Address to the Fifty Ninth Ordinary Session of the General Synod : Te Hīnota Whānui By Archbishop Brown Turei and Archbishop David Moxon, Primates of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia, Te Hāhi Minihare ki Aotearoa, ki Niu Tireni, ki Ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa at Gisborne May 9th 2010. Our hosts are Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa ki Te Hui Amorangi o Te Tairawhiti

Tena Koutou Katoa
Malo Elelei, Ni sa Bula Vinaka
Talofa lava, Namaste
Warm Greetings
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome;
Thrice Welcome to our 2010 General Synod:Te Hīnota Whānui

NGA MATE – IN MEMORIAM

Archbishop Jabez Bryce
Formerly the Bishop of the Diocese of Polynesia for almost 35 years, also Archbishop and Primate of this Church for two years from 2008 – 2010 as well as co-presiding Bishop for two years 2006 – 2008.

This Church records its deep respect and affection for Archbishop Jabez as a co-Chair of this General Synod:Te Hīnota Whānui and for the leadership he offered for the Tikanga Pasifika, moving the Anglican Community from the post-colonial era through to full indigenisation and self-determination

The Reverend Canon W. Garry Darlington
Formally Vicar of Ross and South Westland 1972 – 1977 , Blenheim South 1977 – 1995, member of General Synod 1986 – 1994 inclusive

Reverend Eru Potaka-Dewes
Lived latterly in Rotorua and was a senior priest involved particularly in Atuatanga, Mental Health and Iwi and Treaty issues, having served in education and acting

Professor Richard Sutton
A General Synod representative from Dunedin for many years, Richard, drawing on his background as a Professor of Law from the University of Otago, assisted also in commissions and Standing Committee in so many ways

Mr C Murray Hercus
Was a member of the diocesan synod for the parish of North Invercargill from 1970 until 1991. Served as chair of committees, and in the 1980s represented the diocese of Dunedin on General Synod and served on the General Synod Standing Committee
Commemorate others in your heart

May they rest in Peace and rise in Glory.
Ki Nga Mate, moe mai i roto i Te Rangimarie o Te Ariki; moe mai, moe mai, moe mai i roto i nga ringaringa o Te Atua

God our hope
We meet in the presence of God in worship, which transforms everything we say and do. As Archbishop William Temple once said, the presence of God in worship is
“the quickening of conscience by God’s holiness
the nourishment of mind with God’s truth
the purifying of the imagination with God’s beauty
the opening of the heart to God’s love
and the surrender of the will to God’s purpose”
This experience moves and mobilises us outwards in hope and mission.
The Mission of God: to live out the hope that is in us
What do we need as we move into the unchartered waters of the fluid - modern era: what guides us into tomorrow ? This is an undying living hope which comes from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, one of us yet from the heart of God. We are, therefore, people with a mission which is a mission of hope.
Mission belongs to God and we are called to engage in this mission so that God’s will of salvation for all may be fulfilled. In this sense, mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. The church exists as an instrument for that mission. There is church because there is mission, and not vice versa. To participate in mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love toward people, since God is the fountain of sending love.
2008 Lambeth Indaba document p8.
God calls us to an abundance of life and a new creation which is so much more than we could imagine or create for ourselves. In the Bible, God’s word and voice are ever active, challenging humanity to transform itself, to come to understand who we are and what we are called and destined to become. The very name of the church, ekklesia, means a community that has been called, not one that chooses to bring itself into being.
But the more we understand the depth and meaning of God’s call, as it is recorded for us, the more we see that it tells us something of what God is. God does not simply call; God sends. God expresses and makes real the call to us in our lives, in our history and through individual people. The ‘call’ of Moses or of Sarah is more than just a summons to be with God or to live by God’s laws. It is a call to mission, to be with others in a new way. The life medium of the prophet becomes the message.
The 1998 Lambeth documents on Mission speak of this calling and sending as follows: -
“...God’s very being, beyond the world and its history, is involved in an act of sending. And God the Son, God the Word, appears on earth, his whole existence being a mission; all that he is is what God speaks and gives; he is God moving towards us, God’s voice made into a real human life. As he draws human beings around him in trust and friendship, he equips them in turn to call and communicate through the gift of his own vital reality – through his Holy Spirit.”
We are called by God, who is the Source of all that lives and breathes. We are called out of shadows into the kingdom, commonwealth, of God and sent out in the power of the Holy Spirit to be and herald this gospel of God; a gospel of hope, of righteousness and justice. Our call and our sending does not depend on our resources or lack of them. All are called and all are sent.
God‘s divine life is a movement outwards to give and share divine life and joy. One of the most truly distinctive things about Christian faith is that we believe in a God who has undertaken a mission from all eternity.
So mission is never our creation or initiative. We have been caught up in God’s own movement of love by being called to be with Christ. To be with or ‘in’ Christ is never to enjoy some static or private relationship; it is to be moving – from the heart of God to the ends of the earth, as ambassadors of hope. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you”. We live and move and have our being in the mission of God as it is revealed in the ministry of Christ in the gospels. This is good news.
How exactly is this good news? It is that God’s everlasting will is that we should share the divine joy, and that this will is so strong and creative and faithful that God is always free, to overcome our slavery and create a new beginning of us. We are born again into a living hope. This news comes to us through the life of Jesus, through his death, in which he bears the consequences of our sin, and through his resurrection, demonstrating that the divine will can bring life out of death (2 Corinthians 4:7-12; 5:16-21). It is for us to respond to the invitation God gives us. We hear and receive it when we are touched by the Holy Spirit; it is, therefore, never just information but a movement into new possibilities of living with God, with ourselves, with each other and with creation.
Baptism means being drawn into God’s own outreach, a divine mission which is going on in all of us all of the time. The more we let this divine action through, in our plans, words and acts, the more it will achieve its purpose. God’s Word does not return empty but accomplishes its purpose.
Often we so readily turn to forms and structures and attitudes that seem to get in the way of the divine act of mission. The problems and frustrations of mission are all around us, and so it is good to remember that Christ didn’t say ‘I am with you when you’re doing well’, but ‘I am with you always.’ God in Christ is with us when we blunder and fail; and sometimes the most effective release of mission comes when we face our failures. Our honest repentance can give more room to God that a success that is feeding our self-satisfaction. Hope can always be rekindled. In fact, we are saved by this hope as an exegeses of Hebrews 11:1 says “Faith is the substance of things hopeful, the proof of things not seen.”
We can, therefore, say we are deeply loved and whatever happens to us – we are awaited by this love. And so our life is good. We are loved unconditionally by God, with the death-defying love of the cross and resurrection, and so is everyone else. Through knowledge of this love, we are redeemed, no longer a slave, a free child of God. This is the hope that is in us. This hope can inform the life and health of our faith communities, the debates over our most divisive issues, the ongoing dragnet of the recession and our view of the future of this planet itself. Without a vision of hope in these circumstances, we would perish.
As Nadia Colburn said:
“Giving up on hope is always wrong.
Even in the place of what we can calculate to be certain destruction.
Because it cuts us off from ourselves and our own humanity,
privileging the head over the heart, the mind over the body.”

Hope in the reality of God: God is a circle whose centre is everywhere
In December last year, there was a highly publicised campaign slogan “There’s probably no God” destined for placement on buses in New Zealand. The grounds for this proposal were that people should have the right to advertise any philosophy they wished in public, if they could raise the money for it. In a very memorable TV1 Close Up programme, the atheist bus campaign spokesman appeared with the Reverend Jo Kelly-Moore, who gave a remarkable witness with an Anglican Christian response. Anglican Christianity has no fear of alternative philosophies including atheism and defends the right of anyone to the freedom of expression within our human rights laws. However, within this very freedom itself is the right to share and express our own faith. We can be confident that the grace, power and beauty of the gospel speaks for and commends itself in an environment of freedom. This is certainly the outcome of the TV1 interview.
However, there is a deeper challenge behind this December 2009 incident. The greatest rise in Census figures within New Zealand on the question of religious belief is that of no religion and it is now commonplace for some politicians to describe themselves as agnostic or atheist. For Christians, atheism is an opportunity to meet this vacuum with the life transforming love of God in Christ. If atheism and agnosticism are taken to their ultimate conclusion, there remains little to base real hope upon and it is hopelessness which is one of our greatest challenges today. What grounds do people really have for personal meaning, for living beyond themselves, for others, for the common good. Without a real spiritual basis for hope, it can be easy to retreat into a private world of cyberspace, medicating oneself with private pleasures and exclusively personal interests. This can result in a kind of “coma” where the huge opportunities and challenges in our society and environment go either unnoticed or ignored. The gospel is a wakeup call in a world like this.
But with a firm foundation in hopefulness, based on the Judeo-Christian vision in the Bible, there is every reason to engage in a deeply interested, cared for, neighbour and world. “It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for” (Ephesians 1:11, message version).

Hope for the environment: we live in God’s earth, our home
There have been mixed responses to the Copenhagen world summit held towards the end of 2009. This means that the onus is on the church and other people of good will to uphold the crucial principles of sustainable living and the care of this creation we have been given by God. In particular, this means, individually, committing to a simpler lifestyle (www.livinglightly24-1.org.uk), offsetting polluting travel (www.climatestewards.org.uk) and getting involved with a Christian conservation group like A Rocha (www.arocha.org.uk); locally, becoming a eco-congregation (www.ecocongregation.org) and starting a local project to care for creation; and globally, supporting organisations who are working to conserve creation and to help the poor and supporting the campaign to Stop Climate Chaos (www.icount.org.uk).
In Aotearoa New Zealand. there are preparations to remove protection of National Parks and other conservation land to make way for mining. Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act in New Zealand was put in place by the National Government to protect and safeguard the future of our core conservation areas. This protection was designated for areas which have outstanding conservation value: these include the Inangahua sector of Paparoa National Park, Otahu ecological area and Parakawai geological area in the Coromandel as well as seven other area there, and the Te Ahumata Plateau on Great Barrier Island. There are also proposals to research more potential areas such as Rakiura National Park.
All new marine reserves, national parks, nature reserves, scientific reserves, wilderness areas, wildlife sanctuaries and internationally significant wetlands could also be at risk. One way to voice your opinion is to make a submission against this practice. A care for creation and sustainable development now means prioritising research for renewable resources without depleting creation itself and so deeply scarring the landscape.

Hope in flood and tragedy
Many churches throughout these islands responded to the natural flooding disaster in Fiji at the beginning of 2009. We learned of many displaced families in many parishes who were affected. We know how much this natural disaster concerned Archbishop Jabez Bryce and how much we need each other at times when our world is turned upside down.
Our hearts went out to those Anglicans and many others in Tonga, who lost loved ones in the Princess Ashika ferry sinking in August 2009, since we last met. Only hope in Christ risen can help us make any meaning out of such tragedy and loss.
Hope and youth justice: God’s will for every young life
At a time when the “Three strikes and you’re out” policy is being presented as a way forward in this country, there needs to be a strong Christian voice speaking up for another way. In order for young people to turn around, away from a life of crime, there needs to be an appeal to their will, which does not break their spirit. There needs to be in-depth long-term tough love, where hope if offered in the form of deeply engaged role models, cultural pride and workplace up-skilling. The short sharp boot camp model cannot achieve these goals in an authentic way. The cost involved in rehabilitative youth programmes, such as the Te Hurihanga project in Hamilton and the cost involved in reforming the youth prison conditions in New Plymouth are an investment in a better country in the long term. To respect the spirit of the young person while shaping their will, is to approach them with hope. Without this hope, we are talking long-term incarceration and a growing prison population.

Hope in a world of alcohol: God has given us a spirit of self-control
The final report of the Law Commission on the review of New Zealand’s liquor laws “Alcohol in our lives: curbing the harm” was tabled in Parliament on the 27th April this year. It is hoped that significant reforms may come from this submission. As this General Synod will hear, there is an alarming increase in alcohol abuse across the countries represented by this Church. Alcohol can become an opiate, just as much as any drug and the temptation to drown one’s sorrows or medicate one’s brain seems to be greater than it ever was. In a world compromised by meaninglessness, an on-going recession and threats to the sustainability of life itself, alcohol seems to provide a legal means of escape.
In reading the figures below, it would appear that the alcohol problem in New Zealand is as big as the methamphetamine problem. (The full report can be found online at Ministry of Health's website, and can also be ordered in hard copy.)
Key results
Drinking patterns
Among New Zealanders aged 12-65 years who had consumed alcohol in the last 12 months, it was found that:
• 14.7% (13.6-15.7) consumed large amounts of alcohol at least once a week (for males this represents more than six standard drinks on one drinking occasion; for females this represents more than four standard drinks on one drinking occasion) males were significantly more likely to have consumed large amounts of alcohol at least once a week (19.7%; 18.1-21.4) compared to females (11.1%; 9.7-12.5).
• 20.7% (19.3-22.1) had done at least some of their driving under the influence of alcohol in the last 12 months.
Alcohol-related problems
• 15.1% (14.0-16.1) of past-year drinkers aged 12-65 years had felt the effects of alcohol while at work, study or engaged in household duties, more than once in the last 12 months.
• 5.7% (5.1-6.3) of New Zealanders aged 12-65 years had experienced physical assault as a result of someone else's drinking during the last 12 months.
• 5.3% (4.7-5.9) of New Zealanders aged 12-65 years had experienced sexual harassment as a result of someone else's drinking during the last 12 months.
Alcohol and youth
• 55.7% (51.8-59.7) of youth aged 12-17 years had consumed alcohol in the last 12 months ('youth drinkers').
• Among youth, there were no significant differences between males and females, or between Maori and non-Maori, in the prevalence of alcohol consumption in the last 12 months.
• Among youth drinkers, 12.4% (9.4-15.3) consumed large amounts of alcohol at least once a week.
Hope comes from research and political challenge as well as greater support for community education, Alcoholics Anonymous and the restriction of alcohol availability. Hope also comes from offering meaning, security and opportunity which a faith-based community can give.

Hope from indigenous rights: every tribe and language around God’s throne
The Archbishops and the Social Justice Commissioner wrote to the Prime Minister warmly affirming our Government’s recent support last month for the United Nations Charter of Indigenous Rights. We said “the nation has “nothing to fear and everything to gain” by upholding and advancing the rights of tangata whenua in a formal document.
We said the rights of tangata whenua have been woven into the constitution of the Anglican Church in this country – and just as that arrangement has been fruitful for the church, so will further formal moves to uphold indigenous rights be for the country as a whole.
Their statement follows:
“The Anglican Church in these islands warmly welcomes the government’s recognition this week of the United Nations International Declaration of Indigenous Rights.
“Many churches were hoping that this affirmation would come.
“The integrity and rights of tangata whenua are crucial to our way of life as Anglicans; they are enshrined in our own Constitution – and we have benefited so much from this affirmation.
“We believe we have nothing to fear and everything to gain by this recognition, and as we as a nation seek to uphold and advance the rights of tangata whenua we will be in unity with many other countries and the United Nations.
“We look forward in hope to working in partnership with those here and abroad who seek to uphold these rights.”
A crucial motion and debate at this General Synod: Te Hīnota Whānui will be around resource sharing within this Three Tikanga Church and the implications we draw from indigenous rights alongside the rights of other partners.

Hope in a recession: let justice roll down like a river
Some political commentators are suggesting that the engine room of the economy is kick-starting again. However this is understood, it is never the less true that the roll on effects of the recession will be with us for some years. The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services once again facilitated the Ecumenical church leaders visit to the prime minister and deputy prime minister in 2009. The meeting came to an agreement that Churches would take responsibility for bringing the impact of the recession to government attention. This is more than social work or even economic advice. This stems from a prophetic call for us to be actively engaged with those who suffer the most and to bring their cause to the centre of power. It was for this reason that the Social Justice Commission of our Church put out a media release on the 26th March this year, challenging the thought of new reductions or limitations to benefit levels. Excerpts from the release include :
“We need to be clear that with the number of redundancies and rise in unemployment, particularly prominent among Maori and Polynesian people, even the most highly qualified are finding it hard to find good jobs. Just because a solo parent’s kids go to school, it doesn’t necessarily mean a good job can simply be found at the drop of a hat.”
“Benefit proposals that directly impact upon raising tamariki and the health of society’s more vulnerable people need to be given very careful consideration and a long term view is most important.
Studies show our wellbeing is not fuelled by people getting richer, but by reducing the gap between the rich and poor. In countries with high disparity between rich and poor tamariki have worse outcomes, people are more unhealthy and life-expectancy is lower. According to OECD studies wealth disparity in New Zealand is already one of the highest.”
In this context, the Church must mobilise as well as speak, using a theology of hope, as described by Mike Riddell in his Creed of Social Service. This was used by the Anglican Care Network in its own position statement in 2009:
A Creed of Social Service
1 Because all people are created in the image of God (Gen 1:26) and have their beginning and end in God, we believe:
All people have worth and dignity, and are to be treated with respect. We seek to recognise the handiwork of God within each person.
2 Because human beings are a mixture of the dust of the earth and the breath of God (Gen 2:7) we believe:
There should be no devaluing of either the physical or spiritual circumstances of human life, but that people in the totality of their existence must be addressed. What God has joined, let no one separate.
3 Because God has made us to be in relationship with one another and share responsibility for the welfare of all (Gen 4:9, 19) we believe:
We cannot turn away from those in suffering or need, but must in compassion recognise our belonging to the one family of God, and hence our responsibility for others.
4 Because the human community has united together in separation from and in defiance of God (Gen 11:1-9) we believe:
The corporate structures of human life are flawed, resulting in alienation, injustice and oppression.
5 Because God is loving and just (Deut 32:4), and hears the cry of those who suffer (Ps 12.5), we believe:
God is the protector of the poor and defenceless, and the community of God is witness to this.
6 Because God is merciful and compassionate toward a humanity lost and alienated through sin (Psalm 103:8-14) we believe:
God has chosen to enter the structures of human existence through Jesus Christ, through him making known the divine love and forgiveness, and through his reconciled in relationship with their Creator. We acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and the unique hope of humanity.
7 Because Christ has called us to follow in his footsteps (Mk 8:34-36) and bestowed on the community of faith the continuation of his mission (Jn 20:21) we believe:
We have a responsibility to make concrete the love of God within our own history and surrounding, declaring in word and deed the purposes and character of God.
8 Because Jesus has called us to love our neighbours (Mk 22:39) and defined our neighbours as those in need (Lk 10:25-37) we believe:
Obedience to Christ requires of us the practical and self sacrificing love of people in need, whatever their belief or condition.

Hope in Fiji
We appreciate the efforts of Bishop Sir Paul Reeves on behalf of the commonwealth, to try to keep open the lines of communication with the present Fijian administration. Bishop Sir Paul’s mission was the encouragement of a return to a duly elected parliament by the holding of free elections. We cannot speak for Fiji ourselves, in the way that the people of Fiji of the Diocese of Polynesia could. However, we continue to invite prayer for this crucial journey, as the people of Fiji discover, determine and discern for themselves the form of governance that best suits their needs.

Hope within the Anglican Communion
The 80 million strong network, in 38 self-governing churches in 164 countries, that comprises the member churches of the Anglican Communion has been negotiating the white waters of change for some years now. Throughout this process, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia, Te Hāhi Minihare ki Aotearoa, ki Niu Tireni, ki Ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa, has consistently sought to work with the processes recommended by the four instruments of unity: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates meeting and the Lambeth conference of Bishops. In this regard, there has been robust engagement with the Windsor report and its recommendations, which need to be taken seriously. Instruments of Unity have also recommended scholarly hermeneutical study and a commitment to the listening process regarding sexual orientation. However, these processes are incomplete and will continue to need great care and conscientiousness in this Church. The medium is the method. Can we model Anglican views of scripture, tradition and reason in an irenic way ? The Anglican way is characterised by biblical reflection, prayerfulness, dialogue, scholarship and openness in the service of the One who service is perfect freedom.
This General Synod will also contribute to ongoing deliberation about the final draft of the Anglican Covenant document as recommended by the Instruments of Unity. We need to find ways which continue to offer the great strengths and advantages of our international whanau links: we shall be greatly diminished if these are allowed to disintegrate.

A beacon of hope: the new Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary
At the last General Synod:Te Hīnota Whānui, we recognised the possibility of two bishoprics within one Diocese. This has now been followed by the dedication of a new Cathedral for the Bishopric of Taranaki in March this year. Archbishop John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, was the keynote speaker for the week long series of events. A particular feature of the Cathedral dedication activities was a statement to Archdeacon Tiki Raumati of Te Atiawa, the new kaumatua of the Cathedral, by the first Bishop of Taranaki about historic injustice and conflict in the 19th century.
This Church stood perhaps inevitably, on one side of that conflict, and this has been a source of deep alienation for many of your people ... For that alienation and for that breach of trust, I am deeply sorry, both personally but also as Bishop of Taranaki... My dream is that this may truly be a Cathedral for all the people of Taranaki without impediment, a place of peace and reconciliation based on justice and understanding.
There was also a proclamation of hope for ongoing resolution of Taranaki iwi-based land claims. We rejoice that this proclamation was quickly followed by a new resolve by Government for a memorandum of understanding to seek and offer restorative justice, partly, as some of those involved have said, encouraged and assisted by this Anglican initiative.
Responding with hope: the College of St John the Evangelist
We shall need a care and respect for the community of this College as we discuss the Kotahitanga-commissioned report about their governance and Inter-Tikanga life. The College is a turangawaewae for us, a place where we stand in this Three Tikanga Church. We, therefore, need all the prayer and aroha we can muster, as we speak of its present and future.

Youth Hope
A demanding and in-depth process of reflection, consultation has been carried out regarding the Three Tikanga Youth structures of this Church. Out of this challenge has come a way forward created by Three Tikanga Youth Synod members, in robust engagement with the review group commissioned by the General Synod Standing Committee, The Three Tikanga Youth Board of Oversight (Te Kākano Puawaitanga) and others. We give thanks for all who are involved in this process and want to strongly recommit the hope and solidarity of this Church to youth outreach and youth mission in all its forms. We are a Three Tikanga Church and have the greatest respect for all those people who have given so much energy in this Three Tikanga youth movement as they move forward.
General Secretaries
The unexpected departure of Ms Jackie Pearse, the General Secretary of this Church, for family health reasons, was certainly a loss. Jackie worked 120% for this Church and gave of her considerable skills as a lawyer, union delegate, senior nursing tutor, and above all as a totally dedicated Anglican Christian. The Standing Committee farewelled her in Hamilton at the end of 2009.
The appointment of the Reverend Michael Hughes has, by God’s grace, meant the arrival of someone who brings the same qualities of faith and dedication and also an impressive skill package in terms of scholarship, pastoral and ecclesial experience, business studies acumen and multicultural experience. Thanks be to God.
General Synod-related personnel
The experience and qualifications of Lloyd Ashton, our communications officer, Anthony Dancer, our Social Justice commissioner and Paula Jakeman, our Kotahitanga executive officer and the team at “Tuia”, our General Synod office at St John’s College, are greatly valued. We farewelled Health Skilling from “Tuia” recently and thanked her for her highly professional and conscientious ministry.
Retiring Bishops
In the last year, we farewelled Bishop John Paterson and Bishop George Connor from stipendiary episcopacy. The tribute to Bishop John Paterson, including his time as Presiding Bishop of this Church, was given at his Diocesan farewell in Auckland in February. John was the first New Zealander to be awarded the Anglican Communion medal of the Cross of St Augustine and has been deeply valued as a strategic contributor to the development of a bicultural and then three Tikanga Church in these islands. Bishop George Connor will be farewelled and thanked by this General Synod here in Gisborne. As senior bishop Tikanga Pakeha, when that role was new and exploratory, George served with great care and conscientiousness.

New Bishops
It has been a privilege and a joy to be involved in the ordinations of the Right Reverend Kelvin Wright, the new Bishop of Dunedin; the Right Reverend David Rice, the new Bishop of Waiapu and the Right Reverend Ross Bay, the new Bishop of Auckland. We give thanks for their elections and look forward to working in partnership with them. This General Synod:Te Hīnota Whānui will complete the final voting procedures of the election of a new Bishop of Polynesia who is also an Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia / Te Hāhi Minihare ki Aotearoa, ki Niu Tireni, ki Ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa. This is a very significant moment for Tikanga Pasifika, for the General Synod:Te Hīnota Whānui, and for the Primacy. We are expecting an announcement as we meet.

The beginning and end of our hope: the triune God
To end where we began, in hope. Let us go into our business now in hope. Pray that we will be gathered up and centred into the life of God: creating, redeeming and life-giving: Father Son and Holy Spirit. This is where hope fills us afresh. As has been said, this prayer is
“to lose oneself in the unfathomable
to plunge into the inexhaustible
to find peace in the incorruptible
... to give of one’s deepest to that whose depth has no end”
May God’s blessing be upon us in our deliberations.
Toitu te rangi
Toitu te whenua
Toitu te aroha o Te Atua
Toitu ona manaakitanga katoa
Mauriora e Te Ariki
Matua, Tama, Wairua Tapu. Amine.
The sky is constant
The earth is unchanging
The love of God is dependable
The gifts of God are continuous
Hail to the Lord!
Creator, Redeemer and Giver of Life. Amen.