Anglican Taonga Eastertide 2014

EASTERTIDE 2014 // No.45

Taonga ANGLICAN

PEOPLE

The river runs through it Helen-Ann Hartley's vision for Waikato

SOCIAL ACTION

Fire in his belly

How John Sentamu caught his passion to fight poverty

E D U C AT I O N

Camino de San Juan?

Karen Kemp's journey to St Johns

TE AUTE : : GENERAL SYNOD : : CENSUS : : FAMILY VIOLENCE

EASTERTIDE

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

YO U T H

Fiji youth

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take up their cross

he Suva-Ovalau Lotu1 Youth Mission Community took to the road this Lent with a heavy burden: the cross of Christ.

Their aim: to carry the cross, shoulder high, right round their archdeaconry – 64 kilometres in all.

The first leg of the 40-day journey began on Ash Wednesday, 5 March, headed by youth from St Lawrence’s Church, Nausori.

From there, the cross travelled to St. Christopher’s Church, Naulu, finally arriving at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Suva, on Palm Sunday, 13 April.

Along the way, the cross rested for three days with each of 14 Youth Lotu Mission communities, connected to local Anglican churches.

At every station, the cross became a centrepiece for prayer, worship and personal meditation.

Suva-Ovalau’s lay archdeacon, Sepiuta Hala’api’api, introduced the idea to Youth Coordinator Takape Kamunaga when she recounted the powerful experience of walking Way of the Cross in Jerusalem last year.

Takape and his team picked up the idea immediately, and he has clearly seen the spiritual benefits for many of the 300 young people who took part in the Fiji walk.

“This Lenten journey has challenged them with tough questions: Where am I in life? Am I on the right journey? Have I gone off on my own thing?”

Another question they asked was: “When a young person of another religion sees my life – is there a glitter in my life that stirs up their hearts to know the living God?” Takape has watched the journey deepen young people’s understanding of Christ’s

Will you fly with us?

We urgently need pilots, engineers and finance managers to join us in this life-saving work.

struggle to carry the cross.

For Jone Kiko from St John’s Wailoku, the physical effort was telling, “Walking with the cross wasn’t easy. We walked it to the next community … and I was imagining what Jesus went through on his way to Calvary.”

Samisoni Niumaoma of St Mark’s Newtown, found the hard labour revealing too.

“This teaches us how humble Christ was when he was carrying the cross for our sake."

Though the cross was carried much of the way, Anglican youth from St Athanasius in Tamavua–i-wai accompanied it across the river, on an outboard-motor boat before passing it on to friends at St. Michael & All Angels Church, Matata.

Takape says this first-ever Lenten walk was a rare opportunity to gather the archdeaconry youth in a common purpose.

For many, this was their first opportunity to talanoa (tell their stories), and get to know their peers from neighbouring parishes. As Eseta from St Mark’s observed, it also helped larger youth groups support the smaller ones with their energy and enthusiasm for the gospel. With its journey completed, the cross spent Holy Week with the Moana Children’s Ministry in Suva, while archdeaconry youth continued on to Easter camps.

– Julanne Clarke-Morris

www.maf.org.nz 0800 87 85 88

Notes: 1. Lotu translates as worship.

Where flying is not a luxury but a lifeline 0632-promise keepers 13.indd 1

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Youth Communities of Suva-Ovalau Archdeaconry that carried the cross were: St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Gabriel, St. Bartholomew, St. Christopher, St. Lawrence, St. John, St. Luke, St, Michael & All Angels, Holy Family, Holy Trinity, Holy Redeemer and St. Athanasius.

ANGLICAN TAONGA

Anglican Taonga EASTERTIDE 2014

Contents 06

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EASTERTIDE 2014

REGULAR 34 Children: Rosie Staite opens up all-age worship 36 Comment: Kelvin Wright meets soul-talk on the road 38 Environment: Phillip Donnell gets the Palm Sunday blues 42 Film: John Bluck applauds Hollywood’s show of conscience 46 The Far Side: Imogen de la Bere steers clear of Facebook piety

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 Contributing Editor/ Web Editor Brian Thomas Ph 03 351 4404 bjthomas@orcon.net.nz Design Marcus Thomas Design info@marcusthomas.co.nz Distribution Taonga Distribution, General Synod Office, PO Box 87 188, Meadowbank, Auckland 1742 Advertising Brian Watkins Ph 06 875-8488 Mob 021 072-9892 brian@grow.co.nz Media Officer Lloyd Ashton Ph 09 521-4439 021 348-470 mediaofficer@anglicanchurch.org.nz.

Features

04

Bishop outside the square What drives Helen-Ann Hartley?

06

Challenge from York Archbishop John Sentamu on tackling first-world poverty

10

General Synod 2014 Lloyd Ashton scans the big issues on this Church’s horizon

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Where are we?

Perspectives on the sexuality debate from Peter Carrell and Jim White

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Santiago to St John's Karen Kemp's journey

Cover: Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley in her Waikato Cathedral of St Peter.

Photo: Luci Harrison photography www.luci.co.nz

21

Ngā Puhi’s dance of joy What Maori were doing at Oihi on Christmas Day 1814

24

Digesting the census Peter Lineham unpacks 2013’s religious statistics

26

All eyes on Te Aute What future for iconic Maori Anglican schools?

28

Breaking the silence Weeding out abuse from the church family

30

Don’t get burnt by oil Rod Oram on cutting loose from fossil fuel investments

For the latest on the Anglican world, check out our website:

http://anglicantaonga.org.nz Page 3

ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

PEOPLE

A bishop outside the square Newly-ordained Bishop of Waikato, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley has hit the ground running since her installation in February, but she still finds time to delight in what lies ahead.

By God's grace, his new bishop was there to back him up...

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aikato has come up with plenty of surprises for Helen-Ann Hartley already, but none shakes her sense of being in exactly the right place.

“I am here because God has called me to be here, so that deep sense of call roots and anchors me each day,” she says.

Confident in that call, Bishop Helen-Ann is taking the lead, but listening and thinking – rather than sprinting out in front.

“I’m aware of my need to understand first, and from that, to learn.”

As the seventh Bishop of Waikato, Helen-Ann now works in partnership with Archbishop Philip Richardson, Bishop of Taranaki (as well as Archbishop of the NZ dioceses).

And she’s off to a great start, in his view.

He’s impressed by her vitality and energy in Waikato, while Taranaki people have quickly embraced her too.

Archbishop Philip also appreciates Helen-Ann’s discerning approach.

“She’s bringing a fresh set of eyes and asks perceptive and challenging questions of us and our priorities in mission.”

Bishop Kelvin Wright met Helen-Ann when she first came to St John’s, and the longer he’s known her, the more impressed he’s been by her intelligence and pastoral skills.

Bishop Kelvin has also heard reports of Helen-Ann’s supportive pastoral role in others’ lives, “One of these encounters was a very significant and highly charged bereavement,” he says, which Helen-Ann handled “with just the right mix of strength, tact and compassion.”

“Gentle and self effacing she may be,” writes Bishop Kelvin, “but she draws on deep wells of spiritual strength and she knows what she is doing.” *

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Before taking her seat in Waikato’s Cathedral of St Peter, Helen-Ann scouted out the borders of her new terrain, meeting and praying with communities on the diocesan boundaries.

That five-day pilgrimage gave her a first taste of the diverse scenery of ministry and life in the diocese. And being out of her cathedral city got Bishop Helen-Ann thinking – about the value of being at the edge.

“As Christians, we often feel on the edges of society – and responding to that can be a real challenge,” she says.

“But an opportunity lies there too – to reconnect people with the Gospel in a new way for their context.”

Helen-Ann suspects God’s kingdom might even grow faster on the periphery, “At the edges we can focus less on the church we’ve experienced before and more on the church we dream we can be.

“From there, we are called out into our communities afresh - learning from others - rather than thinking we have all the answers.”

Since she took up office, Bishop Helen-Ann’s life has quickened to a roaring pace.

But there are still moments when, as C.S. Lewis put it, she is ‘surprised by joy.’

Sometimes epiphany strikes even as she grapples with the toughest of ministry challenges. In fact, she hasn’t been the sort to shy from any impediment.

That “stick with it” attitude should come as no surprise, because she’s always been known to do whatever it takes.

Here’s a recent example, from Hamilton’s Southwell School.

After a full ceremonial welcome, Bishop Helen-Ann settled down to a morning alongside school chaplain Neale Troon.

But before his first hour of teaching was up, Neale received a devastating call.

A well-loved old-boy had died suddenly and his family was on the phone.

For Neale, that called for a “drop everything” response.

And by God’s grace, his new bishop was there to back him up.

“You’d better go,” she said, “I’ll look after your next class.”

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Left: Bishop Helen-Ann greets well-wishers at her consecration service.

Above: Helen-Ann out walking with husband Myles Hartley.

So, with a bundle of Year 4 resources tucked under her arm, Bishop Helen-Ann took on the saga of Cain and Abel – for a high-energy class of (slightly star-struck) 8 and 9 year olds. *

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A week later on April 1, Bishop Helen-Ann was offering opening prayers at St John’s Te Awamutu, during one of Waikato’s biggest events of the year: the 150th anniversary of the Battle of O-Ra-kau.

The story of that battle is written in blood, for as many as 150 Maori men and women died at the hands of 1400 government soldiers at O-Ra-kau redoubt.

Sixteen Pakeha soldiers also perished in the three-day battle.

Fitting, then, that Bishop Helen-Ann should stand alongside Bishop Ngarahu Katene, Pi hopa o Te Manawa o Te Wheke, as prayers were said for the lost, including a number now buried in the cemetery at St John’s.

Bishop Ngarahu spotted how Waikato’s new Pakeha bishop was moved by the event. And he appreciated her support at the memorial service that day.

For Te Manawa o Te Wheke, then, this new partnership with Waikato is already humming. Which pleases Bishop HelenAnn no end.

“In the Waikato there is a particular

sense of family, and of the importance of our bicultural relationships. I respond to that with great energy and joy.”

Bishop Victoria Matthews believes Helen-Ann's knowledge and passion for theology will be a real asset to the church.

That passion flared at last month’s Tikanga Youth Synod in Lower Hutt, as Helen-Ann jumped at the chance to help others “do theology.”

“It was a real delight,” she says, “to see young people grounding their faith in careful, thoughtful exploration and to see them bringing the resources of each tikanga into their deliberations.”

Bishop Helen-Ann and husband Myles are now settled in their new home in one of Hamilton’s fastest-growing suburbs. But it’s not always easy to keep a private life.

“There’s that moment when you’re chatting at the letterbox, and a neighbour asks, ‘So what do you do?’” says Helen-Ann. “But when I tell them, they’re usually pretty chuffed to think there’s a bishop living on the same street.”

– Julanne Clarke-Morris Reference: Historic information sourced from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/war-in-waikato/ battle-of-orakau.

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

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POVERTY

How on earth do you turn this When it comes to poverty, the Archbishop of York doesn’t miss a beat.

He’s spoken, with passion, about that subject in the House of Lords, and he’s written about it in the British national press.

“To me, that was just a shocker. I hadn’t been raised like that.”

He chairs Britain’s Living Wage Commission, and at last year’s Church of England General Synod he gave a withering address attacking the “new and terrible” blight of food poverty that was spreading “in a land of plenty”.

“How can it be”, he asked then, “that last year more than 27,000 people

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were diagnosed as suffering from malnutrition in the city of Leeds – not in Lesotho, not Liberia, not Lusaka – but Leeds?”

Dr Sentamu was in New Zealand on sabbatical in March, and he took his crusade against poverty and starvation wages – wherever in the world they occur – to a public forum at Otago University. 1 The day after that seminar, he sat down with Lloyd Ashton, who began by asking him how the fire burning in his bones on poverty was lit:

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rchbishop John Sentamu grew up in the village of Masooli (that’s maize in the Luganda language) 10 miles outside Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.

He’s the sixth of 13 kids, his dad was the headmaster of the local primary school, and the family grew all their own crops, chickens, cows and goats.

There was always enough to feed that big crew, too.

In fact, Archbishop John’s mother, Ruth, always made a point of cooking more than her own brood could eat.

She was always expecting guests to turn up – guests who wouldn’t otherwise have a square meal that evening.

She was right, too. Word got around.

Night after night, and especially during tough times, the hungry would come.

So that’s one kind of poverty, and young John Sentamu knew all about that. He knew too, in his bones, that you had to do something about it.

But there’s another, deeper level of poverty that young John Sentamu had no clue about.

A poverty that breeds despair and dysfunction.

A poverty that he hadn’t experienced in the village of Masooli.

And he had to come to London to taste that.

around? *

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We’ll breeze through the well-known stuff about how Dr Sentamu came to leave Uganda: how he’d trained as lawyer, rose through the legal ranks there, became a High Court Advocate – and how, three weeks after he’d married, he was thrown into jail in 1974 for bringing down a prison sentence on Idi Amin’s cousin.

John Sentamu had languished in jail for 90 days, and been treated like a human football by the goons who had the run of that place – before he and his wife Margaret were able to flee to the UK, where he gained his MA then his doctorate in theology at Cambridge.

He was doing just fine in Cambridge – “it was lovely, wonderful, just like St Margaret’s College here in Dunedin”

– but then he had an abrupt awakening.

He was sent to work as a chaplain at a prison for young offenders in South London, and he encountered behaviours and attitudes there that he just hadn’t struck before.

He was then made the Vicar of Tulse Hill, near Brixton. And it was on the Tulse Hill Estate that he saw real poverty for the first time.

Up close and personal.

The Tulse Hill Estate was a lawless place when he arrived in 1983. A grim council housing estate where a gang was terrorizing the residents, where shootings and violent crime were rampant, which stank of urine – and which was a spawning ground for the prison where he’d just been working.

Archbishop John recalls one of the first families he met in those squalid council flats.

Dad worked – but he was one of the “working poor.” He didn’t earn enough to make ends meet. And the mum was living with their four little children in this misery: “Their place,” he recalls, “was just damp. Absolutely damp. And it smelled awful, terrible.

“The council couldn’t fix it, they couldn’t fix it – I remember visiting in 1983, sitting on a settee, and the mother had put a clean sheet on top of that settee.

“And I sat on this settee...

“I could feel the urine rising. I could feel myself getting wet.

“To me, that was just a shocker. I hadn’t been raised like that.

“The mother gave me a cup of tea, and they had a dog – and you could see the hairs of the dog in the tea.

“Of course, you can’t but drink the tea, because if you don’t, that would be a slight on their hospitality.

“And I said to myself: How on earth do you turn this around?”

So: in the 14 years that the Rev John Sentamu was Vicar of Tulse Hill, that was when he learned about another level of poverty.

He was given a broad education, too.

In the mid-1980s, for example, he became an advisor to the commission which, on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury, produced a controversial 1985 report called Faith in the City, that looked at what it quaintly called: “urban priority areas.”

“We used to visit places,” Archbishop

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Left and above: Dr Sentamu at St Margaret’s College, where he spoke at the “Poverty: global and local” seminar held in March.

John recalls, “where the poverty was just as William Temple had described it: “Visible. Smellable. And audible.” *

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So how did the Rev John Sentamu turn things around on the Tulse Hill Estate?

By galvanising the local church, that’s how.

“When I became the vicar of Holy Trinity, Tulse Hill, I said to the members of the congregation that there will be a lot of single parents, and a lot of dysfunctional families who will come to church.

“Some of them would not have grandparents. Or any other support mechanisms – and we, the church, have got to be the grandparents.

“We’ve got to take on these children.

“And what was interesting was that our Sunday School grew to have about 150 children in it. From nothing.

“And then we had a big rebuilding project, and whenever we baptised a child – most of them were from single parents – a member of the church took on the role of looking after that family.

“It was really the church becoming like a mother and a dad to a lot of people.”

“And that care for the community really turned the community around.

“People on the Estate began to say: “You know, I think the church is concerned for us. I think the church cares about us.”

“If you went there today, you’d be amazed by the turn-around.” *

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And where that family with the wet settee and the dog-hair tea was concerned?

Things changed there, too.

First, the Vicar of Tulse Hill got on the Page 7

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POVERTY

The Archbishop of York in full cry at the “Poverty: global and local” seminar (above) and with Mrs Margaret Sentamu in the grounds of St Margaret’s College.

council’s case about the repairs needed to make that flat fit for human beings. He stayed on the council’s case, too, till the place was habitable.

He also made sure that there were parish folk ready and willing to help that mum do a better job of looking after her kids.

Then, when those kids reached school age, places were found for them at the local C of E primary school. And that, by the way, was becoming a sought-after school.

Getting the kids into good patterns meant the Vicar of Tulse Hill never really had a decent lie-in. He often had to turn up on that family’s doorstep at the crack of dawn to make sure the kids were awake, and getting ready to go to school.

“The establishment of the church here… was very ethical investment.”

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“For the first couple of years,” recalls Archbishop John, “it wasn’t an easy battle.

“But that house was turned around. It became a functional home.

“And the kids achieved quite a lot.”

Indeed, they did.

One day in 2006 – he was the Archbishop of York by this time – while he was conducting a mission in Oxford, he bumped into Kirsty, who was the eldest of the girls in that struggling family.

She’d transcended her rough beginnings. Because there she was, 23 years after he’d got involved with her family, doing her PhD in physics at Balliol College.

In economic terms, Kirsty takes you straight to the nub of Archbishop John’s argument.

Grinding poverty diminishes people, strips away their dignity – and leads them to dysfunction.

Yet when the poor “are given dignity,” he says, “what they then put back is just incredible.” *

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On the moral and ethical side, of course, the Archbishop just has no doubts at all: “You read the gospels” – and he stabs the table with his forefinger here to underline his fervour – “and you find Jesus saying, in Luke chapter 4; ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, to set at

liberty those who are oppressed…’

“I mean, the entire scripture, really, the Old Testament and the New Testament, has this sense of bias to the poor. It’s this preferential option for the poor, all the time.”

In his presidential address to the 2010 Church of England General Synod, Archbishop John had argued that the church of Jesus Christ “as the body of the crucified and ascended Lord is surely a church of the poor – because Christ was born in poverty.”

“He came in poverty in order to include everybody.

“And in Philippians 2, there is this wonderful thing – Jesus Christ was in the image of God, but decided not to grasp at it, but laid it aside and emptied himself… (gave up his divine privileges and took on the status of a slave, became human.)

“Now God doesn’t, it seems to me, applaud what I call terrible poverty.

Because he has created a world that is so beautiful. So wonderful.

“And in the Genesis story, we see that paradise is a wonderful place. So God wanted people to live well – but I think that God wanted people to live simply. In simplicity of life.”

1. http://www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/News/TikangaPakeha/scandal

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Servants of a better future

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hat treasure does the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia have to share with the wider Communion?

Sacrifice. Sacrifice for a people as yet unborn.

That’s how the Archbishop of York sees it, anyhow.

And because Dr Sentamu has been to New Zealand three times in the last four years, he’s well placed to make an observation about us.

He detects a thread of sacrifice woven into this church by our first bishop, George Augustus Selwyn, by successive missionaries and by the martyred John Coleridge Patteson, that gives us a rich legacy to draw upon – and which inspires others.

“Those were people who really were willing to lay their lives on the line for the sake of the Good News of Jesus.

“And if you get back into the tradition, into the history here, there really is an element of sacrifice.

“What amazes me is the way Selwyn bought a lot of land.

“He wasn’t just acquiring land (for the church’s needs then) – he bought it for the future, for children yet unborn. For people not yet Christian.

“So I just want to say to the church here as it remembers 200 years: Please celebrate this amazing foresight of not mortgaging the future.

“Of building this intergenerational equity. Because Selwyn did not leave the

church in debt.

“He invested very, very wisely. There was a sense in which he believed that every part of New Zealand would know the gospel of Jesus.

“And it seems to me that when we’re willing to become servants of a much better future… (that’s marvellous.)

“And it’s a characteristic of many places that I’ve visited here, really. That still needs to be rekindled.

“Of course, there were some terrible things that happened here. Where haven’t such things happened, sadly?

“But the establishment of the church here… that was very ethical investment.” *

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One of the reasons why Dr Sentamu appreciates Selwyn is because of his own grandfather, Jeremiah Gyagenda.

He was a landowner in Uganda. In fact, he had vast land holdings.

But when Jeremiah Gyagenda became a Christian, he gave most of his land away to the church, and he went out as a missionary.

He was one of four Ugandan missionaries sent to Boga, in what is now Zaire.

Not one of those four men returned from there. They all died of Ebola. They were all victims of haemorrhagic fever.

“So I never knew my grandfather,” Archbishop Sentamu recalls. “Apart from people saying: ‘That was his land. That, too, was his land. And that was his land.’ ” And on that land, which had been his

birth right, churches were now built.

After Jeremiah had died, news began to filter back to Uganda of the churches those four missionaries had planted before they’d succumbed.

They’d toiled in the Congo for two years before they died, and the Archbishop’s grandfather hadn’t just planted churches in the Congo, either.

“Recently, I went to the Diocese of Butere, which is in the eastern part of Kenya.

“They were celebrating 100 years of the gospel coming to that part of the country – and my grandfather, with three other people, had started the church there.”

When Jeremiah Gyagenda died, he left a 12-year old boy fatherless.

So a missionary bishop called Alfred Tucker had stepped in and made sure that boy was educated.

And when that boy grew to be a man, and the principal of Masooli school (as well as reader and regular preacher at the local church) he named his sixth child: John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu.

Who is better known to us, of course, as: Archbishop John Sentamu.

Archbishop John has another memory of the legacy his grandfather’s sacrifice left: “My dad tells me that as he was dying, my grandfather wrote in his diary: ‘Dear God, when my son grows up and has children, may they all be missionaries.’

“And nine of us, in one guise or another, are preachers.

“So my grandfather’s prayer really was heard.”

A reporter’s reflection

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e’ve talked for 30 minutes, sitting at right angles to one another across the corner of a big polished table at St Margaret’s College.

Time’s virtually up.

I see that the archbishop is wearing a simple wooden pectoral cross. Just varnished wood, on which is written an inscription in tiny black hand writing.

One last question, then: What does that inscription say?

“Peace will flower when love and justice pervade our environment.

“Oscar A Romero “Archbishop “El Salvador “London. 25-9-96.”

“That cross (which, on its flip side, is painted with a crucified Christ) was given to me when I became a bishop by a religious community from San Salvador.”

“I had gone there four days after Oscar Romero had been shot dead, and

I’d kept in touch with that community.

I support them.

“So when I became a bishop in 1996, the cross was brought and given to me by members of his San Salvadorean community. I treasure it.”

And somehow that simple cross, with that message, seemed to sum up everything I’d been hearing in Dunedin.

– Lloyd Ashton

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H Ī N O TA W H Ā N U I

The big issues facing synod Lloyd Ashton has been browsing through the order paper for the upcoming General Synod – and he’s realised there are one or two things up for debate… that have more than the usual significance.

In some ways, this is about unfinished business.

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t last, it’s upon us – the 2014 General Synod which must make decisions on one of the most highly charged issues to come before the church in the

last 25 years.

And no, we’re not talking here about the blessing of same-sex relationships, or the ordination of Anglicans living in those relationships.

This is not say that those deliberations aren’t vital.

Because if this General Synod makes any change to its rules about marriage and ordination, there are some who’ve already made it plain – “we’re out of here,” they say.

And there are others who’ve said: "Unless there’s change – we’re out of here."

So that’s big.

But the thing is, while these same-sex issues are ‘lines in the sand’ for some within Tikanga Pakeha – they’re just not that big within Tikanga Maori or Tikanga Polynesia.

But there are two motions on the General Synod agenda that do actually have the potential to finish the 3Tikanga church.

The first proposes a constitutional amendment that the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia become “a two-Tikanga Church for Maori and Pakeha…1”

And the second proposes that the constitution acknowledge the right of Maori “to exercise tino rangatiratanga” – absolute sovereignty – over taonga, as guaranteed in Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi. (It links that with a restatement of the Anglican mark of mission about unjust structures.2) The questions raised by these motions (both of which will be moved by Selwyn Parata, and seconded by Te Hope Hakaraia) are profound.

So too are the implications. Not least of which would be the need, if they were passed, for a wholesale rewriting of the church’s constitution and canons.

The key question, of course, is this: Which takes precedence?

The Treaty of Waitangi?

Or Te Pouhere, the church constitution?

Because the bottom line for many within Tikanga Maori is that the Treaty trumps everything.

And they want a church structure – certainly within Aotearoa – that reflects the Treaty.

In some ways, this is about unfinished business. Because back in 1990, Maori wanted a two-tikanga church, as per the treaty: Two parties, and two parties only.

But because the 1990 General Synod was held in Fiji, some Maori feel they came

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Left: Professor Whatarangi Winiata, speaking from the floor at Runanganui. Snapshot: Selwyn Parata, at last November’s Runanganui in Gisborne.

under extra pressure to yield on the three tikanga front.

Tikanga Maori see too, that 2014 is a crucial year for the church and the treaty.

It’s the bicentenary of the church – and the church was the midwife of the treaty.

The primary architect of the two motions is Professor Whatarangi Winiata.

He was a member of the bicultural commission that worked towards the revision of the constitution; the driving force behind a number of key treaty claims; the founding father of Te Wananga o Raukawa, the first Maori ‘university’ at Otaki; and the founding president of The Maori Party.

He’s never wavered. He’s been consistent and persistent in his efforts to have the Treaty embedded in the constitution of the Anglican Church and into a constitution for Aotearoa New Zealand itself.

For him, that’s always been a matter of principle.

But of course principles are there to give effect, further down the track, to policy.

So what are the taonga in these motions that Maori are wanting to exercise tino rangatiratanga over?

There’s no doubt that many within Tikanga Maori feel that when it comes to the distribution of the church’s resources, they’ve always had the dirty end of the stick.

Post 1992, for instance, they ended up

with churches and buildings that were often liabilities, rather than assets – and they’ve never had the means to pay stipends to more than handful of their clergy.

And they’re fed up, too, with going cap-in-hand for grants – when they feel that the Treaty guaranteed them absolute rights to their own taonga anyway.

Their plea to the 2012 General Synod to support requests to Te Kotahitanga and the St John’s College Trust to rescue the two embattled Hawkes’ Bay Maori boarding schools (which was vetoed by Tikanga Pakeha anyway) was a case in point.

In many ways, then, this is another approach to what was also sought by Professor Winiata during the 2012 General Synod: tino rangatiratanga over 50% percent of the putea of the church, the $300 million St John’s College Trust Fund. *

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If these two motions were passed, Tikanga Polynesia would lose their say over how the St John’s College Trust Funds are invested or distributed.

They’d presumably have to depend on coming to an arrangement with the twotikanga church for future funding.

So how will they respond at the General Synod?

Will they respond magnanimously, as they did during the 2012 General Synod debate about Te Aute, and say, in effect: “If that’s what you want Tikanga Maori – we

How will they react?

Would they be willing to exercise the power of veto again?

support you. Here’s our share.”

Or would they decide there’s no future for them in such a drastically reconfigured province?

And what about Tikanga Pakeha?

How will they react? Would Tikanga Pakeha be willing to exercise the power of veto again?

Well, on one reading, they might well be.

Last year, Archbishop Philip Richardson spoke of a coming-of-age that he sensed within his own tikanga: a realisation that, when it comes to thrashing out tikanga relations, being apologetic for your existence helps nobody.

So some within Tikanga Pakeha could be quite outspoken in their rejection of this motion – and be willing to let the chips fall where they may. *

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Don’t just cross the Strait.

Cruise it.

interislander.co.nz

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

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H Ī N O TA W H Ā N U I

Above: Te Aute Trust Board trustees, past and present, hammer out an agreement at the 2013 Runanganui. Above right: Bishop John Gray, seen here at last year’s Anglican Indigenous Network meeting in Christchurch, will be one of the key speakers in favour of a constitutional overhaul.

The thing about the Treaty versus Constitution debate, of course, is that their boundaries are different.

So while The Treaty of Waitangi is of utmost relevance to Aotearoa New Zealand – it has no such relevance within the other sovereign nations (Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa) where this church has a presence.

One possibility, therefore, would be for the General Synod to contemplate revised constitutional arrangements whereby Anglicans in Aotearoa New Zealand are members of a two-tikanga church – but that a third tikanga comes into play in Polynesia.

Then there’s the question of whether the St John’s College Trust putea could be considered as a taonga over which tino rangatiratanga can be exercised anyway.

Maybe not – because The St John’s College Trust funds have been built from the proceeds of land purchased in fair sale, and the funds are locked in a trust established for specific purposes.

There is, however, another argument which might be sustainable: Article 3C of the original St John’s College Trust Deed talked about the proceeds of the trust being used to pay for “the education of the children of both races…”

When it spelled out both races it clearly

meant the children of Maori and the settlers.

In other words, there’s an argument here to say that the St John’s College Trust was set up to be an AotearoaNew Zealand based trust, and Pasefika shouldn’t have a share in that. *

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“At Christ’s College they want you to carry on with things you’re good at and try other things as well.”

Enrol now for 2015 and beyond: Please contact our Registrar on 03 364 6836 or registrar@christscollege.com

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There remain many twists to this tale.

One is that the Professor Winiata won’t be at the synod to advocate for these motions. He’s been a member of the General Synod for 34 years – but this year, he’s caring for his wife, Francie, who is unwell.

ANGLICAN TAONGA

Bishops Muru Walters and Te Kitohi Pikaahu at General Synod 2012, with Te Hope Hakaraia the next row back.

The other is that one of the kaupapa tuku iho – the cardinal, inherited values – within Te Ao Maori is manaakitanga.

The obligation laid upon hosts to provide mana-enhancing hospitality to manuhiri¸ to guests, to visitors, is paramount.

And because this General Synod is being held at Waitangi – Bishop Kito Pikaahu, Te Pi hopa o te Tai Tokerau, is the principal host.

Bishop Kito takes his hosting responsibilities seriously. At Waitangi, he’ll insist that all his manuhiri are made to feel welcome, safe and secure.

Including – and perhaps especially, in this case – Tikanga Polynesia. His insistence on manaakitanga may well extend to the way these motions are dealt with, too.

Furthermore, Bishop Kito is a theologian. He will have subjected these two motions to theological scrutiny.

And if he thinks they have deficiencies on that front, he’ll have pointed those deficiencies out. *

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How things can change: As we noted earlier, Tikanga Pakeha vetoed a specific motion asking for further St John’s College Trust funds for the Te Aute Trust Board at the 2012 General Synod.

Yet less than two years later, the St John’s College Trust Board has committed itself to pumping $14million into dealing to the debts hanging over Te Aute College and Hukarere Girls College, and making substantial improvements to both schools.

Tikanga Pakeha members of synod might well say: “We thought we’d made our views abundantly clear. So how come

you’ve gone in the opposite direction?”

Part of the answer is that the General Synod could not dictate a course of action to both Te Kotahitanga (TK) and the St John’s College Trust Board (SJCTB). It can only recommend.

Both the members of TK and the trustees of the SJCTB are elected by the General Synod – and charged by them to execute their duties as they think best, within the terms of their respective canon and trust deed.

Part of the answer, too, lies in the history of the Te Aute debate.

When Archbishop David Moxon declared at the 2012 General Synod that the motion for further support for Te Aute had been lost (‘Aroha mai’ he’d said then: ‘I’m sorry’) – he’d spelled out that Tikanga Maori were still free to apply directly to Te Kotahitanga for the funds they were seeking.

They did so, through Bishop John Gray – and TK recommended to the SJCTB that it pay the Te Aute Trust Board (TATB) debt.

The SJCTB said that it couldn’t do that.

But with the blessing of the General Synod Standing Committee, Runanga Whaiti (the standing committee of Te Pihopatanga) and of Te Runanganui, it forged a rescue package of its own – which essentially involved it becoming the new TATB, and taking over the assets of the schools so that they became, for the time being, the property of the SJCTB. So TK and SJCTB have acted properly.

Still, the General Synod might have something to say about that chain of events. *

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The presenting issue at this General Synod, of course, is the same sex stuff.

What decisions will the General Synod take in the wake of the Ma Whea?

Commission report?

That long-awaited report was released on April 4, and it lists 10 options for the General Synod to debate.

Those options range from a more conservative statement about who can be blessed and ordained (ie a firmer statement than the canons now prescribe) through various degrees of change and liberalisation.

We’re not going to deal with the Ma Whea? material further here – because their report (which includes the Doctrine Commission report) is extensively described on the Taonga website: http:// www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/News/

EASTERTIDE 2014

The presenting issue, of course, is the same-sex stuff.

Common-Life/MA-WHEA-REPORTRELEASED We’ll just describe here how the same sex debate will be handled when it comes to the floor of the General Synod on Monday, May 12.

The Ma Whea Commission will be present that day. They will describe the process they followed, and summarise the contents of their report.

The synod will then divide into episcopal units to discuss it, before returning to plenary session. During the course of the day the synod is likely to divide again by tikanga and by house so that it can consider the options from different angles.

It’s hoped that options will be progressively eliminated, so that by 3pm (when the debate is scheduled to end) the synod will have settled on one option.

Either then, or later in the week, the synod will consider either a motion or legislation to enact that option.

And if the chosen pathway involves liberalisation, it’s likely that will set in train a two-year process – with confirmation to come at the 2016 General Synod.

By Lloyd Ashton

1. “That the constitution… be amended to provide for: a. a two-Tikanga Church for Maori and Pakeha (being all other citizens in Aotearoa New Zealand) within which there are no impediments to the exercise of tino rangatiratanga by Maori over taonga, and b. appropriate relationships between Maori and Pakeha on the one hand and Pasefika on the other.

2. The specific part of that motion reads: That te Hinota Whanui/the General Synod: a. acknowledge in its constitution the right of whanau, hapu, iwi and Maori to exercise tino rangatiratanga over taonga as guaranteed in Article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, and b. undertakes to confront unjust structures that impede the exercise of these rights.

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

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SEXUALITY DIALOGUE

As Peter Carrell reads it, the theological and legal waters around same-sex blessings are still too murky to warrant immediate change.

Time to get

serious

We are in a fine old mess” could summarise our church’s position on homosexuality, especially from a Tikanga Pakeha perspective. We also happen to be running out of time, because in just a few weeks General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui will be asked to consider radical change.

Some in the church believe the smartest decision at synod would be to forgo any change in favour of further study and reflection (as proposed by Christchurch diocesan synod).

Why contemplate delay? Well, through decades of talk with little action, the church has persistently failed to agree on what to do about same-sex partnerships.

Neither position – banning or blessing – has mustered the overwhelming majority that would permit our church to make a definitive decision and emerge relatively intact.

By contrast, we proceeded with both the ordination of women and radical change to our constitution with few departures.

The dilemma we face, especially in Tikanga Pakeha with its variations among the seven dioceses, is whether to make a decision despite the consequences.

These include the possible departure of clergy, laity and parishes.

And even those who want a definitive decision, face the question of what precisely that decision should be.

Canonical grenade Our dilemma has been heightened by the canonical hand grenade thrown into our midst by Parliament’s decision to legalise same-sex marriage.

Recent changes to the marriage act mean that a minister can refuse to conduct a same-sex wedding without facing discrimination. That relies, however, on Page 14

the minister’s church defining marriage to exclude same-sex couples.

This is a particular challenge for Anglicans, historically prone to finding the middle ground and allowing ministers to hold diverse beliefs.

So, what would happen if our priests and bishops were permitted to conduct same-sex weddings? Would those clergy who are neither inclined to leave the church, nor to conduct such weddings, live in fear of facing a tribunal charged with discrimination?

More to the point: do we even wish to place our ministers in such a position?

Could we settle for permitting blessings of relationships that do not conform to our doctrine of marriage?

The lack of clear answers to any of these questions makes another period of study and reflection beyond General Synod look quite attractive.

But perhaps Parliament has done us a favour – by giving us a sharp boundary to current conversations and future dialogue.

Some would argue that we were complacent in believing a ‘let’s agree to disagree’ approach would suffice.

Parliament’s decision means we now need to get serious and nut out whether Scripture and Anglican tradition permit an evolution of the doctrine of marriage to include same-sex couples.

And if not marriage, what about the option of ‘blessing’?

I sense a growing pressure in our church to permit at least those willing clergy to bless relationships of faithful, permanent, stable, loving, same-sex partnerships.

But our historical understanding of marriage and blessing, shaped by Scripture and refined in living tradition, is that the onus of proof that God wills change, rests with those seeking change.

That understanding reflects a significant majority in the wider Communion who are rapidly distancing themselves, even to the point of formal separation, from those Anglicans making changes or even contemplating changes to marriage and blessing.

My own conclusion, then, is that we are not ready to change the status quo.

We have done a lot of work, through hermeneutical hui, synods and general synods, but it has not yet brought us to the point where we see clearly the way ahead.

If we want to be a church faithful to God, inclusive of theological diversity and the desires of varying relationships for ritual recognition, then I vote for further study and reflection.

The Rev Dr Peter Carrell is Director of Education and Director of Theology House in the Diocese of Christchurch. director@theologyhouse.ac.nz Note: To assist with study and reflection, this site with many links to other sites may be useful: http://hermdownunder.blogspot.co.nz/2014/02/onestop-link-shop-re-relevant-links.html

ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

SEXUALITY DIALOGUE

The best families decide Jim White wonders whether it’s time to change course for a new way to stay together on the road.

F

irst, this article does not contain all of my personal hopes on human sexuality. As a bishop, I offer only my realistic hopes of what’s possible for the household now.

Second, I resist any suggestion that we are in “a mess.”

James Harding accurately described our situation at the final Hermeneutics Hui in Auckland when he wrote: “[T]he problem is that Christians, in good faith, are disagreeing over the validity of others’ lives and loves, in ways that gravely threaten our ability to recognize one another as fellow members of the household of God.” I don’t wish to dismiss our disagreements or differences, because they can be ‘grave’. But I also don’t want our situation to be framed too negatively.

This is not a false optimism. As Christians we disagree about other profound matters – the use of lethal force against human beings, for instance, infant baptism, and even the filioque clause.

But none of those disagreements warrants the prophesies of doom and destruction for the church that sexuality

arguments engender.

By holding just a little more lightly to the debate, then, we might be able to live with our differences – because they do matter to us and are not going away anytime soon.

I wonder, too, what might change if we set our finite differences against the infinite mercy of God, in whom we live and move and have our being.

At the closing Hermeneutics Hui, I observed that the tools of biblical exegesis and interpretation have so far failed to unlock a way ahead together.

As Richard Hays says in his introduction to The Moral Vision of the New Testament: “As Oliver O’Donovan once remarked: ‘Interpreters who think they can determine the proper ethical application of the Bible solely through more sophisticated exegesis, are like people who believe they can fly if only they flap their arms hard enough’.”

We need to search for a different, but no less faithful, means to keep on.

Some say we should do nothing – that is, neither change our polity, nor ‘force’ any way through our differences. Their request is that we should stop and study more.

I don’t think this will do. We should, of course, continue to study and pray, talk and listen – to each other and to God. And we must do these things, not least because we live in a world that has placed sexuality and desire at the centre of the marketplace.

Sexuality and desire have been

commodified and manipulated for power and control. We therefore need to place them, and our lives, back into the divine economy of the Trinity.

This is hard and holy work.

But after 40 years of official study and talking, it’s time to move on.

We need to give thanks for the lives and loves of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) people in our church and society. At the same time, we need to hear what the Spirit is saying to us.

This means openly recognizing the role that GLBT people play in our lives, and evaluating whether this greater openness and inclusion brings the kind of blessing we see in heterosexual love and marriage.

This is what I have seen families do when confronted with someone they love ‘coming out’.

Scripture gives those families two options: to “cut off” the offending part of the body, or recognize that no part of the body can say to another, “We have no need of you.”

In my experience, the best families decide to get on with their life together, however hard it may be at first. They choose to include all as full members of the family, trusting in the power and mercy of God. The Rt Rev Jim White is Assistant Bishop of Auckland. jwhite@auckanglican.org.nz

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PEOPLE

Camino

Karen at her priesting at Ngatiawa, in January.

de Santiago a San Juan Karen Kemp’s journey from Santiago to St John’s

That wasn’t to be the last time Karen lived through a society coming apart at the seams.

Page 16

When the Rev Karen Kemp was sworn in as the new Dean of Tikanga Pakeha students at St John’s College on a blazing afternoon in February, she’d reached a milestone.

As Lloyd Ashton has been finding out, she’s already notched up some remarkable adventures, and lived through some extraordinary times.

But as far as Karen is concerned, the best is just beginning.

ANGLICAN TAONGA

K

aren Kemp lives with vivid memories: Every morning, just before curfew stopped, the truck would pass our apartment, loaded up

with bodies.

At one point, someone was shot dead right outside our window. He lay there all night until the truck came.

One night, in the middle of the curfew, with soldiers on the street, we had a major earthquake.

We were in a very old building – but we couldn’t go anywhere, because the soldiers would shoot at anything that moved.

There were gunmen on the roofs who would shoot at anything, too.

And the place shook, all night, around us.

Karen was just 11 at the time, and living with her family in downtown Santiago, the capital of Chile.

A few days earlier, on September 11, 1973, President Salvador Allende had been overthrown, and Karen’s family were caught in the chaos.

They weathered that storm.

But that wasn’t to be the last time that Karen had to live through the chaos of a society coming apart at the seams. Nor the last time she had to confront some challenging questions. *

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Karen was born in Auckland in 1962, the second of Ted and Margaret Good’s four children.

Ted and Margaret were both Salvation Army officers, and when Karen was a toddler, they were posted to Chile, eventually to a farm on the outskirts of Santiago which had become home to 45 Chilean boys rescued from the streets.

Karen recalls a carefree life on that farm: in the watermelon patch in the height of summer; up a lemon tree with a salt shaker, eating salted lemons with the locals; charging down mudslides with older boys on eucalyptus bark bobsleds.

But because the long bus ride home from school each afternoon went through the heart of Santiago, the Good kids became early witnesses to the demonstrations that began to convulse the city when Allende was elected.

When Karen was about 10, the Good family moved into Santiago itself, into the Salvation Army Training College, which was in an old apartment building near La Moneda, the presidential palace.

On the day of the coup d’état, they saw jets bomb the palace where Salvador Allende took his own life rather than

Top: Outside La Moneda, Chile’s presidential palace, the day after it was bombed. Karen is there in the blue tartan poncho.

Above: Karen and her sister Jan on the farm truck, loaded with melons for the Santiago market.

surrender.

In the front of Karen’s mind, though, are the people memories.

Karen’s favourite schoolteacher disappeared – she was never heard from again.

Karen thinks about two of the older farm boys, too.

One, who’d gone to university, and become a socialist, was arrested, held in the national stadium, and tortured. He never again found steady work, nor a place in Chilean society.

Another boy, who had been called up for military service, got caught in a shootout and almost died of his wounds.

“In my mind, these were two of my ‘brothers’,” says Karen, “who were caught on the opposite sides of a conflict which I didn’t understand.”

Those times left their mark on Karen, of course. Her interest in conflict resolution, for example, stems from that time.

Her youthful tendency to ‘functional atheism’, too: “I knew that God could do miracles and rescue people – but right into adulthood, the big question for me was: would he really show up at the right time?

“In my earlier years, I behaved as if it all depended on me.

“Because I’d experienced so much outof-control stuff.” *

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When the Good family did finally leave Chile, a year after the coup, it wasn’t because life there had become too dangerous.

By that stage, Ted was leading the Bible College which trained Sally Army officers for deployment throughout Chile, Peru and Bolivia.

And it was during that time that Ted and Margaret became uneasy about some aspects of Salvation Army teaching.

The sacraments have no place in Sally life, and the Goods were finding it increasingly difficult to teach that.

Along the way, they’d made contact with some South American immigrants who had come to faith in Sydney, but who didn’t have enough English to cope in Aussie churches.

So Ted took a job in a Sydney factory, Margaret went part-time nursing and together they pastored the South American immigrants till they could integrate into English-speaking churches.

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PEOPLE

After a couple of years in Sydney, the Goods moved west to the Blue Mountains, and joined an Anglican church there.

(Later, Ted and Margaret returned to Chile as Anglicans to plant an Anglican church there. We tell some of their remarkable story on page 17.)

Karen says she will forever be grateful for the discipling she had at the Christ Church Springwood youth group, and for the friends she made there.

Even so, she couldn’t wait to go back to Chile.

“I didn’t leave Chile happily,” she says, “and I spent every year in Australia planning my return. Chile felt like home, and I wanted to be there.”

Karen trained as a nurse at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital – which, at that time, was the newest, biggest, most high-tech hospital in the Southern Hemisphere.

A week after she graduated, Karen was tending to Chile’s Mapuche people, in the far south of Chile, in a reservation hospital.

In that hospital, Karen had to do what doctors do here. She had to diagnose and prescribe, with almost no backup.

That was a job, says Karen, “worth dropping everything for.”

(Left): Hugh, Anjali and a Mongol couple on the steppes during summer.

(Right): Karen, Anjali and Hugh during an Ulanbaatar winter.

She ran outpatient clinics, too – once a month she’d bounce around the reservation’s nine centres in a Land Rover ambulance, doing immunisations, monitoring children and distributing hundreds of kilos of rice and milk powder.

She was also responsible for health education – and that’s when she realised she loved to teach.

That’s where the theology bug bit, too.

One of the local pastors had started TEE – Theological Education by Extension – and Karen was hungry for answers.

“There was a lot,” says Karen, “that I couldn’t explain.”

Including some of the goings-on at the hospital. The local shaman was a patient in the TB ward, for example. He’d levitate over his bed, curse people, and generally freak the other patients out.

Karen learned to face facts about her own identity in that hospital: “I’d pined away for eight years in Australia, but one day my Chilean midwife friend sat me down and said: ‘Karen, you may think you’re Chilean. You may talk like a Chilean. You may even behave like a Chilean – but you are not a Chilean. So get over it’.

“She was blunt. And she was absolutely right.”

So after two years, Karen resigned. She travelled, then headed to New Zealand.

She was 25, and hadn’t lived here since she was two. *

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A year later, Karen began her BTh in Auckland, at The Bible College of New Zealand (which is now Laidlaw College).

“I came with a list of questions this long.

Page 18

“Not all of them got answered. But I loved asking, and wrestling with the possible answers.

“If I’m really honest, I went to Bible College looking for the evidence to support my beliefs.

“But my world got turned upside down and inside out in the process of engaging with Scripture.”

At the end of her second year, Karen married Hugh Kemp. He was her classmate, and a man with a mission himself – to work among Tibetan Buddhist people.

So they called the mission agency Interserve – who suggested that, before they set sail, getting some ministry experience here might be a good move.

That’s how come they landed at Mossburn Prezzie church in Southland in 1990. They loved it there, too – so much so, that they nearly ditched their missionary dream.

During their two years in Mossburn, Hugh and Karen had Anjali, their first daughter.

“Her birth was a turning point for me,” says Karen.

“I remember thinking: ‘This child needs to know who she is, and where she belongs.

And part of her knowing that is me knowing who I am and where I belong.’

“I made a very conscious decision then to embrace being a New Zealander.

“Up till then, all my questions had been around my identity as a follower of Christ.

“But I also needed to earth myself.” *

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Karen was happy to head off to Tibet.

Trouble was, Tibet was a no-go zone.

Mongolia, however, is part of the wider Tibetan Buddhist world.

ANGLICAN TAONGA

Karen speaking during her installation to St John’s College in January.

Furthermore, this was 1990, the Mongols had just turfed the Russians out – and Mongolia’s borders were now wide open, after being closed for 70 years.

The Kemps became the first Interserve recruits in Mongolia.

On arrival, they got caught up in The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Christians had been praying for the Mongols for years – so when the doors were finally opened, missionaries poured in there.

With so many fired-up folk arriving on the scene, relationships in the missions’ community were bound to get fraught.

“Many came in full of enthusiasm and vigour,” Karen recalls, “and six months later, they were burnt out. Done in. Gone home.”

Jangled relationships within the missions’ community were one thing. What was happening in the country at large was another: “When the Russians left Mongolia,” says Karen, “the place just fell apart. The top-level engineers, doctors, professionals – they all left, en masse.

“All the machinery – in agriculture, engineering, and the power stations, in the health system and in government – began to break down.

“And when it broke, it stayed broken. By 1992, the country had ground to a halt.

“It was quite an extreme collapse, and we arrived with a toddler in the middle of that.”

Within the growing missions’ community, the husbands were mostly doing OK. “They were roaring around,” says Karen, “doing the testosterone-ministry stuff.”

For the wives, though, it was a different story. They were under real stress, and several had miscarriages during the three years the Kemps were in Mongolia.

“They were cooped up in these tiny

Soviet apartments, often with sick kids.

Without proper food supplies.

“We didn’t have phones, there were frequent power cuts, and getting out and about when it’s minus 35 degrees is not easy. Often the women were really struggling.”

Despite all this, God had turned up – big time.

The church was mushrooming, thanks to the Mongolians sharing the gospel.

The real need wasn’t so much for missionary church planters, then – but for training the Mongolian church leaders.

“Church was like a very big youth group,” says Karen. “It was filled with folk who had never heard the name of Jesus.

“Some had bought the New Testament at roadside stalls. Their hearts had been stirred while they were reading – but they had no words around that.”

Hugh (who was teaching at the local university) and Karen plunged into mentoring these new disciples, and they had success, too. For example, they got World Vision to back a TEE programme which is running to this day.

But things were tough. Too tough.

At the end of their second year in Ulanbaatar the Kemps came back to New Zealand to have Mikhaela, their second daughter.

“We’d promised ourselves,” says Karen, “that we would then go back to Mongolia and give it at least another year.

“We did. But in many ways, things got even harder.

“In the end, we decided to come home, before something cracked beyond repair.

“By the time I came back from Mongolia, I was completely burned out.” *

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The Kemps returned to Christchurch, and stayed for 18 months.

In 1999, Hugh became Dean of Studies of the Manawatu arm of the BCNZ, and the family relocated to Palmerston North, where they remained until the end of 2010.

Bit by bit, during those years, they felt themselves being restored. Hugh got the regional BCNZ centre operation humming, then moved on to do his PhD research.

Karen, meanwhile, took charge of refurbishing their home, taught at Bible College, and then tackled her MA, through Victoria.

She was also on staff at All Saints, Palmerston North – before landing a job as the founding chaplain at UCOL, Manawatu’s polytechnic.

EASTERTIDE 2014

And after 2 years there, she resigned to have Anya, their last child.

Once Anya was established, and Hugh had his doctorate, the Kemps began to cast their eyes further afield.

In 2010 Hugh took a job at Redcliffe College, which is a missions training college in Gloucester, England.

The family sold their Palmy home, and moved to the UK. While Hugh was at Redcliffe, Karen taught at WEMTC, the West of England Ministry Training Course that’s now an extension of Ripon College, Cuddesdon, Oxfordshire.

For at least a couple of decades, people had been telling Karen that she was called to ordained priesthood. She’d wrestled with that notion – because in her mind, she’d been serving in ministry for years.

But now she’d come to the place where she was at peace, ready to work out her vocation within the Anglican Church. And last year, in Gloucester Cathedral, she was ordained to the diaconate. *

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So there Hugh and Karen were, having put down roots in UK – they’d bought a house in Gloucester – and for Karen, all sorts of exciting teaching and ministry opportunities were opening up.

But on the immigration front, the future was cloudy.

In the first place, the Kemps had struck a snag getting visas to go to England. They’d lived in limbo for five months waiting for those. And not too long after they’d got to England, the rules had changed again.

While on their summer break in 2013, the Kemps concluded that they might have to head back to New Zealand. All in good time, as opportunity arose.

Two days after their return from holiday, there was the email about the St John’s College post.

That was a job, says Karen, “worth dropping everything for.”

Karen and Hugh arrived back in New Zealand early in the New Year – and Karen was ordained a priest at the Ngatiawa River Monastery, in the Tararua foothills behind Waikanae, on January 18.

Archbishop Philip Richardson preached that day – and he especially thanked Karen for being willing to come home to take up her new challenge.

Few in that jammed Chapel that day wouldn’t have sensed a deeper, wider homecoming for Karen, too.

And the beginnings of another journey.

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PEOPLE

“Terrifying and exhilarating opportunity”

N

ow that’s she’s at St John’s College, Karen is intent on fostering a sense of home and community for the students in her care.

“Down through the years,” she says, “home has always been a safe place to wrestle with questions of life and faith, to figure out what it means to be faithful in the face of the difficult and unexpected.”

One of the scriptures that’s had enduring influence on Karen is the John 21 passage, where Jesus reconciles Simon Peter to himself – and where he re-commissions him.

“Here at St John’s College,” says Karen, “we’re called to: ‘Feed my sheep’.

“So I’m passionate about robust theological engagement. In particular, deep engagement with Scripture.

Karen says preparation for ministry occurs right across life at St John’s.

“I know the fruit of theological education will only come through some very basic, faithful discipleship.

“You can’t teach that.You’ve got to live it as a community.

“We daren’t be simple-minded about this. We need to bring all our intellectual, theological energy to bear on the issues that we face.

“But we also need to attend to personal and communal spiritual disciplines that encourage a curious, generous, credible and engaged discipleship that is lifelong.

“And central to all that is the place of hospitality and the Eucharist in our personal and communal transformation.”

“I feel so privileged to be in this position.

“I feel like all my life has been preparing me for this task.

“I come with lots of hopes and dreams – and I also sense the responsibility of the challenge. I feel that this community has the terrifying and exhilarating opportunity to build something fresh for our times, that values and builds on the heritage of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa NZ and Polynesia and engages fully with the present.”

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Ted and Margaret Good – flanking Karen and Hugh Kemp.

God’s Good servants…

I

f you’ve read Karen’s story, you might suspect that there’s another Good story waiting to be told.

There is. That’s the one about Karen’s mum and dad, Ted and Margaret – which we can only sketch here.

They’d met in Te Aroha. Margaret had grown up in a Salvation Army family there, Ted had come to faith in a Sally Army meeting, and as teenagers they both felt called to the mission field as Army officers.

To prepare for that life, Ted Good learned farming skills, then got his ticket as a fitterwelder – while Margaret trained as a nurse.

They married, did the theology training that’s needed to become officers, and in 1964, with three kids under five in tow, they sailed for Santiago.

They ran a day-care centre and corps (that’s Army-speak for church) in slums on the edge of the city for two years, before heading out to La Granja, which is the 400 acre farm and home for boys 60km south of Santiago that Karen talks about.

Ted and Margaret saw some remarkable things happen at La Granja, too.

Like the time that toughs from one of Chile’s heaviest gangs gate-crashed a young people’s camp they were running there.

Those gang heavies were menacing.

Yet by the time the camp ended – with Ted barely preaching a word – they were rolling around, weeping in repentance.

They left that camp as changed young men, who went on to transform their neighbourhoods.

The Good family moved from La Granja into inner-city Santiago itself, where Ted became the Principal of the Sally Army Training College.

To this day, Ted and Margaret are thankful for their time in the Salvation Army. But the sacraments have no place in Sally life, and Ted and Margaret grew increasingly uneasy about that doctrine – both where their own faith was concerned, and for teaching budding Sally officers.

So in 1974, after taking a year’s leave of absence, they quietly announced they’d be leaving the Army.

Along the way, they’d been put in touch with some South American migrants who’d become Christians in Sydney, but who didn’t have enough English to cope in Aussie churches.

So the Goods moved to Sydney. Ted whacked on his welding helmet again, while Margaret went part-time nursing to support them as they pastored those migrants.

After a couple of years, the Goods moved west to the Blue Mountains – Ted was managing a vast state housing project in Sydney’s west by then – and that’s when they linked up with an Anglican church.

In 1982, Ted was ordained as an Anglican priest, and that same year he and Margaret headed back to Chile with SAMS, to set up an Anglican church in the city of Vina del Mar. They started with about a dozen people.

By the time they left Vina in 1992, there were more than 300 people in their congregation, which continues to flourish.

Ted and Margaret returned to New Zealand for good then – and one way or another, they’d been serving abroad for almost 28 years.

They had family in Christchurch, so that’s where they relocated themselves. Ted went on to serve as the vicar of Glenmark/Waikari, and enabler for Amberley/Cheviot (from 1995 to 1999), then Regional Enabler and Archdeacon of Mid Canterbury from 2001 to 2004.

Margaret, meanwhile, was priested in 2003, and she’s served as a priest in Ashburton, Rangiora and Oxford/Cust.

These days, Ted and Margaret live in retirement near Cust, north-west of Christchurch. But they’re still active in their parish, still helping out in ministry where they can, and they’re “seeking guidance from the Lord concerning the use of whatever time we may have left!”

This year, too, at the urging of their kids, Ted and Margaret are planning to write a book about their life and times.

Some life it’s been.

Some times, too.

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EASTERTIDE 2014

GOSPEL 2014

Consider this sequence: No sooner had Samuel Marsden stepped down from his open-air pulpit where he’d preached his Christmas Day 1814 sermon, than perhaps 400 of his hearers sprang to their feet, and a ‘hari’ – a dance of joy – rang around the hills.

As far as Bishop Kito is concerned, that wasn’t just a spontaneous, spur-of-themoment response.

"Te Hari a Ngā Puhi" had been composed beforehand, with that Christmas Day in mind.

In other words, the way had been prepared...and the eyes of the Maori heart had already been opened to look for good news.

Bishop Kito has been talking to Lloyd Ashton about what lay behind that hari.

Nga Puhi’s

I

dance of joy

magine that you’re downtown, and that the All Blacks are being paraded down Queen St on the back of open trucks, having once again won the World Cup. And before your eyes, a ‘flash haka’ breaks out – you see a bunch of young Maori guys, thundering out their affirmation of what the Men in Black have achieved.

If you hold that image in your mind’s eye, says Bishop Kito Pikaahu, then you have a useful picture of how Maori responded to Samuel Marsden’s Christmas Day 1814 sermon, Behold I bring you tidings of great joy.

And one of the points there, says Bishop

Kito, is that those young guns wouldn’t be doing their flash haka unless they knew the significance of what they were acknowledging.

Well, the haka that followed on the heels of Marsden’s sermon wasn’t really a haka at all – it wasn’t a challenge, such as the All Blacks lay down before a test match.

Instead it was a hari, a dance of joy.

Bishop Kito has been seeing and hearing that particular hari – Te Hari a Nga- Puhi, as it’s come to be known – being performed all his life. And since he was ordained a bishop, he’s paid particular attention to it: E! Ka nukunuku; E! Ka neke neke ...I move right, I move left Page 21

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TITLE HERE

This was… where the seed of God was sown into the Maori heart.

E! Ka nukunuku; E! Ka neke neke...

I move forward, I move backward

Takota te Pai! Takota te pai!...

It is good, all is well,

Kia kite i te Au o Waitangi...

See the calm of Waitangi

Let peace be established.

E hora nei ...

That spreads out Me he Pipiwharauroa... like the Shining Cuckoo Takota te pai! Takota te pai!...

It is good, all is well Whiti! Ta tata! Whiti! Ta tata!...

Change is coming soon E rua nei nga ra kei tua...

It’s on the horizon

You can almost hear the bird flitting back and forth, hopping here, hopping there…

Page 22

Bishop Kito says his thinking about Te Hari a Nga- Puhi (and so the significance of what took place at Oihi) was shaped by an article published in the Maori journal Te Ao Hou (the New World) in 1956.

That article is called: Te Kauhau a Hamuera Marsden (the sermon of Samuel Marsden) and it was written by a Ngati Hine scholar called Hoterene Keretine.

Hoterene’s father was an Anglican Canon, and he himself went to St John’s College in 1930, although he was never ordained.

Historians know that Ruatara had crewed on ships from 1805 to 1809. In 1809, he’d sailed to London, in the hope of having an audience with King George III. And that’s where things turned bad for him.

Not only was he forbidden to meet the king, but while he was in London, he’d fallen ill.

Whatever the details of his illness – Hoterene Keretene speaks of ‘flu’ and ‘asthma’ – he was on board the convict ship Ann, but in no shape to work his passage back to Australia.

And on account of his ‘refusal’ to work, he was beaten.

Marsden was also on board the Ann – and when he found Ruatara, beaten, and coughing blood, he was horrified.

He nursed Ruatara back to health – and when the Ann docked in Sydney, Marsden and his wife Elizabeth looked after him for several months at their Parramatta home.

And it was those Good Samaritan acts, in Hoterene Keretene’s account, that opened Ruatara to the gospel: Ko te timatanga tenei o te mihana Maori ara ka whakatokia te purapura a te Atua ki roto i te ngakau Maori.

‘This was the beginning of the mission to Maori where the seed of God was sown into the Maori heart.’

“What Hoterene is saying here,” says Bishop Kito “is that while Marsden and his wife befriended Ruatara, when they cared for him, in that caring the seed of Christianity was planted within the Maori heart.”

The following lines from Keretene’s article continued that argument: Ka mauria a Ruatara ki tona kainga a ka tiakina te turoro a ka atawhaitia na Ruatara, ora noa.

‘He took Ruatara to his home, and nursed the sick man, caring for Ruatara, and he became well.’

No konei, ka whaanau te Karaiti ki roto I a Ruatara tae noa ki tona matenga

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Left: Bishop Te Kitohi speaking at Poho o Rawiri marae in Gisborne. Far left: Stained glass pipiwharauroa from John Allen memorial window, All Saints’, Dunedin.

‘From this event, Christ was born in Ruatara, right through to his death.’

“So that’s about transformation,” says Bishop Kito. “That is about conversion.”

It helps to see Te Hari a Nga- Puhi being performed: you see the rows moving left, then right – then the men moving forward, as the women move back.

E! Ka nukunuku; E! Ka neke neke…

I move right, I move left.

E! Ka nukunuku; E! Ka neke neke...

I move forward, I move backward.

In Bishop Kito’s mind, that movement is a metaphor about creating space for the gospel.

Then, there’s that reference to the Pipiwharauroa, or the Shining Cuckoo.

The Pipiwharauroa returns to New Zealand each year just before Christmas, having spent winter in the tropics.

The pipiwharauroa is also a theological metaphor, says Bishop Kito. It represents the message of hope and salvation coming from beyond the horizon to change and transform.

The line Whiti! Ta tata! Whiti! Ta tata! also has an onomatopoeic ring to it – you can almost hear the bird flitting back and forth, hopping here, hopping there, spreading the gospel as it goes.

Of course, when Marsden and the CMS missionaries crossed the Tasman on The Active they didn’t sail alone.

Ruatara came with them. So too did the other rangatira – Korokoro, Hongi Hika, and Waikato, and they would all have seen, at Marsden’s church, St John’s in Parramatta, how worship was conducted.

“They had an idea,” says Bishop Kito, “and plenty of time to articulate their understanding and some kind of response. Te Hari a Nga-puhi is a statement of affirmation of what our tu-puna heard. A statement of the power of conversion; of the transformation that happened within our tu-puna.”

“Whether they understood all the gospel or not,” says Bishop Kito, “nevertheless there was some point at which they wanted to express their joy within a dance…”

The chiefs had time enough, too, to choreograph Te Hari. The Active had been making its way down the East Coast of the North Island for the previous 10 days, and the visitors and chiefs had spent the night of Tuesday December 20 ashore at Matauri Bay, for instance, mingling with the tangata whenua around the camp fires, telling them what was planned for Christmas Day. And the message may well have gone forth from there: “When Hamuera Matenga finishes his korero, we respond with: Te Hari a Nga- Puhi ”

Kia mau!

Titiro e nga- iwi!

Te kapu taku ringa He taonga tenei na Nga- tu-puna; He poi, he poi, he poi, hei!

Be ready!

Take a look all people At what is in the cup of my hand For this is a treasure from Our forebears; A poi, a poi, a poi, hei!

Poi puritia!

Poi takawiri!

Taupatupatu, taupatupatu Taupatupatu, ko te tau!

Hold the poi!

Quiver the poi!

Twirl and strike, And now the chant!

Patupatu taku poi, Ka rere taku poi, Rere tika atu ana Ka tau ki Nga-puhi

I strike my poi, My poi flies, And flies direct, Landing in Nga-puhi country

Kei reira te toka Kei Rangihoua, Kei Oihi ra, Ko te toka tena I poua iho ai Te Rongopai ra e – ka mau!

For there stands the rock At Rangihoua, even at Oihi That is the rock On which was established The Gospel – and became fixed

Hei whakakororia Te Atua i runga rawa Ka mau te rongo ki Aotearoa

To give glory To God in the highest And peace was declared throughout Aotearoa (New Zealand)

Tena ano ra ko ana purapura I ruiruia ra i roto nga- iwi

And its seeds Have been broadcast among the tribes And have grown and borne fruit – bears now

Ka tupu ka hua e – Hua nei!

*

*

*

*

*

Bishop Kito also likes to refer to P154 of the New Zealand Prayer Book.

There’s a poi dance there which was written by Sir Kingi Ihaaka who was, says Bishop Kito, “the man in Tai Tokerau”.

Like Te Hari, it shares a theme of movement – spreading the Gospel, in particular – which is represented here by the poi and the poi dancer – which ‘quiver … twirl and strike … my poi flies and flies direct’. The words are on the card to the right.

The Pihopatanga use that poi in all their gatherings, says Bishop Kito, as a way of linking to the Ma-ori world, and to the gospel as it moved around Aotearoa.

“It’s like giving your whakapapa.

This is the whakapapa of the gospel, te timatanga o Te Rongopai, (the beginning of the Gospel) that began here, in Oihi, then went throughout the land.”

Lloyd Ashton is Media Officer for the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, NZ and Polynesia. mediaofficer@anglicanchurch.org.nz.

EASTERTIDE 2014

Whiti rawa atu koe Ki a Raukawa Ko Rota Waitoa Hei mataamua, Kei roto Whanganui Ko Te Tauri

When you have crossed To Raukawa country It is Rota Waitoa The very first Maori (ever to ordained to the sacred ministry) And at Whanganui There is Wiremu Te Tauri (The first person to introduce Christianity there)

Ka tae nga- rongo Ki Nga-ti Ruanui Ko Manihera ra Ko Kereopa hoki I whakamatea nei Mo te whakapono e Ka tau!

And the news also reached The Nga-ti Ruanui people Among whom were Manihera And also Kereopa The first Christian martyrs For the faith (in New Zealand) Indeed!

Ka rere taku poi Ki te Tairawhiti Kei reira e ngaki ana Ko Taumataakura

My poi now flies To the Eastern seas And there strives Piripi Taumataakura (who introduced Christianity to the Nga-ti Porou) While in Mataatua country Is Ngakuku And in Arawa country Is Ihaia And in Nga-ti Kahungunu country Is Te Wera … Yes, Te Wera

Kei Mataatua Ko Ngakuku ra Kei Te Arawa Ko Ihaia Kei roto Kahungunu Ko Te Wera ra e … Te Wera!

Ka tuhi, ka rarapa, ka uira Te rangi e tu iho nei, e Toia te waka Te utanga o runga Ko te aroha; Paiheretia mai Te rangimarie, Aue! Hei!

The lightning glows and flashes Well above the heavens Drag the canoe With its cargo Of love; Bind it With peace Aue! Hei!

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

TH C EN EO SU LO S G2Y0 1 3

Look for the

silver lining

The 2013 NZ Census figures make dismal reading for Anglicans. With our church attendances plummeting, the future doesn’t seem too bright.

But according to religious historian Peter Lineham, taking a hard look at those numbers and the realities they reveal, could be our best wake-up call yet.

‘stronger’ forms of Christanity seem better placed to take advantage

Page 24

F

or the first time in over 150 years, the Anglican Church lost its position as NZ’s largest denomination in the 2013 Census.

That title now belongs to the Catholic Church.

Figures for Catholic affiliation have been poised to overtake for some years; as Anglican figures have dropped, Catholic numbers have remained stable.

In 2013, Anglican numbers sat at 459,771, compared to 554,925 in 2006, signalling a downsize of over 17% in seven years.

Over the first 75 years of census records, Anglican percentages hovered around the 40% mark, but as early as 1945 those statistics began to register a gentle decline.

By 1971, that downward movement had become a precipitous slide.

Despite the declines, Anglican numbers reached record levels in 1976, when 915,202 ticks on census forms showed “Anglican” was the choice of slightly more than 29% of the population.

Since then, the Anglican graphline has continued a sharp descent. Particularly marked reductions occurred between 1976 and 1981, 1991 and 1996, and most recently, from 2006 to 2013.

With annual drops close to 2.5%, Anglican numbers are now decreasing at more

than twice the pre-2006 rate. Over the last seven years, adherents to the church have decreased by 13,500 – equivalent to the population of Levin – every year.

Of course, these are nominal Anglicans.

Based on 2006 census data and diocesan figures, I estimate that less than one in ten Anglicans attend in any week, and the best attendance mustered at Christmas and Easter taken together still never rises above 15% of nominal Anglicans.

While historically the Anglican Church aimed for a presence in every locale, the geographical spread has not been even over episcopal regions.

The toughest ground was in Otago and Southland, where Anglicans lagged well behind larger Presbyterian and Catholic populations. Maintaining Anglican parish structures must be particularly challenging there, where nominal Anglicans form only 7% of the population.

Regionally, the North Island’s East Coast and Marlborough have the strongest Anglican tally, but as relatively rural areas their actual numbers are small. The East Coast registers over 18% Anglican, most likely reflecting Anglican identity among Ngati Porou.

Anglicanism is almost as weak in Auckland as in the far south, only rising above 12% on the Hibiscus Coast. Even in the most Christian

ANGLICAN TAONGA

parts of the supercity – its southern wards –Anglicans account for only 3%.

Strongly Anglican districts pop up in Hawkes Bay, Rangitikei, the Manawatu and Wairarapa, while the most Anglican Council is Hurunui District in North Canterbury with nearly 20%.

Christchurch stands at 13%, but this too is an isolated patch. Generally, in areas where population is growing, Anglicanism is in retreat.

Two main factors contribute to these patterns. And this is where the church needs to do some strategic thinking. The first factor is ethnic, the second is age structure.

Ethnic distribution Because CMS set off first with Maori evangelisation, there was a significant Anglican presence among Maori. For many years, Anglicanism was stronger among Maori than Pakeha, but today Christian belief follows similar patterns for both peoples.

Among new migrants the story is different. Few migrants arrive from countries where Anglicanism is strong.

Pacific migrants come from the strongly Christian region of Polynesia, but Congregationalists, Methodists and Catholics vastly outnumber Anglicans.

While Anglicanism made it into India, cricket has a more widespread recognition among our South Asian immigrants.

In North Asia, Christianity was most commonly established via Catholic or American Protestant missions. A few churches that have offered schools, or welcoming support for learning English, have made an impact with our mostly non-religious Chinese immigrants.

Age range Anglican church communities now face a striking age imbalance. In 2006, one third of “over 85s” were Anglican, then: a quarter of the 60s, a tenth of the 30s and 7% of the under-fives. The lowest Anglican population count was people in their 20s.

So Anglican parishes need to do more to attract parents and families. Schoolaged youth are less of a problem, where Anglican schools and youth groups play a helpful role – although diocesan information suggests they are rarely a source of confirmations.

EASTERTIDE 2014

What has changed?

The 2013 Census shows the title ‘Christian’ now carries little cash value with younger New Zealanders. Two centuries of denominational branding have failed to leave their mark on community memory.

In England, the “Church of England” acted as a kind of social default for almost 500 years, but this is no longer the case.

In Aotearoa, the ubiquitous nature of Anglicanism provided people with a safe and socially acceptable religious identity.

Conversely, Roman Catholic or other lesser known Protestant groups carried negative connotations for some people.

The essential change in the 2013 Census is that ‘Anglican’ seems to have lost its general public value. That is not to say it carries no value. Anglican churches remain almost as widespread, but a marketing survey might well reveal little brand recognition.

Negative views of religion have sometimes benefited Anglican churches – perceived then, as a safe place to come into contact with Christianity.

I wonder what the church does to make this known?

This so-called ‘mainstream’ understanding is certainly not mainstream anymore.

In comparison, ‘stronger’ forms of Christanity seem better placed to take advantage of current attitudes in New Zealand. Even though Catholic and Pentecostal churches may carry negative baggage in some eyes – whether it be of sexual abuse, or avaricious demands for support – people also see them as places to start a Christian journey.

The liberal traditions of mainstream Protestantism may appear so bland and inoffensive, there is little left to distinguish them from irreligious options.

If people want to explore Christianity, they are attracted to a clearly defined faith.

Perhaps this is why evangelical Anglicanism has been successful in recent years.

There is something to be said for being inoffensive, however.

The present decline in Christianity has affected all types of church. There are large numbers of dropouts from the “hard-line” forms. One dramatic decrease comes from people with bad experiences of church – who are then willing to abandon it.

The Anglican Church can offer safe

The church needs to stand for strong commitment and clear discipleship

harbour to ‘refugees’ from other churches – in those cases, the character of our community could be an important asset.

The Anglican Church has other strategic advantages, too.

Anglican schools, city missions and social agencies are appreciated by many, although a significant number won’t know they are Anglican.

Anglicans still have a national church.

Other large Protestant churches, such as Methodist and Presbyterian, are shrinking fast, weakenening their national spread. As a result, Anglican churches can welcome homeless Presbyterians and Methodists.

Are Anglicans willing to think strategically in the present circumstances?

We will need fewer church buildings and use our resources more carefully.

And above all we need focused identity.

The church needs to stand for strong commitment and clear discipleship, and provide a welcoming community of faith.

Parishes that thrive in the present day generally have these values.

I would also love Anglicans to speak out and engage in public debate – from a fair but faithful angle. The Christian position is often defended by extremists – and as a result cold-shouldered by the majority.

So this is a decisive census for Anglicans.

It would be good to see the bland, but aging, structure refocused and clearer in its identity and mission. Let’s work to become a community of hope.

Dr Peter Lineham is Associate Professor and Head of the School of Humanities at Massey University’s Auckland Campus. He is a specialist religious historian. p.lineham@massey.ac.nz

Page 25

ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

SCHOOLS

See what we do "Judge us by our actions," says St John's College Trust Board as it takes up the trusteeship of Te Aute College and Hukarere Girls' College.

And for Tikanga Maori, saving those two schools was a priority above all others. Lloyd Ashton has been finding out more about that.

That restored confidence will translate into bigger school roles. That’s the hope, anyway.

Page 26

Don’t listen to what we say.

See what we do.”

That’s the message that Stephen Jacobi, the new chairman of the Te Aute Trust Board, wants Maori mums and dads – in fact, anyone who has ties to Te Aute College and Hukarere Girls’ College – to take on board.

Judge us by our actions, in other words.

Stephen chairs the St John’s College Trust Board which, with the blessing of Te Pihopatanga, has taken over the trusteeship of the two iconic but debt-ravaged Hawkes Bay boarding schools.

The previous Te Aute Trust Board was sinking under the weight of its liabilities, which include $9.5 million in bank debt, incurred because of failed farming investments. The interest bill on that debt alone is almost $600,000 each year – and the Te Aute College hostels are in dire need of refurbishment.

Now, with the financial strength and investment acumen of the SJCTB/new TATB behind them, the two schools will get back on an even keel and, when that has happened, they will be returned to the trusteeship of a newly constituted Te Aute Trust Board.

That’s not the only plus the new deal will

bring. Because the two schools will become, in short order, healthier, more pleasant environments for students.

When that happens, Maori parents and grandparents will feel more confident about sending their tamariki and mokopuna to Te Aute and Hukarere.

And that restored confidence will translate into bigger school roles.

That's the new TATB's hope, anyway. *

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On March 11 the St John’s College Trust Board met at Hukarere Girls’ College in Eskdale.

After it had dealt with its SJCTB business, it reconvened as the new Te Aute Trust Board, and as such, it made some immediate decisions.

It approved $300,000 worth of spending that day – on things such as better heating, better insulation, and some renovation work – that Stephen Jacobi believes will quickly translate into a better quality of life for the students at both schools.

“We know,” he said that day, “that the schools require a lot of reinvestment, and some things can’t be done overnight.

“But some things can be done

ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

The rangatiratanga was being exercised by the Bank of New Zealand.

Far left: Te Aute kaumatua Jerry Hapuku speaks during a college powhiri. Left: Stephen Jacobi, the chairman of the new Te Aute Trust Board, speaking at Te Whare o Rangi, the new Te Aute College wharenui. Above: Te Aute College’s kapa haka group prepare to perform for the new Te Aute Trust Board.

straightaway.

“A few weeks ago, I was at the Hukarere whanau day, and I said to parents then that as the result of our trusteeship, they would see an immediate change.

“I said to them: ‘Don’t just listen to what we say. See what we do.’ ” *

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As well as dealing to the $9.5 million debt, the new Te Aute Trust Board is committed to pumping $4 million into the fabric of the two schools.

That $4 million investment will include not only making the Te Aute hostels shipshape – but also building a new chapel at Hukarere.

Ever since Hukarere relocated from Napier to Eskdale, it’s had to make do without a chapel. When the college meets for worship – as it does each week – the girls meet in the spartan surrounds of the school gym, with an altar poked away in a side alcove.

Meanwhile, the taonga from the old Hukarere chapel – the whakairo (carvings), the tukutuku panels and the roof panels adorned with kowhaiwhai painting – have been locked away for years, safe but unable to be savoured, in two containers in the school grounds.

That will soon change.

“We have undertaken to whanau,” said

Mr Jacobi, “to build a new chapel.

“We’ve already set up a project group to manage that task.” *

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Had the St John’s College Trustees not been willing to take over the trusteeship of the two school, almost certainly they would have been sunk by debt.

There was no other solution at hand.

Yet when Te Pihopatanga voted at its Runanganui last November in favour of that scheme, it was choosing pragmatism over principle.

And there are a few within Tikanga Maori, such as Professor Whatarangi Winiata, who believe that by handing over the proprietorship of the schools to the SJCTB, the principal of tino rangatiratanga – Maori having absolute sovereignty over their own affairs – has been breached.

If Tikanga Maori had tino rangatiratanga over 50% of the SJCTB funds – as Professor Winiata had asked for at the 2012 General Synod – no such closures need have occurred, they argue. And neither would Maori have had to surrender their tino rangatiratanga to save the schools.

Stephen Jacobi is not blind to the sovereignty argument: “I see that,” he says. “I understand that.

At least, I’m beginning to understand that.

“And we need to be very respectful of

Maori aspirations.”

But until the St John’s College Trust took over the debt, he says, “the rangatiratanga was being exercised by the Bank of New Zealand anyway.

“We want that to be exercised by Te Hahi Mihinare.

“I think this is the other thing that needs to be emphasized here: This is the whole church,” he said, “coming together to help these schools.

“This is the Three Tikanga church working together through its instrument, the St John’s College Trust Board, to sort out its problems." *

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Last November, when Te Runanganui was weighing up the St John’s College Trust Proposal to take over the trusteeship of Te Aute College and Hukarere Girl’s College, it also heard from Robin Hapi, who is one of the most outstanding Maori CEOs in the country.

Mr Hapi, who served for several years as the Chief Executive of Te Ohu Kai Moana, the Maori Fisheries Commission, and who had also served as the chairman of the previous Te Aute Trust Board, was the one who said the rescue amounted to choosing pragmatism over principle.

He made it quite clear, though, that he was in support of that rescue – subject to certain safeguards, such as reviewing the SJCTB’s stewardship after three years, and protecting the interests of stakeholders such as Ngai Te Whatuiapiti who, in 1853, gave the 4273 acres on which Te Aute College now stands and which its supporting farms now occupy.

Those safeguards were built into the motion before Te Runanganui to endorse the SJCTB offer.

And that motion was passed with acclamation.

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EASTERTIDE 2014

FA M I LY V I O L E N C E

Alice Muir watched her friend endure years of pain from domestic violence. Now she longs for a church where violence and sexual abuse have no hiding place.

Breaking the When he started to push her around, she told no one.

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silen

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ometimes there was nothing I could say or do. Nothing.

We would walk by the sea, the wind wild in our faces, dragging our hair out from under our jacket hoods. I could only trust that simply walking beside Jess was somehow helping.

It was agony to watch my friend endure physical abuse, anorexia, suicide attempts, a two-year court process, and complete dislocation from her children.

As the New Zealand justice system failed to protect her, I raged, “God where are you? WHERE ARE YOU? Why don’t you stop this?”

Jess is not her real name, of course. And Jess is not one person, she is many.

In 2012, more than 100,000 family violence incidents were reported to NZ police - probably a fifth of the actual number of incidents, if you accept the 80% non-reporting rate.

On average, 14 women are killed by their partners each year in New Zealand and one in three women experience physical or sexual violence from a partner in their lifetime.

That’s shocking. But doubly shocking is recent research from the US that shows the statistics for church families are no different.1 Jess’s story is all too familiar.

A charming man who met all her criteria - attentive, family-orientated, smart, a Christian and physically attractive swept her off her feet and they began a life together.

When he started to question her desire to go out with friends, she assumed it was proof of his intense love for her.

When he started to undermine her self-confidence with subtle put-downs, she thought he probably had a point.

nce

When he started to push her around, she told no one.

“One crazy night he hit me, took me out of town and dumped me there in the dark. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t go to the police, because in my mind that would have been shaming him in front of his family.

“I couldn’t have done that to someone I loved and had such high hopes for.

“I found my way home and we never spoke of it again.”

Things improved when the couple’s children came along, but Jess’s depression slowly returned. She spent long months in hospital away from her family, returning well, then slipping back when it became clear that nothing had changed.

“During one residential treatment I saw the power and control tactics that staff were using towards patients and realised it was the kind of thing that went on in my house. That woke me up to the reality of my situation.”

Jess spent the next year setting reasonable boundaries to contain her husband’s aggression, but that only incensed him. His anger towards her spilled over onto the children.

“When he became physically abusive with my children, I had no option but to leave. This was a decision I had held off taking for as long as possible and had prayed desperately to avoid.”

The couple worked out a shared care arrangement for the children and sold the house. It seemed that at last my longsuffering friend would have peace in her life and be able to enjoy her children’s teenage years.

But the abuse carried on.

Despite her sensible parenting, and by now incredible ability to listen, understand and work though tough issues, the children sided with their father. Swallowing his criticisms of Jess, they doubted her ability to love and care for them.

The cleft he created in the family is deep and uncrossable. The children have now rejected every attempt Jess has made to keep in touch, even telling her not to send birthday cards.

An extensive and gruelling legal process did not right the wrong and Jess is now living in another city.

“I have lost my children, but it’s not

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At worst, they thought we were a bunch of man-haters.

like a car crash, which happens once and is over, so you can pick up your life and eventually move forward.

“For me, it’s like the car keeps crashing.

There is so much pain. If I’d known this would happen, I would have stayed for the sake of the children.

“I think any mother would.”

Bronwyn Kerr has met many women like Jess. She had never anticipated a career in social work, specialising in domestic violence and sexual abuse, but began volunteering for Women’s Refuge and found it compelling to be able to help people in need.

“We offered practical help straight away.

If a woman on the crisis line was saying she and the kids had run away, we would go and get them and take them to a safe house.”

She then worked as an advocate at the Refuge and facilitated men’s stopping violence courses, but a dream to address domestic violence in church communities kept bubbling away inside her.

According to Bronwyn, a Christian and theology graduate, there’s a history of distrust and anger between churches and domestic violence organisations like Women’s Refuge.

“At worst, they thought we were a bunch of man-haters trying to break up families!

“Although some women get direct or subtle pressure from their churches to stay with violent partners, others get a huge amount of strength and support from the church. I wanted to enhance the good I was seeing and protest the bad.”

So with the support of her current employer, the Wellington Sexual Abuse Help Foundation, then the Boulcott Fund, the Wilberforce 21 Trust and the Anglican Diocese of Wellington, Bronwyn now works Page 29

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FA M I LY V I O L E N C E

What churches can do

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earn more about the issues.

Find small ways to make your church a place where people would feel able to ask for help: put up brochures for the agencies in your area, mention abuse in the intercessions, discuss abuse that’s been reported in the media.

Support agencies in your area with donations or by volunteering. Many agencies like Women’s Refuge rely on volunteers, and provide training and support.

Support more funding for agencies that help survivors of sexual abuse, by signing an ‘Everyone Needs the Right Help’ postcard.

Wellington parishes wanting to know more, or receive training about preventing and responding to sexual or domestic violence, or the abuse of children, can contact Bronwyn Kerr: bronwyn@wellingtonhelp.org.nz.

How to help a friend in an abusive situation ›› Believe them. ›› Try to hear the hard stuff. ›› Maintain the friendship, even if you don’t agree with their decisions. ›› Help them find out what their options are. ›› Offer practical support, such as babysitting or financial help with legal or other costs.

How to help a friend who was or is abusing someone ›› Maintain the friendship, and try and try to challenge them to change without shaming them. ›› Encourage them to get professional help. ›› People who abuse others often have convincing justifications for their behaviour, avoid getting caught up in this.

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half-time supporting sexual violence survivors. The other half of her job is teaching church leaders to “care well” for their congregations and resourcing safety within churches.

She also sees a need to address the spiritual issues for those who have come out of violent relationships.

“Wouldn’t it be good to support a woman in her faith so it can be an asset during this hard time?

“Alongside that, we might also have to challenge some traditional ideas about what forgiveness and fidelity mean, and how we can help her reclaim the truth about these pillars of our faith.”

Jess has clung to her faith and hope in God, despite everything she’s been through.

“His kindness counterbalances the pain and overwhelms me all the time. I only have the strength to live for one day at a time.

My church family and friends are so loving and so good to me; I really wouldn’t be here today without them.

Jess’s desperate faith inspires and challenges mine, but no one should suffer the way she does.

The church has a responsibility to educate and mentor families to honour and love each other, and to work through disagreements in an open and healthy way.

We should create an environment where the seeds of abuse and violence have no place to grow – by banning put downs and calling out unacceptable behaviour to children.

The time for silence and avoiding the subject has gone.

“This is a subject that was never talked about, but that’s changing”, says Bronwyn.

There’s good reason to champion that.

My prayer is that her work will make church families safer and equip us to offer appropriate help at an early stage, before a situation escalates and becomes so damaging for all parties.

As Bronwyn puts it: “I see men from the stopping violence programmes making changes and then telling their mates they need to do the same. I’m excited about that.”

Alice Muir is an Anglican from the Diocese of Auckland.

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harles Waldegrave began the Family Centre in 1979, under the banner of Anglican Social Services, when Women’s Refuges were just being opened.

“In the early 1980s abuse was starting to be named more openly, and it was becoming clear just how serious and extensive the problem was.

“Women at the Family Centre were working closely with local refuges, when they and Family Court judges approached us to offer services to the perpetrators, to help address the root cause of the problem.”

This request led to the Family Centre starting “men for non-violence” groups, some specifically for Ma-ori and Pacific men, and non-violence groups for women.

Male-female teams were also set up to work with families where a perpetrator had taken responsibility for their behaviour and the family had chosen to stay living together.

The Family Centre has been contracted to lead workshops around the world, published policy studies in family violence and in 2012 hosted an international forum in the Pacific addressing violence.

“New Zealand has inherited an anglo adversarial legal system that focuses on child protection and goes after the perpetrator to bring them to justice.,” Charles says.

“This uses up huge amounts of resources, so little remains for the victim/ survivors. Simply punishing people is not an adequate way of stopping abuse.”

“The European system2 is much more inquisitorial and focuses on family services.

In these countries, the agencies turn up on your doorstep, saying they had evidence that a child was being maltreated and its illegal, unacceptable and has to stop, then they offer help. It’s not about letting people get away with violence, but about actually funding the services that are needed to support the victim/survivors and the tough work with perpetrators to fundamentally change their behaviour.”

Charles has spent time in Germany and France observing these services.

“They are such creative, effective programmes, and in my view much more successful than ours.”

He also believes it’s dangerous for Christians to consider themselves immune to domestic violence.

“The church attracts all sorts of people –

Learning to heed the

warning signs

and it should do – broken people as well as people who are doing just fine.

“There’s no question that people within our churches have serious issues of violence, and there are sections of the church that promote violence as a form of discipline.

“That’s a problem.

“You hope that churches are groups of people who work against this, but very often it isn’t talked about openly. There needs to be much more of a conversation to help people.

“Many people who perpetrate violence were treated violently themselves, so we need to begin to address that and provide support to help people out of violence into alternative ways of operating.

“Churches can be very significant in this – working with their own first and then in society at large.”

According to Charles, we need a lot of investment in education programmes that help re-educate people and give men (largely, but also women) alternative ways of dealing with women and children.

“The men very often come into our courses claiming they were provoked into violence and that they lash out because they can’t help themselves.

“We help them understand that there are many warning signs in their bodies – their muscles tense, they get hot – and that they need to heed these signs and increase the space between them and the person/ people they are angry with by removing

themselves from the situation.

“Then they’re taught what to do in that space, and how to process their stuff. In the group work, they hear the stories of other men.

“So in summary – violence is unacceptable, you do have control and there are alternatives.”

Notes 1. When Terror Strikes at Home: The Interface Between Religion and Domestic Violence, Nancy Nason-Clark.

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 43:3 (2004) 303–310.

2. For info on different countries’ approach to dealing with violence: Waldegrave C, (2006) “Contrasting National Jurisdictional and Welfare Responses to Violence to Children”, Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 27, (March).

ONLINE RESOURCES g.nz Women’s Refuge womensrefuge.or z Rape Prevention Education rpe.co.n ivors of Pandora's Project Resources for surv rape and sexual abuse. pandys.org Faith communities ending abuse faithtrustinstitute.org se of Prevention strategies on sexual abu children www.stopitnow.org.uk Anglican Communion Safe Church munion.org Network safechurch.anglicancom

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ENVIRONMENT /FINANCE

Shaking off our fossil fuel investments makes more sense than at first glance, writes Rod Oram.

Don’t get burnt by

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hurches around the world have found morality and money to be powerful allies in just causes. Both played their part in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, and against the global tobacco companies.

Through principled stands and practical action, churches led in both campaigns. The investments they withdrew from complicit companies were mere trifles in the global financial system, but the churches’ actions contributed to a powerful shift in public opinion and investor behaviour.

...world markets without carbon stocks delivered a higher return.

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Now another campaign is gathering momentum: encouraging investors to step away from fossil fuel producers. The aim is to tackle climate change by accelerating the shift from coal, oil and gas to clean energy.

As Anglicans we’re compelled to act on climate change by our mission priorities: care of creation and social justice, particularly for Tikanga Polynesia.

As with apartheid, Aotearoa’s churches have been among the first to get involved.

Last year, five Anglican diocesan synods passed resolutions urging a halt to investment in fossil fuels. The same call will come before this year’s General Synod/te Hinota Whanui in May. But while the apartheid and tobacco campaigns took 10-15 years to impact on mainstream investors, there is precious little time to act on climate change.

The United Nations’ most recent climate change report shed light on the monumental risks humankind is taking.

Already, temperature change of less than 1degC has caused fundamental shifts in the planet’s climate and ecosystems.

UN estimates show we have a 50% chance of limiting the temperature rise to 2degC – but only if the global economy emits no more than 820bn to 1445bn tonnes of greenhouse gases over the next 100 years.

fossil At today’s consumption rates, that leaves 15 to 25 years of business as usual. But as emissions keep growing, we’re blowing the carbon budget faster. Time has almost run out.

“It is this brutal arithmetic that should persuade companies, communities, cities and nations to seize the opportunities for sustained and sustainable growth offered by hastening their transition to a lowcarbon economy,” the distinguished British economist Lord Stern wrote shortly after the UN report.

And yet the vast majority of investors remain committed to fossil fuel. Unwisely, global markets value oil, gas and coal companies on the assumption they can sell everything they own in the ground.

But those reserves are (at least) twice as large as the world’s total carbon budget, according to Investor Watch of the UK – from its Carbon Tracker study of the 200 largest oil, gas and coal companies listed on the world stock market.

Its latest report, Unburnable Carbon 2013 – Wasted capital and stranded assets, is available online.1 HSBC, the global bank, estimates that equity valuations of fossil fuel companies would fall by between 40% and 60%, once investors see low emissions taking hold in

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fuels the face of market forces and government regulation.

Similarly, Standard & Poor’s says the bonds of fossil fuel companies are vulnerable to downgrades as profits and cash flow begin to diminish.

Fossil fuel companies account for 7% to 8% of world stock market capitalisation.

They outperformed the markets in the run-up to the Global Financial Crisis, but have underperformed since.

A study last June by MSCI, the world’s leading provider of stock market indices, showed that from January 2008 to March 2013, world markets without carbon stocks delivered a 1.2% higher return.

Divesting now is unlikely to reduce investment income in the short term. That said, selling now will prevent large capital losses later, when financial markets wake up to the unprofitability of gas, oil and coal reserves that cannot be burned.

New Zealand’s biggest equity portfolio holders – the Superannuation Fund and ACC – have fossil fuel shares of 7.67% and 8.5% respectively, according to World Wildlife Fund research.

The Super Fund claims a watching brief, but is not minded to act. On the world stage, a few institutional investors are acting decisively to protect their

wealth and lead the shift from fossil fuel.

Storebrand, a Scandinavian asset manager with US$74bn under management, has begun divesting shares in coal producers, while the World Bank will no longer invest in developing countries’ coal-fired power plants.

Responsible investors also have an important role to play – as responsible consumers. This acknowledges we are still dependent on some fossil fuel use and will remain so for a while yet.

Some 70% of this country’s electricity comes from renewable sources, but we are almost entirely dependent on oil for transport.

As responsible consumers, we need to use oil, gas and coal very sparingly – and only where no renewable alternatives exist. Our purchasing power can also encourage energy suppliers to provide more alternatives.

One example is Z Energy: while trading in petrol and diesel, it also helps run fuel efficiency programmes, and is investing in

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a pilot project to make liquid fuel out of biomass left over from tree harvesting.

When we act as responsible consumers, we act as individuals, so each decision has only a tiny impact on the economy. Still, over time, our choices could help bring about a healthier, wealthier low-carbon future.

But when we act as responsible investors, we act together.

If, as a church, we committed to divest from fossil fuels, we would send a very powerful, principled and moral message: that we care for God’s creation and people more than for our own institutional profit.

Rod Oram is a business journalist, a member of St Andrew's Epsom and the Diocese of Auckland’s Climate Change Action Group. rod.oram@nz2050.com Note 1. The report Unburnable Carbon 2013 – Wasted capital and stranded assets is available at www. carbontracker.org/wastedcapital.

ANGLICAN STUDIES at St John’s Theological College

2014

DIPLOMAS IN ANGLICAN STUDIES NZQA accredited at Levels 5 and 6 for Ministry and Mission in

Biblical Studies Theology Faith in History and Context Ministry and Mission in Context

For more information visit: www.stjohnscollege.ac.nz Phone: 09 521 2725 Email: reception@stjohnscollege.ac.nz.

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WORSHIP

For today’s increasingly unchurched generations, all-age worship offers a fresh pathway to faith, says Rosie Staite.

All together now…

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or years we separated God’s family into age-specific groups on Sunday mornings. Sunday School graduates then failed to connect with grown-up church, and whole generations got lost along the way.

All-age worship tackles this problem head-on with a friendly, family-focused atmosphere, where both children and their parents can feel at home. God’s message is revealed in words, symbols and experiences tuned for the youngest child right through to the oldest of the faithful.

By keeping everyone together, all-age worship builds communities through crossgeneration friendships. In turn, it grows the church. In rural communities, where families

If they risk a visit to church, they don't want Quote here... the kids sent off in another direction.

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often worship together already, an all-age focus can lift the standard. It works well in town, too.

Rather than setting up a model (like Messy Church), all-age worship is more of a mindset and style.

Its aim is to share the relevance of Christian faith to people’s lives, in language they can understand. It thrives in an environment of trust and respect, where good relationships operate between worshippers and leaders.

All-age worship may happen in pews or an informal space. It is liturgical, (though less formal) with a recognisable structure of gathering, prayer, teaching and doing, reflecting, story, prayer and music. Families are at the centre, so other parishioners can join with them, or opt for different service times.

Worshipping with the kids suits contemporary priorities, too. As young working families hurtle through the week at breakneck speed, they often look to weekends for precious time together. If they risk a visit to a church, they’re unlikely to want their children sent off in another direction.

A well-presented theme can nourish the whole family, particularly if parents are unchurched. Parents are often touched by stories they’ve brought their children along to hear, and adults and teens will happily hear grown-up wisdom if it’s integrated into

the experience.

I vividly remember a young mum coming to me and saying: “You know what you said to the children two weeks ago? About God seeing with different eyes? Well, I’ve given up my job and enrolled in a course at Polytech. I want to show my children that you need to think bigger.”

We supported her through that course, clapped at her graduation, and wrote the reference for her new job. If children’s level teaching can change lives like that, then God must take it seriously.

Another spin-off comes from parishioners who’ve seen plenty of church as usual.

One man, who usually turned up only on his door-duty days, was about to step back altogether, when we began to explore an all-age style service. The following Sunday he got up and dressed in his church clothes again – though this time he wasn’t on the roster.

He admitted to his wife, “I don’t want to miss anything.”

Nothing new?

Country congregations might smile at all this. In one-roomed churches surrounded by miles of farmland, the teaching has always been for everyone. But with an allage worship approach, their “ready-for-allcomers” planning can reach a higher level.

People giving church a go are interested

…

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Far left: Hosannas during all-age Palm Sunday in Ashburton. Left: Before the altar – children get hands-on at a worship station.

in something relevant and comprehensible – a quality experience. They are attracted by what makes the world a better place.

All-age worship may be sacred. It may be active. It will be named as in the presence of God. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when you’re putting together allage worship experiences next Lent and Eastertide:

Less chocolate – more Easter Many families avoid church at Easter.

While Christmas is seen as family-friendly, Easter is not.

The story is in the thriller genre. Children ask difficult questions – and the level of brutality Jesus endured is hard enough for adults to cope with.

Thank goodness there’s a long weekend and the family can disappear on holiday, leaving Easter in the chocolate department where everyone is happy.

Yet Easter is the key festival of our faith.

Through low-key enactments, symbols and objects, all-age worship can evoke the meaning behind the drama – without overwhelming people.

Symbols Ask teenagers to arrange a cross, palm leaf or fern, pouch of gold coins, picture of a rooster, an empty grave, crown of thorns, the sign INRI, some bread and wine, some dice and a sponge – in the right order to tell the Easter story. Watch with interest as some piece together parts, while others have never heard it before.

Make the most of Palm Sunday Of the pre-Easter services, Palm Sunday

has enough festive elements for families to risk coming.

“All Sorts Worship” suggests rolling out the red carpet on Palm Sunday. Today the red carpet is rolled out for film stars.

Why not for Jesus? Ask congregants to write or draw their prayers on squares of red paper, then place them face-down in the aisle. The visual image of the red carpet evolves. The point is made.

Tell the gospel story dramatically with each side of the aisle in different roles.

The vestry or men’s group could be the Pharisees, then add narrator and disciples.

Pile up ferns or palm fronds to strew about Jesus’ way. Ask parishioners to throw down coats and jackets, while the old Petra praise song, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” plays on the CD. If you can, get a real donkey for Palm Sunday next year. At St Mary’s “Easter Alive,” the donkey did 28 performances for local schools without disgracing himself. But to be on the safe side, you may prefer your donkey dramas outside.

Choose a good reader to share the Rev Ted Body’s dramatic text for Palm Sunday, “Talking to a Marked Man”.1 Its words of warning to Jesus ring out powerfully in churches of any size.

In an all-age Eucharist, the Ministry of the Word allows for dramatic readings or symbolic stations round the church. On Palm Sunday, families could fill a small bag with a piece of fern, a 20 cent coin, three tack nails, a dice, and a polished stone.2 Next they’ll make a twig cross, bound with twine, and take a tiny Easter egg for each person. Invite families to place the bag on the table during Holy Week (with or without readings attached), then figure out which symbol fits each day.

One Palm Sunday station may offer a morsel of bread and a sip of grape juice.3 This is not communion, but recalls the last supper. Another station may invite people to dip their fingers in water and dry them – to remember Pilate’s washing hands, or Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.

...you may prefer Quote yourhere... donkey dramas outside.

at the foot of a stark wooden cross in a silent individual confession.

Children can make their own Easter gardens or join the congregation to make a huge one. Dramatic readings full of emotion will bring the characters of Jesus’ passion alive.

Sometimes successful all-age worship is about drawing on who or what you’ve already got. I once asked a burly retired policeman to march slowly up the aisle and hammer 3 nails into real wood.

People talked about it for weeks.

Try taking the walk of the cross outside.

I shall never forget the solemn face of a young child leading a Good Friday procession up the street with her grandmother beside her, and young adults heaving the cross on their shoulders behind.

We need to explore all-age worship because it matters who we reach.

People matter to God. Jesus was involved in the whole community, with children and leaders, with the women at the well and the fishermen at the lake.

The holiness of this form of communication comes from God’s Spirit speaking through us, and our prayerful preparation, rather than from cleverness.

Maybe we need to do church a little differently to get a different result. Why not try sharing the faith with an all-age group in your neighbourhood?

The Ven Rosie Staite is Lay Archdeacon for Mid-Canterbury and part-time rural ministry support for South Canterbury.

Her book Tried and True Resources for All Age Worship is available from Epworth Books, or from Rosie Staite. rosie_staite@xtra.co.nz

The drama of Good Friday

Notes:

Good Friday’s gospel speaks for itself, but careful choices need to be made if lots of younger children will be present.

On arrival, offer people a nail, a rose pruning, or a stone. Later these can be laid

1.“Talking to a Marked Man” by Ted Body has part two for Good Friday.

2. You can find polished stones for sale in 2 dollar shops or at Mitre 10.

3. Your local Presbyterian congregation may lend you their tiny communion cups for this station.

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TH G O ES O P LE O L G2 Y0 1 4

Exercising When Bishop Kelvin Wright set out on a monthlong Hikoi across his southern diocese, he didn’t expect to discover the gospel quite so close to the surface.

...these deeply spiritual people show little inclination to turn up on a Sunday morning.

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the faith

I

t is one of those clear still days in the Central Otago Lakes District when the air is cool, but the sun beats mercilessly down.

Phil Clark, John Franklin and I reach a slight crest in the relentlessly straight road we’ve walked for the last 10 km and catch our first glimpse of Wakatipu behind the distant trees.

The end of day is in sight, and a gentle, shady downhill curves before us into Kingston.

We enter the tiny lakeside township and throw a right towards the pier. Soon, we are accosted by a local.

She takes the tokotoko stick and exclaims, “Ooh! Isn’t this nice? I need one of these for my bad knees,” and then, “So where are you walking to?”

We start talking: about Samuel Marsden, Ruatara, and the gospel bicentennial; about Maori missionaries in the South; and about this 760 km trip through the length and breadth of the diocese – mostly on foot, but also by bicycle, boat and train.

We explain how both the Hikoi and the wooden staff are named Te Harinui (The Great Rejoicing), then recount its origins

in the Christmas story and Marsden’s first sermon.

With every word her interest grows.

Snapping shots on her iPhone, she hopes to write up our story in the town’s newsletter.

Her conversation flows seamlessly between her spiritual history and that of her family, typical of many we’ve met on this journey.

When Stu Crosson suggested a Hikoi to mark this year’s gospel bicentennial, I warmed to the idea – because of my time on the Camino Santiago. At first, I’d thought it would be pretty easy: I’d catch a bus to Bluff and start walking north.

But I had greatly underestimated the interest of our own people, and pretty much everyone else we have encountered.

Now the Hikoi of Joyful News has evolved into a highly organised project, with hundreds of people taking part along the way.

A support vehicle travels with us as we walk, and we follow the Land Transport Authority’s rules, including wearing “hi-viz” clothes. The three of us who’ll walk the whole way are billeted every night, as are our support crew. As we approach major towns we are joined by a crowd, which varies according

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Left: Rev John Franklin, Capt. Phil Clark and Bishop Kelvin Wright crunch along a Central Otago back road.

Insert: Bishop Kelvin in proclamation mode with St Hilda's School students at Dunedin's wharfside.

to the size of the local Anglican church.

Most nights we’ve been hosted to shared meals, where we speak and pray with the people who’ve gathered. For 24 hours, the Most Rev’d John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, and his wife Margaret provide sparkling company as they walk alongside us.

In special sections, the journey has changed mode to welcome people unable to walk too far. The operators of a boat trip across Lake Wakatipu and of the Taieri Gorge railway both offered us special bargain deals. We were joined on the Taieri Gorge train by 180 people who shared in the Eucharist across four different carriages.

This is a proclamation event.

We began on Stewart Island at Wohler’s Cross, a memorial to the first Pakeha missionary resident in the far south, the Lutheran Johann Wohlers. Shortly before his death in 1885, this greatly loved pioneer charged the Bishop of Dunedin, Samuel Neville, with continuing his work of proclaiming the gospel.

This Hikoi is in part a fulfilment of that obligation. But it is also an exercise in listening. Walking offers a unique connection with the land that is not available by any other means. Travelling on foot has allowed me to listen to the landscape of my diocese in a whole new way.

As I’ve met and heard from a wide range of people, I have also been surprised by an unexpected perspective on the state of the gospel in Aotearoa New Zealand.

It is true, some of our parishes are

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declining, sometimes to the limits of viability.

And yes, there is a lack of knowledge about Christianity. But there is also widespread goodwill, and a huge interest in spiritual matters.

People have related to me their own profound encounters with the divine, sometimes in tears. They have spoken fondly of the church they knew in childhood and adolescence. Many live with a sense of purpose, aware of a greater presence beyond their daily lives.

They may even love their little neighbourhood church, and pay good money to ensure its continued existence, but these deeply spiritual people show little inclination to turn up on a Sunday morning to hear a service beginning on page 404.

Most in the church know this already, and we know there are no easy answers.

I certainly can’t fix the problems of this diocese merely by a month of walking through it. But this Hikoi is facing me with the right questions, and a sense of where and how we should be moving.

Years ago, Howard Hanchey wrote that the job of evangelism is to introduce people to the God they already know. As this Hikoi proceeds, I believe with deepening conviction that he is right. Our task as a diocese is to do precisely that.

How exactly we manage that will exercise us for some time yet.

The Rt Rev Kelvin Wright is Bishop of Dunedin. bishop@dn.anglican.org.nz

Welcome!

OUR DOOR IS OPEN

OPEN DAY

Monday 12 May, 10.30am - 1.00pm The Principal's address will be at 11.45am.

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Page 37

ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

ENVIRONMENT

Time for an Phillip Donnell suggests an antidote to the Palm Sunday blues

palm oil production is pushing species like the orangutan to extinction

Page 38

oil change I

n the week before Easter we commemorate Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday – named for the palm branches laid in honour before him.

In ancient times those palm fronds symbolized both goodness and victory.

They appeared on coins and important buildings, and even Solomon had palm motifs carved into the temple walls. In the book of Revelation, the nations lift up palms in honour of the Lamb.

Sadly, our modern use of oil palms is not an honorable business, and that’s what gives me the Palm Sunday blues.

Originally from West Africa, the oil palm tree flourishes wherever heat and rainfall are abundant. The majority of its oil-producing fruit crop is now grown in Indonesia and Malaysia. This year, as previously, vast areas of pristine rainforest will be slashed and burned to make way for new plantations. In Borneo and Sumatra, this large-scale deforestation is pushing

numerous native species to extinction – including the orangutan.

Manufacturers favour palm oil for use in over 50% of the products on our supermarket shelves – from baked goods and confectionery, to cosmetics, body products and cleaning agents.

Consumers are oblivious to its presence, due to a lack of mandatory labelling in many countries. Palm products can easily be concealed as 'vegetable oil', or any of its other 170 recorded names.

Many of our innocent, everyday purchases are now fuelling this very focused environmental disaster.

But 30 years ago, Western customers didn’t to need to check the bottle for palm oil, because it simply wasn’t there. What’s changed is simple economics. Palm oil outstrips its competitors on both cost and efficiency, so companies gain by using it.

Some products claim to contain ‘Sustainable Palm Oil (SPO)’, but the evidence for that title is slim. The

ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

8 ways to detect and avoid palm oil

Left and centre: Palm oil fruit: it outstrips its competitors on cheapness, but what is the real cost? Above: Rays of light stream through an Indonesian palm plantation on land clear-felled from native rainforest.

eco-oil accrediting body is the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), but its credibility is often under question. RSPO’s low standards and lack of regulation raise suspicions of a “green wash,” when certificated oils are not backed-up with supporting data.

If alternatives were sustainably harvested, most customers would prefer them to the forest-destroying variety. But companies don’t seem to catch on.

In 2009, Cadbury New Zealand reduced the cocoa butter in their chocolate and topped it up with palm oil. This kicked off a storm of protest, despite Cadbury’s assurances it was sustainable. Sales and goodwill fell, and eventually Cadbury dropped the modification.

In similar vein, WWF’s 2011 analysis of NZ toilet rolls revealed several brands contained Indonesian rainforest fibres. Consumers

quickly deserted those brands on the shelves.

These two stories demonstrate the power in our hands. Companies need to know how discerning the purchasing public is, and that we will take into account both the planet and future generations.

Our individual choices may seem puny, but they can make a decisive difference.

Easter proclaims that the forces of destruction and death will be overcome – by God’s agenda of resurrection and new life.

That agenda can work through us too – in what we buy, and don’t buy, just as it can in everything else we do.

Phillip Donnell is the EnviroChurches Facilitator for A Rocha Aotearoa New Zealand and the Director of New Earth New Zealand.

11.

Palm oil is most commonly labelled 'vegetable oil'.

22.

Most pre-packaged snack foods made by corporate giants (Nestle, Unilever) contain palm oil.

33.

If saturated fats are over 40% of total fat, that is a likely sign of palm oil.

44.

Ingredients with the word 'palm' in them (i.e. palmate) mean palm oil.

55.

Most homebrand/no-name pastries and confectionery contain palm oil.

66.

To check a product for palm oil, internet search its name with ‘palm oil’.

77.

Choose products that list alternative oils, such as 100% sunflower, corn or canola oil. Beware that soybean oil production leads to destruction of Brazilian rainforest.

88.

"Organic”, "Cruelty-Free" or “Natural” do not exclude the “natural ingredient” of palm oil, despite its unnatural production.

phillip.donnell@arocha.org

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Page 39

ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

OVERSEAS AID

Photo: ACT/PJeffrey.

Filipinos picking up the pieces

E

verything was thrown into the air as the worst-ever typhoon hit the Philippines last November. Then everything crashed back to earth.

Trees fell, homes were blown over and whole towns torn apart by winds up to 200mph. In a few days, the storm left mourning survivors with no homes and no way to make a living.

Thankfully, generous giving by CWS supporters and a NZ government grant provided immediate relief through the National Council of Churches in the Philippines.

When the disaster hit, most media attention focused on Tacloban, a major city flattened in the storm. But many isolated communities were also severely affected.

In coastal Aklan province, where CWS Quote here...works, more than 94% partner Developers of homes were damaged or destroyed.

Now, months later, unrelenting rains and frequent storms have made recovery even harder. Survivors are managing as best they can but help is uneven.

Diopen (above) is one of the fortunate ones. He was able to carry people to higher ground when the storm surge hit his community in Malangabang. Now he is back on the water with his fishing nets salvaged and repaired.

But many others like him have been left with nothing.

The overwhelming priority is to build shelters.

Repeated storms have shredded tarpaulin shelters brought by the first aid convoys. So in Aklan Developers urgently needs money for corrugated iron to re-roof eight more communities.

UN reports show the typhoon destroyed or severely damaged 5.9 million livelihoods.

Coconut farmers now have to wait seven years to harvest from replanted groves, while fishing communities must replace costly boats and equipment.

Ms. Tet Naraval of Developers reports that while people are sharing boats and building bamboo rafts for fishing, life remains precarious.

For Tet, the practical aid and prayers of CWS supporters does ease the pain of ongoing difficulties.

So please give generously to the CWS Philippines Typhoon Appeal at: www. cws.org.nz > emergencies > philippinestyphoon-appeal.

Or contact CWS on 0800 74 73 72.

Gillian Southey is Communications Coordinator for Christian World Service (CWS). gillian.southey@cws.org.nz

We support families so children can enjoy the

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Page 40

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

BOOKS

All too human FROM THE BIG BANG TO GOD: OUR AWE-INSPIRING JOURNEY OF EVOLUTION

BY LLOYD GEERING POLEBRIDGE PRESS, SALEM, 2013.

WWW.STEELEROBERTS.CO.NZ $29.99 KEN BOOTH

A

ge has certainly not slowed Lloyd Geering down. Several new books have appeared in the last few years despite his being in his 90s.

That is a somewhat awe-inspiring journey in itself.

And the book is a bit of a tour de force.

Bringing together his interests in science and religion, Geering sets out to produce an account of the BIG story.

The first part of the book sketches what we usually think of as the story of evolution, down to the emergence of humanity. The second part explores the history of our human search for meaning and the place of God in that. Geering writes with his customary facility and ability to communicate clearly.

It is an easy read.

Does the book achieve what Geering sets out to do?

The main title is misleading: by the end of the book, God has disappeared

from the story, except as a kind of shorthand for human longings and desires.

A more accurate title, though less catchy, would be From the Big Bang to Human Autonomy. In the journey towards human autonomy, Geering covers familiar ground. God, he says, is a human construct of our own making, arising from our dreams, aspirations and fears, and must be dethroned, as we take responsibility for our situation and our future.

The subtitle raises more serious issues.

Geering wants to replace the traditional Christian story of the world, its origin and destiny with the awe-inspiring journey of evolution.

Will it serve? Evolutionary theory itself is not a problem even for most Christians.

It puts humanity very much in its place as a product of a very long and complex process. It is also clear that we ourselves have shaped the way we talk about God. But will this story address our basic questions about life?

Religion is about the structures and habits that nurture and sustain what gives meaning to our life. Religion need not have anything to do with churchgoing.

The expression, “Rugby was his religion,” conveys correctly the meaning of religion in that sense.

So, does what Geering offer provide

a religion for the future as he claims?

Keep that question in mind when you finish the book.

Where are the profoundly human needs for forgiveness, reconciliation and true community addressed in this story?

What in this will help, when the pain of living becomes hard to bear?

The Rev Dr Ken Booth is a retired Anglican historian and theologian.

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Page 41

ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

FILM

Serious show business The harrowing cinematic tale of "12 years a slave" presents John Bluck with an unlikely challenge for the church.

O

nce in a great while, a movie that is both entertaining and hugely profitable manages also to be both meet and right.

Worthiness and fun are uneasy bedfellows, but “12 years a slave” proves it can be done. Not that this movie is all that much fun. You wouldn’t take the children, and squeamish viewers will need to close their eyes through the sustained violence scenes.

That said, it’s a visual treat, beautifully filmed in the mansions and plantations of the Old South, with riveting performances by little known actors like Zupita Nyong’o and Chiwetel Ejifor.

Any movie that scoops Best Picture Awards from Academy, Golden Globe and Bafta is serious show business, and this one is no exception. For all its weighty subject matter, it manages to captivate and

...squeamish viewers will need to close their eyes.

Page 42

delight millions, while connecting them to a history we’d rather forget.

The slavery industry sustained the economies of Europe and the USA for centuries. It’s official abolition 150 years ago didn’t end slavery, which continues today in more hidden forms, producing those cheap imports we’ve come to take for granted.

Director Steve McQueen speaks of the legacy of violence left by slavery, even in his own Ganayan family, and the failure of the West to address that inheritance. Few movies before have dared to try. “12 years..” does, with courage and care for the historical record.

The story is based on the 1853 autobiography of Solomon Northrup, a free man in New York State who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841, the very time that New Zealand was learning to live under a treaty that guaranteed the same rights to all its citizens. He is eventually freed, but the outcome of the film holds no golden sunsets.

Critics slam the film because it focuses on one man’s journey, rather than the millions who suffered.

But a movie without that focus, and all the risks of making him heroic, would not have succeeded as show business. It’s a miracle that

McQueen manages to convey the moral punch that he does, in complete defiance of the Hollywood producer who famously warned, “If you want to send messages in movies, use Western Union.”

All of which poses interesting questions for churches trying to get their message across to new people. We have an unpleasurable legacy from the Puritan side of our Christian pedigree that believes religion needs to be a bit miserable to be true – certainly not something to enjoy.

By that logic, church and show business are polar opposites.

Happily that belief is breaking down, thanks to festivals like Parachute, movements like Messy Church and leaders like Desmond Tutu, who found something to laugh about in the worst of situations.

Churchgoers that have a good time on Sunday keep coming back.

It’s not rocket science.

The Rt Rev John Bluck lives in Pakari, north of Auckland. blucksbooks@gmail.com

ANGLICAN TAONGA

EASTERTIDE 2014

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

Imogen de la Bere isn’t clicking “like” for every display of public piety she sees.

Facebook fasting? Not for me.

F

unny what remnants of religion people cling to.

A friend of mine, who is a recent bishop in a splinter Roman Catholic church, processed into my kitchen the other day.

“I’m moving to a different church,” he pronounced. “Still a Roman Catholic church.

I’m still a bishop. There are too many oddballs in my current church. Too many people who just like to dress up.”

When we politely inquired how he was observing the day, he looked blank.

“It’s Ash Wednesday,” we said. “Generally regarded as a major event in every branch of the Catholic church.”

“Ah,” was the reply, “details, details.”

Religion has proved too hard for most of us in the Western world, but we feel there’s a religion-sized hole in life, so we fill it by a process of pick ‘n’ mix.

A bit of mindfulness there, a soupçon of charitable giving there, a slice of selfdenial here.

A Facebook poster of a kitten, with a piece of potted wisdom and 10,000 likes.

An inspiring Powerpoint-presented sermon on values (and Your Personal Brand) during a company workshop.

My favourite at the moment is the Secular Fast.

I expect you are familiar with this one.

People ostentatiously giving up something agreeable – generally alcohol – for a period, and sometimes having the temerity to ask for sponsorship.

Over here it builds to a frenzy in Lent – the last remnant of the Lenten Fast.

Social Media works as a natural watchdog.

You can log both progress (Day 15 without Chocolate! Sad face accompanied by a yummy photograph of a slice of chocolate cake and a sad girl) and back-sliding (One night out with the girls – but hey, it’s Laura’s hen-night, so it doesn’t really count! Smiley face accompanied by a blurry photo of six young women clad in heels, skimpy black dresses, tiaras and Martini glasses.)

So much for the gospel injunction not to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing, and to fast in secret, seen only by the Father.

In the world of secular religion, it must be both public and good for you personally, otherwise it has no validity.

Modern secular religion, although it yearns for something to fill the spiritual hole, has entirely missed the point.

Two major characteristics of the Christian gospel are that it is selfless and secret. We try to live out the gospel not because it is good for us, or because others are watching, but because we have heard in our hearts the Word of God. Sadly, it was ever thus. Even in the days when England was a religious nation (I’m not sure New Zealand was ever pretentious enough to claim that) religion was largely a matter of observance.

Being seen at Divine Service, being observed to live an upright life – these things mattered.

The truly holy, the true seekers after God, the Saints were always a tiny minority. We need not despair. It is better that the church is a quarter full of people humbly seeking God, than packed with hypocrites waving their large donations.

Let folk fast on Facebook, if it makes them feel better.

If God likes their status, it will be in secret.

Imogen de la Bere is a writer and director, living in England. delaberi@gmail.com

Page 43

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From these stylish one, two and three bedroom apartments, you can forgo any worries of security and home maintenance – leaving you more time to enjoy life. It’s no wonder many of these homes have already sold. Don’t miss this chance to be part of a wonderful community.

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