Christian social justice organisation, Common Grace Aotearoa is celebrating the large-scale uptake of its education resources to help churches and communities go deep on the value and impact of Māori local body representation through Māori wards. 

Today they sent out a "deep, resounding, and truly grateful thank you" to the 180 churches and Christian groups who took up the challenge to educate and equip themselves for the Māori ward referendums over the months leading to the referenda set by the Coalition Government. 

"We know that talking about politics in churches, especially when it involves complex issues like the Māori Wards referendums, is never easy." said Alex Johnston from Common Grace today.

He acknowledged it takes courage to start the conversation, humility to listen to diverse perspectives, and faith to believe that change is possible.

"And yet, the churches taking part didn't just meet that challenge; they exceeded all expectations and proved that faith communities can be the heartbeat of a thriving democracy." 

The 180 "Table talks" on Māori wards took place outside the major population centres of Auckland, Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin, which weren’t holding referenda. Church groups that took up the resource were in 27 of the 42 locations holding referenda, or 64% of the local bodies affected.

Common Grace says individuals' feedback from the church-hosted Māori ward sessions has been encouraging too: 

"The 2-hour workshop resource was brilliant." said one North Island table talk participant. 

"It transformed a divisive political issue into a biblical justice discussion. People who were initially resistant suddenly understood it as an issue of Te Tiriti partnership, not just local politics."

"We used the video in our service and it gave our whānau the confidence to talk about the 'why' behind the Māori wards. The discussion questions were challenging but necessary."

For more information on Common Grace Aotearoa go to: commongrace.nz