e-Life

Dear Friends,

Last Friday, ANZAC Day, was a busy day for Dean Ben Truman, who took a leading part in the Dawn Service in Cathedral Square and then led the Civic Service in the Transitional Cathedral at 10am. I was able to be part of the crowd for the Dawn Service and loved seeing Christ Church Cathedral illuminated in “poppy” red to commemorate New Zealand’s fallen. At the Civic Service, numbers were down a little on previous years and I wonder if that was due to the school holidays and ANZAC Day being the first day of a long weekend.

At midday, Teresa and I were privileged to join with several lay and ordained Anglican colleagues at St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral, Manchester Street, for a Requiem Mass for Pope Francis, presided over by Bishop Michael Gielen. Then on Saturday evening many readers will have watched the livestream of the funeral in Rome itself for Pope Francis. It is very clear from everything being said and written at this time that Francis made an impact on people around our globe: Catholic and non-Catholic Christians, atheists, members of other world faiths and, noting the leaders who gathered, politicians of all parts of the political spectrum.

Planning for our annual Synod in September is underway. In respect of Diocesan youth representatives for the Synod we would like to invite parishes / ministry units with young people aged between 16-24 years old who would be interested in attending synod as a Diocesan Youth Rep to send in nominations. It’s super simple – just fill in the form here. Diocesan youth reps have voice and vote at Synod. Nominations need to be made by this Friday, 2 May. If you have any questions, please contact Rev’d Sammy Mould by email or phone.

Also on the subject of youth in our church and in our nation, A Call to Prayer for our younger generations, our first third, is being planned for 5pm, Sunday 25 May 2025. This is at the end of Youth Week and the invitation and encouragement is for Christians to gather in small or large groups to prayer for our tamariki, our children, our rangatahi, our young people.

Then, continuing the theme of prayer, the Reverend Tim Handley (Westland), on behalf of the Diocese, is working on a Day of Prayer, most likely Saturday 7 June 2025, which will see people across our Diocese joining with people from the Dioceses of Sheffield, Bondo [Kenya] and Argentina praying for God’s mission in the world as part of “Thy Kingdom Come” – a global, ecumenical prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray from Ascension to Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus. Details to come! 

I am delighted to announce that Debbie Johnston has joined the CPT finance team as replacement CPT Finance Manager for Ashley South who is retiring in a few months’ time, before Synod in September. Debbie worked for us in 2019, and is pleased to be backing working with us. Debbie looks forward to working with clergy and parish officers on investment funds and related matters for our ministry units.

In further news from CPT: St. James The Great Church at Riccarton Road was badly damaged in the 2011 earthquakes and it was subsequently decided not to repair the church. St. James Church was deconsecrated by Bishop Victoria. Efforts to sell St. James Church for use as a church or repurposed for other uses have been unsuccessful due to the significant cost of repair and heritage restrictions. With the Christchurch City Council recently removing its heritage status, the option to deconstruct St. James Church can proceed in order to offer a “clean” site for sale without the encumbrance of a damaged building. The Parish of Riccarton-Spreydon has removed all items from inside the church which they consider of importance. The South Island Organ Company has successfully removed the pipe organ, and Stewart Stained Glass Windows have removed the commemorative windows. Deconstruction of St. James is expected to start in early May. After deconstruction is completed, the cleared site will be advertised for sale. The Church House office premises along with space for carparking at the western end of the site will remain as parish property. 

I want to acknowledge with much gratitude the work of the Reverend Anne Russell-Brighty as director of the Elder Care programme for Anglican Care in our Diocese. Anne’s last official day in the role was Tuesday, 8 April 2025. Elder Care was begun by Anne in 2013 in response to the earthquakes. Elder Care groups were set up in parishes, along the lines of a Selwyn Centre model, intended to prevent social isolation among older people and to offer a strong emphasis on all aspects of health and well-being. The first two groups were held at Burwood and Opawa, with Fendalton/Merivale following soon after. Thank you, Anne for your 12 years of faithful ministry which has seen groups across the breadth of our Diocese flourish.

On Sunday I was delighted to meet with the Reverend Geoff and Gayle Lamason. Geoff and Gayle are living in the Papanui vicarage for the next few months while the Reverend Tim Frank, Vicar of Papanui, is on study leave and away with his family from everyday life in the parish and vicarage. Geoff and Gayle have temporarily moved to Christchurch from their usual ministries in Te Aroha in the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki. Thank you for coming to us!

The formal opening of the new building at All Saints’, Burwood, in the Parish of Shirley, which will involve both the Mayor of Christchurch, Phil Mauger, and myself, will be at 1 pm, Sunday 11 May. All welcome.

Some good news I noticed recently concerns signs in our near neighbour, Australia, that people are turning to Christianity.

I am appreciating being part of regular Zoom meetings with colleagues here learning about “Building a Discipling Culture“. Discipleship is one of three key themes for our Diocesan work on Regeneration of our congregations. In last week’s session with our mentor, Tim Piesse (Crossways church, Melbourne) I love this description of the heart of Discipleship: it is all about the words, works and ways of Jesus.

As we move through these confusing times, it is important that we engage with ways and means of improving social cohesion. I commend to you a session being planned with local lawyer and charities expert, Steven Moe and well-known Kiwi economist Shamubeel Eaqub, on Friday 9 May: further info here.

One part of current confusion is attempting to understand why the National-led government is pressing hard on the question of taxing charities. Despite some excellent arguments against taxing charities, including charities such as churches (for a recent example in The Press, see Alex Penk writing this week in The Press online), it appears that Finance Minister Nicola Willis is determined to continue this hard press against us, even though it may only yield $50m from across the whole sector. Charities, of course, contribute significantly to social cohesion in society!

This coming Sunday, 27 April is Easter 3. The Gospel reading is John 21:1-19. Who would not want to have breakfast on a beach with the risen Jesus? The seven disciples in this story are surprised by the presence of their risen Lord. But Jesus has a message for them and for Simon Peter in particular: they are to follow him. Peter is restored to full relationship with Jesus, indicated by Jesus’ threefold dialogue with him. We too are called by Jesus to follow him… wherever that may lead. For Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple that would be two different life stories, as predicted by Jesus in this text.

Arohanui,

+Peter.

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