Anglican Taonga Advent 2014 by Anglican Taonga

ADVENT 2014 // No.47

Taonga ANGLICAN

GOSPEL 2014

Glad tidings of great joy Bicentennial high point sails into view

COMMUNION

Canterbury steps out

Where is Justin Welby taking us? PEOPLE

Hard call to answer St Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s students who beat the odds VISUAL ART

Sculpture with soul The work of Peter Nicholls

WOMEN IN THE LEAD : : MISSION & PAEROA : : TACKLING VIOLENCE IN FIJI

ADVENT

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

ADVENT

Hymnwriter Marnie Barrell delights in the power of Advent hymns to ready us for Jesus’ birth

Drop down

ye heavens

usic, like perfume, can go straight to the heart. It evokes strong memories. The opening notes of an Advent hymn can pitch me straight into this season of hopeful, reflective waiting. Haunting tunes and powerful themes help us ponder the beginning of the Church’s story and of our new year. This return to Advent is circular, but never repetitive. We are not exactly who we were in 2013 and we sing the familiar lines with different joys, hopes and sorrows. Out there, the shops are already jangling O come all ye faithful, before we’ve started O come, O come Emmanuel. Wait! We’re not there yet. We need this precious time before commercial craziness sets in – to slow down, simplify and steady our lives. We need to mourn the gap between what is and what should be – to name and lament what’s wrong in the world and our own share in it. We need to rekindle our hope that God is near, and that things are not necessarily as they seem. Advent hymns bring all of this home to our spirits.

Faith looks beyond the obvious – to find God’s perspective.

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Auckland's Holy Trinity Cathedral choir sing for the opening Eucharist of the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in 2012.

Some wistfully acknowledge the painful distance between what we see and hope for, while others retell the stories and explore their meaning. As we sing, we revisit the extraordinary story of the incarnation, lovingly depicting Mary, Joseph and the angel. In the Magnificat, we share Mary’s joyful proclamation of the new covenant. We defy injustice and evil as we hail the Lord’s anointed coming to set the captives free, coming in the fullness of time to restore all things. Every song points to God’s purposes in history, found in the events and people that never make the headlines. Our hymns proclaim how, then and now, God’s action is what was promised and hoped for – but not what the untrained eye might see. Images of Madonna and child that glow with inner light, surrounded by angels and reverent visitors, are a triumph of insight over appearances. The apparent facts – the child of a disgraced peasant woman, born in a borrowed shed, hunted down by the local tyrant – are obvious enough, but faith looks beyond the obvious to find God’s perspective. Our Christmas card nativities rightly proclaim what was really happening, not what a camera might have recorded.

That’s why we need Advent, before Christmas bursts upon us. It takes the time, readings, music and prayer to recognize that even the grimmest events, rightly perceived, can tell us something new about God’s loving presence. It takes spiritual discipline to recalibrate our minds to God’s surprising ways of being with us, and to spot the signs in our lives. Without that hard-won perception of what’s needed and how God meets the need, why would all ye faithful come joyful and triumphant, to adore the newborn Christ? They may have already decked the malls with holly, but we’re listening to a much more subtle music – songs of ageold yearning for God, songs celebrating one girl’s trusting ‘yes’ to a frightening message, songs acclaiming the sure sign of God’s love in the child to be born, pointing to signs of hope around us now. If the malls must play O come all ye faithful before we’ve meditated on those mysteries, let’s defy them by singing along – O why are we waiting? Marnie Barrell is a hymnwriter, musician and lay preacher in Christchurch. marnie@pl.net

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Anglican Taonga ADVENT 2014

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PEOPLE

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Anglican Pacifist Jonathan Hartfield questions his nation’s choice of what to remember this year.

REGULAR 24 Youth: Greta Yeoman offers a young adult take on the Abbey

Lest we forget

the good news

his year Aotearoa New Zealand will mark the anniversaries of two momentous events for our nation. The first is the gospel bicentenary – 200 years since Samuel Marsden and Ruatara preached the gospel in 1814. The second is the outbreak of World War I in 1914. The attention and resources assigned to the two has clearly favoured war over peace. And the weight given each event by our national media reflects that choice. Sadly, for most ordinary Kiwis, stronger media coverage equals greater value. We reveal our priorities in the way we spend money, too. If funding is the yardstick,

then the 2014 message is clear: 1914 was vitally important, whereas 1814 was of little moment. More than $120 million in government funds will go to National War Memorial improvements to mark 2014. On the other hand, government funding for the Marsden Cross Heritage Park is unlikely to reach 3% of that figure. We have chosen to neglect the site of the gospel’s arrival 200 years ago – and a bicultural partnership that birthed a nation. Admittedly, New Zealand is a secular state, but does that justify so little support for this major event in our history? To me, it feels like the priorities are in reverse. A vision of peace and harmony between peoples is coming second to the annihilation of 16 million young men (and women) – for no good reason. Both, of course, need to be remembered. But the 1814 bicentennial could help us celebrate the best of what that beginning came to mean. We could look to this first partnership of Maori and Pakeha, and find what good stemmed from the lifeenhancing gospel at its heart. Looking back to WWI we could find good, too – in the heroism and self-sacrifice of those who risked their lives for others. But our

It feels like the priorities are in reverse.

25 Archives: Judith Bright reveals a hidden gem for 2014 33 Schools: Anne van Gend on beefing up our welcome 38 Environment: Phillip Donnell mourns the sparrow that falls 40 Books: Ken Booth: Apologetic; Anne Mills: Chronicles of Paki 42 Film: John Bluck goes to the movies for mayhem, miners and Mars 43 The Far Side: Imogen de la Bere receives an unexpected gift

This war was born out of human folly.

memorials of the First World War must firstly be a solemn recognition of the human destruction and grief it caused. And we must remember that this war was born out of human folly. When Jesus’ disciples were faced with such unequal odds he spoke to them in parables. He talked of yeast, a substance outweighed in size but unequalled in its power to transform the dough. He spoke of mustard seeds – too small to be noticed at first – which would grow into havens of shelter and refuge.These parables came to mind after I attended a recent concert in Wellington Cathedral, featuring Requiem for the Fallen. A WWI anniversary work by NZ composer Ross Harris, the requiem includes words by Vincent O’Sullivan, and taonga puoro music by composer Horomona Horo. It intersperses movements from the Latin requiem mass with O’Sullivan’s comment on the horror and futility of war. As Harris writes: “The string quartet and taonga puoro comment on the words and expand the context of the work to a broad meditation against all wars.” At that first performance, the requiem held the audience rapt throughout – and

when we put the case for peace, we depend too much on the rationality of words – and too little on the language of music, art and poetry. at the end, a profound silence settled on the packed cathedral. Judging by the standing ovation that followed, they had heard the underlying message and felt its sway. We were left with O’Sullivan hopeful words: that we should refuse to accept “that the evil of war must always be the final dominant note.’’Peace organizations like the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship know

Jonathan Hartfield is chairman of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship of Aotearoa New Zealand.

how hard it is to break through the idea that militarism should be an acceptable social norm. People are so accustomed to organised state warfare that our words bounce back as if from armour plate. But music is a potent yeast for our time – with the power to go where words alone cannot reach.Not only does it soothe the savage breast; it can go much deeper. Perhaps

Hope

ilesha@xtra.co.nz 1. This set of characteristics defined community in the book Psychological Sense of Community: Prospects for a Community, Seymour B. Sarason, Jossey-Bass Publishing, San Francisco, 1974.

What about

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N Things took a turn there – that Jekheli didn’t see coming.

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you?

ot many St John’s College students have travelled as far as Jekheli Kibami Singh has to be at the Meadowbank campus. Jekheli, you see, was born and raised in Nagaland – which is in the far north-east of India, next to Myanmar1. And that’s a very different world. There are more than 30 Naga tribes, of which Jekheli’s Sumi people are one – and they all share a fierce sense of identity. Consider this: India observes August 15 as its Independence Day, to celebrate the day in 1947 when India won freedom from British rule. Naga nationalists, on the other hand, mark August 14, 1947 as their Independence Day. Their forefathers had proclaimed their freedom from India on the

eve of India’s independence from Britain. There’s a fragile ceasefire in place today, but the Indo-Naga conflict has claimed thousands of lives. There’s something else that sets Nagas apart. Their faith. In the 1870s American Baptist missionaries established a foothold there, and Nagaland is now “the only Baptist state in the world.” They went from being “headhunters to soulhunters,” and 90 percent of Nagaland’s two million people are believers. Jekheli grew up surrounded by Godfearing devotion. As a little tot in the Sumi Baptist Church she dreamed of serving, preaching and ministering. Leading, even… At the age of seven, Jekheli vowed to her mum and dad that she would dedicate her life to serving God. They later told her

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 Aleshia Lawson Taonga Distribution Manager PO Box 6431, Dunedin 9059 taongadistribution@gmail.com Advertising Brian Watkins Ph 06 875-8488 021 072-9892 brian@grow.co.nz Media Officer Lloyd Ashton Ph 09 521-4439 021 348-470 mediaofficer@anglicanchurch.org.nz. Cover: Samuel Marsden preaching at Oihi, Christmas Day, 1814. By Kennett Watkins. Used with permission, John Kinder Theological Library.

gang fortress to pay their respects to a man who’d been slain by the member of another gang. The vibe was heavy. Ominous, even. Yet hundreds of the meanest-looking dudes around fell silent as Tony prayed for and commended the slain man to his Maker. Marica and Dave Picot have observed Tony in action for years now. Marica is treasurer of The Redeemed (“Even as a woman I find church girly at times”) and she says she and Dave have come to respect Tony. Not least for his mana in the gang world. “He has the ability to discern,” says Marica. “To know how to speak – to know what message to bring on any given day – and to whom to speak. He has an ability to understand the gang world, and to work within it. He has credibility with the leaders, and he gives us credibility by just being there.” “He does strike me,” says Marica, “as being an unusual priest.”

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He was already a Methodist minister, and when he graduated, he’d left to lead a church in Mumbai. But not before he’d proposed to Jekheli. She felt the same way about him, too. Trouble is, Rajnish is a Punjabi. And for a Sumi Naga woman to marry a khalaumi, an outsider – that was unthinkable. Not even parents as enlightened as Jekheli’s could cope with that. “I said: ‘Can you please pray about this?’ “And my mum simply said: ‘No.’ “So I wrote to Raj and told him: ‘Please find somebody else. I cannot marry you. My family is not willing.’ ‘He wrote back saying: ‘That’s all right. Your parents are saying that because they love you. I’m happy to wait. Just give them time.’ And the young couple did give them time. They waited five years, in fact. During that period Jekheli completed her MTheol at a seminary in the southern state of Kerala. Meanwhile, in Mumbai, 1700km to the north, Raj began writing to Jekheli’s parents. He met with her two older brothers. It helped that Raj was already in ministry. And Jekheli’s mum and dad could see that she loved him. Eventually, the way opened for Raj to meet Jekheli's parents. He travelled from Mumbai to Nagaland

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Riding with the (that’s a 3-day journey by train and taxi) accompanied by his mother and brotherin-law. Once there, Raj phoned in regular updates on negotiations to Jekheli – who was 4000 km away down in Kerala. All went well, and Raj and Jekheli were married in May 2003. Their wedding was the first cross-cultural marriage in the history of Jekheli’s church. So having won Jekheli’s mum and dad over, they lived blissfully ever after? Well yes – and no. Because Jekheli no longer feels she can live in Nagaland. She’s too protective of Raj and their two sons to allow that. “I feel passionately about Nagaland,” she says. “But Raj will never be accepted there. And because their father is khalaumi, our sons will also be considered khalaumi.” Jekheli does what she can to change that reality. She writes for church magazines and theological journals, and engages with Naga youth in Facebook groups.

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Back in 2013 Bishop Justin Duckworth challenged St John’s students with a question: in the years to come, what letters might be written about St John’s College? What stories would the lives of students being prepared there today tell about their old seminary? Lloyd Ashton has been privileged to read the opening pages of two of the students’ letters to the future.

Rat Pack

s a general rule, you don’t find many RATS at St John’s College. But Tony Brooking? He’s definitely one. Because besides being a BTh student at SJC, and priest assistant at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Tony’s also chairman of The Redeemed Motorcycle Ministry. Back in late August, Tony and his Redeemed mates rumbled down to Morrinsville, to an event that grappled with teen suicide. They gathered there under a banner which reads: Riders Against Teenage Suicide. So: RATS. Trying to turn back teen suicide is not all the Redeemed do. In November, for instance, Tony and a few Redeemed riders thundered off on the 10-day White Ribbon Ride around the North Island. That’s a ride which aims to end violence against women and children. One evening each week Tony and his ministry mates also move out to feed

Auckland’s homeless. And they’re always speaking at church services, at schools, youth or community events. You could say those are the safe things they do. But they also head into places where you and I might fear to tread. Gang funerals, for instance. Tony recalls turning up with a mate to a Mangere marae for the tangi of a national gang boss. They were wearing their black leathers and patches which proclaim: Jesus is Lord, The Redeemed, Psalm 107:2 – the words surround a big white cross – and once they’d parked their Harleys, they strode slowly up the road to seek out the new boss. It was High Noon, perhaps. Or lambs to the slaughter, more likely. But then, something strange happened. Some of those assembled gangsters began queuing up, asking for prayer. That’s not the only time Tony’s had encounters like that. A couple of months ago he led a small posse of Redeemed into a

True. You’d struggle to detect early signs that Tony Brooking would wind up at St John’s College. Tony was born in Auckland in 1973. His Dad, Rodney, who had Ngati Porou links, had returned from two tours of duty in Vietnam and married Elizabeth Hoani, who has Nga Puhi ties. But Rodney died when he was just 31 – an Agent Orange victim, his whanau believe – leaving a young widow, their seven-year-old daughter, and Tony, who was five. Liz moved north to Kaikohe, to her parents. Tony’s grandparents were strict Roman Catholics, and Tony trooped along with them to St Anthony's, the local RC church. He even became an altar boy there. Soon enough, though, Liz met another man. The new couple had two children of their own – and the man brought nine kids from an earlier marriage. So there were 13 kids in their house. All kinds of turmoil, too, says Tony. As a teenager, Tony began hanging out with an uncle in Rawene who was into motorbikes, music, drugs and alcohol. That’s when Tony’s love of bikes kicked in. Mind you, he didn’t stint on that other stuff either. Tony was also a handy rugby league player. At 15, in fact, he was playing senior

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league. But most of his league teammates also belonged to the local bikie club, and he began running hard there, too. Two things happened to jolt him free of that scene. The first came after he’d played in a tournament in Rotorua. Tony had starred. But as his motorcycle club president was driving Tony back north – he’d demanded the club’s regalia back. “You’ll always be welcome amongst us,” he’d said to Tony. “But as long as I live, you’ll never be a patched member of this club. “I expect more from you.” *

didn’t want him to grow up not knowing who he was.” Tony quit the booze and the drugs, and checked out some reo-learning programmes – which didn’t appeal. But then he landed a job with a Kaikohe Trust, reaching out to youngsters who were on the police radar. “I knew rugby league and sports, and I thought: surely these kids

Show your chops – and prove your skills

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WINTER ADVENT 2013 2014

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VISUAL ARTS

YO U T H

Recharged for

mission

When national youth advisor Phil Trotter says 180 youth leaders turned up to The Abbey last year, most Anglicans are unimpressed. “Oh, it’s an ecumenical camp?” they say. “Nope,” he answers, “all Anglicans.” And this year, there were 200 of us.

The Spirit was up to something big.

he Abbey is Tikanga Pakeha’s annual conference to encourage and equip youth leaders. This August, like last, it was held at Waikanae’s El Rancho camp. Busload after busload of youth workers poured in for the opening Friday night. With so many quirky, energised youth leaders all on one site, no one could predict what might happen. Six bishops and Archbishop Philip were there, too, alongside a stellar

lineup of guest speakers, workshop leaders and Nelson worship band City of Light. This year’s theme was discipleship: You are my disciples if... Don Tamihere kicked off the festival with a sermon delivered in song. He laid out how Maori oratory demands the facts are backed up by waiata. So that’s how he opened John 15 to the crowd – in song and the spoken word – aided by his acoustic guitar. Waikato and Youth Liaison Bishop

Helen-Ann Hartley was an Abbey firsttimer this year. Her highlight was seeing so many squeeze into El Rancho’s tiny church for morning prayer – to steal a time of stillness amid the busy schedule. She enjoyed the more hectic scene, too. “The energy, vibrancy and commitment to discipleship was inspiring.” Visiting US theologian Dr Andrew Root unpacked the challenges of relational youth ministry for the crowd. In another workshop, youth staff challenged the bishops on how we fund professional youth ministry. The dining-hall conversation hub saw Anglicans from round the country talking, laughing and swapping stories at this annual family get-together. Then on the Saturday night, something profound happened. Baptist youth pastor Merr Withers spoke about the pain and struggle of dedicating your life to work with young people. Her challenge was to count the cost of living sacrificially – as a disciple of Jesus – and name the insecurities that held us back from glorifying God. Her words struck a deep chord with the audience. As the evening went on, God’s Spirit was palpably at work as people opened their hearts and asked the tough questions, then responded in prayer. One worship leader that night was City of Light musician, Luke Shaw. He could see that openness to God took some by surprise, “People were visibly moved. We could sense the Holy Spirit was working on hearts. Some of them wouldn’t have prayed like this before.” Spanky Moore, the main MC, agrees. “It was a powerful and transformative time. “Most people I've spoken to since agree that the Spirit was up to something big. “I think God was challenging us Anglicans to get out of our heads – and rediscover our hearts.” Part of The Abbey’s brief is to showcase new approaches to Anglican worship. So this year Phil Trotter asked MC Spanky to celebrate an electronic sung Eucharist – such as you’d hear in a cathedral, but set to a downbeat techno track.

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One St John’s College student loved the new style of Eucharist. “But imagine if we tried that back at college?” she said. “They’d kill us!” As the outgoing buses loaded up, most were tired but elated – inspired and recharged for their ministries back home. Samantha Mould from Christchurch

summed up the feeling: “It's great to remember we are not alone in our own parishes, but that we are in the kingdom mission together.” Greta Yeoman is a journalism student who attends St Aidan’s Bryndwr. gretskiy@xtra.co.nz

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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

Dunedin artist Peter Nicholls has been in the critical limelight of New Zealand sculpture for over forty years.

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Yet there’s scarcely been a word on the spirituality that lies beneath his art. Julanne Clarke-Morris visited Peter’s studio to uncover that missing thread.

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

ritics seldom ask about an artist’s faith, says Peter. They assume it’s irrelevant. Artists should be too cool for religion. They should live

on the edge. And a lot of artists try to live up to that image, he says. “Some artists will do anything to get critical attention.” But Peter Nicholls wasn’t prepared to act like that. “I decided I’d rather be an eco artist than an ego artist,” he says. Peter trained under Jim Allen at Auckland’s Elam Art School in the early 1960s. But the largest part of his academic career was at Otago Polytechnic School of Fine Arts in Dunedin. Peter tutored sculpture there for 22 years, mentoring generations of students from 1979 to 2001. Peter showed in galleries across the country too. And regularly won large-scale sculpture commissions. That’s why his monumental wood and steel sculptures feature in parks and public collections across Aotearoa New Zealand. They grace collections in the US, Canada and Australia, too. Peter’s faith has always been there, but has often been subterranean in his art. Unlike his contemporaries Colin McCahon and Ralph Hotere, Peter has not become well-known for the Christian symbols in his work. His spirituality has risen to the surface in subtler ways. In his 50s, Peter became a Catholic. That was after he married fellow artist – and cradle Catholic – Di Ffrench. He converted when their four children, (Sarah, Kirk, Patrick and Ashley) reached Catholic school age. “It was an expression of fidelity really –to the children.” But despite her strong Catholic identity, Di shied away from mass as soon as the Latin retired. “For her, the mass in Latin was like a spiritual dream space. When they started using English that was gone. And she stopped going.” So Peter ended up at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Dunedin on his own. “It took me six months to become a Catholic. I had to go to lessons with these elderly priests. “They instructed me as though I’d never been a Christian.” But that was not so. Peter was born in Whanganui in 1936, the fourth child of Gus and Marjorie Nicholls’

five children. He was baptised in the Anglican Church. When the family moved to New Plymouth in 1944, they were regulars at St Mary’s Anglican Church, where Peter’s dad taught Bible class. “My father was a stern disciplinarian.” “…he was a strong family man; with a sporting background in rugby, motorbike racing and rowing. And he ran a large motor garage.” Peter’s mother was different. She was cultured; a pianist and music teacher. And she had a vivid faith. On Sundays she’d play music with the children – some on cello and others on violin, with mother at the piano. Peter’s younger brother Tony loved music too. But he preferred to dance. “Tony had Down Syndrome.” “In those days most children like him were sent to institutions. “But my mother kept Tony at home. She never travelled because of him. “I used to take him on bike rides, take him swimming, things like that. “He didn’t walk till he was three. He was quite handicapped. “So as children, we had a sense of the fragility of life.” Peter says that human frailty lurks somewhere in all his works. In Arch (1983) Peter piled matai blocks into a man-sized arc that can hold its own weight. While the lumbering curve looks sturdy, it is still quite fragile. Peter likes that kind of tension in his work. In his recent Shards series, Peter sees the church as a refuge from violence. On a visit to Munich in 2007, Peter was struck by images of the bombed-out St Peter’s cathedral. And awed by its glorious restoration. His miniature steel cathedrals are made with roofless walls, jagged and blackened. Holes torched into their sides leave ghosts of the chaos outside: a human body being thrown, a dagger, a foetus, a dog’s head. But inside, the broken church is lined with gold. “I wanted it to express warmth and tranquility, a sense of refuge.” “I was thinking how in times of war or danger, people might gravitate towards churches. As a testament to peace.”

ANGLICAN TAONGA ADVENT 2014

ADVENT 2014

Tangle of wood In 1991, Peter made Catalyst, a work in the form of a cross. Beneath its chrome-plated steel arms lies

Too late for the upland moa and South Island kokako – now in Otago Museum's extinct species section.

any hand up to reverse that trend. Now the world’s rarest marine mammal and wading bird are on the brink. There are only 55 Maui dolphin left, and of the black stilt, a mere 180. Since only 2007, the South Island kokako is no more. Two-thirds of our land-based ecosystems are classified as under threat. Not surprising when the 85% of what was once native forest, is now down to 23%. 90% of lowland forests, rivers and wetlands have been damaged or destroyed – with trees felled, swamps drained and waterways polluted. Pests kill round 26 million birds (or their eggs) each year (including up to 60% of brown kiwi). The good news is there are two simple ways to turn this around. First, we have to reduce the amount we consume –so that we put less strain on the environment. Next, we must find ways to conserve our natural habitats.

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a tangle of wood that once lay in the Catlins River. “I was stunned by its intertwining forms. So I photographed the wood, put it in the trailer and reassembled it back in the workshop. “It is a symbol of Christian constructs on indigenous land.” Peter says making art is often a spiritual process. Sometimes he doesn’t feel entirely in control of what happens. “Stravinsky said that. He said the artist doesn’t make the art.” “It comes through the artist. “After my mother died, I remember I went into my workshop. Materials would appear in my hands and the work just evolved.” *

Later that kind of grief surfaced more intensely in Peter’s work. And this time it was even closer to home. In 1998, Peter’s wife Di Ffrench was diagnosed with a terminal illness. As he came to terms with what was going on, Peter expressed it in his art. He made Shields for the Process (1998),

Bye-bye birdie A

Phillip Donnell wants us to look for the bigger picture when a single sparrow falls.

Each demise should be like a canary in a coalmine.

side from a few awe-struck shepherds and some wise men of the East, the birth of Christ went largely unnoticed – at first. Even then, few people would have grasped what this baby’s arrival meant. They would not have recognised their God in human form, nor seen in him the fulfillment of Israel, and its centuries-old promise of a messiah. Nor did they expect that this child would change the world. That wisdom would only came later, after the event. Today there are portents of change in our environment that fly below the radar. The extinction of wild flora and fauna is a case in point. Every time a plant or animal dies out, it weakens the web of life. In fact, each such demise should be to

us like a canary in a coalmine. Each loss points to a far greater threat – of large-scale environmental damage and climate change. *

Humans are taking a deadly toll on wildlife. This year the World Wildlife Fund for Nature reported that wild animal numbers have fallen by 52%, on average, over the past 40 years. That means the earth now hosts under half the wild mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish that it did in 1970. Wild species of course, sometimes fail to survive. But the current extinction rate is 1,000 to 10,000 times the normal pattern. Across the length of geological history, extinction crises like this have happened

five times before. But this crisis is different. This time, the cause is a single species – humans. We have destroyed habitats (e.g. by deforestation), killed through overhunting, over-fishing and poaching - as well as by spreading predators, pesticides and poisons. Aotearoa New Zealand leads the world in wiping out indigenous plants and animals. Since humans have lived here, at least 70 other species have disappeared. Gone are the world’s largest flightless bird (the moa), its largest eagle (Haast’s) and largest gecko (kawekaweau). Today the NZ Department of Conservation holds 2800 native species on the threatened list: all of our native land mammals and frogs, 85% of vascular plants and 50% of birds. Eight hundred more species are in acute or chronic decline. Less than 1 in 4 threatened species gets

Recently I visited a conservation site at Marokopa Spit. As one of our precious few remaining dune lands, this is one of Aotearoa’s most threatened ecosystems. Back in 1975, years of human activity had severely eroded the dunes. The spit was virtually flat and frequently overwhelmed by waves. But in 1998, the community began replanting native dune plants that hold onto the sand. Karo, ngaio, pohuehue, wiwi, spinifex and pingao all went in – to help the dunes recover, and protect the township from flooding. Public access was banned. Sixteen years on, the results are startling. In places, the dunes now reach ten

There are two simple ways to turn this around.

metres higher than before the planting started. And the spit is home again to the fragile northern dotterel (pop. 1700). The Marokopa nesting ground adds another North Island West Coast beach where the tiny seabirds can breed. The dotterel nests – little more than a scrape in the sand - are no longer disturbed by waves, off-road vehicles or careless feet. And as a result, their numbers are rising. But only because humans saw what they had done - and turned back the tide. *

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When baby Jesus was born, the majority of people failed to find anything momentous. And few of us will stop to ponder the magnitude of another extinction. If the last Maui dolphin washed up on the beach, would most of us be any the wiser? Let’s hope some of us can take the hint and get wise now. Phillip Donnell is a consultant/facilitator for A Rocha Aotearoa New Zealand and the Director of New Earth New Zealand. He is happy to talk to anyone about a Christian response to the environment. phillip.donnell@arocha.org

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ENVIRONMENT

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Features

Waiapu's new shepherd 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.

they’d trembled at hearing that: “They took God’s work extremely seriously. They worried: ‘What if she’s saying this at this age, and can’t keep that commitment?’ So they were always praying for me.” So Nagaland is a bride, then, ready for the Bridegroom? Perhaps not. Romanticising goes on in Nagaland, says Jekheli, which covers up some uncomfortable realities. Corruption, for one. Racial discrimination, for another. And serious gender discrimination. Serfdom, really – as a girl, Jekheli only had to look next door to see that: “My friend, she had three brothers, and the whole day she would be cooking, working, washing her brothers’ clothes.” Thankfully, Jekheli didn’t have to contend with that ‘boys first’ orthodoxy. Her mum and dad, Hokhuli and Hokhuvi, encouraged Jekheli and her two sisters to dream big dreams. And they sacrificed so all their five kids could go to private school, and university. At 19, Jekheli headed off to a Nagaland seminary, where she landed her BTheol. She felt prepared then. Ready to minister. Trouble was, no-one wanted her. There were no openings. Not for a woman, anyway. And not in Nagaland, especially. “I was told that this church needs a pastor – but they want a man. And this church needs a youth leader – but they are asking for a man.” “When I prayed about ministry I would say to God: ‘Why is it that you call men and women to serve you? “On one level I’m thinking: ‘Is it something to do with me? Am I not good enough? Am I not worthy? Am I not fit to be in ministry?’” Jekheli knew, in her head, that she was up against a universal problem. But that didn’t stop her feeling rejected. Jekheli pressed on with her theological studies. She moved to Central India, to Leonard Theological College in Jabalpur, where she completed her BDiv. And that’s where she banged into that other kind of discrimination. The racial one. While Jekheli was at Leonard, she met Rajnish Singh.

Bishop Andrew Hedge scopes out the boundaries

2014: War or Peace? Jonathan Hartfield prays for more eyes on gospel than battle

Women out in front Jo Fielding joins a richly woven tapestry of peers and ideas

++ Justin Welby Peter Carrell sees signs of resolve in the Archbishop of Canterbury

A long way from Nagaland

Riding with the RAT pack Tony Brooking’s unlikely road to St John’s

Taking charge of mission CMS Africa’s Samaritan plan gets legs in Paeroa

Turning the tide on violence Fiji’s House of Sarah helps churches stop domestic violence

Sculpture with soul Taonga searches out the spirit in Peter Nicholls’ art

Jekheli Singh’s story of a call that defied the odds

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

http://anglicantaonga.org.nz Page 3

ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

PEOPLE

On the road again

aiapu’s new bishop wasted no time in getting to the grass-roots of his diocese. The Rt Rev Andrew Hedge had hardly turned the key to his Napier office before he was off on a four-day tour of all 19 parishes in Hawke’s Bay. That road trip set a template for further getting-to-know-you visits in Eastland and Bay of Plenty in the new year. He says he wants to listen to stories “that offer a backdrop unique to individual communities.” He hopes also to draw “threads of conversation” that reflect not just a community but also a region – and the diocese as a whole.

With reflection and prayer, those threads should point to hopes for the future. Bishop Andrew will travel to the far-flung reaches of the north in good company. His bicultural partner, Archbishop Brown Turei, is joining the road trip, along with each of Waiapu’s regional deans.

‘A very popular man’ More than 700 well-wishers crammed the Waiapu Cathedral in Napier in October to celebrate Andrew’s installation as Waiapu’s 16th bishop. Large numbers from outside Waiapu also turned up – including a busload from St Andrew’s, Cambridge, where Andrew had served for six years before his election.

What that tells you about Waiapu’s new bishop, suggested Bishop Kelvin Wright of Dunedin, is that Andrew is a very popular man. “I mean that in the best sense of that word – he earns people’s respect, trust and friendship.” Archbishop Philip Richardson, who preached at the installation and who has known Andrew since his ordination as a deacon, spoke of the new bishop’s “selfawareness, humility and honesty before God.” He saw that afresh at the Cistercian monastery in Kopua, where Andrew made his pre-ordination retreat. “He really does trust God,” Archbishop Philip told the congregation.

Bishop Andrew Hedge steps outside his new cathedral, flanked by Archbishop Brown Turei.

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ANGLICAN ANGLICANTAONGA TAONGA ADVENT 2014

GOSPEL 2014

Climax to 2014 celebrations sails into view

inal preparations are being made for two events which will be the high points of the bicentennial celebrations. On Sunday, December 21, the Governor General, Lt Gen Sir Jerry Mateparae will open the Rangihoua Heritage Park. That new park recognises the Bay of Islands site where the Rev Samuel Marsden and his tiny band of CMS missionaries, with the blessing and protection of Maori, set up the first European settlement in Aotearoa New Zealand. So that commemorates key events in the building of our nationhood. Then, there’s the matter of mission in this land. At 11am on Christmas Day, there’ll be an ecumenical service at the Marsden Cross site itself, just up from the beach, where Samuel Marsden preached his 1814 sermon to his Nga Puhi and Pakeha hearers: “It being Christmas Day,” he later recorded, “I preached from the Second Chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, and tenth verse: “Behold! I bring you glad tidings of great joy.” “When I had done preaching (Ruatara) informed them what I had been talking about. (He) was very much pleased that he had been able to make all the necessary preparations for the performance of Divine service in so short a time, and we felt much obliged to him for his attention. “He was extremely anxious to convince us that he would do everything for us that lay in his power and that the good of his country was his principal consideration. “In this manner the Gospel has been introduced into New Zealand; and I

General Synod visits the Marsden Cross at Oihi Beach, 2014.

fervently pray that the glory of it may never depart from its inhabitants, till time shall be no more.” The Rangihoua Heritage Park comes into being through the foresight of the Marsden Cross Trust Board which, in 2005, bought the land that lies between Rangihoua Bay and Oihi Rd. The MCTB then linked up with Ngati Torehina, the Rangihoua Native Reserve Board and DOC, and together they developed the Park – which now features Rore Kahu, the new welcome centre by Oihi Rd, and a pilgrimage walkway that leads down from there to the Marsden Cross.

This new walkway features several way stations, with interpretive panels that tell the story of Rangihoua – from both settler and Maori perspectives – and these will be unveiled on December 21. To register for the December 21 park opening (and for details about how to get there, and what to bring) go to: www.rangihouaheritage.co.nz Everyone is welcome at the Christmas Day service. This will be Anglican led, but ecumenical, and it will include church leaders from across the country. For further details about that day, go to www.gospel2014.org.

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

COMMENT

Anglican pacifist Jonathan Hartfield questions his nation’s choice of what to remember this year.

Lest we forget

the good news

It feels like the priorities are in reverse.

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Sadly, for most ordinary Kiwis, stronger media coverage equals greater value. We reveal our priorities in the way we spend money, too. If funding is the yardstick, then the 2014 message is clear: 1914 was vitally important, whereas 1814 was of little moment. More than $120 million in government funds will go to National War Memorial improvements to mark 2014. On the other hand, government funding for the Marsden Cross Heritage Park is unlikely to reach 3% of that figure. We have chosen to neglect the site of the gospel’s arrival 200 years ago – and a bicultural partnership that birthed a nation. Admittedly, New Zealand is a secular state, but does that justify so little support for this major event in our history? To me, it feels like the priorities are in reverse. A vision of peace and harmony between peoples is coming second to the annihilation of 16 million young men (and women) – for no good reason. Both, of course, need to be remembered.

But the 1814 bicentennial could help us celebrate the best of what that beginning came to mean. We could look to this first partnership of Maori and Pakeha, and find what good stemmed from the life-enhancing gospel at its heart. Looking back to WWI we could find good, too – in the heroism and self-sacrifice of those who risked their lives for others. But our memorials of the First World War must firstly be a solemn recognition of the human destruction and grief it caused. And we must remember that this war was born out of human folly. When Jesus’ disciples were faced with such unequal odds, he spoke to them in parables. He talked of yeast, a substance outweighed in size, but unequalled in its power to transform the dough. He spoke of mustard seeds – too small to be noticed at first – which would grow into havens of shelter and refuge. These parables came to mind after I attended a recent concert in Wellington Cathedral, featuring Requiem for the Fallen – a WWI anniversary work by NZ

ANGLICAN TAONGA

composer Ross Harris. The requiem includes words by Vincent O’Sullivan, and taonga puoro music by composer Horomona Horo. It intersperses movements from the Latin requiem mass with O’Sullivan’s comment on the horror and futility of war. As Harris writes: “The string quartet and

taonga puoro comment on the words and expand the context of the work to a broad meditation against all wars.” At that first performance, the requiem held the audience rapt throughout – and at the end, a profound silence settled on the packed cathedral. Judging by the standing ovation that

Hope

ADVENT 2014

followed, they had heard the underlying message and felt its sway. We were left with O’Sullivan's hopeful words: that we should refuse to accept “that the evil of war must always be the final dominant note.’’ Peace organizations like the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship know how hard it is to break through the idea that militarism should be an acceptable social norm. People are so accustomed to organised state warfare that our words bounce back as if from armour plate. But music is a potent yeast for our time – with the power to go where words alone cannot reach. Not only does it soothe the savage breast; it can go much deeper. Perhaps when we put the case for peace, we depend too much on the rationality of words – and too little on the language of music, art and poetry. Jonathan Hartfield is chairman of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship of Aotearoa New Zealand. ilesha@xtra.co.nz

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

M I SNSI S I OT N RY

Stronger as

three in one

Jo Fielding didn’t know what to make of a conference that might include weaving – but she buried her reservations and checked it out

With each conversation, a new connection unfolded.

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omen, Church and Leading? I felt discouraged even before I got there. The ink was still damp on my licence as priest in charge of Otago Peninsula parish. So why attend a leadership hui when I had scarcely begun to lead? And what about that question mark? Is female leadership still something to be doubted? I buried these misgivings and carried on. Session 10 on Fasting and Prayer suggested we bring a writing journal. Session 12 was labelled Weaving Ribbons of Unity. For this we’d need safety pins, needle or thread to secure our weaving. My doubts surfaced brighter and louder... Admitting to a prayer journal in public was bad enough – but weaving? Apart from darning the occasional sock,

fibre and I are not friends. Not even on Facebook. What sort of conference could this be? But a thread of reason stood out in the welter of dismay. My ministry in the far south is mostly with Tikanga Pakeha. Perhaps this hui would be a rare chance to meet my tikanga toru sisters – from Whangarei to Fiji, Samoa to Southland. So get over yourself, Jo, and go! I did. But not without a get-out clause: a plane to catch before weaving time. First impressions were not promising. A tangled mass of unfamiliar faces filled the car park before we began. Seeking refuge in the St John’s College chapel, I found myself under the macho gaze of staff-wielding bearded prophets – glaring down from almost every window. Male names of previous staff and students shone from the brass-plaque studded walls. No sisterhood there. Back outside, the opening call drew us

ANGLICAN ANGLICANTAONGA TAONGA ADVENT 2014

More than 90 ordained and lay women gather at this year’s Women in Ministry conference.

The Rev Amy Chambers sings Pasefika in full praise mode.

Plait four? How was that even possible? Why hadn’t I booked the lunchtime flight? My neighbours were equally clueless. No worries, said one, pulling up YouTube on her phone… I looked around. There was Amy Chambers from Fiji, utterly at ease, plaiting away. Would she help me? Of course. Soon I was seated on the floor next to Amy, weaving – drawn in by her kindness, and wrapped in tales of pandanus mats she made with her grandmother in their

Pacific Island home. One in front, one behind, tuck in from the side. Suddenly it was 2.30pm and a taxi was waiting. It had all been well worth it. And our three strands felt stronger from being woven together. If only the whole church could experience this. The Rev Jo Fielding is priest in charge of Otago Peninsula parish, Dunedin. joanna.fielding@hotmail.com

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into the powhiri. Then, in only a few hours, a thoughtprovoking line-up of speakers unpicked my fears and prejudices. Jenni Carter’s account of rural ministry was fascinating. First, she had worked out what made the community tick, then brought the Church’s mission into that – instead of waiting till they came to her. Calling volunteers, then holding a service to celebrate them, she pinpointed where best to serve the community herself. Hey, I thought, we should be doing that back home. As Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley opened up Mark chapter 8, she questioned the labels others give us, and those we impose upon God. Who do you say that I am? Who does God say that we are? Take apart those inherited ideas about what it is to be human, she said. And what you expect God to be. Conversations were alive with stories over the three days together. Some were hard to hear. We heard the pain of lost identity at being sent away to New Zealand for a better education. Others spoke of misogyny – being systematically excluded from political discussion by male colleagues. Yet others had tales of vocations denied or delayed. These were threads that had snapped and frayed. Some had still not mended. With every conversation a new connection unfolded, often in unexpected ways. What could I, an English-born Pakeha from Dunedin, have in common with a woman from Samoa? Plenty, as it turned out. The days went by so fast that the dreaded final session was upon me before I knew it. Safety pin in my pocket, I dawdled in – late. There it was: my length of dowel, with 20 flat silk ribbons dangling in a rainbow of colours. Weaving time. And too early to catch that plane. I stared at the ribbons in confusion. “Plait three together,” she said. OK, I could manage that. Then, “Plait the next four together.”

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

COMMUNION

Prayer for the ABC during the 2014 Soul Survivor festival.

Steeled by prayer Peter Carrell admires signs of focus and resolve in Justin Welby’s first 18 months as Archbishop of Canterbury.

He won’t be deterred by that challenge.

rchbishop Justin Welby’s flying visit to Auckland in August was no whistlestop meet and greet. A bigger plan governed

the visit. In his first 18 months as Archbishop of Canterbury (ABC), ++Justin has set out to hear from all 38 primates of the Anglican Communion. So his primary purpose here was to meet our three primates face to face. It is not hard to guess the strategy behind such meetings. And they point where we may be headed with this Archbishop of Canterbury.

Communion wear and tear During Rowan Williams’ Canterbury tenure, the bonds of affection holding the Communion together had frayed and fractured. Some ‘business as usual’ became difficult, if not impossible. The Primates’

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Meeting could not even gather the primates for communion and there were awkward meetings of the ACC. Spectacularly, in 2008 one third of all Anglican bishops stayed away from the Lambeth Conference. Many had attended an alternative conference – known as GAFCON – which was held again in 2013. A Global South network grew through ++Rowan’s tenure as a potential alternative Communion of Anglican churches, drawn from across Africa and Asia.

Steely determination Before being catapulted into the top job, Archbishop Justin spent little more than a year as a bishop, in Durham. Since then he has brought fresh eyes to the ABC’s global role. Now, rather than call another Primates’ Meeting (which would almost certainly fail to attract a full house) ++Justin is moving round the world to meet the primates one by one.

ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

Clockwise: Archbishop Justin prays with Hong Kong’s primate. (Photo: Tsang-Hing Ho/Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui). Speaking at 2014 CofE General Synod; listening in at Porvoo primates’ gathering in Reykjavik, Iceland. Photos: © Lambeth Palace.

He aims to have those 38 conversations by the end of this year, to discern new ways of reviving the bonds of affection. Meanwhile, a questionmark hangs over Lambeth 2018. Cancellation of that would show the Anglican Communion is well and truly broken, since Lambeth is one of the four Anglican Instruments of Unity. But Archbishop Justin won’t be deterred by that challenge. For a start, it isn’t as dangerous as negotiating with terrorists, which he has done before. Primatial get-togethers must form part of a careful, long-term plan. So for Lambeth 2018 to go ahead, work needs to be done on repairing episcopal relationships, especially between the United States and Africa. But that’s not an impossible mission either. ++Justin has form when it comes to reconciliation – he was once Canon for Reconciliation Ministry at Coventry Cathedral.

Where are we heading? Of course it is early days, so we cannot foretell Justin Welby’s prospects for success. However, as Primate of All England, this archbishop has already put runs on the board. Before his elevation in March 2013, the Church of England was in desperate straits on the question of women’s episcopal ordination. A seemingly well-laid plan for a synod vote had come badly unstuck in 2012, leaving years of hopeful work stumped by

only a handful of votes. Cue Welby’s background career in the oil business, and his strategic successes as Dean of Liverpool. A new synodical plan was crafted, presynod groundwork carefully laid, and in July 2014 all houses voted in the change with the requisite two-thirds majority. Justin Welby has also scored high in the UK’s public debates on political and ethical issues. However, inside the CofE he has yet to see the full force of dissension over same-sex marriage. *

As Christians we know that prayer is the best response to tests of character and competence. Justin Welby has made plain that prayer is a core priority of his mission as ABC, which is why he has called in two communities to pray for his work. First, he invited the Chemin Neuf community1 to take up residence at Lambeth Palace and offer permanent prayer there. Next, he announced formation of a Community of St Anselm, made up of 16 young adults who will pray, study and offer practical service full-time for a year at Lambeth Palace. Another 40 London-based members

will take turns to join the Lambeth community part-time. With these moves, Welby has harnessed the power of prayer – to gird him against both English and global challenges. His ABC mission has four more strands: renewal of religious life, reconciliation, evangelism and witness. These priorities, he says, will define his role as archbishop. As this is being written, he is in the news for turning down a role held by many predecessors: Vice-Patron of the Royal College of Organists. Why? Simply because it does not fit with his core priorities. The archbishop’s first months have been characterised, then, by a steely determination to stay focused on priorities that bodes well for the years ahead. From down under we can join Chemin Neuf and St Anselm’s to pray that among his achievements will be a revival of the Anglican Communion. The Rev Dr Peter Carrell is Director of Theology House in Christchurch. director@theologyhouse.ac.nz Note 1. Chemin Neuf is a Roman Catholic community with an ecumenical vision.

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

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GOSPEL 2014 – HISTORY

She steps out

Stained glass from the Nigel Brown window at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland.

of the shadows

Lucy Nanson meditates on the roles of two women who helped clear the gospel’s arrival in 1814.

Miki was a woman of intrepid character.

n this bicentennial year we are remembering Samuel Marsden and Ruatara as the first to preach the gospel on Aotearoa’s shores. At the heart of their tale are two almost overlooked characters, whose loving actions helped Christian mission take root in this land. The first is Elizabeth Marsden, sometimes mentioned alongside her husband Samuel. But her real significance is seldom brought to light. The other missing character is Miki, the first of Ruatara’s three wives.1 A community leader in her own standing, Miki was the daughter of Waraki, a leader in Ngati Rahiri at Waitangi. Through her powers of expression, Miki hastened the arrival of the Word. *

Years before the famous 1814 Christmas

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Day service, Marsden and Ruatara had met in Australia where Marsden was principal chaplain for New South Wales, a magistrate and wealthy farmer. Marsden regularly opened his Sydney home to visiting Maori – to build ties for mission across the Tasman. Ruatara was a young relative of two Bay of Islands rangatira, Te Pahi and Hongi Hika. Before reaching Australia, he had worked on a series of European ships – and in some cases, suffered cruel, inhumane conditions. The Santa Anna, for example, had left Ruatara (and others) on uninhabited Bounty Island, with little water or provisions, to hunt seals there for eight months. Following that ordeal, Ruatara was determined to get to England and speak with King George III. So he risked another voyage on the Santa Anna, only to be refused permission to go ashore on arrival in England.

ANGLICAN ANGLICANTAONGA TAONGA ADVENT 2014

Instead, he was beaten by the captain and forced to work without pay, then transferred to the Ann bound for New South Wales. Samuel Marsden and his wife Elizabeth were returning to Australia on the Ann with new missionary recruits for New Zealand, John King and William Hall. That’s where Marsden found Ruatara – wrapped in a greatcoat spitting up blood – and heard his tale of beatings and withheld pay. Marsden realized that as well as being badly injured, Ruatara was depressed by his failure to meet the king. He decided to protect the young rangatira in his cabin quarters, where he could be nursed back to health. But without Elizabeth, Marsden’s offer of care might have been little more than a well-intended gesture. In 19th century English life, day-to-day health and wellbeing was the domain of women – along with care of the sick. Without Elizabeth’s attention to hygiene and nutrition, Ruatara’s severe injuries could have led to serious infection, even death. Elizabeth’s careful nursing gave Ruatara his best chance of survival on the long boat journey, but it also enabled two critical friendships to grow – between Marsden and Ruatara, and Ruatara and John King. In a letter to the CMS Marsden remarked: Duaterra [Ruatara] is a very fine young man, about two-and-twenty years of age, five feet ten inches high. He possesses a most amiable disposition; is kind, grateful, and affectionate; his understanding strong and clear. Marsden hoped Ruatara would accompany Hall and King to New Zealand immediately, but that plan was overturned by the spectre of a European crew who were massacred near the NZ coast. (European retaliation for that event later caused the death of scores of Ruatara’s relatives, including Te Pahi.) Marsden then invited Ruatara to work on his Parramatta farm where he eagerly learnt agricultural skills such as wheat production, hoping to share them with his people. Here Ruatara’s wife Miki enters the story. Miki had coped without her husband for his three years at sea and abroad. Even then, Ruatara seemed in no hurry to return. Miki was known as a woman of intrepid

character. Now she sent a message in song – carried by two men from Ruatara’s home region. They greeted Ruatara with a waiata composed by Miki – compelling a response from her long-absent husband. One of the men sang the waiata to him. Ruatara was deeply moved and longed to be home at once, so he asked Marsden to negotiate a working passage to the Bay of Islands. After five months more work than he’d agreed on, Ruatara finally came ashore at Rangihoua in 1813 and was received with open arms. More travels took Ruatara to and from Australia, but once the Pakeha missionaries finally settled in late 1814, Ruatara’s support became crucial. He protected them, translated for them, and interpreted for them – often at personal risk, and as far away as Hauraki. But his role as Te Ara mo te Rongopai – The Pathway for the Gospel was only to last three months past the sermon on

Christmas day. Ruatara became seriously ill and died in March 1815. If Miki hadn’t urgently called him home, the partnership between Ruatara and the missionaries might never have borne fruit. Every time we recall this founding story, we should remember these two women, who by their nursing and artistic skills gave Godspeed to the gospel. Lucy Nanson is an Anglican anchorite in the Diocese of Wellington. lucy.nanson@gmail.com Note 1. Ruatara’s second wife, Rahu was the widow of a rangatira and was considered his senior wife. Little is recorded of his third wife. Further Reading Between Worlds: Early Exchanges between Maori and Europeans 1773-1815, Anne Salmond, Viking Penguin Books, 1997 - Chapters 17 & 18. Biographies of Marsden and Ruatara at http://www. teara.govt.nz/en/biographies For Lucy's original version of this story, go to http://anglicantaonga.org.nz/Features/Extra

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

PEOPLE

What about Back in 2013 Bishop Justin Duckworth challenged St John’s students with a question: in the years to come, what letters might be written about St John’s College? What stories would the lives of students being prepared there today tell about their old seminary? Lloyd Ashton has been privileged to read the opening pages of two of the students’ letters to the future.

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you?

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ADVENT 2014

Avika, Rajnish, Jekheli and Uday at St John’s College.

ekheli pressed on with her theological studies. She moved to Central India, to Leonard Theological College in Jabalpur, where she completed her BDiv. And that’s where she banged into that other kind of discrimination. The racial one. While Jekheli was at Leonard, she met Rajnish Singh.

The Rev Jekheli Kibami Singh.

in-law. Once there, Raj phoned in regular updates on negotiations to Jekheli – who was 4000 km away down in Kerala. All went well, and Raj and Jekheli were married in May 2003. Their wedding was the first cross-cultural marriage in the history of Jekheli’s church. So having won Jekheli’s mum and dad over, they lived blissfully ever after? Well yes – and no. Because Jekheli no longer feels she can live in Nagaland. She’s too protective of Raj and their two sons to allow that. “I feel passionately about Nagaland,” she says. “But Raj will never be accepted there. And because their father is khalaumi, our sons will also be considered khalaumi.” Jekheli does what she can to change that reality. She writes for church magazines and theological journals, and

Things took a turn there – that Jekheli didn’t see coming.

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PEOPLE

engages with Naga youth in Facebook groups. “We talk about love, we talk about grace, we talk about peace… I ask questions.”

or three years after their marriage, Jekheli taught in a theological college in Jorhat, Assam. Then in 2006, Raj and Jekheli exchanged India’s bustling billions for… Putaruru. Putaruru? Really? Raj and Jekheli had long wanted to explore cross-cultural ministry. After all, they’re a cross-cultural couple themselves. And Raj’s parents, Pratibha and Godwin Singh, were already in Putaruru. Godwin (who’d been principal of Leonard Theological College) was out here on loan from the Methodist Church in India, leading St Paul’s co-operating parish in Putaruru. Raj and Jekheli, meanwhile, had landed a Bible College of New Zealand internship, and they were doing youth work at Putaruru Gospel Chapel. That sparse South Waikato town took some getting used to – and Raj and Jekheli found the embrace of the Anglican Church was what they ached for. So much so, they decided to explore whether Raj could become an Anglican priest. They sought a meeting with Bishop David Moxon to check that out. She’d gone along to that 2006 meeting purely to support Raj. But things took a turn there that Jekheli didn’t see coming. “We were having that conversation about Raj making the transition,” she recalls, “when Bishop David turned to me and asked: ‘And what about you?’

She finally laid down her baggage on that score… at a funeral service.

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That’s Jekheli visiting with her family in Nagaland in October this year – the first time Jekheli had been in her homeland for seven years. That’s Jekheli’s dad, Hokhuvi, and mum, Hokhuli, at left.

“What about you?’ “I just wasn’t prepared for that. I couldn’t speak. “He couldn’t have known… but for me, that question was everything.” “All my life… all I’d really wanted to do was to serve God. And I felt that my conviction was being validated. That my prayers were being answered.”

ishop David recommended that Raj be priested – and that Jekheli should enter the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki’s discernment process. Raj became an Anglican priest in December 2006 – just a few days after Raj and Jekheli’s first son, Uday, was born. Early in 2007, Raj was made priest assistant at Holy Trinity, Stratford. When Uday was two, Jekheli resumed the discernment process – and she was deaconed at St Mary’s Pro-cathedral in New Plymouth in November 2009. She was the first woman from her tribe to be ordained. “I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that this was happening, and for the support I’d had. I was overwhelmed with

the sense of the presence of my family in their spirit… which was bizarre, because nobody could come. But I could just feel that they were with me in prayer.” Raj and Jekheli threw themselves into the Stratford parish and in May 2010, Jekheli was priested there. Raj made space for Jekheli to take on half the priestly tasks. He’d look after Uday when Jekheli was on duty. Not long after her ordination, Jekheli became pregnant with their second son, Avika, and that too, she says, “was God’s timing.” They’d suffered a miscarriage before Uday was born – and had lost another baby after Uday’s birth. So the parishioners rejoiced with them. Even so, Jekheli was anxious. Back home in Nagaland, one reason they’d trot out for not ordaining women was because they’d get pregnant. Jekheli even worried whether she was fit to celebrate in her state: “I vividly remember asking Raj one Sunday morning: ‘Is it OK for me to do the Eucharist service today?’ She finally lay down her baggage on that score… at a burial.

ANGLICAN TAONGA

Jekheli was ordained to the diaconate in November 2009 in St Mary’s pro-Cathedral in New Plymouth, along with Jason Grainger and Titia Boeren-Broekhuizen.

An elderly Stratford man died. Jekheli had already taken his wife’s funeral – and he’d asked her to do the same for him. Jekheli had agreed. So even though the man died when she was on maternity leave, she wanted to honour her promise. While she was standing at his graveside, heavily pregnant, she’d had an epiphany. “I became deeply conscious of the cycle of life,” she says. “I was both giving back to God – this 90-something year-old man, who had had his life, and was now going to be with the Lord – and waiting to receive from God. “I felt that was such an honour, and privilege.”

ekheli is at St John’s College now, on the last lap of her doctoral studies. She’s taking another crack at the gender discrimination problem there too. (Thesis: “Exploring Woman Wisdom: Proverbs 1-9 from a Sumi Naga woman’s perspective.”) Jekheli is profoundly grateful to be at St John’s. Pursuing a doctorate is another of her heart’s desires come true. She’s grateful too, for rock-solid support on the home front. “Raj has always been the one saying: ‘It’s OK. Go for it.’ ” says Jekheli. “He’s always been that gentle force helping me to take every step.” So what now for the Singh family?

ADVENT 2014

I’m sure,” she says, “that God has it sorted.

Well, says Jekheli, that’s simple. They just have to do what they’ve always done before. And that is: stay open to God. “I’m sure,” says Jekheli, “that God has it sorted.”

– Lloyd Ashton Note 1. That’s Burma, in the old geography.

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ADVENT 2014

PEOPLE

Riding with the You could struggle to detect early signs that Tony Brooking would end up as a priest. In fact, when he pulls off his dog collar and puts on his patch, you could struggle to believe that he is one now. Lloyd Ashton has been finding out about Tony’s ride into ministry.

quote here

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Rev Tony Brooking – who has just been awarded the St John’s College Community Service Award for 2014. This award recognised his commitment to the gospel in the college and in the wider community.

Rat Pack

ANGLICAN ANGLICANTAONGA TAONGA ADVENT 2014

The Rev Tony Brooking at Turangawaewae in November 2012.

as I live, you’ll never be a patched member of this club. “I expect more from you.”

Bound for glory – Tony, chopper, St John’s College chapel.

parents. Tony’s grandparents were strict Roman Catholics, and Tony trooped along with them to St Anthony's, the local RC church. He even became an altar boy there. Soon enough, though, Liz met another man. The new couple had two children of their own – and the man brought nine kids from an earlier marriage. So there were 13 kids in their house. All kinds of turmoil, too, says Tony. As a teenager, Tony began hanging out with an uncle in Rawene who was into motorbikes, music, drugs and alcohol. That’s when Tony’s love of bikes kicked in. Mind you, he didn’t stint on that other stuff either. Tony was also a handy rugby league player. At 15, in fact, he was playing senior league. But most of his league teammates also belonged to the local bikie club, and he began running hard there, too. Two things happened to jolt him free of that scene. The first came after he’d played in a tournament in Rotorua. Tony had starred. But as his motorcycle club president was driving Tony back north – he’d demanded the club’s regalia back. “You’ll always be welcome amongst us,” he’d said to Tony. “But as long

The second shock came at his grandmother’s tangi. Tony was 22 when she died, and it fell upon his shoulders to speak. So he’d got up, mumbled a few words and sat down. Whakama. Humiliated by not knowing his language, or his Taha Maori. “I thought – Man: this is huge. I’d not long had my first child and I thought: I never want my son to be in this situation. I didn’t want him to grow up not knowing who he was.” Tony quit the booze and the drugs, and checked out some reo-learning programmes – which didn’t appeal. But then he landed a job with a Kaikohe Trust, reaching out to youngsters who were on the police radar.

Show your chops – and prove your skills

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ADVENT 2014

PEOPLE

“I knew rugby league and sports, and I thought: surely these kids will love that. So on day one I took them down to the park – and they hated it. “All they wanted to do was to play Spacies, and to fight each other.” But when they drove back into the Trust car park there was this Maori guy, practising moves with a long stick. “He was a Ninja,” says Tony. “They couldn’t take their eyes off him. “I thought: ‘Shucks. This is it!’” Turns out that this guy was doing mau rakau (Lit: to bear weapons). There are eight rungs on the mau rakau training ladder. To reach each rung, you not only have to show your chops with the taiaha – but also in te reo Maori, and in matauranga Maori. Tony and the kids signed up for that. They’d train together twice a week, spend one weekend a month on a marae – and the kids couldn’t wait to get there. Tony moved eventually to Sport Northland, and from there to the Ngati Hine Health Trust. But he didn’t move on from the mau rakau. For 15 years, he stuck to those disciplines, and he’s now one of a handful to attain Pou Waru status, mau rakau’s equivalent of a Black Belt. To see what that looks like, check out broadcast highlights of Sir Paul Reeves’ State Funeral in August 2011. At the outset, two Maori warriors sprang out across the cathedral forecourt to lay down a wero to the pallbearers carrying Ta Paora’s coffin. One of the warriors that day was Te Hira Paenga, who is a deacon at Holy Sep. And the other was Tony Brooking. *

To reach the highest levels at mau rakau, Tony had to show endurance.

Mate. These guys were telling my story.

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August 18, 2011: Tony performs a ceremonial challenge to the pallbearers carrying Sir Paul Reeves’ coffin into Holy Trinity Cathedral.

To make Pou Whitu, for example, the seventh level, he had to spar for 24 hours straight – one-on-one, eight-on-one, with no breaks – and then tackle a 25 km run. And it was when Tony was navigating those extremes that he began to grope towards faith. “You had to have more than just knowledge,” he says, “more than just physical ability.” He was also thinking about Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Wha model of Maori health. There are four walls to Prof Durie’s wharenui: Taha Tinana (physical health) Taha Hinengaro (mental health) Taha Whanau (extended whanau health) – and Taha Wairua, or spiritual health. Tony and his mau rakau mates had the first three sussed, he says. But not the taha wairua side. Some tried dabbling in Maori religion, says Tony. But he wasn’t going there. “I thought – Nah. That’s dangerous. Because if you didn’t know all the right karakia, the tapu on things, you could get sick. That sickness affects those around you, and it would take me another 20 years to become even close to competent in that knowledge.” “So I thought – what do I know? “I know Christianity. My grandparents grounded me in it. I was brought up in it.

When things went to the pack back then, what did I say? ‘Oh God, if you get me out of this one… I promise. I promise!’ It was time now, Tony thought, to reappraise that faith, and to deliver on his childhood promises. *

Tony and his wife Sonya had a windfall while he was at Ngati Hine Health. That’s when Tony bought himself a Harley. That Harley became Tony’s ride into mission. One day he spotted this flash green chopper in Wellsford, with ‘Jesus is Lord’ painted on the tank. Turns out that its owner is Amos Ale, who’d

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Tony acts as Kai Awhina to former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, during the Anglican Consultative Council's 2012 meeting in Auckland.

They say: ‘I’ve done this, I’ve done that.’ I say: ‘oh yeah. I know.

been a founder of the Headhunters. He told Tony that he’d soon be heading north again with his new club, The Redeemed – and he invited Tony to ride with them. He liked what he saw, too. “Mate. These guys were telling my story. They gave testimonies about their lives. “Amos and I hit it off like a house on fire. I felt really at home.” In 2009, Tony joined, and within a couple of years, he’d become The Redeemed chairman. “What we’re about,” says Tony, “is bringing people to Christ. That’s our objective.” *

While that Redeemed stuff was developing, Sonya started taking their sons along to church. To St Andrew’s, Kawakawa, where they lived. Tony went along to check that out, too. It didn’t do much for him. But one Sunday morning in 2009, Archdeacon Marina Naera came to St Andrews. “She’s talking about this Maori Anglican church,” Tony recalls. “I’d been chasing hard after what it means to be Maori. And as I was listening I was thinking: ‘Hey, that sounds like me.’ So when Marina threw down her wero – her challenge for anyone who felt called to ministry to come forward – Tony stepped up. It’s fair to say that Marina didn’t get

ADVENT 2014

carried away by Tony’s offer. She waited for him to follow through. She then tested Tony’s foundations for ministry: “At 3am on a cold winter’s morning,” she said, “you get a call to minister. What would motivate you to get out of bed? Why would you even want to do that?” Tony summed up his response in one word: ‘obedience’. That clinched the deal for Marina. “I thought: ‘Yep.’ ” “If you’re wanting to be a priest,” she told Tony, “then we will support you all the way. We will do whatever it takes to get you there.” For the next 18 months, Tony went to the Kaikohe vicarage for a weekly lesson. Marina had a three-strike rule. You don’t show three times, and you’re out. Tony made the grade there, too – and showed he had the potential to go on. “Since 2008 I’ve interviewed many candidates,” says Marina. “But commitment like he’s shown? “That’s rare.” *

As Tony looks back on his life, he could focus on the negative. Losing his father, for starters. Some of the mentoring wasn’t flash, either, that’s for sure. Even so, says Tony, the lessons were all good. Preparation, as he sees it, “for what the Lord had planned for me. “People say to me now: ‘I’m a recovering drug addict. I’ve done this, I’ve done that.’ “I say: ‘oh yeah. I know.’ I can care for them, no matter what they’ve done. I can provide that small seed. “That gang scene – I was in deep enough to know what goes on, but it never took me completely. That’s a blessing.” The sporting scene, too. The drinking, the stormy relationships… been there, done that. And the mau rakau. “I was coming out of church yesterday, and a young fulla taps me on the shoulder and says: ‘Kia ora Papa.’ “I knew straight away – anyone who calls me Papa has done mau rakau. ‘I haven’t figured it out yet,’ the young fulla said. ‘But I’m encouraged to see you here, Papa.’ ” Page 21

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ADVENT 2014

MINISTRY

Jonathan Jong decries the widespread use of personality profiles by his church – and wishes we could catch up with the times.

INF

EST

Time to ask

the right questions

There is simply no evidence they are reliable or valid.

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ncient words of advice are inscribed over the entrance to the Temple of Apollo in Dephi: Know Thyself. Today that command fuels entire industries. We can choose the psychoanalytic couch or a standardized test. Or we can click on a Buzzfeed quizz to tell us which saint, theologian or Harry Potter character we most resemble. But most people complain at being lumped into psychological categories. We claim that such labels diminish our unique individuality and leave us feeling like pigeons shoved into holes. Yet all critical faculty seems to dissolve when it comes to our churches’ and seminaries’ unfettered enthusiasm for two tests: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Enneagram.

Both tools have been darlings of the church’s attempts to know itself for some time. I have never understood their popularity. For starters, they cram people into boxes. Enneagrams even assign numbers to the boxes, though perhaps the sexy nicknames - like The Loyalist, The Investigator, or The Individualist - comfort us in our psychological cells. The MBTI is slightly more sophisticated, slotting us into four boxes rather than one. We are even assured that our ENFJ (that stands for Extroverted-Intuitive-FeelingJudging) is a matter of degree, and not just of kind. What troubles me when our church fawns over these psychological tools, is that there is simply no evidence they are reliable or valid.

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Reliability and validity are technical terms researchers use to evaluate psychological tests. For a test to be reliable, it must be internally consistent. The results must point in the same direction over time. If half the test questions oppose the other half, then the test contradicts itself, which is clearly bad. If the same person gets markedly different results on their second or third go, then it’s a fickle test: also bad. For a test to be valid, it must actually measure what it claims to measure. A valid test can predict actual behaviour or outcomes by its results. And there is no evidence to show that MBTI or Enneagrams can do either. The MBTI, for example, produces a different result for over half of test-takers on their second time. And it can only weakly predict trivial behaviours, such as extroverts sometimes stand closer to people and can be better at remembering names. It fails to predict the behaviour it sets out to identify, such as thinking styles that relate to academic, social, or job

performance. In contrast, tests used and rigourously studied by research psychologists— such as the Revised NEO Personality Inventory— are stable over years, and predict behaviours. The advocates of Myers-Briggs and Enneagrams show little interest in critically evaluating their own products. Perhaps that’s not so surprising. After all, these are commercial products, marketed for profit. MBTI’s publishers (CPP) make an estimated US$25 million per annum. In effect, when churches lean on these personality tests, we rest on scientifically thin ice. But say this in ministry education spheres, and people are quick to go on the defence. The first comment is usually, “But it rings so true for me!” and the other is, “Still, it gets us thinking”. There are flaws in both answers. The first assumes we have acute powers of introspection — that we already “know ourselves”— which is demonstrably false. The truth is, most of us are poor at

ADVENT 2014

assessing our own abilities, predicting future feelings, or even identifying why we make decisions. This false belief is known as the introspective illusion, a fact welldocumented by psychological science. The argument “it makes us think” doesn’t hold water either, unless we use the tests in a critical manner. But when seminaries, synods, or spiritual directors use them, they are intended to help us know ourselves better, and not as lessons in poor psychometrics. Lamentably, the church is not known for being on the right side of science. We don’t help that reputation by buying in to psychological tools based on discredited theories. It is time we realized our favourite psychological measures are little better than horoscopes. The Revd Dr Jonathan Jong is a research coordinator at the University of Oxford’s Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, and assistant curate at St Mary Magdalen, Oxford. jonathan.jong@anthro.ox.ac.uk

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ANGLICAN TAONGA

WINTER ADVENT 2013 2014

YO U T H

Recharged for

mission When national youth advisor Phil Trotter says 180 youth leaders turned up to The Abbey last year, most Anglicans are unimpressed. “Oh, it’s an ecumenical camp?” they say. “Nope,” he answers, “all Anglicans.” And this year, there were 200 of us.

The Spirit was up to something big.

Page 24

ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

Adrian Tofts, Ollie Alexander and Chris Casey swap youth ministry tips.

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

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

Page 25

ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

ARCHIVES

Judith Bright reaches into the past and pulls out an unexpected surprise for 2014

Bound

for a new land

are book collections are strange beasts.

Our own John Kinder Theological Library collection is no exception. In the rare book stack, rows of old leather bindings span almost 2000 early volumes. Many of these books were gifted to Bishop George Augustus Selwyn for his fledgling diocese and theological college. Most are long out of date and few are looked at in 2014. But once in a while we stumble across a treasure that connects deeply to the past. One such find is Richard Hooker’s Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Politie, published in 1617. Neither the book, nor its date, is particularly unusual in this aged collection.

This was more than a quick read for crossing the Tasman.

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But when an eagle-eyed librarian spotted a signature and inscription, the book's story changed. It turns out this volume was given to Bishop Selwyn when he stopped in Sydney on his first voyage to New Zealand in May 1842. It was a gift from Henry Bobart, who had served as a CMS missionary at Te Waimate from 1835-36. But perhaps Bobart’s greater claim on history is that he was Samuel Marsden's son-in-law. Thirty-four years before this book came into Selwyn's hands, its original owner had preached the gospel in this country for the first time. We know this copy had been Marsden's, because his signature is still clearly there – scrawled on the inside cover. In this bicentennial year, I can picture Bishop Selwyn cradling it on the way to his new posting. He would have known that this journey was a direct result of Samuel Marsden’s visit in 1814 – and all that had ensued. I imagine Bishop Selwyn seeing the signature and making the connection. Of course, we have no record of such a moment. But from Bishop Selwyn’s letters, we know that symbolic connections were important to him. So the autograph would not have gone unnoticed. It is significant, too, that this is a text by Richard Hooker – sometimes called the “founder of Anglican theological thought.” So this was more than a quick read for crossing the Tasman. It was a symbol of connection and continuity. It placed a kernel of the Anglican faith

A rare find: Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Politie by Richard Hooker, 1617.

into the new bishop’s hands on his way to help the church take root in a new land. Judith Bright is the John Kinder Theological Librarian. judith.bright@kinderlibrary.ac.nz The John Kinder Theological Library has 120,000 books, 5000 online journals and 400 e-books ready to borrow. Go to www.kinderlibrary.ac.nz to become a library member, it’s free for all Anglicans. We specialize in academic theology, but also have up-to-date resources for parish ministry. The Anglicat catalogue connects to ten Anglican libraries including: Bishopdale Theological College in Nelson, the Friary in Hamilton, Te Rau College in Gisborne and College of St John the Baptist in Suva. The Kinder library puts regular news on Facebook, and you can subscribe to our Blog Fossick for a regular glimpse into the archives. We can help speed up your research with keyword searching in Church Papers Online, which holds digitised copies of church newspapers and synod proceedings going back to 1859.

ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

GOSPEL 2014

Kapiti hikoi-goers gather at Te Ati Awa Park in Kenakena.

Walking tall as

bicultural partners

aori and Pakeha Anglicans across the lower North Island retraced the gospel’s first pathways through Kapiti in

August.

Pilgrims from the Hui Amorangi ki Te Upoko o Te Ika and Diocese of Wellington travelled from Te Ati Awa Park to Pukekaraka and on to Rangiatea. Along the way they retold the region’s Christian history and celebrated 200 years since the gospel was first proclaimed in Aotearoa New Zealand. Organisers Dr Don Mathieson and Archdeacon Te Hope Hakaraia embraced the bicentenary as a chance to recount the history from two sides. For example, Octavius Hadfield loomed large in the story, but not as the region’s only gospel pioneer. “It is often forgotten,” says Don, “that Maori evangelists preceded him, worked with him, and later replaced him during his illness years, when he was absent from the Coast.” Te Hope honoured Kapiti’s Maori forbears in faith. “Te Ati Awa ancestor Ripahau was an evangelist here before Hadfield,” he said. “He brought the Good News to Otaki after he was taken captive by Nga Puhi and taken to the Bay of Islands. “When Nga Puhi converted, they set their slaves free. That’s when Ripahau was released into the care of Henry Williams and learnt about the gospel. “Two more early evangelists were

Tamihana Te Rauparaha, son of Te Rauparaha, and Matene Te Whiwhi, his cousin. “They went up to the Bay of Islands to seek a man of God – to impart the “Glad Tidings” to their people. That’s how Octavius Hadfield came to Kapiti. “He was having an asthma attack in the corner when they came to ask, so he put his hand up to come. He said he may as well die in Otaki as in the Bay of Islands.” Te Hope says the bicentenary is a great opportunity to get these early Maori evangelists into the public eye. “For many Pakeha, and our own Maori people too, that history is quite new. “And we’ve been able to share it in a way that’s uplifting – in a teaching way.” Accompanied by Bishop Justin (from Wellington) and Bishop Kito (Tai Tokerau), the pilgrims started at Kenakena, site of Te Ati Awa’s 1830s fortified village, where they had welcomed the gospel and in 1843 built the first substantial church. Next stop was St Luke’s Waikanae, where Wiremu Parata Te Kakakura had shifted his iwi’s church and gifted land to the Anglican Church – for shared use. Then Rangatahi from Otaki acted out the surprising story of Tarore of Waharoa's Bible. As Ripahau taught his eager students to read the gospel, he began to run out of Bibles. So he sent to Rotorua for more. To his delight, Tarore’s own tattered and worn little Bible arrived. Tamihana and Matene treasured it and later carried its

For many people, that early history is quite new.

message to the South Island. The pilgrimage welcomed Methodist and Catholic stories of mission on the Coast. John Roberts spoke for the Wesleyans, and a highlight was visiting old St Mary’s in Pukekaraka, where Father Phil Cody (decked in 19th century French clerical garb) spoke of the Marists' early work in the region. The Church Missionary Society featured large in the day, not least because the head of NZCMS, Steve Maina, proclaimed the gospel afresh – reminding all to keep the gospel story moving forward. Don and Te Hope believe the pilgrimage helped many to look back with deeper understanding. But they also hope it will signal new possibilities for shared Maori and Pakeha mission “to hungry people of both tikanga and all ages today.” Page 27

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ADVENT 2014

MISSION

Taking charge of

your destiny

Living out the full implications of the Good Samaritan story could be a key to successful community development. That’s the lesson Lloyd Ashton took away from a recent South Auckland conference.

His own bandages, his own wine, his own donkey, his own coins.

Page 28

eet Tukoro Kauhou. If you happen to live around the Hauraki Plains – in Morrinsville, say, or Te Aroha, Thames, Waihi or especially in Tukoro’s home town, Paeroa – chances are you’ll have already had that pleasure. That’s because Tukoro, who has ties to Ngati Rahiri Tumutumu, and Ngati Tara Tokanui Tawhaki, is a street evangelist. In season and out, Tukoro is out there, fishing for souls. He’s effective, too: there’s something about his boldness, his good humour, the light in his eyes and the spring in his step that makes you want to check out his story. And in recent weeks, Tukoro has been frequenting the Anglican Church. Not the biggest Anglican establishment in Paeroa – that’s St Pauls, which is the downtown Tikanga Pakeha church – but St John’s Tamatera, which is on the southern outskirts of Paeroa, and which has been the Maori whare karakia there since the 1930s. A few weeks back, Tukoro spotted some cars parked outside Tamatera on a Tuesday. Being the curious type, Tukoro checked that out. He found Peter Wensor in there – that’s the Rev Dr Peter Wensor, Ngapuhi and Ngati Mahia – teaching Noho Minitatanga, which

are the ministry training classes he runs for Te Pihopatanga o Te Manawa o Te Wheke in Paeroa. And whether it’s because of the quality of Peter’s Bible studies, or because of Peter’s bilingual teaching skills, Tukoro has been lapping up those sessions. The second thing to note is that Tukoro craves for community development. That’s because he lives close to Ngahutoitoi Marae. Tukoro can see people around there struggle. Many of them depend on Government handouts to get by. At the same time, he sees the 50 hectares or so that the people own either side of the road leading into the marae. They can’t afford to pay the rates on that land, so they lease it to a Pakeha farmer who does that. But they get no return from their land. Tukoro, meanwhile, dreams of his people becoming a totally self-sufficient Christ-like community – with fruit trees growing either side of the road, with crops growing under those trees, with rainwater being stored to irrigate the land, with people being able to pay for tangi without being driven into debt, and living in decent new whare where broken-down houses now stand, and ruins now rot. So when Peter Wensor told Tukoro that

ANGLICAN TAONGA

Tukoro Kauhou on the marae atea at Ngahutoitoi Marae, near Paeroa.

he and Rangi Nicholson were leading a gang of 13 Manawa o Te Wheke folk up to Manukau City to take part in a week-long conference where they’d be getting a Biblical handle on achieving that kind of community transformation, Tukoro was in. He jumped at the chance to join them.

he Rev Dennis Tongoi – who is Kenyan, and the Director of CMS Africa – told those conference-goers about “The Samaritan Strategy.” Dennis, who is completing his doctorate in missiology, says the first trick is to examine mindsets, and to interrogate cultural practices in the light of Biblical truth. He gave plenty of examples of what such an inspection can reveal. “In South Sudan,” he says, “the churches are full, yet fighting among the tribes is common. That’s because for a young man to marry, he must pay his intended bride’s family with cattle – and those cattle should not come from his own family’s herd. “So that belief encourages theft, and fighting. It is a lie – which leads to death.” “Ephesians 6 says we do not fight a war against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. Satan uses systemic means to hold entire communities

and cultures in captivity.” There’s a broader mindset problem in Africa too, says Dennis. All too often, he says, Christianity there takes a gnostic form – with extravagant worship on Sunday – but no connection between that and lives lived for the rest of the week. “We have reduced transformation to the spiritual dimension only,” he says. “It’s supposed to take place in the physical, mental and social realms as well.” One of the other anchors of the Samaritan Strategy is Colossians 1:16, where Paul writes that all things were created in Him, through Him – and for Him. And then there’s the account of the Good Samaritan, in Luke 10. “The thing to note in that story,” says Dennis, “is that the Samaritan man used his own bandages, his own wine, his own donkey, his own coins. He used what he already had in his hands to help the wounded man. “The Samaritan Strategy is about helping communities recognize what they already have, what God has already gifted them with. Rather than relying on donor aid for everything, Christian groups are challenged to see what they can do with what resources they already have. “And time and again they discover an abundance that they can immediately put to use in their communities.” NZCMS Director Steve Maina chooses a small-scale example to show how this strategy can create possibilities. In much of Africa, he says, you can forget about using a landline phone – because the infrastructure for such a system just doesn’t exist. Mobile phones, on the other hand, are everywhere. Trouble is, folk in remote areas often have to travel for hours to find a power socket to recharge their mobiles. During a recent trip to Tanzania, Steve noticed travelling evangelists heading out into the sticks equipped with their own solarpowered phone chargers. For a small fee, they offered a charging service to people in these remote places. “They have new opportunity to interact with locals,” says Steve, “they save them time and money – and they raise money to support their own work of evangelism.” Robert Kereopa, the Anglican Mission Board’s Executive Officer, has seen how changed mindsets can change a community. During a recent trip to Kenya, he visited a rural area called Makueni – where he met a woman farmer called

ADVENT 2014

Bilha who was achieving record outputs from her farm. In her region, she explained, farming had always been sneered at – as a pastime suitable only for those at the bottom of the heap. Bilha wasn’t buying that anymore. The secret to her success, she told Robert, was farming “God’s way”. And if you were thinking that the Samaritan Strategy might be relevant for Africa, but not here, because we don’t have those mindset issues… Well, think again, says Steve Maina. Think South Auckland. Think Paeroa, for that matter. Or think about child poverty in New Zealand. “These things prove,” says Steve, “that waiting on the government to fix everything isn’t the answer. “Jesus had a simple but powerful message. He said: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength – and love your neighbour as yourself. “When Christians who believe in God, and believe in loving your neighbour as yourself, begin to practise God’s love in the community, they see transformation not only in their own lives, but in the life of their community.” And Tukoro? He’s headed back to Paeroa with some fresh perspectives on how his people might tackle their problems. More than ever, he’s convinced that their answers lie in their own hands.

Rev Dennis Tongoi, Director of CMS Africa, co-ordinator of Samaritan Strategy Africa, and keynote speaker at the Manukau conference.

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SOCIAL ACTION

Anglican churches across the Communion have pledged to tackle violence against women. Now one of the most exciting Anglican ministries at work on this worldwide problem is the House of Sarah in the Fiji Islands. Sarah Wilcox visited this August and met two pioneering women who are helping the Church work for a sea change on domestic violence.

Fiji turns the tide

on violence

Church has to become a safe place.

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ow I know that violence is a crime,” said one Fijian woman after a House of Sarah seminar. “Not only is it against the law; it is against the teaching of the Church.” Comments like that might be surprising in Aotearoa New Zealand, but not in Fiji. The House of Sarah’s mission is to lower the Pacific nation’s staggering rates of domestic violence. According to a study by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre,1 every day in this tropical paradise 43 women are injured through violence at home and 71 lose consciousness. Of those, 16 are hurt badly enough to need heath care – and one is permanently disabled. Men rule in Fiji. Long-held views have put women second, a notion buttressed by some incorrect interpretations of scripture. The result: an environment where 64% of women experience physical, sexual or emotional abuse. “In Fiji, culture and religion are

intertwined,” says Ann Drummond, a Uniting Church of Australia minister who works as a teaching theologian at the House of Sarah. “Both Fijian culture and the Bible say men are the head of the house. “The Bible also says wives should submit to their husbands, carry their cross and suffer silently like Christ. Ann says most women in Fiji take those verses quite literally. Ann came to Fiji two years ago as an Australian Volunteer for International Development, and stayed to work with the House of Sarah. Before that she served as Executive Director of YWCA Victoria. Ann’s colleague, Tania Ah Kee, offers pastoral care at the House of Sarah and is treasurer for its management committee. Despite the Church’s failure to prevent violence in the past, Tania is glad to be helping the church lead attitudes in a new direction. “Given 80% of the Christian population attend church, perpetrator and victim are both likely to be sitting in the pews on Sunday. “It’s a great opportunity to speak to

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House of Sarah trainees recieve their certificates.

both parties.” That’s why the House of Sarah works with the whole Church. “We need to work with the clergy first, to help them understand the context in which the Bible was written, what it is really saying and why those passages don’t apply in the same way today,” Tania says. “The other part is to help them respond pastorally to a woman who comes with a story of domestic violence. “Our pastoral team often hear stories of women who have been told that if they pray more, submit more and don’t talk back to their husbands, the abuse will stop. “The Church has to become a safe place. “If a woman has got to the stage of telling her vicar, it’s desperate.” The House of Sarah’s latest initiative has been to train Sarah Carers for every parish. These are go-to people who can help women get health, police or legal services, and also offer practical support. “They might look after children if a woman has to go into hospital, or accompany her to court. Tania says the biggest thing she sees in Fiji is the woman’s reluctance to take action. “Most don’t want to leave their husbands.” And leaving is most often not a realistic option. Fijian communities are tight-knit. For many, poverty is kept at bay only because food, tasks and resources are shared. “There’s very limited Sole Parent Support. A woman is entitled to a meagre allowance each month and a $30 food voucher. “It is very difficult to survive on your own – you have to move in with a relative or a friend, because there is not enough

social housing available. “Women want to stay with their families,” says Tania, “but they want the beating, the fear and the intimidation to stop.” Tania and Ann believe the Anglican Church’s Zero Tolerance of Violence policy2 sends a clear message to society. It also creates space for women and men to speak openly about the issues. “We’re a small denomination in Fiji, but we’re pioneers in this work,” says Ann. “In 2012 we developed an informal network (talanoa) of women from Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist, Catholic, Salvation Army and Assembly of God churches, as well as the YWCA and other faith-based organisations, to enable us to work together.” Many men are eager to learn new ways, too. During a recent four-day women’s workshop, male family members prepared meals for their mothers, sisters, wives and daughters. And once they’d talked about the workshop together, the men requested workshops for men, too. A challenge now for the church in Fiji is to extend its fledgling Simeon Ministry, which teaches men how to relate in nonviolent ways.

Make the gospel bicentenary known this Christmas

Perpetrator and victim are both likely to be sitting in the pews.

Sarah Wilcox belongs to Wellington Cathedral of St Paul and Wellington Central Baptist Church. sarah@descipher.co.nz 1. Someone's life, everybody's business. National research on women's health and life experiences in Fiji (2010/2011): A survey exploring the prevalence, incidence and attitudes to intimate partner violence in Fiji. Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, 2013. www.fijiwomen.com 2. A motion, developed out of discussions and reflections of the Committee of Management of the House of Sarah, was proposed and passed at the Diocese of Polynesia’s May 2013 Synod “….that within the Diocese of Polynesia there be ZERO TOLERANCE OF VIOLENCE within our homes, our schools, settlements and the church.”

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VISUAL ARTS

Making the unseen

visible

I turned into a tree hugger after that.

Dunedin artist Peter Nicholls has been in the critical limelight of New Zealand sculpture for over forty years. Yet thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scarcely been a word on the spirituality that lies beneath his art. Julanne Clarke-Morris visited Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio to uncover that missing thread.

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Peter holds a cathedral from his Shards series (2008).

ritics seldom ask about an artist’s faith, says Peter. They assume it’s irrelevant. Artists should be too cool for religion. They should live

Peter with Arch at his Dunedin studio in the old Roslyn Woollen Mills.

But that was not so. Peter was born in Whanganui in 1936, the fourth child of Gus and Marjorie Nicholls’ five children. He was baptised in the Anglican Church. When the family moved to New Plymouth in 1944, they were regulars at St Mary’s Anglican Church, where Peter’s dad taught Bible class. “My father was a stern disciplinarian.” “…he was a strong family man; with a sporting background in rugby, motorbike racing and rowing. And he ran a large motor garage.” Peter’s mother was different. She was cultured; a pianist and music teacher. And she had a vivid faith. On Sundays she’d play music with the children – some on cello and others on violin, with mother at the piano. Peter’s younger brother Tony loved music too. But he preferred to dance. “Tony had Down Syndrome.” “In those days most children like him were sent to institutions. “But my mother kept Tony at home. She never travelled because of him. “I used to take him on bike rides, take him swimming, things like that. “He didn’t walk till he was three. He was quite handicapped. “So as children, we had a sense of the fragility of life.” Peter says that human frailty lurks somewhere in all his works. In Arch (1983) Peter piled matai blocks into a man-sized arc that can hold its own weight. While the lumbering curve looks sturdy, it is still quite fragile. Peter likes that kind of tension in his work. In his recent Shards series, Peter sees the church as a refuge from violence. On a visit to Munich in 2007, Peter was struck by images of the bombed-out St Peter’s cathedral. And awed by its glorious restoration. His miniature steel cathedrals are made with roofless walls, jagged and blackened. Holes torched into their sides leave ghosts of the chaos outside: a human body being thrown, a dagger, a foetus, a dog’s head. But inside, the broken church is lined with gold. “I wanted it to express warmth and tranquility, a sense of refuge.” “I was thinking how in times of war or danger, people might gravitate towards churches. As a testament to peace.”

Making art is a spiritual process.

Tangle of wood In 1991, Peter made Catalyst, a work in the form of a cross. Beneath its chrome-plated steel arms lies a tangle of wood that once lay in the Catlins River. “I was stunned by its intertwining forms. So I photographed the wood, put it in the trailer and reassembled it back in the workshop. “It is a symbol of Christian constructs on indigenous land.” Peter says making art is often a spiritual process. Sometimes he doesn’t feel entirely in control of what happens. “Stravinsky said that. He said the artist doesn’t make the art.” “It comes through the artist. “After my mother died, I remember I went into my workshop. Materials would appear in my hands and the work just evolved.” *

Later that kind of grief surfaced more intensely in Peter’s work.

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VISUAL ARTS

Tomo (2005) winds through kanuka forest at Connell's Bay Sculpture Park, Waiheke Island.

And this time it was even closer to home. In 1998, Peter’s wife Di Ffrench was diagnosed with a terminal illness. As he came to terms with what was going on, Peter expressed it in his art. He made Shields for the Process (1998), metal shields punctured with traditional Christian symbols of healing and salvation. Their shapes shone as white light in the shadows of the shields.

“They were like protection from illness.” “I put her karate symbol in too. “She was a fighter. She was fighting for survival.” Peter poured his grief into his art when Di died in 1999. He cut panels from walnut boughs to make her a Wood book. He burnt words and images into the wood’s surface, to trace memories from each year of their life together. *

It is perfectly sited – completely tied to the place.

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There are more clues that give Peter’s spiritual values away. In fifty years using wood, Peter has only once felled his own trees. It was a stand of kanuka, back in the ‘70s. The Nicholls’ kids were little, and getting sick too often. That’s because the family’s Lockwood house was in the bottom of a Glenfield gully – surrounded by native forest. So the kanuka trees right against the house had to go – under doctor’s orders. “I turned into a tree hugger after that.

“I’ve always tried to use wood that’s been used before, or felled and left to waste. “When I lived in Auckland I knew a couple of bulldozer drivers. They’d let me know where to find unwanted timber.” “Once a friend called to say a pohutukawa had fallen into the bay at North Shore. I hopped into a dinghy and rowed out, then chainsawed it into pieces small enough to haul into the boat.” “Another time an ancient swamp kauri log emerged from a Glenfield subdivision.” Peter likes to respond when nature turns something up like that. Sometimes the starting point is a landscape, waiting to host a new idea. Like the forest at Connell’s Bay Sculpture Park. Peter’s Connell’s Bay piece, Tomo (2005) is one of his favourite works. “It is perfectly sited - completely tied to the place. Without the site’s features and history it couldn’t exist.” In Tomo, a blood-red stream of curving wood raises the flood path of an underground river to half-tree height. “As it winds for 90 metres through the

ANGLICAN TAONGA

forest, it mimics the underground stream there, which comes out of the ground and goes back again four times.” Names of the land’s four latest owners – custodians for the last 100 years – are branded into the wood. “Each time the river comes to the surface, it is like the beginning and end of a life,” he says. *

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Top left: Rhapsody festoons a Korean hillside at Chiung-Ju's sculpture festival in 2005. Above and right: Whanganui (1990) maps the Rev'd Richard Taylor's first upriver mission trek.

In 2001 Peter remarried. He and his wife Stephanie Bate became partners in art, as in life. Over the last fourteen years they have travelled extensively – exploring galleries and meeting artists around the world. In Rhapsody (2005), Peter festooned a forest dell at a sculpture festival in ChiungJu, South Korea. “I had celestial help with that one.” “It was Spring. I walked for an hour, till I spied bare tree trunks rising from a 30-metre bank of pink azaleas. “I thought: This is it." With bolts of bright red fabric measuring 64 metres long, Peter wrapped 20 tree trunks and bound them with orange cord. “It was thinking of how Asian cultures wrap things that are precious –with knots and folds that are intricate and beautiful.” “It was a message about all life being precious. “I can’t believe that the world’s leaders don’t think of this planet like a ship hurtling through space. It is fragile. We can’t just do what we like. “When I look back, the nuclear arms race was madness. So is what we’re doing now. It’s all about greed.” Fellow artists moaned at the twokilometre trudge across open fields to reach Peter’s work. “But then, exactly as we arrived at the

forest, the setting sun lit up the whole scene in brilliant red and gold – it was dazzling.” *

These days Peter has returned to his Anglican roots. Not surprising in some ways, since those roots run deep. On his mother’s side, Peter’s great, great grandfather was a CMS missionary, the Rev’d Richard Taylor. Richard was one of the first to spread the gospel along the Whanganui, and he copied out the Treaty of Waitangi the night before it was signed. Peter’s mother gave all her teenaged children a copy of their ancestor’s book1 so that they would take pride in his life as a missionary. In 1990 Peter delved into his forebear's life afresh, as he prepared a show called Crossings for showing at galleries across the North Island. “That work was a coming home for me.” In Whanganui (1990) Peter reconstructed Taylor’s first upriver mission trip in June 1843 – mapping it along a 9 metre-long wooden river. Each portion of the trek he marked with rimu, totara, willow, or poplar segments. Taylor had introduced willow and poplar trees to Whanganui. But the woods also showed the

interlacing of two cultures. Inlaid into the wood were Maori and Pakeha tools of survival: a waka paddle, a compass, an adzehead, a saw blade, an antique tape measure, a boulder and a brass cross. “I wanted to show the synthesis between Maori and Pakeha, as well as the physical and spiritual tools they needed for survival.” It wasn’t only willow that Richard Taylor brought. He also encouraged Whanganui iwi to use gorse. Peter regretted that, over the ten years he hacked gorse off his property at Dunedin’s Blueskin Bay. He later made sculptures where cast aluminium gorse pierced into swamp kauri hearts – to address “the collective guilt” caused by his ancestor’s foolish weed. But though Taylor brought mixed blessings with him, he remains an inspiration to his descendent. “Taylor was a very stern and principled negotiator between the two cultures. He averted violence many times. “He was the only missionary who got women to sign the Treaty. “But he was also an artist. In those days gentlemen were trained to be artists.” 1. Te Ika a Maui: New Zealand and its inhabitants Richard Taylor, Wertheim and Macintosh ,1855.

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C H I L D R E N & YO U T H

Ready for school? Anne van Gend wants to see stronger church ties with young people from our Anglican schools. But the question for parishes is how do we offer our best welcome?

cathedral dean I know greets every parish group, synod or school with the words, “This is your church.” After a year working with Anglican schools across the country, I realize it’s not a throw-away line. *

This is their home, even if they've never been here before.

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I remembered that thought this November, when my husband and I had all six of his daughters over from Melbourne – for the first time. The first grandchild was here, too. Before they arrived, I visualized the get-together… Two daughters are vegetarian. Some are happy to share rooms, others not. And the not quite 2-year-old? A household demolition machine on little legs.

Looking back, it might have been a good idea to serve meat to the vegetarians – in the hope they would change their minds. Or we might have insisted that the toddler sit still for the week – as “good training” for him. Dream on. Because, in the end, we moved furniture, locked cupboards and invested in child-friendly books, plates and games. I told myself there were countless kinds of nutritious food, not only what I like. I accepted fewer classical CDs for a few days – and learnt some new music. Why? Because this is their home – even if they have never been here before. And I wanted them to know that. *

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Archdeacon May Croft welcomes girls from St Matthew's Collegiate in Masterton.

You can probably see where I’m going with this. At last count, we had just over 16,000 students in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Anglican schools. Add close to four thousand in the Pacific. That makes 20,000 students who should be able to turn up in an Anglican church and feel they belong – even if it’s their first time through the doors. But how do you welcome kids from families with little or no church background? And speak into their mysterious teenage culture? That’s why I turned to school chaplains, whose job is to bridge the gap between school and church. They came up with a list of hints and warnings – not just for parish priests but for all of us.

When a school comes to visit... Gently does it The seeds of faith that churches and schools are sowing will face fairly resistant soil. Those that sprout are likely to be vulnerable. Don’t expect too much; nurture gently.

Give and take It is good to bring in school choirs to sing in our services, or pupils to serve at functions. But what can the parish offer back? Creative prayer spaces? “Reflective days” for school leavers? Look at www.prayerspacesinschools.com for ideas.

St Hilda's Collegiate girls visit All Saints' Dunedin on the 2014 Otago – Southland diocesan hikoi.

pay expenses, but family shouldn’t be a means of fundraising.

Keep it snappy Preach messages that are godly, imaginative, pithy and short. Young people live in the fast lane of images and action. Offering a long, slow sermon is not going to change that.

Engage their senses Use drama and visual images: icons, actions, students’ drawings, church symbols, stories, movement, even incense. Use all five senses. Sing a couple of hymns or songs that the school knows, or ask the students to teach you a new one. Then teach them one of yours.

Be yourself

Think of welcoming the family home. How do you make school students feel warm and accepted? How do you allow them to join in worry-free? Do you hope they’ll admire a performance – or share in an experience?

Be genuine. Don’t try to sound like a teenager. They’ll spot an act a mile away. Speak through your personality and style, but be mindful of their world when using images and illustrations. Be wary of speaking to teenagers (or young adults) as if they were 5-year-olds. Treat them respectfully.

Raise spirits, not funds

Food and welcome

Why not help schools feel they belong by not charging them to use their cathedral? Schools may be happy to

Provide plenty of child and youth friendly food. Stick around for morning tea and make the effort to talk.

Part of the family

They'll spot an act a mile away.

Have another faith space to offer When students leave school many get part-time jobs, often on Sunday mornings. Can you offer another option for spiritual questioning and exploring? Auckland’s Grace Collective is a great example: www.aym.org.nz/ gracecollective

Good enough to share There is no single answer for churches to make the best of school visits. But happily, we don’t need to come up with the perfect solution - any more than I need the perfect home before I can welcome family into it. Perhaps we need to remember that our churches, like our homes and lives, are not possessions to be protected, but gifts to be shared. The Rev Anne van Gend is Executive Director of the Anglican Schools Office. anglicanschoolsoffice@xtra.co.nz

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ENVIRONMENT

Bye-bye birdie A

Phillip Donnell wants us to look for the bigger picture when a single sparrow falls.

Each demise should be like a canary in a coalmine.

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us like a canary in a coalmine. Each loss points to a far greater threat – of large-scale environmental damage and climate change. *

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ADVENT 2014

Too late for the upland moa and South Island kokako – now in Otago Museum's extinct species section.

five times before. But this crisis is different. This time, the cause is a single species – humans. We have destroyed habitats (e.g. by deforestation), killed through overhunting, over-fishing and poaching – as well as by spreading predators, pesticides and poisons. Aotearoa New Zealand leads the world in wiping out indigenous plants and animals. Since humans have lived here, at least 70 other species have disappeared. Gone are the world’s largest flightless bird (the moa), its largest eagle (Haast’s) and largest gecko (kawekaweau). Today the NZ Department of Conservation holds 2800 native species on the threatened list: all of our native land mammals and frogs, 85% of vascular plants and 50% of birds. Eight hundred more species are in acute or chronic decline. Less than 1 in 4 threatened species gets

There are two simple ways to turn this around.

Houchen-ad.indd 1

8/09/14 1:50 PM

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BOOKS

Salve for the heart UNAPOLOGETIC: WHY, DESPITE EVERYTHING, CHRISTIANITY CAN STILL MAKE SURPRISING EMOTIONAL SENSE BY FRANCIS SPUFFORD LONDON: FABER & FABER 2013. WWW.FABER.CO.UK £8.99 KEN BOOTH

first heard of Francis Spufford when Kim Hill interviewed him. He spoke about this book – or did Kim grill him about it? The title intrigued me, so I bought it to see what it was like. The verdict? Unapologetic is one of the most refreshing books on being a Christian that I have read in a long time. And more specifically on being a church-goer. One immediate attraction is the sheer verve of Spufford’s writing style. He begins with a rollicking chapter on the stupidity of his undertaking in the eyes of those who dismiss Christianity and the church.

Church is for wet and brainless nonentities who can’t think for themselves. Or for the morally corrupt or straight-laced, narrow-minded people who want to lock up all deviants. We can smile knowingly with Spufford there. But it doesn’t mean you will always find him comfortable. Sometimes he cuts right through our traditional words that avoid the full implications of what they say. Take sin, for example. Sin as a concept is so bent out of shape that now it means little more than minor misdemeanour – particularly anything fun. Ahh, but we have thrown off those puritan shackles. We are good people who might slip occasionally – but nothing to get excited about. Spufford won’t let us off the hook so easily. Sin morphs into his often repeated phrase: the Human Propensity to …. Things Up. Through the book that HPtFtU is clearly what faith is about and what Christ

addresses. That messy propensity is the human condition, says Spufford, and it is universal. But so too is the grace of God. Grace constantly calls us into new relationships and possibilities. The church are The International League of the Guilty, he says. But by the grace of God, they are also the forgiven. Spufford tackles religion as a heart argument rather than a head one. Time and again he nails our emotional experience of ourselves and our world. If you are looking for a stimulating book that will encourage you as a member of the church, try this one. It cuts through so much nonsense about religion and does so in an engaging way. The Rev Dr Ken Booth is a retired Anglican historian and theologian. kenbooth@xnet.co.nz

Theology House Publications God’s Never Ending Story by Ken Booth Six Part Introduction to Christianity study course suitable for individuals and small groups. $20 per unit plus P&P. Discount for multiple copies on enquiry.

Creating A New Zealand Prayer Book: A Personal Reminiscence of a 25 Year Odyssey 1964-89 by Bishop Brian Carrell $30 plus $5 P&P Kindle version also available for $15

Gratitude and Grace: Through Lent with John by Lynda Patterson and Peter Carrell Order this Lenten Group Study Book for 2015 now! Publication January 2015. $6 per copy if ordered by 15 January 2015. $7 per copy after that. 10% discount for bulk orders of 50 or more copies. Plus P&P.

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Tui Tui Tuia: The Use of Maori in Worship in Te Tikanga Pakeha

Through Lent with John

46 page must have guide for leaders of worship compiled by Bicultural Education Committee of the Diocese of Christchurch. $10 per copy plus P&P. Discount for multiple copies on enquiry.

Lynda Patterson and Peter Carrell

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Order with Les Brighton, Theology House admin@theologyhouse.ac.nz or phone 03 341 3399 www.theologyhouse.ac.nz

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ADVENT 2014

BOOKS

Missionary tales brought to light for kids THE CHRONICLES OF PAKI – NZ'S UNTOLD STORY BY GINA TAGGART ILLUSTRATIONS BY TANIA HASSOUNIA WWW.BIGBOOKPUBLISHING.CO.NZ 5 BOOK SET $64.95 ANNE MILLS

he Chronicles of Paki are five new comic-style books that detail the arrival of the gospel in New Zealand. These are stories of early Ma-ori and CMS missionaries’ courage and faithfulness and deserve to be told. As such, they helpfully bridge a gap in NZ children's literature that mostly omits our

missionary history. It is particularly refreshing to find a whole book dedicated to a female missionary, Elizabeth Colenso. The A4-sized books’ glossy high colour illustrations are inviting and give the series an appealing modern look. Readers will find plenty of historic detail in the books, with their comic strip stories and information presented in extra boxes. However the writing itself is frustrating. The texts are neither an easy nor a gripping read. Some adult-oriented themes and a lack

of empathy for the characters also leaves the stories sounding drier than they could. This means the books will work best as source material. Creative Sunday school and classroom teachers will value these books as a strong starting point for retelling the character’s stories – using the texts as prompts and illustrations as visual aids. The Ven Anne Mills is Co-archdeacon of Waikato and minister of St Alban’s Church, Hamilton. anne@chartwellchurch.org.nz

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FILM

Mayhem, miners and Mars John Bluck finds hints of redemption in three movies on screen this Advent

Deadlands Samoan director Toa Fraser pulls no punches in this first NZ movie about our pre-European history. Fraser paints a brutal, fearful world of shadows and brooding ancestor spirits, defined by vengeance and honour, cannibalism and savage fighting. Much of the film seems inspired as much by the world of oriental martial arts, as by Te Ao Maori. Shocking as it is, this is about as brutal as European warfare was at the time. But a redemptive thread runs through the mayhem, as reluctant young warrior Hongi (played brilliantly by James Rolleston) struggles to break the cycle of utu-inspired killing. This bleak but powerful film imagines a culture free from colonial influence, alien to modern eyes. I will be interested to hear how contemporary Maori assess it. Fraser makes the story hard to romanticise, and sets the scene for some of what our early missionaries, both Maori and Pakeha, worked so hard to change.

Pride Pride demands Anglican attention. Not least because of our General Synod/Hi nota Wha-nui decision to move toward recognising gay relationships. Set in 1984, the movie retells the true story of a London gay collective who campaigned and raised money to support the national coal miners’ strike. It feels like a morality play, as gay and lesbian city dwellers try to connect with hard-drinking, often bigoted folk in a South Wales mining village – whose working men must cope with these supporters they'd normally run 10 miles to avoid. The final scene is amazing cinema, where miners from all over Britain turn out to lead a Gay Pride march through London. Regardless of where you stand in the sexuality debate, this film will connect you with a common humanity forged out of suffering. Sharing that on screen for a couple of hours is surely good for the soul. *

Interstellar Sounds shonky, and it often is.

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Finally comes the biggest blockbuster of the season – pure Hollywood candy. And yet it takes an ambitious dig at the roots of modern American spirituality. Interstellar director Christopher Nolan leaves Batman behind, to explore what would happen if environmental disaster destroyed the earth

and NASA launched a probe into another galaxy, where human life might continue. The maths don't quite add up, but there is a mysterious presence called "They" who guide us through a black hole in the universe and into a fifth dimension. Sounds shonky, and it often is (ET meets Star Wars meets McGyver) but the science is not as outlandish as it sounds. The film’s visual images and soundtrack are overwhelming. And its persistent theme is wonder: What lies out there in the universe? What makes us all clay in an unseen potter's hands? For millions who see Interstellar this Advent, it’s as close as they’ll get to a sermon on life eternal – beyond, above and all around us. This movie draws heavily on the ever-thinner boundary between theology and astrophysics, and speaks in a language we all need to learn. At three hours long, it's not a bad place to start the course. Bishop John Bluck lives in Pakiri, north of Auckland. blucksbooks@gmail.com

ANGLICAN TAONGA

ADVENT 2014

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

Imogen de la Bere goes hunting for Christmas trees in the Welsh woods – and comes home with an unexpected treasure.

Prepare yew the way

hen it comes to being prepared for Christmas, this year we win the prize. In early October, in balmy autumn weather, we three intrepid Christian folk found ourselves slogging through a Welsh bog and up an almost impassable crag, in the wake of a crazed tree-enthusiast. This man of great eminence, height and age, cried with a voice of military grandeur: “They’re up here, my Christmas trees, I know they are. Just a little further! Oh, gosh, I have fallen over. Up I get. Here we go! Not far now!” – right to the top of the hill. I didn’t get that far, but I’m assured the hundred trees for our Christmas Tree Festival are growing somewhere in that craggy forest. I am also assured they can be felled, dragged down the crag, hauled over the bog, netted and piled high, ready for our collection. This assumes that, weather permitting, we can get a large truck far enough in to pick them up. But of course it will all happen. Our

magnificent vendor has made it his mission. He passionately desires to supply us with trees for our festival. Nothing will stand in his way. Neither infirmity, nor foul weather, nor logistical impossibilities. And who are we to doubt his faith? As I write, we have done the risk assessment, and everything says: don’t do it. But we will, because faith must match faith, and hope answers hope. After all, we Christians live by faith and hope. Reason doesn’t enter in. This grand old man of the trees is a huge player in city money. He chanced on forests as a tax break 30 years ago. The tax break has long evaporated, but his passion for trees has grown to the point where he cares nothing for money, and everything for trees. He took us on a conducted tour of his forests, with sweeping gestures, pointing out, in fruity tones, the thousands of trees of this or that species, and how well grown they were after 30 years.

And next, he said, he would fell the spruce and larch, and plant in their place native Welsh trees: the oak and rowan, the holly, juniper, ash and yew. And give them to the future. Faith and hope. Love, too, because you can’t embark on such a mission unless you love those who come after you. We thought we were doing rather well in our planning for Christmas, but we heard and saw a sermon that inspired and humbled us, in those Welsh hills. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Imogen de la Bere is a Kiwi writer, living in St Albans, England. delaberi@gmail.com

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