generosity of Southlanders. But nearby, others had seen the marquees go up. A phone call from Solid Energy to head office somewhere up north produced an order to the southern Meridian and BNZ offices. We were told to dismantle the marquees almost as soon as they arose. Such is the power of corporations. But southern hospitality will not be beaten so easily. We were offered new marquees, unmarked by corporate logos, at very cheap rates. Camping alongside the rest of us was Dr Peter Barrett, a climate scientist with years of experience studying palaeontology in Antarctica. Since he’s retired, he’s turned to helping people understand the scale of climate change. Emeritus Professor Sir Alan Mark from Otago University’s Botany Department was pitched nearby. A Christchurch family whose house had been red-stickered were there. One Green MP had cycled all the way from Christchurch for the weekend. Sid Plant, an Australian cattle farmer who lives next to an open cast coal mine, was guest speaker at the open day we held at the Mataura Community Centre. He told us how he watched as one by one, neighbours were bought out by the mining company, inaptly named New Hope. “I’ve witnessed the desecration of the

SPring 2012

"...we know we have to stop digging up coal."

best quality farmland where I live – just as Solid Energy is about to do in Southland. “You can never get it back,” he said. But mining is good for jobs and good for the economy, right? Not according to Jeanette Fitzsimons’ evidence; she’s collected data that shows New Zealand coal-mining communities actually have a lower median income than others. Then there’s the impact on health. Orthopaedic surgeon Russell Tregonning was there from Ora Taiao, a group of health professionals gravely concerned about climate change. He pointed out mining’s destructive health effects on nearby residents. But, he said, according to the World Health Organisation climate change is the leading global health threat this century. “It supersedes the threat of cardiovascular disease, cancer, AIDS/ HIV, the diabetes epidemic – all combined.” Environmental management lecturer from Lincoln University, Dr Shannon

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Photos: (Left and centre) Southern Exposures, Invercargill

Above: New Hope open cast mine.

Page, showed quite convincingly that CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage – a method for collecting greenhouse gas emissions from industry and burying, or sequestering, it underground) will not deliver us from the evils of high greenhouse gas emissions. It turns out that despite the assurances of the industry, there’s no such thing as clean coal. The open day talks were the first time many local residents had heard the other side of the “mining is good for you” story. Solid Energy’s well-oiled PR machine has been in full swing in the Gore district for some years. Their logo is up around town in prominent places. Children run round sports fields with ‘Solid Energy’ on their backs. And of course, they own most of the Mataura Valley. While the talks were essential in bringing together festival-goers and local community, the highlight of the weekend for me was later, back at the farm in our dimly lit marquee. Local people were asked to speak first. They told us how they had been isolated from each other, from their neighbours, by Solid Energy’s

" it turns out there’s no such thing as clean coal"

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“stakeholder” meetings, which welcomed or excluded whoever the company chose. They told us about feeling intimidated at meetings with mining officials that seemed designed to ‘suss them out.’ They told us how this weekend they had felt supported and how important that was for them. The rest of us listened. That night we were all learning. We listened with respect and attention, and reached a consensus – an agreement among equals, from unemployed youth to university professor. *

My grandson is six months old. He has hijacked my heart. If you could bottle the belly laugh shriek of a six-month-old and distribute it to the world, everyone would stop and smile. His joyful openness pushed me to camp in the middle of a sheep paddock that weekend. And on the last evening in the marquee, I rediscovered a buoyancy, an energy that previously had been fighting a losing battle with despair – despair at the state of things, so many things, not only the seeming inevitability of the worsening effects of climate change. That Sunday evening I rediscovered the power of the group. Our determination to halt this largescale lignite mine, set to increase New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20%, is only the beginning. I have rediscovered another power. It slipped quietly under my skin just the other day as I listened to a story of creation, depicted in a beautiful Maori carving on the wall of the Te Tomairangi

marae in Southland. There, laid out in perfect simplicity, was the crisis unfolding in our lifetimes. Father Ranginui’s tears, mother Papatuanuku, lying cut and bleeding. Our Christian faith embraces the role of cherishing and caring for all of creation. Time is short and climate change is upon us. Papatuanuku needs help. I think we can do it. Our little country used to be known as “Godzone”. We could earn that reputation again by leading the world in phasing out coal in a socially responsible way. No new coal mines. Finish mining what’s left in the currently working mines. But no-one should be out of work; there is so much to do to develop the noncarbon emitting industries of the future. The worldwide movement to phase out coal is growing and we are well placed to be in the vanguard, with so much of our energy already from renewable sources. Even Solid Energy’s 2011 Annual Report noted production from their wood pellet and biodiesel sectors grew by 53 and 34 percent respectively. There will be more severe storms. There will be more droughts. But like Mike’s pasture, together we can hold strong, form a thick layer of protection for each other and for the nurturing of our world. We must. We owe it to our grandkids. Ms Rosemary Penwarden is a freelance writer from Waitati, Otago. rose.p@ihug.co.nz

Anglican Taonga

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A new book on the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia guides us through the twists and turns of our 200-hundred year bicultural history.

A gripping rough water ride

f you have never thought of your church’s journey as a white water rafting ride, then wade into this new book, Wai Karekare – Turbulent Waters. Briefly aired at the General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui in Suva where it was presented to Tikanga Pasefika leaders, and then introduced more fully back home at the August meeting of Te Kotahitanga, the 80-page book traces the Anglican bicultural journey from 1814 to 2014. The text is in easy-to-read short sections held together by the central image of a braided river. The book’s graphic design winds the river’s strands through the publication, linking milestone stories and photographs of Maori and Pakeha; mostly separate, sometimes together, rarely easily, often in collision. Commissioned by the General Synod Standing Committee to succeed the booklet “Te Kaupapa Tikanga Rua – bicultural development”,

published just before the church’s constitutional revision 20 years ago, this new book is a resource to help mark our forthcoming bicentennial in 2014. It takes us back to where we began, with Marsden and Ruatara on Christmas Day 1814, and up to the present, where our three tikanga church is finally addressing the issues of partnership that make Anglicans in Aotearoa unlike anywhere else in the world wide communion. With this history in front of you, it’s easier to understand where the Nadi synod’s landmark decision on resource sharing might have come from. Most of this illustrated book is taken up with a timeline of key events, sandwiched between its introduction, an essay “Who are we anyway?” and epilogue “Te Ara Tika – the way ahead”. The author is John Bluck, retired Bishop of Waiapu and author of several earlier books on cultural identity and Kiwi spirituality. In the introduction Bishop

Bluck acknowledges his debt to several Maori and Pakeha scholars, and to his friend the late Canon Hone Kaa, who gave the book its title. Bishop Bluck told the gathering at the book launch that the title choice was a vexed one. Hone’s original title was Nga Kongakonga – a 1662 Prayer Book reference to the crumbs that we are not worthy to collect from under the Lord’s table. That title spoke of brokenness and fraction. When the author persisted with the image of a river, Hone warned it couldn’t be one with a calm and free-flowing current. To be truthful to our story, he said, the waters needed to be turbulent, and Wai Karekare became the name. And turbulent the story is. “Like survivors of a war that is still too close to talk about, we underplay the volatility and the violence, the ambition and scale of our (Anglican) history” John

writes. ”Watch a General Synod session politely going about its business and you would never guess it held together a community of Anglicans who, not so very long ago, were at war with each other.” In their foreword, Archbishops Brown Turei and David Moxon quote Bishop Muru Walters’ words to describe the tikanga partnership and the book’s underlying purpose: Pena ka waihotia tena kakahu kia mukamuka, ka ngahoro If the cloak is left to fray it will fall apart No reira ra Therefore Tuia te miro kia kotahi tana kukume, kia mau tonu, Weave the cord strongly so it is firm for ever

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info@capnz.org | 09 270 0334| www.capnz.org Page 25

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THEOLOGY

Tim Meadowcroft goes looking for answers in the face of ungodly suffering

When hope's gone

down the river

ecently I wrote of the formation of hope out of suffering, or transformation of suffering into hope. I noted an eschatological dimension, a vision of the time when all will be healed, the lion will lie down with the lamb, and the child play over the adder’s nest. I suggested that the transformation of suffering into hope at the cross is an important backdrop to the Christian life of faith. Later it was suggested to me (quite fairly), that noble reflections on hope and suffering are not much use to someone who can’t feed her children, or who has just watched her son being shot by rebels. The Christian vision of suffering’s redemption is still an indispensable part of our understanding, even an essential starting point. But we must also have more to say, and do, for anyone in the midst of deep personal anguish, mired in systemic oppression, or confronting abuse on an unimaginable scale. How do I respond to the pain in the eyes

....righteousness and justice... you can’t have one without the other

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of a godly woman who served in ministry for years in the West Bank? When I know her son is left so traumatised by the violence he witnessed there, he can never live in the same land as her again? What’s the answer for my Palestinian friend who teaches Jerusalem’s history just a few miles from the city, but could never take his schoolchildren there? Or, what about the woman blessed to live in a more peaceful political context, but whose personality has been torn apart by the abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of a family member? These things led me to think about ‘righteousness’ with respect to ‘justice.’ Righteousness helps undergird the sometimes painful journey of faith in a more immediate way. Because our English-speaking Christian heritage has tended to separate activism from devotion, it’s not immediately obvious how to apply the biblical concept of righteousness. But let’s have another look. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word tsedeq or its feminine equivalent, tsedeqah, are normally translated as ‘righteousness.’ According to Old Testament ethicist Bruce Birch, tsedeqah ‘refers to the expectations in relationship for intentions and actions that make for wholeness in that relationship.’ 1 So tsedeqah concerns well being, and within it entails a burden of care, for the well being of all. It’s a highly relational term, often used in the context of people in covenant with God. The term tsedeqah or ‘righteousness’ is often in close proximity to another important word, that is mishpat, usually translated as “justice.” Again Birch says, ‘Justice (mispat) relates to the claim to life and participation by all

persons in the structures and dealings of the community, and especially to equity in the legal system.’ 2 The two terms are very closely related and their semantic ranges broadly overlap. Distinctions between the two should only be made with caution. We might say that righteousness has more to do with being in right relationship, while justice has more to do with structures and processes that lead to right relationship. Especially when used by the prophets, the two terms could almost be thought of as a hendiadys. That is, a unified concept expressed by two words - commonly used together in the way we use “fish and chips.” You can’t have one without the other. How about this line from Amos for instance?

Anglican Taonga

‘But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.’ (Amos 5.24) So, in the biblical Hebrew, the difference between justice and righteousness is not quite what Western (particularly Protestant) Christians have tended to assume. I suspect that we’ve thought of justice as public and righteousness as personal; justice as engaging with the world and righteousness as engaging with God and fellow Christians. In the Old Testament, justice and righteousness are both personal and public, both relate to God and humanity, and both concern the restoration of people to their rightful place in the cosmos, in the web of relationships, and in the covenant with God. In the New Testament, the notion of righteousness takes on a slightly different

hue.3 In New Testament Greek, both Hebrew words (as nouns or verbs) tend to be expressed by the Greek dikaiosuné, or a word from the same root. Despite that close linguistic relatedness in the NT Greek, the noun is usually translated into English as ‘righteousness’ and the related verb is more likely to become ‘justify’ or ‘justification’. We have become so used to the language of the English Bible translations, that we’ve lost sight of the dynamic interaction between justice and righteousness. An interaction that is inherent in God’s project for his world, and which is strongly implied in the Greek of the New Testament. In the spirit of the Old Testament hendiadys of righteousness and justice,

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dikaiosuné expresses that both justice and righteousness are part of what God wants for the world (and for each of us). It implies they cannot really be separated from one another. In that spirit, Chris Marshall speaks of ‘saving justice’ and of ‘justice at the heart of the Gospel.’ Marshall argues for divine justice realized in the cross as the theological basis for his agenda of restorative justice. I would apply the same theological basis as Marshall, but suggest that the “so what?” could be considered more broadly. The work of the cross shows us the depth and breadth of God’s interest in the world he has made and in its inhabitants. It provides the means to restore wellbeing for all, both in restoration of fellowship with God and restoration of just dealings between all people. Therefore, the work of the cross has an impact both on sin and on being sinned against. The atonement’s effect on human lives is fundamentally relational. It is about restoration and reconciliation, about the re-establishment of shalom, about communal and individual well being. That’s why, in seeing himself in the footsteps of the servant spoken of by Isaiah, Jesus declared: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour’ (Luke 4:18–19). Jesus continues to speak these words to the survivor of abuse and to my friends in Palestine. He speaks too, to the countless numbers of us who have been sinned against, as much as sinned. And for us, who also walk in the footsteps of Isaiah’s servant, the work for justice and shalom is still founded in the righteousness of the cross. And righteousness is inextricably bound to the quest for justice. Rev Dr Tim Meadowcroft is Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at Laidlaw College and Dean of Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School. TMeadowcroft@laidlaw.ac.nz References 1 B. Birch, Let Justice Roll Down: The Old Testament, Ethics, and Christian Life (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1991), p. 259. 2 Ibid. 3 In what follows, I am indebted to C.D. Marshall, Beyond Retribution: A New Testament Vision for Justice, Crime, and Punishment (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), pp. 35-44.

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THEOLOGY

Unmasking the

mythic dem ...the Church itself often fails to escape Satanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grasp

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Max Whitaker investigates Walter Wink’s approach to theology and the Bible and discovers a whole new side to Jesus’ worldly ministry.

s a student in New Testament, it was assumed I’d know enough to write a reflection on US theologian and biblical scholar, Walter Wink, who died recently. Sadly, the nature of studying for a PhD is that unless someone writes on your very narrow field of enquiry, say, “How attic tragic disguise motifs occur in the last chapter of John”, you’re unlikely to know their work. So seeking to broaden my education, I picked up the third book of Walter Wink’s ‘Powers’ trilogy, entitled ‘Engaging the Powers’. Lately my research has rested on the (sometimes exhausting) topic of demons, Satan and demonic possession. I thought this ‘social justice’ book by Walter Wink might be a healthy break, where (I’d assumed) there’d be no talk of such things. How wrong could I have been? Walter Wink takes both social justice and the influence of Satan on our world, very seriously. He presents a powerful, if surprising, combination.

mon

So what are these ‘Powers’ that Wink wants us to engage? There are, he said, two mistakes we moderns make on the nature of demonic power, and both stem from the same root. The first is to see the Powers merely as demons “flapping about in the sky”. Such creatures would pose a minor threat to humanity compared with the real Powers Wink exposes. The second mistake, is to dismiss the demonic and satanic as superstitious nonsense and thus rule out the very real spirituality that exists in our world. Wink sees a spiritual force within our

institutions and systems, which is far beyond individual humans, independent of us and capable of acting to its own gain. He identifies it as an ancient and enslaving power, which has ruled nations and institutions for millennia. The spirituality of the Powers is based upon a similarly ancient myth – that Wink calls the “myth of redemptive violence”, which he claims has continued from Babylonian times until now. Wink doesn’t shy away from the language of demonology and evil. America is perhaps the Great Satan, as Iranian leaders would tell us… but then, Wink would say, so too is Iran. The myth of redemptive violence is so prevalent (and universal) that Satan’s claim to have the world to offer Jesus (Matt 4:9) sits not so far from the truth, as much now perhaps, as then. According to Wink, the Church itself often fails to escape Satan’s grasp. Especially at those times when violence, domination or hatred become its tools, “...those who believe in divine violence are still mired in Satan’s universe ” Wink warns. Whether Satan is a personal or impersonal force remains ambiguous. But for Wink, the reality that Satan exists and continues to control and enslave, is beyond doubt. Once revealed, the myth of redemptive violence is almost impossible to get away from. It permeates all levels of our society, from children’s cartoons on Saturday morning, to games played by the X-box generation, right up to the level of foreign policies set by the world’s most powerful nations. The myth has us believe that the only viable way to eradicate evil is by using evil means ourselves. It teaches that violence is the only language evil understands, whether it’s the cartoon villain, or our foreign ‘enemies’.

The myth at work Wink’s ‘domination system’ is what emerges when the myth of redemptive violence takes over our political lives.

Our societies become organised around an assumption that the only way to bring about peace is via violence. Enemies must be destroyed, so that they are no longer a threat, and violence must be constantly used to maintain this order. The Pax Romana was one such uneasy peace, maintained under a state of constant threat alongside displays of violence. Another was the 20th Century’s Cold War, which hinged on the mutual threat of extinction as its solution for maintaining order. Engaging the Powers was written 20 years ago, but viewed in Walter Wink’s terms, the ‘War on Terror’ becomes simply the most recent manifestation of the same age-old theme. While some things have changed, most have not. Apartheid was dismantled with a relative lack of vengeful violence, a bright spot in history and a practical demonstration of alternative ways to solve problems and defeat evil. But the world changed again after the events of 9/11. The only way the world could see forward, was to react with more violence. Quite predictable as the ‘logical’ response of Wink’s ‘fallen Powers’. Hence we see ongoing attacks on foreign nations, with torture and assassination of citizens becoming increasingly commonplace. Rafts of legislation give political authorities greater powers of control, domination, and violence against their own people. The myth of redemptive violence is as alive today as it ever was, both in fiction and reality. Cultural support for the myth is astonishing. Television and film are full of it. As the gaming industry grows, people can now actively participate in domination and vigilante violence, rather than just observing it. So is the battle lost? Have the Satanic powers won the day? Hardly. The New Testament writers were well Page 29

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THEOLOGY

Jesus’ third way

S theologian and biblical scholar Rev Dr Walter Wink died this May aged 76. In the 80s, Wink’s re-reading of the Sermon on the Mount (from his ‘Powers’ series) was published in South Africa as a study booklet. It was labelled ‘Violence and Nonviolence in South Africa: Jesus’ Third Way.’ The apartheid regime quickly banned the booklet. So, in 1987 the South African ‘Fellowship of Reconciliation’ used another technique to get its message through. Walter Wink was smuggled in through Lesotho to teach his radical ideas, while his 64-page booklet was printed with a plain brown cover and distributed free to pastors all over South Africa.

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aware of this system, and according to Wink, referred to it in a number of ways. The ‘world’ (cosmos) is often used by NT writers to refer not to God’s good creation, but to the domination system of our world. Similarly flesh (sarx) and aeon (age) are used to refer to the system we are trapped in. So seen in these terms, “You are of this world; I am not of this world” is not an anti-world statement. Neither is it a denial of physicality. Both sides of that text can be read as a denial of the power of corrupt governmental or social systems; and of the myth that violence, prejudice and oppression are integral and essential parts of our existence. According to Wink, the prophets saw through the domination system’s lies way back then. And the system reacted using the tools it knows best – violence and murder. In the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you, Jesus warns, those who stand against the system now will also be persecuted. Jesus’ own life proved this. He challenged every aspect of the domination system: domination, inequality, separation, the devaluing of women, racism, the use of violence to fight violence. His life, his teachings, and his death challenged and exposed the lie of the myth and the weakness of the domination system. That this Galilean peasant could resist and triumph over the domination system demonstrated that its power was

not ultimate after all, that there was another power, one that was much stronger. That power, we know, is the power of God. *

According to Wink, Jesus’ love, and his non-violence were the ultimate threat to the system predicated on violence – and continue to be today. Throughout Engaging the Powers Wink shows how Jesus changed everything, exposed the Powers for what they were, and showed people how to be free. Jesus showed how through love we can ultimately redeem the Powers so that they serve God, rather than resist God. Wink describes how in many places and times the Powers have been exposed, and lifechanging advances have been made. The civil rights movement, the suffrage movement, and the environmental movement, are just a few we could name. Wink says our goal “must be the training of millions of non-violent activists” who follow in Jesus’ footsteps. The Church, like Jesus, is called to expose the real nature of the system that governs us. Expose its prejudice, violence, greed and lies, and ultimately redeem the Powers, so that they may serve God’s goals, rather than the twisted goals they serve now. I hadn’t heard of Walter Wink while he was alive. It was his death that made me aware of his work. In his dying I he has helped show me more clearly, and in a new way, the power which Christ has. A power that is ours, if we choose to use it. Mr Max Whitaker studies at Otago University and is a lay reader in the Diocese of Dunedin. mrmaxwhitaker@gmail.com

Anglican Taonga

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DOCTRINE

Richard O’Keefe wonders how the world might have changed if only our Church had spoken out against domestic violence – just a little bit sooner.

Domestic violence:

What if we’d said

ast year our Archbishops issued a statement on behalf of the house of bishops, which began: "This church is committed to pursuing and supporting an end to family violence." As a church, we’re recognising that the world-wide problem of domestic violence is in our own backyard too – and, that it’s up to us to speak out against it. The general public tend to think that this is a rather belated "me too." Many people tell me they’d assumed the church would take the beater’s side, rather than the victim’s. At least, they thought, that would be the more traditional church position. So I asked myself, “What if the church had long ago stood up to be counted as opposing domestic violence?” Imagine if hundreds of years ago, an Anglican priest had spoken up loudly against it? But surely one voice wouldn’t have been enough. So let’s imagine not a priest, but a bishop, and for argument’s sake a respected and influential one. How would he have written on such matters, in the harsh and male-dominated age of old? He’d have used some antique phrases to describe cases of abuse, “..how few matrimonies there are without chidings, brawling, taunting, ... bitter cursings, and

fightings” he might have said. He could have pointed out the misguided belief that male violence equals strength, "The common sort of people judge that [moderation is cowardice] and ... that it is a man's part to fume in anger, to fight with fist and staff." Imagine if our bishop had questioned the right of a man to subdue his wife, claiming that "to have a desire to rule ... is folly"? Or he might have opted for helpful advice, "The husband ought to ... use moderation and not tyranny." Or what if he simply let rip against wife-beating, and named it as both worthless and sinful? "He who will do all things with extremity and severity and always uses rigour in words and blows, what will that avail ...? Truly nothing, but that he thereby sets forward the devil's work..." He could pull in the heavyweights to underline his point, "... Saint Peter does not allow these things, but the devil desires them gladly." Then to make it crystal clear, "I mean not that a man should beat his wife, “GOD forbid that, “for that is the greatest shame that can be ... "Let there be no fault so grievous that it compels you to beat your wives." We won’t go so far as to make our bishop a feminist, though he might refer to ‘the laws which the Pagans have made’ that allow

‘No’ sooner? women to separate from violent husbands. But let’s be realistic. It would still have taken more than one person to have any real impact. So let’s say his sermon was published in a book, which was then sent out to all the churches in the realm. And add to it a monarch’s personal seal, a staunch one like Queen Elizabeth the first, who could promote the book and require it to be read. What if such a text was made an official Anglican doctrine that clergy would have to consent to as "godly and wholesome doctrine” ever thus? What difference would it have made, if only, ‘wife-beating is the devil's work, the greatest shame, don't do it’ had been official Anglican wisdom for centuries? Well, none whatsoever, it seems. Because of course we weren’t pretending. Bishop Jewel really did write that sermon, it really is in the Second Book of Homilies, and it really is commended and required in Article 35 of the 39 Articles of Religion. All our clergy

have assented to those at their ordination. And it’s been official Anglican doctrine for 400 years. Last year our three archbishops’ statement reaffirmed what this Church was teaching 400 years ago. If you're as surprised by this as I was, then ask: “How did this message get lost? What else is there in our history that is necessary for these times?” And what else in our tradition is being trumped by our culture? Dr Richard O’Keefe is an Anglican layman who lectures in computer science at Otago University. ok@cs.otago.ac.nz

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CHILDREN

Keeping the faith: Children’s ministries are getting better in so many ways. But the statistics for what happens next are not so encouraging. Between 60-90% of young people walk away from church; some from faith all together. So what are we doing wrong? Julie Hintz goes looking and finds we might be asking all the wrong questions.

only 30% of churched young people say they’ve spoken with a parent about faith, even once

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at home L

ook around and you’ll see that many of our churches are already prioritising youth and children’s ministries. Our children are actively involved in learning, with wonderful curriculums and passionate people who have a heart for children. There’s more understanding of faith development, exciting new ministry spaces and audio-visual resources. It’s possible our children’s ministry leaders are better trained and resourced now, than they’ve ever been. Yet in spite of all this, something’s still not working. Why is it we lose so many young adults at a time when they’re making crucial, lifechanging decisions?

Great is just not good enough There are 168 hours in a week. If we’re lucky, we have children at church for one of those hours. We need to make that an exceptional hour, but, no matter how great it is, it’s only one out of 168. Parents, on the other hand, have approximately 130 hours with their children each week.

So, if we’re looking for the best way to help our children grow in faith and be connected to a praying community, we’ll need to realise our children’s ministries aren’t the main stage for discipling our children. They’re only one part of a much bigger picture. What’s happening (or not happening) in our homes has a much greater impact on our children’s faith. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 spells out the task before us, Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. The instruction there is pretty clear. We need to love God and talk about God with our children. When we’re at home, out and about, before bed, early in the morning. In other words, all the time.

Growing up disciples And there’s something more. The primary place for discipleship and

Anglican Taonga

faith formation for children is the home. The most important teacher a child will have is a parent or other family member. Young people know this. When asked who or what has had the greatest influence on their faith, young people’s answers were clear. Approximately 80% named their mother as the top influence, and 60% named their father second. Working with parents can make a big difference! As church, we can’t be with families every day. We’re not the ones who are there when the children get up in the morning, sit down to their meals, walk to school, come home from sport practice, get ready for bed. We’re not in each home, but parents and caregivers are. Statistics tell us that only 27% of church going children experience prayer, Bible reading or devotions in their home and that includes saying grace at meals. Fewer than 30% of churched young people say they’ve spoken, even once, to a parent about God.

Why isn’t it happening? Why aren’t our wonderful, dedicated, loving and faith-filled parents doing more to build up faith in their children? Maybe somewhere along the line, we’ve helped parents (and extended family) believe that church professionals can do it better. As a society we use professionals all the time. Our hot water heater leaks; we call a plumber. Our cars make ridiculous noises; we go to a mechanic. If someone is sick or injured we go to a doctor. Our lives are full of outsourcing to professionals when we want something done well. So it’s hardly surprising that most parents doubt their ability when it comes to sharing the faith with their children. If parents aren’t confident, or they don’t know where to start, they can easily outsource their children’s faith development by sending them to the professionals to get the job done. Sunday School (and our other children’s ministries) are wonderful opportunities for church to speak into children’s lives, and for them to experience others who love and care for them with God’s love. But while it’s important and we need to make Sunday the best it can be, it can’t be the answer to helping our children live a faith-filled life. As church, we’ll have far greater impact if we equip and empower parents to share their faith by creating a Spirit-filled, Christ-

centred home. If our parents don’t know how to pray with their children, share Bible stories, or talk about their faith, then let’s do something about it. If you’re new to partnering with parents on faith at home, or looking for some fresh ideas, here are five good ways to start.

At the very beginning Start partnering with parents at baptism. We have wonderful opportunities to spend time with baptism families, but how much better it would be if we could continue that relationship. Just imagine if every family that came into our praying community for baptism had someone who kept in contact, phoned them once in a while, became part of their extended family, and sent a gift or card each baptism anniversary? The earlier we start our partnership with families, the more effective we can be!

Sunday School takeaways Have a “Take it Home” component for each weekly lesson. This might be as simple as 1-2 questions for parents to ask their children about the lesson, or a memory verse to practise at home. The “Take it Home” sheet could also be a game, craft activity, or recipe to share with parents. Anything that gives parents a way to get involved in their child’s faith journey will work.

Family time at church Plan a family devotions or craft afternoon at church where parents, grandparents and children can practice faith activities together. Provide devotional material and craft resources with clear and simple step by step instructions. Have families work around a table or in their own corner and make sure to include some all-together time and yummy food! The more opportunities we give for parents to practice faith with their children, the more likely they’ll be to continue those practices.

Families serving together Offer opportunities for families to serve together. Encourage families to run stalls together at the parish fair, such as the bouncy castle, food stalls or serving ice cream. Initiate fund-raising projects, like car washing and cake-baking, that families can do together.

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Create opportunities for families to help older or less-abled members of your community with their gardening or shopping. Contact retirement homes to see if residents would like families to visit.

Stories, prayers and games Offer families devotional materials and/or children’s Bibles. FaithBox is one resource that offers a fun, interactive weekly family devotion, which makes it easy for parents to have faith time with their children. Put together your own simple resource kits that parents can borrow – with a Bible story, props and activity sheets. Most children’s ministry leaders have plenty to spare. Prepare a booklet of simple prayers for different occasions eg. mealtimes, bedtimes. Parents who are unsure of praying with their children might find it easier if words are written out for them. Whatever we decide to do, let’s do something. Honouring the important role that God has given parents, let’s intentionally help them to share their faith at home. Empowering and resourcing parents to build a Christ-centered life at home, multiplies the work we do and helps build life-long disciples.

Faith at home websites Faith4 Families (Faith Box) http://www.faith4families.org/ Faith@Home (Mark Holmen) http://www.faithathome.com/ Orange (Reggie Joiner) http://whatisorange.org/ Candle Press (Episcopalian) http://www.candlepress.com/ (“To Go” resources) Faith Inkubators (Lutheran) http://www.faithink. com/ Note: Statistics here are drawn from US-based research. Ms Julie Hintz is the StraNdZ Children’s Ministry Enabler for the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, NZ & Polynesia julie@strandz.org.nz

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VISUAL ART

A palette for the Page 34

Anglican Taonga

Photos by Julia Thorne

Julanne Clarke-Morris learns there's a spiritual dimension to Don Binney's work that's often been overlooked

on Binney first surfaced over the horizon of New Zealand’s art world in the 1960s. He was a rising star. His paintings of native birds in flight and natural scenes became so well known, and so sought after, they almost visually define an era. His paintings sell for stratospheric sums, and they’re collected by museums and galleries up and down the country, including Te Papa Tongarewa – The Museum of New Zealand. All that puts Don Binney firmly in New Zealand art’s hall of fame. What’s less well known about him is that he’s Anglican. Not just nominally Anglican, but someone with a deep commitment to his Anglican faith. His passion for describing the natural world is well-known too. But what’s not so often talked about, is his respect for the indwelling spirit of God permeating all of creation. For Don, making art is a vocation. “Spiritual conviction and motivation guides you, persuades you to communicate. You are spiritually called – not on a hotline from the boss – it’s just something that moves you from within.” But art isn’t the centre of Don’s life; in fact, he calls his art a “by-product” of it. He wasn’t always on track to becoming an artist, either. Don’s father was the manager of a department store. His dad had had

visions of his son working for a shipping company, his mum had hoped he’d become a journalist – and Don himself, for a time, was even prepared to consider ordination in the Anglican Church. Decades later, he told the author Damien Skinner¹ that he was “still a bit of a Father Don really.” If you browse through the website photo gallery at St Alban’s Church on Auckland’s Dominion Road, it certainly looks that way. There’s Don standing to attention in the front pew, surrounded by a gaggle of servers, and their clouds of incense, for each high and holy festival in the 2012 calendar. Art school turned out to be quite the opposite of the bohemian den imagined by the frowning middle classes. Later Don recalled of the painting dept., it was ‘Frumpy. Wonderfully frumpy.’2 He quickly opted out of painting at Elam and went for the ’more natty and plausible’3 design department, where headstrong lecturers like Michael Nicholson and Robert Ellis were prepared to argue through new ideas with their students. There, he pored over piles of art magazines, taking tips from the best of modern design overseas. Don’s paintings of pipiwharauroa (shining cuckoo), made soon after he finished art school, set off on a different track to where painting was supposed to go. Don’s hills, beaches and bays didn’t

– the art of Don Binney

divine

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You are spiritually called – not on a hotline from the boss – it’s just something that moves you from within

dally over detail, but curved around one another in solid blocks of smoothly-toned colour, often outlined in black. The 1960s critics pounced on his work with enthusiasm. It was then too, that his signature native birds made their first and most psychedelic appearance. Pretty soon Charles Brasch had alerted the lively literary scene to Don’s work and launched it into critical acclaim. Before he knew it, Don’s painting was at the centre of claims for a new national artistic identity, based on indigenous themes, and illuminated by Aotearoa’s brilliant light. His native birds were quickly adopted as champions for the '60s writers’ search for a strong local identity. They boldly occupied Don’s canvasses, as confident ambassadors for their south Pacific home. But the birds weren’t there to satisfy the critics, nor did they appear out of the blue. By the time Don got to Elam, he’d been a member of King’s College ornithology club for long enough to have chalked up hours of bird watching. Time spent behind binoculars had schooled him in spotting the unique qualities of each native bird. Not only their physical features, but the way they perched, posed or moved through the air. Translating all of that onto canvas just made sense to Don. No surprise either, that his paintings show the birds in high-definition closeups. The birds were magnified in Don’s landscapes, just as he was used to seeing them through the lens.4 But then birds are not all that’s magnified in Don Binney’s work. There’s the echo of God’s presence that appears again and again. It’s a sense, says Don, of the spiritual power that exudes from the “symbiosis of all living things”. Don wasn’t always out on the Page 35

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VISUAL ART

You must give way and let the image speak to you. Let go of your ego and your own gambit of perception

dunes or crouching in the bird-watching hideout. He was also taking in the lessons of art history. Two artists who were fellow men of faith exerted an influence over his work. One was a German Lutheran painter, Caspar David Friedrich. His work showed Don that a painter could describe the world around him in a way that radiated with godly presence. “...His work was so gently imbued with a quiet personal tincture of spiritual power. He could paint natural subjects and make them look touched by the Almighty...” Don recalls. He was inspired too, by the watercolours and photographs of Rev John Kinder, Principal of St John’s Theological College in Auckland from 1872-80.

“...[Kinder’s work] always had an immense sensitivity, a sharpness....there was an acuity in the way he looked at this new land.... “His compositional order has the chime, the resonance of faith. “That same resonance that uttered prayer can possess.” In fact for Don, the act of painting can have a lot in common with prayer. But he offers that with a caution. “You’re getting into risky waters if you say that whenever an artist takes a pen to paper it’s a worshipful or sacred act.” For Don, there’s a point within a painting, just like in prayer, when you have to stop asking. When you must be ready to receive, that is, to allow room for the other voice. “ ... after a time, the painting assumes its own identity. “That’s where you wrestle, as in so many things, with doubts – when often the doubt is the cloudy spot in yourself and not out there. “It is prudent, almost prayerful to give the work its due, to listen carefully to what it’s telling you. “That kind of reciprocity, hearkens to the dialogue in some aspects of prayer. “You must give way and let the image

speak to you. Let go of your ego and your own gambit of perception.” For him there’s danger that the artist who fusses too much will squeeze out that room the Spirit needs to blow.

The conservationist With all that time spent carefully observing nature, it’s no wonder that Don’s “stitched his colours to the mast” as a conservationist. He knows, perhaps better than most, what natural treasures we could lose. That’s why, over time, he’s stood behind so many conservation campaigns. He’s a long–time supporter of Forest and Bird too. At times that’s meant helping the society with poster art for their Conservation Weeks. These days he stands up for one of his most-loved places, Hauturu, as patron of its Little Barrier Island Supporters Trust. And then of course, there’s the story his paintings will tell for themselves. “For the last 30 years of my life I’ve been working on images that I trust convey my sense of the sacredness of fresh water, clean land, guardian forest, pure air, sharp light – the very elements of the earth that we are all responsible to offer sustainable care.” *

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While Don’s universe doesn’t begin and end with art, he’s been a long-term contributor to the art world. Across three decades, he spent more than 18 years on staff at the Elam School of Fine Arts, where he mentored whole generations of young artist. From ‘75-79 he taught painting, was Head of Painting for most of the ‘80s, and returned as Head of School from ’94 -‘98. His contributions at Elam were counted in the “service to the arts”, which earned Don an OBE in 1995. Despite his long-standing there, the art world hasn’t always been good to Don. In the late ‘70s and into the ‘80s the art critics took off in search of the “internationalist” in art. With that, they turned against Don’s work, and shunned it as being too concerned with local or regional themes. In time, those critical fashions moved on again. And while he waited, Don was sustained by his faith, his family, and an artistic diversion into works on paper.

Anglican Taonga

These days both the birds and the paintings are long since back. All along, people have been largely absent in Don’s paintings. However buildings are often there. For Don, those buildings can speak volumes about our human condition, and sacred buildings, he says, can act as pointers to the human search for God. He prefers to let the buildings in his paintings speak for themselves. “I am inviting the viewer to share in my awe or joy or sense of mystery. It's

usually the last, sense of mystery” he says.4 These days Don’s iconic painting ‘Kotare over Ratana Church, Te Kao’ tells a story that’s close to his heart. Don’s colleague, journalist Dick Scott, bought the painting in 1964. Last year he told the NZ Herald it cost him 50 guineas and a copy of his latest book. That was a time he says, when artists and writers often supported each other by buying or trading their work. Last year that painting sold at auction

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for just over 300,000. And Dick Scott promptly gave its 270,000 in proceeds to the Christchurch earthquake relief fund. “I was so proud of the history of that painting” Don says. Notes: 1. Damien Skinner, Don Binney: Ngā Manu/ Ngā Motu – Birds/Islands, Auckland University Press, 2003, p. 21. 2-3. Ibid. p. 22 4. Ibid. p. 23 Julanne Clarke-Morris is editor of Anglican Taonga.

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POETRY

Words that shimmer

with soul

Trevor James encounters a searching soul in the work of Otago poet, Rhian Gallagher.

That is, after he's bumped into the first poet of the day.

She has the poet’s gift to make us see the ordinary as extraordinary

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t’s a winter morning in the Octagon. As I pause, about to cross over to the Cathedral, out of the grey light a dufflecoated figure nods and stops to confess ‘I’ve just had my first book of poems published’. That’s as good a start to the day as one might hope for. Congratulations are warmly given and as Marvin departs I count again the pleasures of living in Dunedin – adding to their number ‘meeting poets before Morning Prayer’. Marvin Hubbard’s collection ‘The Journey’ carries his passion for the environment, civil rights and justice, his intense awareness of political realities, his delight in the natural world and the connectedness of all things. But this is no ordinary collection. Its accompanying CD provides a guitar backing for the poet to read against which, far from being an extra, is essential to the text. Marvin’s strength is not in the density and subtlety of a poetry where the words must work alone, but rather in the style and voice of a folksinger. The union of audio and verse is well illustrated in ‘Quaker Meeting’ where the Shaker tune ‘Simple Gifts’, ‘lifts’ the poem as a prayer.

Present in meeting. Whole holy present. Here in meeting. Present to Thy light. Held in the arms of Thy love. Know, know that self which is both Thine and mine. Present to that self which demands nothing, desires to possess nothing. Present in Thy presence. My speech stammers softly, it hides, it breaks. Thy speech is clear, it is gathered and gathers. In meeting, I am gathered in your arms, in your womb. *

In the University Bookshop I chance upon Rhian Gallagher’s 2011 collection ‘Shift’. The freshness and visceral strength of her language is almost stunning. She has the poet’s gift to make us see the ordinary as extraordinary. And more than that, to allow words and senses to shimmer and extend, as if they possessed a metaphysical reach. In the poem entitled ‘Shore’ the solidity of the words draws us right down into her footsteps on the farm.

Anglican Taonga

Mud all the way, newly ploughed, my boots in the bog and glug of it. Headland under a blanket, a grey brittleness of stalk and stem, the dunes pulled in on themselves. She expresses the coastal landscape and the weather of the south with economy, revealing too its other nature – as an austere reality that can shape the soul. That reality drags us along and pulls to shreds our collective delusion that we manage and control our affairs. Here, even to stand is only by grace or sufferance. The southerly boots in, flanked by coal-dark cloud polar-particled, mean as. Every bit exposed goes freeze; dragged backward then at the turn pushed forward. All that stands is on lean as if on loan, it could blow the hell out of here as scheme, as plan in my head, blew apart. Winter’s wind-cleaning – marram grass, flax, lupin – all the living, down to the bone of another fresh start. This is poetry where there’s a constant play between place and the inner psychic journey of the poet. It is a spiritual quest that we observe as Gallagher relentlessly circles about the mystery of her own being. She invites the reader along for the trip and the arrangement of her collection into three parts provides us some signposts to mark the way. Gallagher traces her ‘beginnings’ and her extended ‘OE’ in the first section. In the second she devotes her writing to that most inward of journeys; an intimate relationship. In the final section she deals with her return to Aotearoa New Zealand after perhaps nearly two decades away. Among the most commonplace intrusions on our landscape are pine forests, which have a darkness of their own. In the opening poem of her collection, Gallagher shows her way of working with such specifics of place to test the metaphysics of the spirit. … Resin scent rinsed like a sharp shower, tingled long after. Not moving an inch, myself to myself become a mystery. (from Under the Pines) Similarly, a vaporetto (waterbus) ride on a Venetian canal is not simply the recollection of an exotic, but vapid experience. Instead, it is an opportunity for encounter, where, as she puts it ‘You knock with your life…’. You knock with your life on the weathered water-doors believing there’s an interior; almond-seller, glazier, merchants and masons. The goods you see from the vaporetti, crates of oranges, racks of ice on which the fish are laid. And from stern to starboard of a shallow-bottomed craft stacks of sewing machines inching under a bridge’s arc.

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All the visual stimulation of that richly coloured oddity – ‘crates of oranges’, ‘stacks of sewing machines’ – is almost too much – and she brings us to that questioning closure of the last four lines, where the tourist-poet admits, ‘you feel yourself being eluded again’. Is this the melancholy of the solitary traveller? Perhaps, but maybe it’s something more. Namely, that to ponder the overwhelming richness of the world, and its universe of barely imagined lives, is to nudge ajar the door of the soul and admit the anguish of finitude. Gallagher says ‘Return is an instinct’. In the final section of her poem ‘Shore’ we see the familiar southern coast confront the poet once more with its questions of place and spirit. She has come back to her beginnings and she addresses the familiar questions frankly, but tentatively, even as her fading steps in the shingle concede the tenuousness of her being. What is it that keeps requiting some untold thing in me? Shore. Sky. Sea. Whatever is said I will not be done with it - those prints I leave in the small of the shingle worked over, the bed laid open in which I am taken again. Belonging was always this, was always touch, touch and go. Gallagher’s urgent questioning on the coastal shingle-bed recalls Ursula Bethell’s ‘Winter 1941.Kaikoura’ where, shuddering at the ‘sucked stones hiss’ and undertow, Bethell concluded ‘here’s no hold, no harbour’. While Gallagher, less alarmed, does not (quite) voice that horror of displacement, she shares Bethell’s sense of the fragility of our existence and the questions that it raises. Her hopes are modest. Perhaps ‘Touch and go’ is all one may hope for, but ‘you knock with your life’ against such questions. Very Rev Dr Trevor James is Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, Dunedin. t.james@xtra.co.nz

Till somewhere on steps or in an island square you feel yourself being eluded again like a hand never made its touch or the trance that comes after grief. (Venice) The tourist questions and wonders at the life behind ‘the weathered water-doors.’ Page 39

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BOOKS

Love without bounds LEAVING ALEXANDRIA, A MEMOIR OF FAITH AND DOUBT BY RICHARD HOLLOWAY TEXT PUBLISHING, 2012 WWW.BOOKDEPOSITORY.CO.UK NZ$29 RICHARD RANDERSON

ichard Holloway’s latest book is a frank and challenging account of one man’s pilgrimage. Holloway was Bishop of Edinburgh and Scottish Episcopal Church Primus until he retired in 2000. Born into a working class environment in Alexandria, a small village north of Glasgow, he was sent at the age of 14 for education and priestly training with the Kelham fathers in England. There, he entered a religious pattern experienced by many in priestly training in the 1950s-60s. A community of young single men absorbed a message of lifelong dedication and singlehearted devotion, within a daily round of worship services, black cassocks, retreats and theological study. Inevitably, that had to be integrated into the realities of

life: ministry, family, and new ethical and doctrinal challenges. Such integration might have seemed a watering down, but it was an essential task of blending the ‘grand vision’ with life. At an early stage, Holloway went to work in Ghana, where, noting the teeming life and poverty of the streets, he began to experience "a world beyond religion". He returned not to Kelham, but Glasgow, where he began his ordained ministry among the tenements. He later served as a parish priest in Edinburgh, and in Boston, before becoming Bishop of Edinburgh. Holloway’s experience often led him to see the church’s ethical and doctrinal systems as too small to express the fullness of God’s love. Examples were prohibition on divorcees re-marrying, resistance to the ordination of women, or more recently, against those in same-sex relationships. ‘Leaving Alexandria’ becomes a symbol of moving beyond any system, creed or code, which stands in the way of God’s love. He writes: ‘We need institutions, but they are always

instrumental goods, goods for something else. That something else is human flourishing, which is an intrinsic good, good in itself.’ Holloway threads St Paul’s words to Timothy (2 Tim:4.10) throughout. ‘Demas, having loved the world, has deserted us’. He sees himself as Demas, whose love for the world led him into abandonment of so much which had nurtured him. His self-assessment is unjustly negative. To move into new paths at God’s call is the essence

of discipleship. Perhaps he should re-write his text: ‘Demas, having loved the world, has seen what love requires, and has moved beyond all human systems that constrict that love.’ I read the book in three days: it was not only my story but also the story of the church in pilgrimage these last 50 years. Bishop Richard Randerson is a writer on theology and social ethics. randersonjr@paradise.net.nz

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BOOKS

Baptism: raising the bar RADICAL THEOLOGY OF BAPTISM BY JENNY DAWSON JENNIFERDAWSON@XTRA.CO.NZ $25 CATE THORN

enny Dawson’s book seeks solutions to ‘deep concerns’ and ‘perceived divisions’ arising from the three-Tikanga constitution of this Church. She proposes a new look at baptismal theology as the basis for our Church’s structure and selfunderstanding. The book begins with a historic overview of baptismal understanding and practice over the last 20 centuries. Focus then shifts to Anglican baptismal practice in Aotearoa New Zealand, where Jenny argues liturgical changes have overemphasised the nature of baptism as ‘gift and inclusion.’ She claims baptism is better understood through the costly demands it places on individuals – to

live radical new lives in Christ. From the outset, the author frames baptismal theology as political. This interpretative lens directs all of the book’s investigation. She describes the church as: “… the people called to live with and in Christ, seeking justice for all humankind involving the transformation of both sinful individuals and unjust structures that limit human freedom.” The book’s central section contains a number of practical illustrations where Anglican individuals, movements or historic moments demonstrate a radical countercultural response to the call of baptism. The book concludes with a challenge to church leaders; to reassert baptism’s radical nature, and prioritise baptismal theology in ministry training and practice. It was a book I wrestled with, indicative perhaps, of the importance of the issues being raised. One thing I remain unsure of is the book’s

Taonga Crossword

by Agricola

Here, Agricola celebrates northern hemisphere saints. In the coming issues we’ll see a variety of themes closer to home. 1

S 11

T 23

(solution in Advent issue)

target audience. On the one hand, it addresses issues of identity within the church, reclaiming the radical nature of baptism as a source of identity. It challenges those who already belong by raising the bar of expectation. On the other hand, if embracing such a radical theology of baptism is required for those who are to be baptised, it might be better to address those who are not yet church members. As a person in ministry seeking to connect across the gap, between a minority of members and a majority of society, I did wonder about the effect of raising the bar. Rev Cate Thorn is Vicar of St John the Baptist Church, Northcote, Auckland. vicar@stjohnsnorthcote.org.nz

Across (Saints’ names) 2 The name of two saints, one Celtic, one Scandinavian (7) 7 A physician (4) 8 A saint in the stations of the cross (8) 9 The patron saint of telephones (5) 11 Jesus’ grandmother (4) 13 A Spanish mystic (6) 16 A Greek soldier (6) 20 An NT writer buried in Egypt (4) 23 A companion of Saint Paul (5) 24 Abbot of Monte Cassino (8) 25 The first New World saint canonized (4) 26 The patron saint of aid to the poor (7) Down (General knowledge) 1 An order of architecture (6) 2 Act (6) 3 Turn over (6) 4 Iron beam (6) 5 A sport (6) 6 Is deficient in (5) 10 A type of wood (4) 11 Alliance (4) 12 Pester (3) 14 Ovum (3) 15 Old stove (3) 17 Value (6) 18 Emanating from a common point (6) 19 A festival (6) 20 A deferential form of address (2, 4) 21 Withstand (6) 22 Pleasure seldom indulged (5) Page 41

Anglican Taonga

SPRING 2012

FILM

Hey man, don’t overdo it John Bluck checks out two comic book heroes on the silver screen and finds they’re not as super as they’re cracked up to be. the amazing SPider MAn The Dark Knight rises

ovie blockbusters don’t rate a lot of column inches on Taonga’s pages, even though they provide potent theology for mostly unchurched millions of viewers. But with the latest Spiderman and Batman epics breaking box office records, they demand our Anglican attention, though not necessarily our respect. The New Batman, or the “Dark Night Rises”, ( the pretentious title is a clue to what’s going on here) is especially silly. But you’d never guess that from the media hoopla it generates. Its popularity or notoriety is boosted by the mass murder in the Aurora Colorado cinema where the film was being shown, but any causal link between the Caped Crusader fantasy and the real life killings is tenuous indeed. Spiderman is less threatening and much more fun, in part because it’s less pretentious. Our red webbed hero wears spandex not black armour plating, and he swings through the air with the greatest of ease, with no Bat planes, bikes or tanks to help him along. In the film’s title, he is simply “Amazing”, with no Wagnerian overtones at all. Yet both films create fears from moral crusaders and thereby give these movies an importance they don’t deserve. (Warner Bros kept its box office figures secret after the Aurora massacre for fear of inflaming a public backlash.) Both movies are crammed full with topicality. They share a preoccupation with unhappy, even tormented Page 42

childhoods, mad scientists, out of control genetic engineering, chemical magic and secret antidotes, sinister multinational corporations, nuclear terrorists and civil unrest. Spiderman’s themes give preference to troubled teenagers in love, while Batman gets all apocalyptic with Arab Spring style uprisings and the end of the world. Well, in New York at least, which is not quite the same as it would be in Whangarei or Invercargill. And both movies have a religious agenda, Batman the more so. The Dark Knight is a saviour figure who saved Gotham City but couldn’t save himself, and now returns as a wounded healer to reclaim his true nature and overcome the forces of evil. The Dark Knight defeats the even darker demon Bane dressed as a convict. (New Zealand shares the honours with the USA for locking up its population in record numbers, so expect this description of evil to do well here.) Spiderman’s theology is slightly healthier. Romantic love wins out, the little guy beats the bully and gets the girl, and the demon is not a prisoner but a lizard. Batman ought to be terrifying, but it ends up being plain silly. Spiderman is silly too, but much more fun, and scarier too, in a Ghost Train sort of way. The real moral of these blockbusters is that pretension and self-importance doesn’t work if you’ve got a story to tell. The Batman movie in particular fails because it takes itself far too seriously. Bloated by huge budgets to play with and a track record of earlier successes to live up to, pumped up (by

Hollywood expectations) to believe that it’s much more than a comic book romp for kids. Batman tries to become a cinematic epic of high moral weight and value. And by over reaching, it falls on its face. Spiderman while equally ambitious, claims less and achieves more. The good news from these films is that nothing beats good story telling, whatever the budget and the scale of the telling. Both characters were more convincing on the comic book page than the big screen. What really counts in the end is the storyteller’s respect for the imagination and intelligence of the audience, the humanity of the characters, and the economy and clarity of the way the story is told. Modesty attracts and compels attention. Selfimportance and pretension bores and finally repels. The church is no more immune to these rules than Hollywood. We used to keep ourselves in check with festivals like the Feast of Fools, when we gave ourselves permission to laugh at ourselves and our rituals. We’re overdue for a return to such occasions, and Hollywood is too.. The Rt Rev John Bluck lives in Pakari, north of Auckland. JohnBluck@xtra.co.nz

Anglican Taonga

SPring 2012

F R O M T H E FA R S I D E

Imogen de la Bere laments a missed opportunity at the Queen’s Jubilee.

It should have been me...

have lived in the same street in St Albans, England for fifteen years. It’s a pleasant avenue, running up a hill, with a handsome prospect of the tree-furnished park on an adjacent hill. Winter, summer, autumn, spring, the colours and shapes of the trees vary in an unending slideshow of arboreal beauty. But it’s less pleasant socially. The street-dwellers are mostly retired, middle-class folk, who’ll keep you standing on the doorstep if you have occasion to knock on the door. There must be a few of those big-bonus city commuters, for which our city is famous, judging by the cars. Never meet them, of course. In fact, in fifteen years, I have been inside precisely three other houses in our street. Once, was because a neighbour’s alarm was going off in his absence, and a posse of us joined together to brave the burglar, only to find there wasn’t one. One neighbour I know fortuitously. He’s a lighting designer and has worked on several of my productions. And one neighbour I met wandering up the street very confusedly at 6:30 in the morning (I was just driving off for work), because she thought she had been burgled, and didn’t know where to turn. When Jubilee fever hit the nation, I

contemplated organising a street party with my lighting designer friend, so people on the street could get to know each other. Union flags had sprouted everywhere, and every shop, from the swankiest store to the humblest charity shop, had a red, white & blue themed window. I put up a big New Zealand flag, which flapped disconsolately in the rain, but elicited positive comments from passers-by. “She’s our Queen, too” I explained, and they seemed surprised. Even our Republic lodger did not raise any complaints. In the end, though, being acclimatised to English ways, we decided to go up to

London for the splendid river pageant, and then on holiday to Europe. So the opportunity to be neighbourly and build relationships was lost. I don’t think the English lack the ability to care and share. Our church community is as warm, care-full, inclusive and loving as a Christian community should be. But contrasting the behaviour of my street with the way New Zealanders routinely behave, I have come to the conclusion that neighbourliness, like courtesy, is contagious, and so is its reverse. Once the good contagion starts, everyone catches it, but the initial infection has to come from someone. It should have been me, because as a Christian and socialist, I believe passionately in community, and as a Kiwi, I take neighbourliness for granted. The analogy applies also to Christian love, which has to be caught, and once caught spreads almost without effort. It’s part of the same spectrum of love. Neighbourliness is next to godliness. I missed the God-given chance – OK, the Queen had a hand in it, – to spread the gospel in my lovely but reticent street. Will it ever come again? Please God. Imogen de La Bere is a Kiwi writer living in London. delberi@googlemail.com

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Page 43

Trying to decide whether to move to a Selwyn village?

T S leep on it

he last thing you should do is

Diane and John Alexander in their two-bedroom Paterson apartment at Selwyn Village

When Diane and John Alexander decided to move into a retirement village, they did all their homework and visited as many as they could. They settled on a new Paterson apartment in the popular Selwyn Village in Point Chevalier. And because they made their minds up so quickly, they secured a great apartment. With all whiteware and a covered underground carpark included in the price, our new apartments at Selwyn Village and Selwyn Heights (Hillsborough) make great financial sense. Villages in Point Chevalier, Hillsborough, Papakura, Whangarei, Hamilton and Cambridge. If you’re thinking about moving, don’t take too long to come and see us. Contact us for a visit today. Call 0800 4 SELWYN (0800 473 5996), email mail@selwyncare.org.nz, or visit www.selwyncare.org.nz

The Selwyn Foundation

One of New Zealand’s largest, not-for-profit providers of services to the over 65s, The Selwyn Foundation is a charitable trust with Christian values. It provides independent retirement living, residential care and community services for older people, and owns or manages a total of nine retirement sites across the upper North Island. All occupation licences for units at the villages will be secured by a first-ranking encumbrance over the village land in favour of the Statutory Supervisor.

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