MARCH 2008APRIL 2010

very Easter the SideD o o r A r t s Tr u s t i nChristchurch puts together anart installation to help peoplecontemplate Jesus Christ’sfinal journey, death, andresurrection. Often these arebased on the Stations of theCross, which commemoratethe hours leading up to Hisdeath on the cross.

Peter and Joyce Majendieare the driving force behind theSide Door Trust.

T h e y d e s i g n t h e i ri n s t a l l a t i o n s t o b econtemplat ive but a lsocontemporary. Their Easter

exhibtions have taken thetraditional format of the 14Stations of the Cross andreworked them with modernmaterials into interactive, multi-sensory experiences.

Among the Stations theydepict is Jesus’ address to thewomen of Jerusalem as he isbeing led to the place of hiscrucifixion. They wailed andmourned for him but he toldthem to weep for themselvesand their children.

Joyce says this is a verymeaningful instance for herbecause Jesus provides womenthe means to set themselves

free from thetraditional rolesand restrictionssociety placeso n t h e m .Following Him isnot an easy path, however.

This is conveyed in theimage of white evening glovesreaching out for the crown ofthorns, gloves that will likelybe ruined if they grasp thecrown.

Another Station of theCross is the judgment of Jesus.In one Side Door installationthis is depicted as 100 pairs ofshoes looking down on the

fallen king on achessboard. Onone side of thechessboard thereare footprints,

w h e r e t h eobserver can stand.

Peter says it is intended tolet people contemplate whattheir own role might have beenin the death of Jesus. Thepresence of the chessboardsuggests we all play a lot ofgames with ourselves overwhat we profess our faith to beand what it is in practice.

For an Easter reflection byRev Mary Caygill, see Page 7.

Jesus spoke tothe daughters ofJerusalem, telling

them not tomourn for him but

for themselves(Luke 23:28).

Science andreligion in

harmony saysaward winning

scientistA co-winner of New Zealand’s

inaugural Prime Minister’s SciencePrize says religion and science arecomplementary ways of seeking truth.

Dr Jeff Tallon believes religion isconcerned with the most fundamentaltruths we can hold, whereas science isconcerned with understanding how theuniverse works.

Last month Jeff and fellow scientistDr Bob Buckley received the PM’sScience Prize for their work in the fieldof high temperature superconductivity.They are affiliated with the CrownResearch Institute, Industrial ScienceLtd (IRL) and have started twocompanies to market products that haveemerged from their research.

Superconductivity is the phenomenonwhereby some radically cooled materialsconduct electricity with no resistance orenergy loss. The earliest superconductorsdiscovered operate at the temperature ofliquid helium (-269°C). In the 1980s Jeffand Bob discovered a ceramic compoundthat superconducts at comparativelywarm temperatures (-163°C) and makesit possible to use liquid nitrogen as acoolant.

After patenting their discovery, theyand a team of scientists and engineers atIRL have refined the technology forindustrial use.

Jeff now has a number of otherresearch projects on the go. One isexploring ways to use nanotechnologyto quickly read DNA.

“We are also establishing a newcentre that will carry out research atextreme conditions such as high pressure,high magnetism, and very high or verylow temperatures.

“One of the projects addresses thepossibility that the origin of life was inundersea volcanic vents, known as ‘blacksmokers’. We will examine the behaviourof the molecules of life in the highpressure, high temperature conditionsthat exist in black smokers.”

It is ironic that Jeff is involved inresearch that could show how lifespontaneously arose because he thinksthe great improbability of such an eventpoints to the hand of the Creator as thesource of life.

“We have no idea where life camefrom. Even atheist scientists such asRichard Dawkins say the event has suchlow probability we have no idea how itoccurred.

“To calculate the probability of therandom origin of even one proteinrequires us to think in terms of billionsof universes over billions of years. Andhuman beings are made up of a hundredthousand different proteins.”

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N E W S

From Page 1Jeff’s own view is

tha t God c rea t edeverything we see andeverything about us, andscience is the means thatwe can use to discoverhow he did it.

“Scripture providesno answers about themechanism of theuniverse. Science is theonly means we have to understandit.

“Christians must have confidencein science. There is no atheisticagenda in science. Science asks whatis true about the universe, and weneed to be comfortable with whatevertruths science turns up.”

This includes evolution, whichJeff says is the best explanationscience now has for how life hasdeveloped on ear th . Whileevolutionary models cannot explaineverything, they do integrate theevidence we have from fossils,geology, genetics and biology.

“While science focuses on whatis true, the religious project is moreconcerned with underlying truths,”Jeff says.

“These include that Godpurposefully created the universe.He did so with a view to createhuman beings, with whom He canhave a relationship.

“This is the most fundamentaltruth we can enjoy as humans. Forme this means recognising God ismy creator. This is part of my dailybeing. I live it out by readingscriptures, praying and followingJesus.”

He agrees with Galileo, who saidthat God created two books. One isthe Scriptures and one is nature, and

they cannot contradicteach other – if they areproperly understood.

It is vital thereforetha t we p rope r lyunderstand the Bibleand recognise thoseparts of it that arehistory, those that arepoetry, and those thatare allegory. Applyingscientific disciplines

such as history, archaeology, datingand linguistics can help us achievethis.

F o r e x a m p l e , r e c e n tarchaeological evidence confirms theexistence of Nebo-Sarsekim, who ismentioned in the Book of Jeremiahas one of Nebuchadnezzar's officialsduring the siege of Jerusalem.

“I am an orthodox evangelicalChristian. I hold to the claim thatGod was incarnate in Jesus, and thatJesus was the fulcrum of humanhistory. The whole Christian projectfollows from that. Our ethics andvalues follow from our relationshipwith God.

“So whether these historicalclaims are true or not is important.We can use our scientific tools tounderstand these Biblical claims.

While Jeff sees no contradictionsbetween science and religion, he saysrecognising the interplay betweenthem depends on being open.

“We cannot take a rigid approachto the Bible. We should not saysomething science has discoveredcannot be true because of a literalreading of the Bible.

“We should not engage in blindfaith but rather pursue a faithu n d e r p i n n e d b y o b j e c t i v eknowledge.”

Jeff Tallon

Christianity andscience not at odds

By Paul TitusTo overcome shortages of people and

resources the New Zealand Methodistand Presbyterian Churches are movingtoward larger regional administrativeunits. In some parts of the countryconsolidation has taken place, in othersdiscussions are underway.

Now, moves to create a Presbyteriansuper presbytery that would encompassNorthland, North Shore, Auckland, andSouth Auckland have raised some concernsabout how it will affect CooperatingVentures (CVs) in Northland.

Northland is home to 19 Union orCooperating parishes, most of which havePresbyterian and Methodist components.By contrast there is just one straightMethodist and two Presbyterian parishesin the region.

The ecumenical nature of the churchlife there has led to a somewhat uniquestructure of governance and oversight.Churches Together in Northland (CTN) isan ecumenical body that serves asMethodist synod, Presbyterian presbytery,and Uniting Congregations’ joint regionalcommittee.

CTN is made of a number of workgroups and is led by a three-personpresidium, which includes Methodistsuperintendent Rev Peter Williamson andPresbyterian Rev Peter Dunn. The work

groups handle such tasks as ministry andpastoral care, finance, property, and socialissues.

Peter Williamson says CTN and itswork groups work very well, and is partof the identity of the region’s churches.There is anxiety about how effective itwill be if Presbyterian input shifts to thesuper presbytery.

“ T h e r e c o u l d b e f i n a n c i a lconsequences, and questions aboutoversight and pastoral care.

“Northland is a conservative regiontheologically, and it has been difficult tofind suitable Methodist presbyters forappointments. There has been a drifttoward Presbyterianism in the region, andthis might make it difficult for Methodistoversight.”

Peter Williamson says larger regionaladministrative structures may, in fact, workwell. It is possible that a new Presbyteriansuper presbytery will be mirrored by aMethodist super synod with similarboundaries.

He is concerned, however, that thesuper presbytery has been presented as afait accompli and there are still many issuesto be worked through including whatdegree of regional autonomy Northlandwill have.

Peter Dunn says the attraction of superpresbytery is that it would ease the lack

of resources and isolation the Northlandchurches face. It would make it easier tohandle difficult problems such ascomplaints and judicial reviews.

“It could have financial consequences.We might end up paying more to the synodthan we have to the national church butwe would expect to get more in return,such as regional mission enablers or otherresource people we do not have at present.

“There are strong local regionalrelationships in Northland and I wouldexpect them to continue under a superpresbytery. CTN has created a sense ofclose collegiality, and I think if we canmaintain flexibility in regards togovernance we can allow the CVs tocontinue functioning well,” Peter Dunnsays.

Creating larger regional administrativebodies could also allow Northland CVs todevelop stronger ties to CVs in Auckland,he believes.

It seems clear that Northland peoplewant to maintain some sort of sub-regionto exist within the super presbytery. Itcould involve some delegated authority toNorthland-based work groups, particularlyin relation to property and some areas ofministry oversight.

Executive officer of Unit ingCongregations Aotearoa NZ Rev PeterMacKenzie says if a super presbytery is

created, some committees should beretained in Northland for local expressionsof church.

“The situation in Northland is only asspecial as that in Wairarapa, the WestCoast, and Gisborne, where isolated ruralcommunities have developed similar waysto work together. They are unique solutionsto unique local characteristics. CTN is notunique in that regard.

“Both the Methodist and Presbyterianchurches are moving toward larger regions,and I would despair if that comes at theexpense of such arrangements in ruralareas. Certainly some things are best donein cities but we should not have all ourplanning driven by city situations,” PeterMacKenzie says.

Former moderator of the PresbyterianChurch Very Rev Garry Marquand wasone of the authors of the proposal thatPresbyterian Assembly passed that has ledto the creation of larger synods. He sayssuper presbyteries are not imposed fromabove but they are negotiated and emergefrom local initiatives.

Garry believes CTN will not cease toexist and that all parties are committed tomaintaining Northland’s ecumenicalventures.

At least half of its members wouldhave to agree if CTN is no longer to carryout the role of presbytery. CTN will holdits next meeting on May 15th.

Could a super presbytery alter Northland’s ecumenical ethos?

Far from being inward-looking andfocused only on their own church group,church-going volunteers are part of society’spowerful, invisible safety net.

The Australian company NCLS Researchhas found that church attendees are more likelyto be volunteers than the general community(57 percent vs 35 percent). In addition,volunteering within congregations is stronglyrelated to volunteering beyond it, with manypeople volunteering in both the congregationand the community.

NCLS Research director Dr Ruth Powellsays this is because of widely-known Christianmessages about helping others in need. “Churchattendees are reminded of those messages andmost churches provide structured opportunitiesfor volunteering, such as congregation-basedactivities in welfare and social justice.

“In fact, the middle-aged, well-educatedfemale churchgoer is very likely to be one ofAustralia’s many volunteer heroes.”

Information about the voluntary activitiesof church attendees across Australia wascollected as part of NCLS Research’s NationalChurch Life Surveys in 1991, 1996, 2001 and2006. An analysis of that data was publishedlast year in the Australian Journal onVolunteering.

The findings showed that churchgoers notonly contribute to their own groups but also tocommunities generally. As well as the fact thatoverall rates of volunteering were higher amongChristian church attendees than for the generalpopulation, these rates were relatively stableacross the years.

Among the strongest findings is thatvolunteering within the congregation is not anobstacle to volunteering in the community;indeed, quite the contrary.

Examining denominational differences involunteering within and beyond thecongregation, they found that, afterdemographic differences were taken into

account, Pentecostals volunteered more hourswithin the congregation and Catholics (onaverage) volunteered fewer. MainstreamProtestants had much higher rates ofinvolvement in community groups.

Australia’s Productivity Commissionreleased a report in February that found that4.6 million volunteers worked with not-for-profits (NFPs) with a wage equivalent valueof nearly Aus$15 billion.

NFPs have reported that the costs ofrecruiting, managing and training volunteersare rising. Minimum qualifications,occupational health and safety, food safety,security checks, and public liability insuranceadded to those costs.

But the Productivity Commission foundthat values such as the belief in the importanceof helping others are important motivators forvolunteers. This means recognition andcontinual reinforcement of the valuablecontribution volunteers make is valuable inretaining their participation.

Although 80 percent of volunteers in arecent survey reported that ‘knowing that mycontribution makes a difference’ was the mostimportant factor in the decision to volunteer,36 percent had not received any recognitionfor their work in the past month, suggesting anavenue for organisations to improve retentionof volunteers.

The Productivity Commission found thatyoung volunteers are more likely to volunteeras a way to build their skills for future jobopportunities, to support organisations with aclear mission that is attractive to them, and inroles supporting young people.

Older volunteers contribute more hours andtherefore the aging population is projected toincrease volunteering. However, NFPs willhave to accommodate the changing desires ofthe baby boomer generation, who wantflexibility and roles related to their skills orinterests, to access these resources.

Church volunteers ablessing to whole community

TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010 3N E W S

Rev Andre le Roux is out to refresh theMethodist Church.

He says lay leaders and presbyters inmany congregations are struggling to findthe inspiration and energy to carry out theirmission at a time when society no longervalues church attendance. To help them findfresh reserves of enthusiasm and providenew ideas Andre is preparing a series ofresources for parish and worship leaders.

“At present we are working on two mainthings. One is leadership resources forleaders’ meetings. The other is ‘10 Minuteson a Tuesday’, and it consists of suggestionsand ideas for worship,” Andre says.

“Traditional expressions of worship arebecoming increasingly irrelevant to mostNew Zealanders and the vast majority ofyoung people find church boring andcompletely alien to their needs and worldview.

“In many places we have aging churcheswith a ‘small church’ mentality. Someparishes struggle to maintain currentattendance levels, others find it impossibleto support presbyteral ministry due to a lackof money. If we are to ensure that we stillhave a church in 20 years time we must finda way to bring down our average age.”

He believes a part of the solution is thecreation of small groups that could fulfill amission task or meet to grow faith, expressministry, or give pastoral care. This willaffect how churches express themselves inworship, mission and leadership.

“Helping people think differently aboutchurch will require inspiration, motivationand practical ‘we-can-do-that’ resources thattake the local church’s context intoconsideration. Empowering presbyters andparishes to work through these challengeswill breathe new life into our church.”

Many presbyters are stretched just tryingto keep the church alive. The thought offinding more time and energy to researchand implement new styles of ministry maybe more daunting than helpful.

‘10 Minutes on a Tuesday’ is Andre’seffort to fill that void. They are bulletins

sent out in a weekly email and posted onthe Methodist Church website –www.methodist.org.nz – under the‘ M i n i s t r y ’ t a b o r a thttp://refresh.methodist.org.nz.

They offer up themes, readings,preaching points, prayers, hymns, visualaids, and suggestions for PowerPointpresentations to get worship leaders’ energyflowing. Andre says they are intended tospark creativity.

“The first series provides themes for thewhole of Lent. There is something for eachSunday so it provides a holistic approachand sense that we are travelling together.”

For example, the ‘10 Minutes’ bulletinfor Palm Sunday reminds worship leadersthat the day is our last opportunity tocelebrate before we face the cross. It suggestsways to use palm fronds to celebrate thegood things of life. This could be done byweaving crosses or bracelets from palmfronds. It provides some reflection aboutthe place of celebration in the Church, andlists some prayers, songs and hymns thatfocus on celebration.

Andre says the material in his ‘10Minute’ bulletins come from a number ofsources. Some of it he dreams up himself,others come fromcombing throughInternet resources.

S i m i l a r l y h i sleadership resourcesprovide local churchleaders devotionalthoughts and practicalskills they can use tolead parish leaders’m e e t i n g s . T h e yprovide means forleaders to advancet h e i r p e r s o n a ldiscipleship as well asa c t i v i t i e s o rconversation pointsthat can be used as partof church meetings. A major focus will beon skill development.

“They are based on the questions Godasks us. The first is based on the questionGod asked Adam and Eve after they ate the

fruit and realised they were naked – Whereare you?” Andre says

“It went out to the parishes in Januaryso leaders could discuss wherethey were and where they wouldgo with the year.”

Andre says feedback fromthe first instalments of the’10Minute’ bulletins and monthlyleadership resources have beenextremely positive.

He has lots of ideas for othertypes of resources, such asDVDs, and innovative freshexpressions of ministry he wouldlike to develop. However,Andre’s own energy levels arelimited these days.

He has been diagnosed witha type of cancer for which, at thisstage, there is no treatment. He

has had radiation and a type of chemotherapybut to little effect. However, he remainshopeful that a way forward will still befound.

For more visit: refresh.methodist.org.nz

Resources to refresh your church

FOR ENQUIRIES:P.O.Box 45- 081, Te Atatu Peninsula

E-mail • tatunion@ihug.co.nzMarianne Phillips • (09) 834 1452Barbara Sedon • (09) 837 4778

U N I O N C H U R C H

Methodist & Presbyterian

Celebrating 100 years ofworship on the Peninsula.

TE ATATU

17 to 25 OCTOBER 2010

This month the MethodistPublishing Board is carryingout a review of Touchstone.The review will look at howthe paper is produced, and

some congregations have been asked to hold focus group discussionsto critique its content and layout. The Board also wants to hear from any individuals who wouldlike to share their thoughts about Touchstone.What do you like about Touchstone? What do you dislike? Howwould you change it? Does Touchstone meet the needs ofyour parish?

Send your ideas and suggestions by theend of March to Methodist Publishing Boardchair Rev Mark Gibson at stmarks7@clear.net.nzor c/o 27 Remuera Ave, Christchurch 8022.

Have yoursay about

Touchstone

By Cory MillerA Tongan man’s search

for a place to worship in hisneighborhood of Papakurahas led to the founding of anew church.

When Tongo Vaiangina, amember of the TonganMethodist Tokaima’amangaParish in Otara, moved to anew family home in Papakuralast year he found there wasno local congregation.

He met others in Papakurawho were not going to achurch due to the absence ofa Tongan congregation.“There were others I met whowere not attending churcheither,” Tongo says.

Without a church to go tothey felt that there wasnowhere for them to worshipGod, a place of fellowship fortheir people was needed, saysRev Vaikoloa Kilikiti. “Theiraim was to let the people knowGod,” he says “They wantedto be a good people.”

Together with his brothers,Tongo decided to hold familyprayers in their home. OtherTongan families in the

neighborhood were alsoinvited to share in fellowshipwith the family.

“I wanted to create achurch for those who wereunable to go, to havefellowship with our people,”says Tongo. “We went to ourhomes to have prayers and tofind God.”

The small gatheringsexpanded to include othersuntil it became too big for thefamily home. Together thesefamilies helped to bringtogether the foundation for anew church.

With their home burstinga t t he s eams , Tongoapproached Vaikaloa foradvice about where to househis growing church.

Though the people wouldhave been welcome to attendthe Otara Parish, they knewthat the distance would be adeterrent for many families.A site for worship was neededin Papakura itself.

With Vaikaloa’s support,Tongo approached the Tongansynod superintendant todiscuss the possibility of

establishing a new church inPapakura.

Though they were unableto have a new building of theirown, they were able to use alocal marae and the PapakuraAnglican church for worship.

With a l l par t ies inagreement a commitment wasdrafted and signed by themembers of the new branch.They held their first serviceas an official church on the29th of November, 2009.

The new church wasrecognised as a branch of theTongan Congregation inOtara. “They are an extensionof our church,” says Vaikaloa.“Once a month we gathertogether as one congregationin Otara to take communion.”

Each Sunday up to 50people gather for prayer, songand fellowship in the Tonganlanguage in Papakura.

“The future for this smallbut growing church can onlybe good,” says Vaikaloa.“Where there was no TonganChurch before, there is now astrong group of people whohave found their place ofworship.” Tongo Vaiangina’s initiative led to the creation of a new Tongan congregation

in the Otara Tongan Methodist Parish.

Tongan families unite to form Papakura church

4 TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010

O P I N I O N

Advertising Pieter van den BergPhone (03) 310 7781, Fax (03) 310 7782Email pietermarjan@paradise.net.nz

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Postal PO Box 931Christchurch

Fax (03) 366-6009

Editor Paul TitusPhone (03) 381 6912Mobile (021) 655 092E-mail touchstone@paradise.net.nz

Production Julian DoesburgPublisher The Methodist Publishing Company

Printer The Ashburton GuardianAd Deadline 15th of the month preceeding publicationLetters Deadline 15th of the month preceeding publicationSubscription Changes 10th of the month preceeding publication

Opinions in Touchstone do not necessarily reflectthe offical views of the Methodist Church of NZ.

Thank you, JuneTo the editor,It is always good to receive a letter. Over

the years I am one of many who have receivedthe Methodist Diakonia Fellowship Newsletterthree or four times each year.

These letters were started by Sister BettyYearbury as a means of keeping us in touchwith each other and went out the Deaconesses,Deacons and other interested people.

When Betty found it necessary to give upthis task June Gibson, herself a Deacon, tookit up and has continued it ever since. June's

first letter to us is dated 1st March 1990! Thatletter contains Deaconess news from aroundthe Connexion, and concludes with a devotionalthought, a pattern June has continued insubsequent letters.

Now she is laying down her pen, and thisletter is to say how much we appreciate her 20years of letter-writing to keep us in touch. Shehas succeeded admirably and her letters willbe greatly missed.

Thank you, June.Beverley Pullar, Nelson

Gillian WatkinMost mornings I take a walk

around the garden not to doanything other than look and tolisten. This isn’t a working time, itis a time to reconnect with thegarden and the outside world.

So often we have to rush intoappointments or tasks without givingour brains time to fully engage. I findplants that have popped upunexpectedly reminding me I am onlypart of the planning and planting.

I well remember the late ColinLeadley surprising us townies in ahome-setting course at TrinityCollege with his description of hisweather diaries and the things heneeded to watch out for as a goodfarmer. The keen observation andcollection of data enabled him tochoose his daily work well.

I learned from that conversation.Now I know that in our little bit ofland, quiet contemplation andinformation gathering provides a leadto sound maintenance and growth.While home gardening is about caringfor each plant and farm cropping issomething much, much morecomplex, in both small and large thequality of conditions and growth areimportant.

Pay attention. Are the words acommand, or an invitation to a deeperway of thinking and exploring? Atschool it could be the call of harassedteachers but for me now, payingattention is one of the most importantof all spiritual practices.

Throughout the Gospels Jesus isrecorded as saying: ‘Listen’ as hebegan a story. His stories were of

being alert to the coming of God’srealm. He talked with an agriculturalcommunity and reminded them ofgood farming and planting practices,reminded them that they watched thesky and the weather. In that sameway they could attend to their faithand belief.

In early Christian times the creedswere written after much debate. Theycome to us through the ages but inthe myriad of languages they havemoved through since then, themeaning and the understanding ofsome words have changed. The words‘I believe’ which today generallymean ‘I hold this to be true’ in thoseearlier times meant something like ‘Ipledge allegiance to’. If we pledgeallegiance, we pay attention and orderour lives in a way that gives honourto that allegiance.

Judy Reeves writes about the craftof writing. She points out that payingattention has to do with slowingdown. It has to do with staying in the‘Now’ and being mindful in yourdaily life. She says that when youpay attention you also notice whatmatters to you. In paying attentionwe give time to discover what it iswe give honour to in our lives.

The leaves are beginning to turn,the mornings are colder, and our dailywork will change. Life is like that.In my experience, it is much easierto live well if we take note of whatis happening around us. Paying thatmindful attention is a reminder ofwhat a privilege it can be to care forour little bit of planet.

Pay attentionFrom the backyardFrom the backyard

Good readTo the editor,The March edition of Touchstone was a

great issue - from the piece on LiberationTheology, the book reviews, the centenary ofMission, the situations in Papua New Guinea

and Haiti, and the battle over fermented andunfermented wine. The wine issue aside, thereseemed to be a strong theme of social justiceand acting Jesus' message through-out.

Graham Howell, Wellington

To the editor,The popular proclamation ‘God loves

everybody’ is not found in the Bible. On thecontrary, for example, God destroyed all thepeople of Sodom with burning sulphur becauseof their grievous sin.

God told the prophet Nathan that he hadwithdrawn his love from King Saul. God toldthe prophet Malachi that he loved Jacob buthated Esau.

Jesus said that God so loved the world thathe gave his only begotten son so that whosoever

did not believe in him would perish, presumablyin eternal fire, like the rich man who neglectedthe beggar Lazarus. He then said thatunbelievers would remain under condemnation,under God’s anger (see John 3:36).

Jesus did not add ‘you may sin as much asyou like, God still loves you even when youare in hell’.

God’s common grace, his care for the planethe created for us, benefits us all in this life. Therain falls on the first and the unjust.

Ivan Harper, Tauranga

The Mission and the Treaty

As a professional scientist, I welcome debateon the interaction of science and religious faith.They form two great pillars of humanunderstanding in the modern world, informingand underpinning all our legal, social anddemocratic structures.

Sadly, Richard Dawkins’ derisive dismissalof religion, promotes a stark monolithic worldview where science alone is presumedcompetent to adjudicate on all matters. Theseviews do a disservice to both science andreligion. The collateral damage is great –encouraging unwarranted scepticism about

science and its perceived agenda, as it does ofreligion.

I wish to affirm another view, where sciencerightly informs religion and religion rightlyinforms science. Nothing in modern scientificdiscovery or understanding has negated thecentral claim of theistic religion that this ancientand marvellous universe is the product of thepurposeful mandate of a Creator, who we, inour limited understanding, call God.

This insight alone should moderate all ourunderstanding, all our discourse, all our conduct.

Dr Jeff Tallon, Wellington

Dawkins, science and faith

To the editor,It was with great interest I read of the

celebrations at Mangungu on February 12,marking the 170th anniversary of the signingof the Treaty of Waitangi.

My late husband Desmond William White'sgreat-grandfather, John White, age 13, wouldsurely have been present, as was his sister, Jane,age 5, who was Rev Donald Phillipp's great-grandmother.

They were the niece and nephew of theearly Methodist missionary, William White,and lived at the mission station at that time.

It was exciting to read of the events of thatday 170 years ago, with the 69 rangatira signingthe Treaty in front of the 3000 Maoris gatheredthere. What an impact that Mangungu Missionmust have had. And what an impact that Treatyhas had!

Joan M White, Mt Maunganui

God doesn’t love everybody

Bigger piles of good rubbishTo the editor,I support Shirley Bridge’s interest in “simple

things at hand that have a big beneficial effect”(letter to editor, February 2010 Touchstone).However, I wonder at her association of humanperversity with “spending much time and energytrying to solve big issues that are often beyondour ability to solve”.

It is true that big issues often seem quitedaunting; however, there are many ways toinfluence such issues. For instance, the CWSwebsite outlines a number of opportunities, and

organisations such as Greenpeace, AmnestyInternational and a range of environmentalorganisations provide other avenues. Theseorganisations can actually have an impact atthe level of global power politics through theUnited Nations and other avenues.

While it may require some effort, it isimportant that people of good will engage withthese larger issues, otherwise they are left toothers who may not have the greater good atheart.

Gray Southon, Tauranga

TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010 5N E W S A N D V I E W S

I am writing on theday that marks the150th anniversary ofthe start of the LandWars of Taranaki. OnMarch 18th, PrimeMinister John Keyformally began theTreaty of Waitangisettlement negotiation process with TeAtiawa iwi at Owae Marae in Waitara.

The local newspaper has begun a seriesof articles and the Museum has opened anexhibition entitled 'Te Ahi Ka Roa, Te AhiKatoro Taranaki War 1860-2010, Ourlegacy – Our Challenge. A lot ofgroundwork has taken place for this timeof Taranaki awakening.

It is much the same in my study. Nowars other than with paper. But in order

to have things at my fingertips Ihad to change my filing systemfrom that of a parish presbyter tothat of a president. With a fewdays free of travelling the job isnow done, and I have laid thegroundwork for a greaterefficiency.

Rev John Roberts and vicepresident Lana put a lot of groundworkinto preparing their trip to the SolomonIslands on behalf of the Mission andEcumenical committee. But cyclone Uluimay have changed their plans. To borrowa phrase, the best laid plans of reverendsand vice presidents...

The groundwork for Easter was laidout long ago. We can't say with anycertainty just when it all began, as theBible writers express a range of theologies.

There is some consensus, however, thatJesus became clearer about his path aheadthrough the course of his three yearministry. His ministry formation however,started long before his time of publichealing and teaching. John's Gospel forone, points to a beginning before the timewe know as The Creation. That's a longtime coming!

We followers can get caught up in aflurry of activity that springs from nowhereand sometimes returns to the place it camefrom. The Methodist Church of NewZealand has prided itself in beingpragmatic, suiting its governing to theconditions of the day.

Someone remarked to me that “thechurch has been re-structuring for 25years.” But like Jesus' ministry, I thinkchanging the structures started long before

that. Much depends on the groundwork.On a quiet morning I watched the

sunlight gradually slide down the hall wallas the sun rose higher. Exhausted byperfectionism I'd given up and noticed theworld about me. Gardens have a fallowtime and for everything there is a season.I'm inclined to forget that.

The church season of Lent is a time ofspiritual waiting, groundwork for Easter,and a time of watching in wonder at whatcomes out of the waiting! The mystery ofthe resurrection comes out of thegroundwork of God's grace and love. Soin anticipation of Easter Sunday, I hopeyou find time for some spiritualgroundwork and quiet space to get in touchwith God.

May your Easter rejoicing be filledwith God's Spirit.

P R E S I D E N T ’ S C O L U M N

After the groundwork is done Rev Alan Upson

By Michael DymondWe are now well into the

new year. What will 2010bring for you? Perhaps youhave resolved to walk more,if you can walk; or eat lesschocolate, if you could affordchocolate; or call morepeople on the phone, if onlyyou could find it, or ...wellthe list could on.

For me, it seems enoughto resolve to be content withwhat I have. You might detectthe irony in that. It is a self-fulfilling prophesy in a way,eh?

But it stems from a deepconviction that it is in ourstriving for the bigger, better,latest etc. creates an induceddiscontent. I call it ‘the BigWednesday syndrome’, and itis from this that we havebrought our world to a placewhere the gap between thosewho have and those who havenot is now so immense as toseem to be incapable ofclosing.

Once upon a time, in the1950s and 1960s, NewZealand was an egalitarianand more equal society, now50 years on...well, we’re not.

A recent book, ‘The SpiritLevel’ by Richard Wilkinsonand Kate Pickett uses morethan 30 years of internationalsocial research and statisticsto show that most ‘dis-eases’in developed countries stemfrom inequalities within andbetween those countries.These dis-eases includeimprisonment rates, poor childlearning levels, teenagepregnancies, mental illnessand so on. All these are moreprevalent in countries withhigh inequality of incomes.

New Zealand shows upusually in the top five of the

most unequal countries! Arewe shocked? Well, we oughtto be. Are we surprised? Weshould not be. It has been longknown, for example, that intimes of high employment,rates of burglary and theftcrime go down, and theexplanation has been thatwhen you have money froma job you don't need to steal.

Now there is a soundscientific base to support this.When there is a more equaldistribution of income, the gaphas lessened and dis-ease goesdown too.

So why do we keep on justdealing with the symptoms?Why not take steps to reducethe wide gap between therichest and the poorest? Overthe past two decades,governments of the left andright have ignored thisconnection. Perhaps this wasbecause the research had notyet been brought together andpublished but more likelybecause, in an economydriven by market forces andthe mantra of 'growth', theresult is always to enrich thewealthy at the expense of thepoor.

You may be asking 'whyis Michael bothering his headabout this?' Indeed some willsay that politics and religionshould not be mixed. In thiscase, I reply that the personwho composed that sayingwas very likely one of thosemost likely to benefit from achurch that was compliant andquiet.

Did Jesus go quietly? Didthe prophets of old keep theirpeace? It is time to speak upabout the things that are goingwrong. And that gives you agreat field to play in!

By Ken RussellPhil Heatley may be currently licking his wounds

on the back benches but he has one distinction thatmay afford him consolation. It is being said he isthe first cabinet minister in the MMP era to resignin the face of his prime minister's insistence he neednot do so.

Mr Heatley committed no sackable offence. Hiswas, in the eyes of his peers, no more than amisdemeanour, a naivety, a minor error of judgment.John Key went so far as to call his attempt to chargethe cost of a family holiday and a couple of bottles ofwine to the taxpayer a "stupid" act by a Minister whoshould have known better. Yes, indeed.

But the Whangarei MP was inconsolable, his griefpalpable in a public apology that left nothing andnobody out. To the Prime Minister, to his party, to hisconstituents and to the people of New Zealand, hewas totally, totally sorry.

It is, of course, a fashionable thing to do. The listof celebrities and VIP's saying sorry is growingexponentially. Gordon Brown, Kevin Rudd and ourown John Key have all said ‘Sorry’ in a big publicway for the sins and errors of the past – the export ofthousands of unwanted children, the appallingoppression and exploitation of the Aborigine people,and breaching the Treaty of Waitangi in dealing with24,000 members of the Te Arawa tribe.

The big apology is in vogue, and democraticleaders, irked by the frequency with which the sinsof the fathers continue to haunt the business ofcontemporary government, may well continue to finda tad of public contrition carries with it electoralbenefits.

But sadly, among the chorus of high profileapologies filling our screens these days, few can claimthe moral high ground. There was Rodney ‘Perks-buster’ Hide, Bill ‘Not-a-good-look’ English, Hone‘I'm-entitled’ Harawira, Tony “I-lashed-out’ Veitch.These are just a few who of those who have rivetedour attention with shame-faced apologies tenderedwith lashings of humble pie.

Already 2010 is shaping up as a record year forbig-time apologies, none bigger than the world headof Toyota, bowing and grovelling before the USCongressional Committee, imploring forgiveness formaking millions of potentially lethal unstoppable cars.

Just as big on the NZ scene was Telecom's $7mCEO Paul Reynolds, pleading for understanding ofhis firm's XT network failings.

I was fascinated by the comment of columnist-mayor Michael Laws in the Sunday Star Times. Thenormally acerbic Laws might have been expected to

feast on the pickings of the Heatley resignation butinstead he rose to praise him. From an environmentwhere politicians, of all people, are appallingly badat accepting responsibility for mistakes, blamingdepartments, systems, and any other mitigatingcircumstances they can find, Laws said Heatley stoodout from the pack. “He accepted he had done wrong.No equivocation. No justification. That took an innermoral compass... Phil Heatley has restored his honour."

Yes, and at some considerable cost. Half hislucrative salary, his place in cabinet, demotion to theback benches, and more than a little derision fromhard-boiled colleagues, all of which is bad medicinefor any politician with an eye to his future.

What Laws didn't say is that Heatley makes nosecret of his Baptist affiliation, and the hard decision,one that has puzzled John Key and all the politicalmedia no end, would have been taken in a lonely,brutally honest confrontation with his God.

As it happens Judy and I have been enjoying DVDepisodes of John Mortimer's ‘Paradise Postponed’,the quirks and quarrels of the family of liberal Anglicanrector Simeon Simcox. In a move that confounds thefamily, Simcox names Leslie Titmuss as the solebeneficiary in his will. Titmuss was born into a workingclass family, but what he lacked in breeding in classconscious England he made up for in huge ambition,a compelling desire to "make something of himself."

Ruthless, heartless and driven, Titmuss takes everyadvantage of the Simcox inheritance, becomes wealthy,successful, and a minister in Maggie Thatcher's cabinet.In an unforgettable scene, having driven his wife toan early death, Titmuss sits at breakfast with his youngson home from his exclusive boarding school, eachat opposite ends of a long banqueting table. It is timefor some well-chosen fatherly advice. "Son," he says"never apologise, never, ever."

True to his own advice, Titmuss faces the greatestcrisis of his political career with lies built on lies. Hehas alienated family and friends by his insatiableambition, a hardened shell of a man determined never,ever, to apologise.

This Easter it is timely to note the differencebetween apology and repentance. I don't know theman but MP Phil Heatley appears to understand thedifference. It is a difference of fundamental importance.Apologies can be shallow, stage managed, artificiallyemotional and tearful.

Repentance takes longer. It is a turning around. Itgives rise to faith. And from even one act of genuinerepentance, so it is written, there is joy in heaven.

Originally published as a Connections article inthe Dunedin and Blenheim Parish weekly bulletin.

Public apologies notnecessarily repentance

THE BIG WEDNESDAY SYNDROME

Time to speak upabout inequality

6 TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010

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By Richard StoreyIf they can get out there and see

it for themselves, young people willbecome passionate about God’screation.

This belief spawned Tongariro Eco-Adventure, a camp run jointly byScripture Union and the Christianenvironmental organisation A RochaAotearoa NZ.

A Rocha is an internationalorganisation that is helping revive theChurch’s concern for God’s creation.A key reason for its effectiveness isthat A Rocha brings people into directexperiences of creation, in the contextof a Christian community thatacknowledges the Creator.

These experiences can be life-changing. In some countries – e.g.,Kenya, Portugal and Canada – A Rochabranches have field study centres thatcan give people such experiences.

A Rocha NZ doesn’t have such acentre so it teamed up with ScriptureUnion to run a youth camp. ScriptureUnion was delighted to add anecologically-focused camp to its rangeof adventure camps. It has a strongenvironmental ethic and a focus ondiscovering God through theexperience of camping outdoors.

In January, nine teenagers and sixleaders arrived at Scripture Union’sCrusader Lodge at the foot of MtRuapehu to spend a week exploringTongariro National Park. The goal wasto experience the biological andgeological wonders in the park, andreflect on what they can teach us aboutthe Creator.

The approach was to be like Jesus,when he spoke of the lilies of the field.By carefully observing creation, wecan understand God’s character andthe relationship God desires with us.

The theme for the first half of theweek was that God knows and caresfor every living creature he has made.We explored the diversity of alpineshrubs and forest trees at the foot ofMt Ruapehu, examined the invertebratelife of the local streams, and learnedto recognize the calls and fleetingglimpses of native forest birds.

In evening Bible studies wediscussed God’s covenant involvement

in his world and his covenantinvolvement in our lives. Later weshifted our attention to the greatnessand power of God, a fitting themewhen you’re sitting on an activevolcano!

The Tongariro crossing was ahighlight for many, both for thephysical challenge and for spectacularevidence of God’s power in the lavaflows, craters and steaming fumaroles.With a grand view over the plains wediscussed mountains as a type of ‘thinplace’ where people go to meet withGod in prayer, and we used themountain crossing as a metaphor todiscuss our personal walk with God.

The following evening, with God’ssplendour on display in a brilliant nightsky, we spent an hour admiring thesweep of the Milky Way, inspired byLouie Giglio’s wonderful DVD‘Indescribable’.

No Christian camp would becomplete without considering how weshould respond to God’s great love,and no discussion of ecology wouldbe complete without considering howwe should care for the planet. So, wefinished the camp discussing our visionfor God’s future kingdom and howeach of us might play a part in it.

We put our faith into action byhe lp ing two Depar tment o fConservation wardens to check andre-set stoat traps along the WhakapapaRiver, part of DoC’s programme toprotect the endangered blue duck(whio).

Judging by the enthusiasm ofcampers and leaders, the TongariroEco-Adventure was a resoundingsuccess. This was due to thecombination of Scripture Union’sexperience in community-building incamp settings, A Rocha’s wideknowledge of the local ecology, andthe emphasis both place on Biblereading and prayer.

We are looking forward very muchto running Tongariro Eco-Adventureagain next year, and possibly addingother A Rocha-Scripture Union jointcamps in the future.

Richard Storey is chair of A RochaAotearoa NZ. He works as a freshwaterscientist in Hamilton.

Eco camp bringsyoung people

closer to CreationSeveral hundred Tongan young people

gathered in feisty competition one Saturdayearly in March to play netball, touch andvolleyball. The sports day was aimed atuniting the youth of the Tongan MethodistChurch.

They came from 17 Tongan congregationsthroughout Auckland, and gathered at the TeAtatu sports field.

It began with a burst of colour and noiseas everyone marched around the field to thetune of a bass brand.

The day was organised by a committeemade up of representatives from each church.

“The sports initiative is a new one thathas been put together for the young people,”says event organiser Osai Kupu.

The day was centred around their visionto unite the young people in the church andto draw them closer to God.

The church often offers programmes thatare based around worship, singing andspirituality. However the youth are not alwaysinterested in such programmes.

The committee thought that sport wouldbe one way of attracting the youth back tochurch. “Sport is attractive to many youngpeople,” says Kevin Metuisela of the EllerslieMethodist Church.

The day was designed not just for athletesbut for everyone who wanted to take part.

“We want to help the youth to grow. We

want them to work as a team and to findfellowship with each other and with Godthrough sport,” says Osai. “The aim was toteach them to glorify God, through theirtalent.”

“We want to encourage the gifts that theyhave in sport and to utilise it in a healthymanner. We encouraged them to give it a go,even if sport was not their strength.”

Though there was a competitive spirit inthe field, winning was not the focus of theday. “It was an event where we all cametogether to have fun, win or lose,” says Kevin.

A change in energy was evident by thefinals. “It was exciting to see the competitionand everyone putting all their effort into thegame,” says Kevin. “It was highlyentertaining, I enjoyed watching the talent.”

The day was a success with the highnumber of people that came. There were newfaces and old faces bringing a lot of talentonto the fields.

Bonds of friendship were formed betweenthe youth of the various churches. “I sawmany of the young people interacting andgetting to know each other well,” says Kevin.

In light of the day’s success, Osai hopesthat the sports day can become an annualevent. “I would like to see us build on thisyear’s success and make it bigger and betterin the following years for the youth.”

Church sports daydraws Tongan youth

The Tongariro crossing provided both a physical challenge and spectacularevidence of God’s power in the lava flows and craters.

Young people from 17 Tongan congregations throughout Auckland met,mingled and competed at a sports day last month.

TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010 7

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for the secure investment of the Church’s funds

Investments measured against Church

Guidelines for Socially Responsible Investments

By Mary CaygillPopular songs have been telling us for

years that the most powerful words in anylanguage are the words which express theconviction, ‘I love you’. And the songsare very nearly right. These words changelives. But the Church believes that thereis another and equally brief message whichis even more powerful and which isr e s p o n s i b l e f o r e v e n g r e a t e rtransformations.

“He has been raised.” (Luke 24:6) ‘Hehas been raised’ – words almost beyondbelief to their first hearers. Almost beyondbelief to us as well. Contrary to all priorexperience and against all expectation, theman Jesus, who had been publicly executed,certified dead and decently entombed, hasbeen raised. He is no longer to be foundamong the dead. He is not there; he hasbeen raised.

It was this same announcement whichcreated and energised the church.

It is this announcement which is sharedthroughout Christian churches worldwideagain this Easter Sunday, however it maybe celebrated and in what language, whichstill has the power to bring new life andnew possibility to birth within individualsand communities.

They are strange words to have had somuch power. Words that cannot be provedor disproved.

Words that are simply there, a baldstatement of an event, a claim, a challenge,an affront, a comfort, a demand, a power.They are there to be believed or disbelieved.

As Christians we lack the means ofknowing what physical event lay behindthe announcement. We will never know thehow of resurrection. But we do not lack themeans, in faith, to recognize or celebrateits authenticity and truth.

It is not simply that an influence hassurvived, that a memory has been preserved,that an inspiration from the past can stillstir us. Rather, we stand in a rich successionof people through the ages who have beenmoved to acknowledge that that Jesus, theone who was dead, now meets them, nowchallenges them, now leads them into thefuture.

The church’s claim with respect to theresurrection is wrought out of its continuingexperience with a living experience of a

Christ embodied and encountered in theeveryday, rather than out of some meresentimental attachment to its ancienttraditions.

Where the church is alive, it is alivebecause it believes that its Christ has beenraised and is alive and accessible througha living relationship which can then bemodelled in a pattern of other relationships– one human being recognising theire s s e n t i a l c o n n e c t e d n e s s a n dinterdependence on another human being.

Resurrection, if you like, is as an act ofGod whereby Jesus is released from theconfines of that long ago historical past sothat he can genuinely be available to hischurch and the created world.

It is God’s yes to the world.It is a yes to the continuation of the

qualities and values portrayed in Jesus whichare to live on in embodied form to beenacted in the everyday. Word and deedremain inseparable.

Resurrection thus is indeed the feast ofpossibility.

He has been raisedE A S T E R R E F L E C T I O N

“What shall I do, then, with the one you callthe king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

"Crucify him!" they shouted (Mark 15:12-13).

By Cory MillerA 91- year- old man with a passion

for justice has become Internet savvyin order to share information withgrowing network of readers.

It all began six years ago when ArthurPalmer began collecting and sendingarticles to four friends via the Internet.In the years since his email list has grownto 28 people.

Each week he spends hours lookingat on-line newspapers and searchingGoogle from his Blockhouse Bay home,searching for articles that dig deep intothe issues of the world.

“I am looking for things that are notlikely to see print in New Zealand, tryingto get to the guts of issues,” he says.

Arthur says he has found the abilityof the Internet to let us see commentson world events within moments of theiroccurrence remarkable. “It’s worth a fewfrustrations with technology to be ableto pass these stories on to others”

Every Wednesday Arthur sends twoto three of the most significant storiesto the people on his email list.

“There is such a huge mass of printedmatter that demands our attention thatone has to be sure that any addition iswelcomed,” he says. “I have sent articlesto Helen Clark. She replied to me threetimes, twice in agreement, once shedisagreed.”

Rev Barry Jones has been receivingArthur’s emails for at least four yearsand has found them to be an invaluableresource. “I have incorporated quotationsfrom what he has sent me directly intomy sermons. Arthur has saved me fromdoing the long-haul search myself.”

Arthur is looking for compellingstories that help him understand people

and situations. “When I am looking forarticles I am trying to gain insight intowhat is happening in the world. I looknot just for what has happened, but towhy it has happened.”

To some extent Arthur says hisarticles are selected based on his ownbiased views of the world. “I select basedon my prejudices I suppose but I try tolook for articles that will shed light onissues such as terrorism, climate changeand the war in Iraq,” he says.

With these articles Arthur hopes togive people a gentle nudge and bringthem with him in his fight for change.“It is important to listen to those whotell of their pain, to feel something ofthat pain ourselves and to think aboutwhether we are the cause of the pain,”he says.

“I am looking for articles that canhighlight and show what needs to happento strengthen the forces that make forpeace, social justice and creativeendeavor and make clearer what isstanding in the way. I hope this mayinspire us to be more than just well-informed bystanders”.

Arthur uses several online newssources, British newspapers, TheGuardian and The Independent as wellas a US paper called The CommonDream. Their writers are the ones whomArthur feels succeed at bringing to lightissues in a convincing manner. “I don’talways agree with everything that theypublish, but their writers are morethoughtful and insightful than most,” hesays.

“They help us to look behind thedespair and to believe that a better worldis possible.”

On-line clippings promote justice

and peacePHOTO COURTESY SIDEDOOR TRUST

N E W S A N D V I E W S

8 TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010

A R O U N D T H E C O N N E X I O N

A new radio station in the Ivory Coast(Cote d’Ivoire) funded by the UnitedMethodist Church serves as a tool to promotespiritual growth and combat poverty bysharing information about health,agriculture and employment.

We in the developed world take for grantedthe ability to get the information we need tomake informed choices regarding health, dealwith the weather, grow good crops, or handlean emergency.

In countries such as Cote d’Ivoireelectricity and the Internet are unreliable,many people cannot read or write, and roadsare often impassable. Radio can give poorand isolated people the power to communicate,become better educated, and even transformtheir lives.

Radio Methos (also called Voix DeL’Esperance, the Voice of Hope) will fill aniche in Cote d’Ivoire by providing holisticprogramming, as opposed to solely evangelicalmessages, which makes up most of thecountry’s religious broadcasting.

During the first half of the past decadeCote d’Ivoire suffered a civil war and tensionsare still high. Peace and reconciliation aregreatly needed to heal the country. RadioMethos aims to be a means of peace buildingand reconstruction.

The fight against malaria demandseducation about prevention and treatment.Radio Methos can also provide a way to spreadthis knowledge.

Women suffer greatly in war, oftenvictimized through rape and abuse. RadioMethos wants to help women to regain their

dignity and find their true worth.Reaching young people is a priority for

station director Lydie Acquah. Programmesshe has developed include ‘A Cry In theNight’, presented by the United Methodiststudent union, ‘Eden’, a show on maritalissues, and ‘Living Environment’, aboutmaintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The station aims to shape content aroundthe community and its needs. For the stationto be successful, audiences must hear programscreated in their social context, and deliveredin their languages.

But broadcasting good information isuseless if people cannot receive it. If electricityis nonexistent and people, particularly womenand children, cannot afford batteries then radioprogramming aimed at assisting the poor willgo unheard.

Therefore another aspect of the initiativeto bring radio to the people of Cote d’Ivoireis to self-powered radios developed by theFreeplay Foundation. The Foundation’s‘Lifeline’ radios are relatively inexpensiveand low tech enough to be operated bychildren.

Lifeline radios can operate either by solarpower or a hand crank. They are sturdy andwill operate under harsh conditions and roughhandling, even in climates of dust, heat andhigh humidity. They are also bulky and boldlycoloured to discourage men from taking themfor their use.

Women will thus have the opportunity tolisten to community, educational and Christianradio programmes.

Radio that matters forthose who need it most

By John Roberts, Missionand Ecumenical secretary

New Zealand church representativescontinue to move ahead in their effortsto establish a national ecumenical entitythat will promote the visible unity of thechurch. A year ago I referred inTouchstone to an ecumenical winterfollowing the demise of the Conferenceof Churches in 2005. The new initiativethat is now underway signals that wemay be entering an ecumenical spring.

The discussions have not been withoutsome tension. Some of those participatingin what is now called the NationalDialogue for Christian Unity havequestioned the use of the word‘ecumenical’ as it has negativeconnotations for them. For others thatword has rich and meaningful associationsand has long been part of their tradition.

Their have been questions aboutaccountability of the dialogue group.Some thought it should be accountableto the National Church Leaders Meeting.Others thought it should be independentof that gathering and accountable to thechurches represented in the dialogue.There was an issue around participationin the dialogue and the inclusiveness ofthe group. The dialogue was originally aMethodist initiative and the early meetingsgathered together representatives ofchurches that had participated in theecumenical movement in the past.

These issues have now been resolved. The word ‘ecumenical’ will continue tobe used alongside the word ‘unity’. Theword ’unity’ is preferred by thee v a n g e l i c a l a n d P e n t e c o s t a lrepresentatives in the dialogue.

Representatives of the churchesparticipating in the dialogue areresponsible to their own national churchstructures while the dialogue group as awhole is accountable to the structures andcourts of the participating churches. Othernational church leaders are free to jointhe dialogue group at any time.

The dialogue has opted to be openand inclusive. This has resulted inAssemblies of God and the WesleyanMethodist Church joining the dialogue.They sit alongside Anglican, Baptist,Catholic, Christian Churches NZ,Methodist, Presbyterian, and SalvationArmy representatives.

The first meeting of the dialoguegroup was held in June 2008. Since then

there have been another four meetings.At the February 2010 meeting a documentTowards a Theology of Christian Unitywas further discussed and some additionsmade. It is considered to need no furtherattention at this time. So there is now anagreed theological platform for theongoing discussions.

Attention has turned to a draftdocument on terms of reference for anongoing ecumenical entity. One term thathas been suggested for this entity isCommission of the Churches for ChristianUnity. Use of the word ‘commission’ isnot yet settled. Others prefer an alternativeword such as ‘forum’.

There is agreement that the basis ofthe new entity be “a gathering of churchesthat confess Jesus Christ as God andSaviour according to the scriptures andcommit themselves through the HolySpirit to fulfil Jesus’ prayer ‘that theymay all be one so that the world willbelieve’, to the glory of the one God,Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Immediate and longer term goals forthis new entity have been identified. Thereare two short term goals. The first callsthe churches to deepen their fellowshipwith each other so as to express morevisibly the unity of the church. The secondcalls the churches to work togethertowards the fulfilment of their commonmission of worship, witness, proclamationand service in the world.

There are eight longer term goals thatboth broaden and deepen the immediategoals. They include: developing existingrelationships between the churches; givingexpression to koinonia (or sense ofcommunity) among the churches; sharingand receiving the gifts each church hasto offer; joint initiatives; the exercise ofprophetic leadership; and promotingrelationships with non-member churchesand people of other living faiths.

Other draft terms of reference are stillto be considered by the dialogue group.There are also some suggestions on howto begin to implement the immediategoals. This could start with confessionalsharing, the churches getting to know oneanother theologically. An intentionalmultilateral dialogue exploring themeaning of unity, the church visible andinvisible, authority in the church, scriptureand tradition, evangelisation and mission,could follow.

WCC reports on Kiwi ecumenism

NZ churches edge towardsChristian unity

In 2009, the Methodist Church of NewZealand invited representatives of the WorldCouncil of Churches (WCC) and theChristian Conference of Asia (CCA) toattend Conference and meet with other NZchurch leaders to gain an understandingof the ecumenical relations here.

It was the first WCC staff visit in 15years and the first visit ever of a CCA generalsecretary. Their visit included meetings withrepresentatives of the Anglican, Baptist,Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Methodistand Christian churches as well as leaders ofecumenical bodies.

The WCC representatives were DouglasChial and Tara Tautari. In their report theysay in every encounter there was a genuinewitness of Christian unity.

“The ecumenical movement in AotearoaNew Zealand is far from extinct. Thoughthere are some significant challenges to befaced, there is every reason to remain hopefulthat the unity shared in Christ will becomemore and more visible in Aotearoa NewZealand.”

Douglas and Tara observe that NewZealand is a highly secularized country with

an increasingly diverse population due tomigration from the Pacific and now Asia.Though the country is quite secular,evangelical and Pentecostal churches aregrowing.

Their report says there is a sense of sharpdivision between ‘ecumenical’ and‘evangelical’ churches. The growing churchcommunities of Pacific Islanders and Asiansseem less impacted by secularization

Within every mainline church there is atrend toward a congregational polity andidentity.

“The member churches describe theirgreatest challenge as ‘holding the churchtogether’. There is a financial struggle oftenrelated to diminished income and sometimesto the up-keep of patrimony. There is a shiftin some churches towards a more‘conservat ive’ theological voice .

“The ecumenical priorities of thechurches are each very different. Somemember churches have done significant workin establishing bilateral agreements ontheological and pastoral issues, helping thechurches to formally recognize one baptism,one faith and common forms of ministry,

i.e. the Anglican-Methodist Covenant.”Douglas and Tara say in addition to

personal contacts, joint activities andcommon liturgical celebrations, contactbetween churches is maintained throughregular church leader meetings.

“The churches are currently consideringa proposal to establish a Churches’Commission for Christian Unity as a platformfor ongoing theological ecumenical dialogue.This would supplement the existing regularmeetings of heads of churches andecumenical development work.

“The proposal highlights a mission-shaped unity that seeks to respond to God’spurpose in Christian unity and recognizesthe value of ecumenical space in fosteringmutual accountability between the churches.

“The movement is no longer heldtogether under one umbrella but under manytents. This presents new challenges forfellowship as it is currently understood bythe churches.

“For example, inter-church covenantsand even Cooperative Venture congregationsare not necessarily seen as expressions offellowship or relevant to the wider

ecumenical movement, when in fact theyare.”

Their report concludes that trends towardthe secular, non-insti tutional andcongregational indicate that the future forChristian unity will somehow be grass rootsdriven.

There are lay networks in NZ that arenot necessarily engaged in the currentecumenical conversation, but appear to havegreat potential, i.e. prayer movements,women’s groups, youth groups and families.

Douglas and Tara observe that divisionsbetween ‘ecumenicals’ and ‘evangelicals’ inN Z s e e m s e v e r e . P r i m a r i l y aconservative/liberal division, the division isexacerbated by unhelpful stereo-types. Thereseems to be not one ecumenical platformthat offers real opportunities for more thansuperficial and strained relations betweenthe two camps.

And they conclude that moreprogrammatic contact and visits would leadto a stronger sense of fellowship throughparticipation in the WCC. NZ churcheswould be willing partners to receiveinvitations, host meetings or receive visits.

Director of Radio Methos in Abidjan Lydie Acquah sees the radio station as a means tocombat poverty and empower people in Cote d‚Ivoire. UMNS photo by Tim Tanton.

TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010 9

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Lasting

Legacy

Partnership is becomingincreasingly common in theChristchurch Methodist Mission(CMM). The Methodist Missionhas found that outcomes forchildren, young people andfamilies improve if services areintegrated, coordinated andflexible.

The Mission is part of a verystrong community and voluntarysector in Canterbury. It is a sectorthat meets together, collaboratestogether, and plans together.Strong partnerships and allianceshave been formed over many yearsand are the key to restoring thehealth and sustainability ofcommunities.

The challenges and barriersthat many members of ourcommunities face are connected.They include unemployment, lowlevels of education, low incomes,poor health, isolation andinadequate housing. Children oftenhave poor school attendance orchallenging behaviour and areinvolved with youth justice.

People in poor neighbourhoodsface multiple problems that hinderfamilies’ efforts to be self-sufficient and successfully raisechildren. These can include poorfacilities and playgrounds indisrepair, and economic barrierssuch as limited employmentopportunities and little affordablehousing. Poor neighbourhoodsmay also suffer from social declinesuch as crime and a lack of trust

among neighbours.These challenges and barriers

defy easy answers. Only bycombining the knowledge, skills,and resources of a broad array oforganisations can we hope toaddress them.

In addition to providing anintegrated, holistic approach toproviding services, partnershipsalso allow us to avoid duplication.It is therefore a more cost-effective way of using limitedresources.

Some of the Mission’spartnerships include:

Men on a MissionThi s p rog ramme was

developed in partnership with TheSalvation Army Hope Centre andwas piloted in late 2008. It isdesigned to reduce social isolationfor men and focuses on healthyl i f e s ty l e s , r e l a t ionsh ips ,employment and self care.

Budget BlitzT h i s i s a b u d g e t i n g

programme which is run incommunity settings and inpartnership with other agencies.A course has been held for youngmothers at youth support servicescentre Waipuna Trust, at the DeafAotearoa offices, and at HollyHouse. In 2010 we will also runthe programme at Work andIncome offices.

ParentWorksThis long-standing specialised

parenting programme was

developed to support parentswhose children are in care.ParentWorks was init ially

developed in partnership withHome and Family Society and theUniversity of Canterbury. Over

the years staff from Child Youthand Family, Plunket and a FamilyCourt lawyer have consistentlybeen i nvo lved w i th t heprogramme.

Community GardenA partnership between the

Methodist Mission’s AratupuPreschool and Nursery and Wai-Ora Trust led to the developmentof a community vegetable garden.The community garden providesparents with skills and knowledgeas well as an opportunity to growvegetables for their whanau.Partnership Community

WorkerA new collaboration with

Partnership Health and theMethodist Mission is the creationof a partnership communityworker who operates alongside agroup of medical practices andensures families/whanau haveaccess to relevant health services.Right Service Right Time

Right Service Right Time isan innovative way to deliverservices. The aim is for everychild, young person and family toget the right service at the rightt i m e , w h a t e v e r t h e i rcircumstances. MethodistsMission is working together withother agencies to• create an easy entry point tosocial services;• ensure necessary interventiontakes place before children andfamilies reach crisis point.

The Masterton Christian Child CareCentre is making noise about poverty.

Rise Against Poverty (RAP) is theChild Care Centre’s latest response tothe needs of its community. As a venuefor adult classes, parenting courses,community gardens and social workeroutreach, the Centre has a finger on thepulse of the needs and interests of parentsand families.

The Child Care Centre is an initiativeof Lansdowne, St Lukes and St Jamesparishes. They have on-going roles inthe management team and assist withreading and other activities at the Centre.

It was started some years ago toprovide a preschool for lower-incomefamilies who would not otherwise havethe benefit of the learning and socialinteraction that preschools bring. Feesare less than other preschools with costskept down through the low rental churchpremises. Fundraising drives haveenabled an upgrade of the facility andits playground.

The Centre is vibrant with networksand initiatives. ‘The Other F Words’ isa new parent education initiative with afocus on Fun, Food, Family and Fitness.Education courses include re-entry intoworkforce, baby massage, drivereducation and parenting.

Fathers and grandfathers are part ofthe equation. A men’s shed gives achance for men with skills inwoodworking and maintenance to passthese on and to share their tools. A newcommunity garden has been fenced byfathers and parishioners.

The gardens were started with fundsfrom the local primary healthorganization and are part of a healthyeating programme. To raise the profileof healthy eating the Centre invited thethree Wairarapa mayors to a cook-off –

each was provided with a food parcelfrom which to prepare three meals. Themain comment was that it’s pretty hardto cook enticing meals without freshvegies!

Last year. Donna Laing and FrancisDearnley, the two social workers at theChild Care Centre, noticed that benefitswere no longer covering families’expenses. They called a meeting ofcommunity groups, and they began RiseAgainst Poverty (RAP). They agreedthat things are getting worse for families,especially those on benefits.

Housing is the biggest challenge withno low rentals since the Housing NewZealand stock in Masterton was sold.The trust that bought the houses chargesmarket rents and there is no emergencyhousing for men in the town.

RAP is finding ways to keep the billslower for vulnerable families. Stoppingthe cold is a big issue. A curtain bankprovides the means to cover windowsand reduce the escape of warm air.Stockpiling fire wood is another strategy,and Vincent de Paul has helped withthis.

Another project is to help andencourage young mums to use reusableclothe nappies. RAP is also workingwith the city council to plant fruit treesin verges rather than ornamentals.

Francis says, “We haven’t solved theproblems. We are trying to make themayors and local people aware. We aretalking about submissions andapproaching our MP.”

This Child Care centre is linking upwith a raft of agencies in Masterton andRAP is only the latest of its efforts tolink health, education and social servicesand make them work together forfamilies.

Christchurch Mission works smarter through partnerships

One Mission partnership is a community garden where peoplegrow vegetables and learn skills.

Childcare centreraps against poverty

A R O U N D T H E C O N N E X I O N

The year was1963. I was anecumenical studentstudying theologya t T ü b i n g e nU n i v e r s i t y i nGermany. Europewas still recoveringf r o m t h edevastation of the

war. The ecumenical movement wasflourishing. At the initiative of Pope JohnXXIII Vatican 2 was opening the windowsof the Catholic Church.

Germany was still divided into eastand west by the infamous wall. The civilrights struggle in the USA under MartinLuther King was intensifying. InNovember of that extraordinary year,President John Kennedy was assassinatedin Dallas, Texas.

It was also that year that a Swisscolleague gave me a copy of a bookentitled in German WiIderstand und

Ergebung by Dietrich Bonhoeffer one theleaders of the Confessing Church inGermany during the war. Its English titleLetters and Papers from Prison, hardlycaptures the anguish and struggle ofBonhoeffer’s time in Gestapo prisons fromApril, 1943 until April 9th, 1945 when hewas executed.

I took the small book to my one roomflat and stayed up all night reading. Itopened for me a new window ofunderstanding, not just of Germany andthe war but especially of what it means tobe a Christian in a world deeply dividedand torn apart by greed and power.

In 1937 Bonhoeffer was called by theConfessing Church to head up an‘emergency seminary’ for young ministers.The Confessing Church had emerged inresponse to the rise of Hitler and the ThirdReich. While teaching there Bonhoefferpublished another of his books, The Costof Discipleship, which was a powerfulcritique of what he called the “cheap grace”

being offered by the established churches,in pre-war Germany.

Over time Bonhoeffer became deeplyinvolved in the resistance movementagainst Hitler. As a consequence he wasforbidden by the Gestapo to lecture, writeor give any public speeches.

One Monday in April, 1943 theGestapo arrested Bonhoeffer and took himto Tegel prison in Berlin where he spentthe first 18 months of his confinement. InJuly 1944, there was an unsuccessfulattempt on Hitler’s life and the Gestapobelieved Bonhoeffer was indirectlyinvolved in the plot. He was moved fromTegel prison to the Prinz Albert Strasseprison, then to Buchenwald prison,Schönberg prison and finally Flossenbürgwhere he was executed by hanging.

Letters and Papers is a remarkablebook containing his letters to his parents,his fiancée, and some of his close friendsplus some of his prayers, poems andreflections on his life and witness in prison.

What emerges is a penetrating insight intothe life and faith of an extraordinary humanbeing and his courageous response to thecatastrophic events outside his prison cell.

Bonhoeffer was only 39 when he wasexecuted. On New Year’s day of 1945, thelast of his remarkable life, he wrote a poemhe entitled simply ‘New Years – 1945’.The last lines of the poem hang in mystudy to remind me of what it means tofollow in the way of Jesus Christ whateverthe cost.

“While all the powers of good aid andattend us

Boldly we’ll face the future, be whatit may.

At even, and at morn, God will befriendus,

And oh, most surely on each new year’sday.

This little audacious book continuallyreminds me that the Christian faith mustengage the world and be lived withcourage.

L I B R A R Y O F F A I T HBy Jim StuartThe audacity of faith

As we think of the period duringwhich Jesus was seized by the forcesof the High Priest, tried in his court,and then sent to the Roman governorfor the sentence of death to be carriedout, we naturally think of his closedisciples and their reactions to theseevents.

We cannot help seeing that therewas a kind of division in theirunderstanding of what was happening.Although Jesus had warned them thathe would have to endure great sufferingand even be put to death (e.g., Matthew16:22-3; Luke 9:23), they hadresponded that this must not happen.Peter especially had said this forcefully,and Jesus had rebuked him.

Also, there had just been thetriumphant entry into Jerusalem whenthe crowd hailed him as the Son ofDavid, and many people must havebelieved that he was about to fulfil theprophecies and bring peace and victoryto the people of Israel – presumably

with a host of angels, as clearly he didnot have an earthly army.

But as the disciples became moreaware of the hostility of the Jewishreligious authorities, who feared thatJesus would overturn the comfortablerelationship they had built up with theRoman authorities, they began to fearthat something terrible would happen.

Peter, who had been acknowledgedas a leader among the apostles, assertedthat whatever happened he would staywith Christ and suffer with him(Matthew 26:30-35). Jesus said thatduring the night to come Peter woulddeny him three times before cock-crow,which Peter vehemently contradicted.

But when the great crowd withswords and clubs came, led by Judas,to seize Jesus, all the disciples fled intohiding except Peter and John, who wentto see the trial. John was known to theHigh Priest’s people but Peter wasallowed in on John’s recommendation(John 18:15).

Peter, presumably for fear of beingarrested himself, denied three times thathe was a follower of Christ, thusfulfilling Christ’s prediction. When heheard the cock crow, he rememberedwhat Christ had foretold and weptbitterly.

Although Christ had told thedisciples that he would rise from thedead, they clearly did not expect thisto happen. When he appeared to themthey were at first incredulous but heconvinced them that it was really hehimself who had risen, and he wouldsoon show them how they were to bringabout the spread of the kingdom.

John relates how Jesus particularlyasked Peter to testify that he loved himthree times, presumably to mirror thetriple denial (John 21:15-19). We shouldtake this as an outstanding example ofGod’s forgiveness to a human beingwho has fallen short of the promise hehas made.

We can surely remember this to

comfort ourselves when we fall shortof promises we have made to him, assurely we have all done at some time.

Peter made up for it by thetremendous work he did for Godafterwards. When the Holy Spirit cameupon the disciples at Pentecost, he gavethe first Christian sermon. He stood upcourageously to the High Priest, whoarrested him for preaching and healingin the name of Jesus (Acts 5).

Finally, after many years’ work inspreading the knowledge of Christ tomany parts of the world, Peter wascrucified just outside Rome, accordingto tradition. He could not have doneany of these things if he had died withChrist as he had originally declared hewould do.

His original denial of Christundoubtedly taught him to rely on andtrust in the power of the Spirit. May welearn from his example to do the same.

SUDDEN SHOCKS AND CHANGING SEASONS

10 TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010

N E W S A N D V I E W S

By Rev Peter MacKenzie,UCANZ executive officer.

Kath

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Wellington was struck with asudden tornado-like wind last weekand my garden suffered for it. Onecasualty was my windbreak fence.Along with that lying on the groundI also had to harvest my sweet corna little earlier than planned – everyplant was flattened.

That was a sudden change butthere is also the gradual change ofautumn taking place in the garden.Plants are shooting into seed, someare finishing their fruiting season,and the leaves are starting to dry out.

In my role as executive officerfor Uniting Congregations ofAotearoa New Zealand (UCANZ) Iget to see the wider vision of ourchurches and experience the stormsand changing seasons. There aretimes when I am called in to giveadvice on how to pick up after astorm – confidence shattered,communication broken, trust blownaway.

At other times I offer advice onthe gradual changes taking place –an ageing congregation, tighterbudget, burden of property. In nearlyevery case change is essential if newgrowth is to occur. The real challengeis to identify the changes that canmake a difference in a new seasonand finding new enthusiasm for thevision.

Cooperative Ventures are notalone in facing the storms andseasons of parish life. In fact, forsome a form of cooperation is tofind a solution to the issues theyface. Working together is seen as astronger option than struggling alone.

In many areas this meansparishes are making connectionswith each other to provide a firmerfoundation for mission, both withinand between denominations. ThePresbyterian and Methodist regionalcourts are also finding new ways ofworking together – trying to work

smarter, not harder.Coming together, however, does

bring some chal lenges. AsCooperat ing Ventures havediscovered, there has to be give andtake when congregations decide toshare a faith journey. What they havealso found is that, by comingtogether, an even greater diversityis encouraged.

Parishes (and regional courts)that unite are forced to ask hardquestions about what is important,what has become unnecessary, andhow to rebuild community. In askingthese questions other people oftenfeel able to participate.

There is now a new season forecumenical cooperation. This seasonis not like the 1960s where therewas a vision for just one church.Rather, this is a time when diversityis acknowledged and each person’splace within the garden is affirmed.

There will be new partnerships

formed between denominations,cultures, generations and theologies.But to really work congregationshave to have confidence in their ownsense of being and then accept thatother congregations are different.Only then will the garden begin tobloom again and the storms quicklyforgotten.

So what is UCANZ doing aboutal l this? UCANZ StandingCommittee meets at the end ofMarch and on the agenda will bediscussions on parish oversight,regional court structures, reportingprocesses and reviewing the Guideto Procedures. These are ongoingdiscussions and won’t be concludedat this meeting (and probably noteven this year).

We need to find ways to be thechurch in today’s environment andallow each congregation to expressits own sense of mission and purposeirrespective of their denominationalbackground.

Trust in the power of the Spirit

TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010 11C W S

For resources on hosting A Fair Cuppa or to become a Fair Trade Church contact:Christian World ServicePO Box 22652, Christchurch 8142PH 0800 74 73 72, cws@cws.org.nzFor more information see www.cws.org.nz

More than 50 churches have swapped tofairtrade tea and coffee, helping millions ofsmall farmers and their families.

CWS invites you to join the Big Swap duringFair Trade Fortnight 1-16 May.

WILL YOU MAKE THE SWAP TO FAIRTRADE?

By Greg JacksonLeogane used to be one of

Haiti’s largest cities. At theepicentre of the January 12thearthquake, it now it looks likeHiroshima after the nuclear bomb.

We visited Leogane as part of afact-finding tour with ChristianWorld Service’s global partner, theACT Alliance. As CWS mediaofficer I was seconded to provideACT Alliance general secretary JohnNduna media support and advice.

Leogane and the surroundingrural areas have not received nearlythe support that has gone to Port AuPrince though the damage was muchworse.

Estimates are that about 90percent of all buildings in Leoganecollapsed in the earthquake with upto 30,000 dead out of a formerpopulation of 100,000.

We were humbled by theapocalyptic landscape of Leoganebefore heading off into the nearbycountryside to meet people survivingin post quake uncertainty.

Off the main road and a mile orso down a road rough even byHaitian standards we found a smallsettlement that is supported by anACT Alliance team of two, headedup by George Fernhout.

People there include those withno homes, damaged homes, andhomes intact that people are tooafraid to live in.

George’s aid work is completelybottom-up, driven by what the localpeople have identified as theirimmediate areas of need. They saytheir three priority areas are food,shelter, and water and sanitation.

Food is coming from aidsupplies for the moment; water isavailable and relatively easy to getthanks to a high water table. Shelter,both immediate and future, is thekey problem.

He takes us to meet a localcommittee that leads the cluster ofdisplaced people. The effective dayto day control of things is vested inthese Haitians picked out by theirown communities to liaise with anyavailable help.

We then meet some of the locals,starting off with the unique andcharming Mother George Bouvais,aged 90.

Mother George is sitting in theshade in what is left of her familycompound. Her daughter, Edner,

had a heart attack during the quakeand is still in hospital.

Before the quake there had beenseven family members in one houseand nine in the other. The housesare now wrecks and the familysquats in shelters on their land.

Mother George’s story gives asnapshot into what had already beena hardscrabble battle to survivebefore the quake. She and Edner areboth widows; nobody in the familyhad a job or income.

“All my family were in need ofhelp, and it is only thanks to the helpfrom you people since the quakethat we are still alive,’’ she said.

Next stop is an optimisticstallholder with a tiny range ofclothes and items set up by the sideof the road.

Mimose Louis tells us that sheis living in a temporary shelter herebecause her own house is totallycollapsed. Her family of eight areall alive and share a basic tent shelterthey have built while she tries tomake some money from the stall.They have some food, a mattressand a tarpaulin.

Asked what she wants from aidsuppor t she says s imply,“Somewhere to live again”.

We then meet Alexis MarieCarmeye, who shares her tent withher family members. They are allsupported by money sent home fromrelatives working overseas. She toohas lost her home in the quake.

“I was out when it hit. I ran hometo find my daughter and husbandcoming out of the rubble like ghoststhey had so much dust on them.

“My niece was 15. She was hurtwhen her school collapsed on her.We put her on the back of a pickupwith other injured and they wentinto town for help.

“There were so many of themlined up that they just put them onthe sidewalk in a long line. Theydropped her off at 6pm and shelasted until 10pm, when she died.”

Like the vast majority ofHaitians we met, all the women inthis story were gracious, open andwilling to share their lives. Havingheard their stories we are inspiredto renew our efforts to help thesewomen and millions like them inHaiti.

Christian World Service’s HaitiAppeal is still open and welcomesfurther contributions.

Life indevastated Haiti

Make the switch to FairtradeChristian World Service is

inviting churches to swap theirnormal tea, coffee and sugarsuppliers for Fair TradeFortnight, held this year fromMay 1st to 16th.

Resource material for thosewanting to host A Fair Cuppa isavailable from Christian WorldService with information aboutpurchasing supplies direct fromTrade Aid.

“We want more churches toswitch to Fairtrade this year aspart of their commitment to livemore justly. It may be a little moreexpensive but it is an investmentin the lives of some of the world’spoorest farmers and theirfamilies,” says CWS campaignscoordinator Gillian Southey.

Fair Trade Fortnight is beingcelebrated for the fourth year inAotearoa New Zealand to promoteawareness of this growing newmarket. It is coordinated by theFair Trade Association of Australiaand New Zealand of which CWSis a founding member.

Between 2008 and 2009Fairtrade retail sales increased by50 percent across Australia and

New Zealand. This sharp growthreflects the growing recognitionby shoppers that they can helpsmall farmers by making adeliberate choice for Fairtrade.

Earlier this month the firstFairtrade branded bananas sourcedfrom the El Guabo Cooperative inEcuador appeared on some NorthIsland supermarket shelves, andTrade Aid products are nowavailable on line.

Goods bearing the Fairtrademark come with the guarantee thatsmall farmers get a fairer price fortheir harvest. As members of acooperative they receive additionalsupport on growing and marketingcrops like coffee, and the wholecommunity benefits through thepremium that is spent on agreedpriorities like education. Thescheme is guaranteed through arigorous international system.

CWS and Trade Aid offer ajoint Fair Trade Church schemeto make the swap to Fairtradepermanent. So far more than 50churches have joined the scheme.

For more details contact CWS,PO Box 22652, Christchurch 8142or at cws@cws.org.nz.

Alexis Carmeye lost her home and niece in the January 12th Haitian earthquake.

12 TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010

R E V I E W S

Rev Percy Rushton has chronicled the story of a familythat holds a significant place within the life of Methodismin Aotearoa New Zealand. The publication was launchedfor the centennial (1909-2009) of the arrival in NewZealand of the author’s father, Percy, the founder of afamily that today numbers about 166 descendants.

The young Staffordshire farmer felt a calling to ordainedministry but tough economic times meant that he lookedinstead to the British colonies for his future. A meeting withWilliam Shepherd Allen, a visitor to England, whose returnto New Zealand was imminent, was the impetus for Percy’sdeparture for the Antipodes. When Percy arrived, Mr Allen,MP and Methodist lay preacher, offered the young manemployment on his property near Morrinsville, andencouraged him to develop as a lay preacher and farmer.

Christian faith and the loveof farming were the shapingand sustaining forces in Percy’slife .The land he bought atTatuanui in the Morrinsvillearea rewarded his hard workby becoming a productivedairy farm. He met Ella Perrottat a Methodist church picnic,married her, and together theyraised a family of ten children.

Ella’s death at 52 was devastating for the family. Percymarried Sheila Andrew, and an eleventh child was born.

The author gives an account of the early days of dairyingin the district, and the growth of the local settlement. He

describes farming techniques and recalls the impact of theDepression years and World War II. His main focus is thelife of the family: each member is profiled, there is a tourof the homestead, and recollections of ‘fun and games’.Substantial chapters chart the development of the farm, anddiscuss the family’s involvement in local church activities.

A fine collection of photographs presents portraits andfamily groups, the farm, the community, the many weddingsand the centennial celebrations. Appendices providegenealogical information and a bibliography.

‘Young’ Percy has done the family proud, and his historywill be treasured by them. Other readers will find much toenjoy and honour in this story of a good Methodist manwho lived out his Christian principles and gifted them tohis descendants.

By Percy Rushton2009, Highwarden Publications, 144 pages

Reviewer: Diana RobertsWholesome Heritage– The story of Percy, Ella and Sheila Rushton and Family

It is possible, at least from a relentlessly logical pointof view, that everything the church has believed forcenturies, what the martyrs died for, and what motivatesthousands of people every day to become Christians is abig mistake. It is possible, I suppose, that the theologiansreally are engaged in some kind of big conspiracy to keepus from understanding what they all know, that the gospelis a charming fairytale that needs to be discarded orreinvented in order for us to grow up. It’s logicallypossible… It’s just not very probable.

It’s also possible that Bishop Spong is just someonewho has lost his faith but does not have the intellectualcourage to admit it. In his new book he nails his colours tothe mast.

He writes: “There is no supernatural God who livesabove the sky or beyond the universe. There is nosupernatural God who can be understood as an animatingspirit, Earth Mother, masculine tribal deity or externalmonotheistic being. There is no parental deity watchingover us from whom we can expect help. There is no deitywhich we can flatter into acting favourably or manipulateby being good. There are no record books and no heavenlyjudge keeping them to serve as the basis on which humanbeings will be rewarded or punished.

“There is also no way that life can be made to be fairor that a divine figure can be blamed for its unfairness.Heaven and hell are human constructs designed to makefair in some ultimate way the unfairness of life. The ideathat in an afterlife the unfairness of this world will berectified is a pious dream, a toe dip into unreality. Life islived at the whim of luck and chance, and no-one can earnthe good fortune or luck and chance” (pg 107).

You will recognise the fighting words, and the underlyingassumptions, for example, that faith is about reward forgood behaviour. Has he read Paul? Does he know aboutgrace? Has he any inkling of the parable of the ProdigalSon?

This extended quote is a fair summary of the first thirdof this book. You can work out pretty easily for yourselfwhich sticks he uses to thrash out each of his points. Woveninto his sideswipes at simplistic beliefs are more basiccomplaints, and here the second third of the book begins.

There he describes his conversion from a Bible Beltfundamentalist naiveté, in which Darwin posed a huge threatto his faith, and where racism besmirched not just the peoplewho practice it but the Bible from which they claim to take

their ideas. He then proceedsto cheerfully throw the babyout with the bathwater: if partsare untrue, why none of it is!

The last third of the book,where his thesis is revealed, Ifind the weakest of all. Hisconclusion is, unsurprisingly,that eternal life is just beingremembered. There is nothingpersonal, nothing outside ourexisting reality, nothing of the

church’s (or most other religions’) claim that this is not allthere is.

This is maturity, according to Spong. Realising this freesus from the supposed bonds of Old Religion into a newworld of which he appoints himself the new teacher.

But it is not new. Not at all original. Not at all unfamiliarto anyone who has read much theology.

My basic argument with Spong concerns his assumptionthat the world he experiences is all there is. Spong’s is arelentlessly material world, a world of dimensionality thatcan be measured and reproduced, that can be understoodin our current Western mindset.

His baseline premise, as he retells the gospel story, isthat the only thing different about Jesus was some kind ofGod-consciousness his followers subsequently expressedin heightened language to express a deep spiritual truth.(That truth, incidentally, is that we are all gods or canbecome gods. Not a very original claim, and hardly one tochange anyone’s life.)

He dresses it up, e.g., “the Christ-path is above all elsea human path, the sign that the doorway into God is alwaysthe sign into our own humanity” (p183) but the tenet is veryfamiliar to anyone who has read any of the critics ofChristianity.

Convinced that the stories of fire are myths…or in hiswords “meaningful stories”, Spong is like a fish, whoapprehends that wetness is the only possible reality andcannot conceive of dryness. He cannot imagine anythingother than that which he has personally experienced or canexplain for himself.

The New Testament’s claim is that Jesus was different,that he stood in some way that neither we nor they fullyunderstood alongside and in creation. The miraculous andthe incomprehensible, far from being a literary device that

point to some deeper truth, were signs and wonders that wemight believe this.

The gospel story is of God working towards an ongoingrelationship with us through Jesus Christ. We have a recordof this in the Bible that we have to work to understand. Itis perhaps a lifetime’s work, one illuminated by the livesof many men and women of faith through history, one wherewe stumble and fumble and gradually come to understandwhat that divine relationship means.

I appreciated the chance to read this book, if only to tryto understand why people go to hear him and RichardDawkins. These two really do sit in very similar places,though one draws a pension and the other an artillery barragefrom the Church. Both have a certain appeal if you find aworld of certainties and absolutes important, if you havebeen burned by fundamentalist crudities, and if the difficultiesof understanding the Bible get in the way of a relationshipwith God. There are other solutions to this, ways of readingthe Bible that are not a crude dismantling of the Jesus storyor of people who have experienced God through history.

Ultimately Bishop Spong offers nothing of value ineveryday life, nothing of hope, nothing beyond criticismof the Church’s faults. For all his claims to a new spirituality,there is nothing spiritual in his offering, nothing but poppsychology overlaid with self-help language.

In contrast, I think of people who have received theGospel with joy, who receive inklings of that unknowablereality in near death experiences, who have overcomeaddictions and destructive behaviours and prejudices becausethey understand themselves in relationship with a God wholoves…and there’s none of that to be found anywhere inthis.

At the end of the day, Spong’s god is too small and toohuman. His god is a reflection of his own tastes andperspectives, his own vision and lack of it.

I suggested earlier a metaphor of a fish who couldn’tunderstand dryness…it was actually a tadpole. It changedone day, metamorphosed into a frog and hopped out ontodry land, using lungs and breathing air. Still wet, it wasable to hop up to the bonfire on the beach whose existenceit had denied.

How close it went to the fire depends upon howtenaciously it held to former beliefs and understandings, orhow humble it was in the face of things it could never haveunderstood underwater.

By John SpongHarper Collins, 2009, 288 pages

Reviewer: Alan K WebsterEternal Life: A New Vision– Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell

TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010 13R E V I E W S

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© RMSAnswers: Easter from Luke’s Gospelbread, meal, house, table, wine, servant; Father, tribes, good, Simon; Lord, purse, kiss, fate, Olives; angel, drops, swords, Priest, teachers, ourselves

A film review by Rev Dr Steve Taylor

Easter is an Old English word based on Eostre or Eastre – the goddess of spring. The word east – place of sunrise also comes fromthis root. Spring and the Resurrection both celebrate new life so early Christians combined the two festivals and called the event Easter.As we are in Year C of the Lectionary this month’s challenge comes from Luke.

Fill in the gaps with nouns from Luke chapter 22 of the Good News Bible.

EASTER FROM LUKE’S GOSPEL

O N S C R E E N

It should work. Computer animationshould be perfect for bringing to life amasterpiece of literary nonsense,otherwise known as Al ice inWonderland. Especially in the hands ofa seasoned Hollywood director (TimBurton) and a genuine Hollywood star(Johnny Depp).

It should work. Sadly, it didn’t, notfor the 12 year old, nor her accompanyingfather.

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland isa playful reinterpretation of themes andcharacters from Alice's Adventures inWonderland and the sequel, Through theLooking-Glass (written by CharlesLutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym,Lewis Carroll).

Alice, now grown up, faces amarriage proposal. She finds herselfcaught between family expectation andpersonal dreams of freedom andadventure. Fleeing the decision, she findsherself falling down her childhood rabbithole, returning to a wonderland filledwith painted roses, competing Queens,a grinning Cheshire Cat and a Mad Hatter.Yet her search for identity continues, forif she is the real Alice, she is fated tofight the fearsome Jaberwockie.

And so, for 108 minutes, Alicestruggles to find her true self. The filmis thus a mirror of her adult world, her

search for the real Alice.Perhaps this is why the film struggles

to work. It fails to find an audience. Ifit’s a kids movie, why weight it downwith adult themes? If it’s a children’sfantasy, why create scenes that remaintoo scary for those needing parentalguidance? As a kids book, how do youovercome that common cliche in whichan innocent child falls into a world offantasy?

The redeeming features are few. Theyinclude the acting of Johnny Depp (wellknown for starring roles in The Piratesof the Caribbean saga, Charlie and theChocolate Factory and Chocolat), whois a superbly sinister and clearly MadHatter.

Another is the cinematic wonderlandof stunning visual effects. (Althoughaudience response to the 3D versionremains mixed.) Scenes like the MadHatter’s tea party, in which Alice shrinksand expands, all the while surroundedby unchanging characters, are compellingpieces of cinematic creativity.

Yet a film is the sum of more thanthe stunning effects or the best efforts ofacting A-listers. Without a coherentplotline, Alice in Wonderland simplywobbles toward a cinematic rabbit hole.It looks fantastic, but ends up tumblinginto incoherence.

Rev Dr Steve Taylor is director ofMissiology at Uniting College ofTheology and Leadership, Adelaide,Australia. He is the author of The Out ofBounds Church? (Zondervan, 2005) andw r i t e s r e g u l a r l y a twww.emergentkiwi.org.nz.

Alice in Wonderland fantasticfacts file

• The original book has beentranslated into 125 languages andhas been adapted to the big screen24 times.

• The book began life as astory told to bored kids during a puntup the River Thames.

• Kiwi viewers might notethe use of a koru, not as a symbol ofnew life, but amid a dark sinisterforest setting.

• Well known ‘Alice’ phrasesnow in common usage include thelines “Off with his head” and“Curiouser and cur iouser” .

• Mathematical concepts areingrained in the book.

• In Chapter Eight, wherethree cards paint white roses red,may be a reference to the Wars ofthe Roses.

• The author was a churchminister. So would this make thispiece of literature “Christian”?

While computers can be a pain in the neck,in this day and age it is a bigger pain in theneck to be without them. This is the problemfaced by Goldie College.

Run by the Solomon Islands United Church,Goldie College sets a high educational standardand has produced a number of Solomon Islandleaders. Goldie College students have been soughtafter by many employers including thegovernment.

However Goldie College Principal, TitoMamani, says that at Forms 6 and 7 levels thecollege is now behind other national secondaryschools in pupil computer literacy. The collegehas four computers provided by the governmentbut with classes of 40 pupils that is inadequate.

Consequently Goldie College pupils nowexperience difficulty in using computers whenthey go on to tertiary education or seekemployment. It has become very important forthe College to set a high standard in computerliteracy.

The school badly needs a well equippedcomputer lab with a reasonable number ofcomputers for pupil learning and use.

To address this situation, Methodist Churchof NZ Mission and Ecumenical has launched anappeal to raise funds to help outfit a computerlab at Goldie College, and to purchase morecomputers.

You can send donations for the Goldie Collegecomputer equipment appeal Rev John Roberts,22a Penney Avenue, Mt Roskill, Auckland 1041.

Cheques should be made out to MethodistMission and Ecumenical and accompanied by anote stating it is for the Goldie College ComputerAppeal. Methodist Mission and Ecumenical isregistered with the Charities commission so youcan claim a tax rebate on the donation.

GOLDIECOLLEGENEEDS AREBOOT

14 TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010

On a recent Sunday no one in the children’s

group at St Mark Methodist Church in

Christchurch wanted to go home when church

was finished! They were having too much fun

floor playing a board game called the Cana

Challenge’.

Their presbyter Rev Mark Gibson created the

board game as part of the February focus on

the story of Jesus at the wedding in Cana. This

was the very first time it was ever played and

everyone wanted to see who would finish first.

A lot of importance is put on creativity,

fun and story in the children’s ministry

at St Marks. Every month the

congregation explores one of the great

stories of our faith.

This includes the children’s group, which

nearly always has adults and the presbyter

involved in it.

The children’s group has rehearsed and

performed quite a few original dramas

based on such stories as Jesus in the

Wilderness, Cornelius, the Good Samaritan,

the Widow’s Offering, David and Goliath,

and Moses. The highlight of each year is the

Christmas drama on Christmas Eve.

With only a few rehearsals and a borrowed

sound system with clip-on microphones for

each actor, the quality of these productions

has been very good. A lot of effort is put into

finding really interesting dramas that offer a

fresh angle on the birth of Jesus. Last year the

play was based on a school visit to an exhibition

of Rembrandt’s paintings of the Incarnation.

But the St Marks children do a lot more than

drama. They wrote a song about Zaccheus, and

helped compose a Creation Symphony with each

child playing an original piece to express their

feelings about one of the days of creation. They

also have an unfinished painting of Noah and the

Ark.

Once or twice every term we also have a fun

social event. The most recent was a fish ‘n chip

games evening attended by 14 kids and young

people and eight adults.

On Anzac weekend we plan to have a sleepover

in Akaroa for the older children. One of the

highlights of this will be a walking rally around

the streets of Akaroa!

Kidz Korna!Kidz Korna!

McC

aw M

edia

Welcome to April’s Kidz Korna. We are now

celebrating Easter, the most important

Christian celebration. It reminds us that

Jesus gave his life for us and is still alive

even though we cannot see him. However,

if we look around us we can see our

wonderful world that God has created.

When I was a little girl we used to go for a

‘Thank you to God’ walk. We would look

around us and find lots of things to say

thank you for – trees, birds, flowers,

sunshine and rain, clouds in the sky. Why

don’t you try doing that on your way to

school?

Try again! Last month we printedthe word sudoku with the wrongshaped boxes. Here is again theright way…Enter letters into the empty squaresso that every row, every column andevery 3x2 box contains all the lettersfrom the word CARING.

THIS MONTH’SPUZZLE

E A S T E RQ U I Z1) Who went to the tomb on Sunday

morning?2) What did the angel say to thewomen?3) Who did the women run to to telltheir news?4) Where did Jesus tell hisfollowers to go to meet him?

We live in God’s wonderful world.

Children and friends play theCana Challenge Board Game.

By Mataiva RobertsonA wise person said “If you fail

to honour your people, they willfail to honour you. And it is saidof a good leader that when thework is done, the aim fulfilled, thepeople will say, "We did thisourselves”.

On the weekend of March 19thto 21st, Sinoti Samoa Tupulaga(Youth) held their first leadershipretreat in Auckland. The leaders ofeach church youth group withinSinoti Samoa including Hawkes

Bay, Auckland , Taranaki ,Wellington and Manukau all cametogether to learn, reflect and growas youth leaders.

This gathering came about dueto a need identified by the youthfor training in this very importantarea.

It was a pretty full-on weekendwith four workshops led by variouspeople from within the MethodistChurch of New Zealand:

1. Self awareness andbalance – TeRito Peyroux (Tauiwi

youth facilitator);2. R e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d

responsibilities – Rev Aso SamoaSaleupolu (Director of Tauiwi andPasefika ministries);

3. Choices and concerns –Filo Tu and Edna Te'o (SinotiSamoa national youth liaisonofficers - NYLO);

4. Mission and outreach –Rev Nigel Hanscamp (director ofEnglish speaking ministries).

We also had two practicalactivities. First was at the Auckland

Secondary Schools PolynesianFestival in Manukau.

The task was to interview youthabout what makes a leader andwhether it is important to haveleaders. We were also asked toobserve the roles of leaders throughwatching performances at thePolyFest.

The second activity involvedrole-playing situations wheredifferent leadership styles wereused. The ‘Taeao Fou’ youth fromMangere Central Methodist Parishwere invited to join camp andobserve and give their opinionsabout the different types of leadersportrayed and which leader theywanted and could relate to.

The different leadership stylesw e r e t h e s e l f c e n t r e d ,paternalistic/father figure, and bythe book leaders. It was veryinteresting to see what Taeao Fouyouth decided was the type ofleader they preferred. They alsoblessed the campers with aperformance.

This weekend could not havebeen possible without the supportof the Sinoti Samoa leaders – thesuperintendent and ministers – aswell as other Church leaders and

the organis ing commit tee .Other key people were the

director of Pasefika ministries,chaplains and the support peopleDavid Palelei and Matila Muliaina.

Also, of course, the leaders andother youth representatives. Andlast but by all means NOT least -our Heavenly Father.

Edna Te’o says “We were soblessed to see the fruits of ourdream for this weekend and how ithas encouraged, inspired andempowered our youth in doingGod's mission”.

May God's name be praised ineverything we do.

“Don't let anyone look downon you because you are young, butset an example for the believers inspeech, in life, in love, in faith andin purity” 1 Timothy 4:1.

I f you have any greatprogrammes happening within yourchurch please feel free to drop mea line and let us all journey together.Touchstone’s Youth Channel isopen to all… so share what ishappening in your neighbourhood,or your concerns and issues.

E m a i l m e a tmdrobertson08@gmail.com or text021 734 694. Be blessed.

LEADERS BAND TOGETHER… IT’S TIME!

Sinoti Samoa youth leaders met last month for a full-on weekend of workshops and fun.

St Marks kids put ondramas and have made up their own music.

KIDZ @ ST MARKSSOMERFIELD

M E T H O D I S T A R C H I V E S

Remembering Rev Doug Burt, great friend of Auckland Archives

After Auckland Archives were movedfrom the central business district to 409Great South Road in 1992 along withother departments of the MethodistChurch, there was a great deal of workto do to create order to set out and arrangethe many boxes of parish material, books,photographs and other treasures.

The volunteer helpers in the Archivesthen numbered six or seven experiencedworkers and they willingly tackled as muchas possible but there were also manyinquirers and researchers who needed help.Into this busy area, we welcomed DougBurt.

Rev Douglas Howard Burt had enteredthe Methodist ministry in 1949. He servedin many parishes around New Zealand.Upon retirement he had accepted the careand oversight of the philatelic collectionbequeathed under the will of the lateReverend Harry Voyce, deposited with theAuckland Archives.

Having only just begun his retirement,it was a great sadness when his wife Phyllis

died in a tragic accident.Doug then suffered astroke and on recoveringwent to live in one of theAldersgate apartments inMount Eden.

We were glad whenhe felt able to travel tot h e A r c h i v e s o nTuesdays, when this waspossible and beginhelping with some of ourwork. As the monthswent by, it seemed hewas r e l ax ing andbeginning to enjoy beingpart of the team.

His interest in NewZealand history wasobvious and he was agreat source of help when some researcherneeded information about the areas whereDoug had served.

One of his special concerns was withthose who had served as lay preachers –

‘home missionaries’ –and he undertook thedaunting task to listeveryone who had beeninvolved, even if theirservice had not beencompleted. We havebeen left with a greatresource, thanks toDoug’s meticulous work.

Another specialtreasure is the result ofa tour taken with DaveRoberts, who also helpedin the Archives. Theyvisited and photographedall the churches includedin William Morley’s1902 History of NewZealand Methodism.

Before Doug left the Archives he hadbegun to work on a topic that was veryclose to his heart. This was ‘Saddlebagsand Navvies’ about the Methodist missionto railway construction workers of the

North Island main trunk line, 1895 – 1908.Happily, this was completed and publishedby the Wesley Historical Society beforeDoug showed signs of failing health andwent to live in Apirangi Village in TeKauwhata, Waikato.

As well as these particular writings, ofcourse, Doug contributed much to the workof the Archives and improved knowledgeabout areas of New Zealand that wasneeded. He was a delightful raconteur witha gentle humour and a great deal to tell usof his service in many parts of NewZealand.

Best of all, he had a way of quietlytalking about his faith journey, sometimespassing on short prayers which he hadwritten. We missed him so much when hecould no longer travel to be with us butwe were glad he was nearer to his familyand being well looked after.

Doug Burt died at Aparangi Village,on January 25th. His funeral was held atHuntly Co-operating Parish.

TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010 15N O W A N D T H E N

By Jill Weeks

Rev Douglas Howard Burt

Mild mannered teenagers transformed intodynamic leaders. This was the goal of anecumenical youth camp that a group of Waikatochurches held at Waihi Beach at the start of theschool year.

About 50 people – 27 young people aged 10 to13 and their mentors – attended the weekend eventat the Anglican Te Rau Aroha campsite.

Among them was a group from ChartwellCooperating Parish in Hamilton. Chartwell presbyterRev Anne Mills says the young people from the

congregation are ‘Leaders in Training’. They havecommitted themselves to work with a mentor fromtheir church for a year. If they do so and they meetsix criteria they will become ‘Transformers’.

The weekend programme was led by thecoordinators of the Presbyterian Church’s KidsFriendly programme, Jill Kayser and LorraineMorgan. A critical part of the weekend was toprovide the young people workshops and otheropportunities to explore their own gifts so they candecide what they have to offer others.

“We want the children to decide what to offerthe congregation rather than for us to ask them todo take responsibility for particular tasks,” Annesays.

“They could for example decide they want tooffer hospitality through doing morning tea or runthe data projector. Our group has decided to sponsora World Vision child so they are doing regular fundraising. This was their suggestion.

“They are also organising a treasure hunt forSunday school in which the clues tell the story ofEaster. In fact we have to rein them in so they don’toverload themselves with commitments.”

The camp was a successful and fun start to theTransfomers programme. Young people made newfriends and learned new skills that will help thembecome leaders.

Last month ChristchurchNorth Methodist Parish held abittersweet service.

The worship service atPapanui Methodist Churchmarked both the opening of thatcongregation’s refurbishedbuilding and the closing of twoother congregations, St Davidsand St Johns.

The decision to consolidatethe three congregations in onesite was not an easy one and ittook several years to workthrough, says parish stewardPatricia Teague.

“We are an aging andshrinking parish, and St Davidsand St Johns are older buildings.We felt it would be a better useof our assets and allow us to doa better job of ministry if wefocused on building,” Patriciasays.

Despite many of its membersgetting on in age, ChristchurchNorth Parish is very outwardlooking.

It runs several outreachp r o g r a m m e s i n c l u d i n gHandiscope Centre for thedisabled, and a jigsaw puzzlelibrary used by about 80 families,many of which have childrenw i t h c o o r d i n a t i o n o rconcentration difficulties.

It holds weekly musicalprogramme for preschoolers anda series of musical matineeconcerts for the community. Andit organises the ‘Touch of Class’linen sale to raise money for alocal charity hospital.

Patricia says the St Davidsproperty will be sold by auctionand the St Johns property willbecome home to Christchurch’sgrowing Fijian MethodistCongregation.

“The sale of St Davids hasallowed us to do some alterationsto the Papanui Church buildingthat will make it a more flexiblesite. The Church had a slopingfloor, and it has been levelledand carpeted. We have replacedthe pews with chairs.”

Patricia says a few peoplehave dropped out of the parishsince St Davids and St Johnshave been closed, but most havemade the shift to Papanui. Theyhave brought with them someprized items from the twochurches.

Another good thing aboutoperating at one site, sheobserves, is that presbyter RevSaikolone Taufa is now lessstressed because he only has tolead Sunday worship at one site.

Camp launches young people on path to leadership

One door opens,another shuts

The members of the former St Johns and St Davids Methodist congregationsbrought prized objects from their churches to place in their new home,

Papanui Methodist Church.

A youth camp for Waikato churches presentedworkshops to help them discover their

leadership skills.

The Great Cambridge Cover UpCambridge Union Parish has made a

notable contribution to Operation Cover-Up,which provides blankets to orphanages andothers in need in Eastern Europe. The Parish’sknitters made 13 blankets between September2009 and March 2010.

Convenor of the knitting group, RosalineCivil says about 20 women in the Parish knit forOperation Cover-Up. Several of them belong to

a wider Cambridge community Knit and Nattergroup.

Rosaline says the church-based knitters havebeen going for about four years. She is verygrateful to the Cambridge Union Parish Op Shopfor its support. For the past years the Op Shophas used one of its community grants to buyknitting yarn for the group.

Cambridge Union Parish knitters: Back row (l to r): Margaret Gover, Vivienne Carr, Jean Prouting, Jenny Folkerts, Earleen Hancock, Vi Barton. Frontrow: Ros Randle, Vera Treble, Peg Amies, Ruth Greer, Isobel Fraser,

Nancy Wallace, and Rosaline Civil. Photo by Bryan Jenkins.

16 TOUCHSTONE • APRIL 2010

PukoleaVAHEFONUA TONGA ‘O AOTEAROA

Ne lava lelei ‘a e ‘aho sipoti“Tapuaki Games” ‘a e ngaahiPotungaue To’utupu ‘o eVahenga ‘Aokalani/Manukau‘i he ‘aho 6 ‘o Ma’asi 2010 ‘ihe Paaka Te Atatu South. Na’ekau mai ki ai ‘a e PotungaueTalavou ‘e 16 mei he VahengaNgaue pea kuo fakahingoa ‘ae ‘aho Sipoti ni ko e “TapuakiGames”.

Ko e toki me’a fakafiefiamo fakamafana mo’oni ‘a etokolahi ‘a e ngaahi to’utupuna’a nau kau mai ki he fe’auhiipea mo e kau mamataa – peatoe ‘amu atu foki ko e tokolahi‘a e ngaahi matu’a na’a nau lavaange ‘o poupou ki he fanau.  

Na’e kamata ‘a e ’aho ‘akiha laka ‘a e ngaahi timi sipotipea na’e tataki e laka ‘e he kauifi ‘a e Siasi Onehunga pea koe ouau fakaava na’e fakahokoia ‘e Faifekau Mosese Manukia.Na’e fakahoko foki ‘e hetalavou ko Luatangi Vatuvei halea fakalotolahi ki he to’utupufekau’aki mo e kau ‘a e ‘Eikiki he mo’ui ‘a e tokotaha sipoti. ‘Oku ‘ikai sola ‘a Luatangi, heko e taha pe ia mei he to’utupu‘ o e Va h e n g a N g a u e‘Aokalani/Manukau na’a neva’inga ‘akapulu ‘i Siapani ‘one kau atu ‘i he timi ‘akapulufakafonua ‘o Siapani he ngaahi

ta’u lahi.Ko e ngaahi va’inga na’e

fakahoko ‘i he Sipoti ni ko eVoipolo, ‘Akapulu Malemale(Touch), mo Netipolo pea ‘i hekamata leva ‘a e fe’auhi sipotina’e mahino ‘aupito ‘a etokolahi ‘o ‘etau fanau ‘oku nautaleniti‘ia he sipoti. 

‘I he Volipolo, na’e kalasi‘e ua ‘a e va’inga ‘a ia ko ekalasi ‘a e Tamaiki Tangata moe kalasi ‘a e Tamaiki Fefine.  ‘Ihe kalasi ‘a e Tamaiki Tangata,na’e fainolo ai ‘a Ponsonby moEpsom.  ‘I he kalasi ‘a eTamaiki Fefine, na‘e fainolo ai‘a New Lynn mo Glen Innes

‘I he Netipolo, na’e kalasi‘e ua ‘a e va’inga ‘a ia ko ekalasi ‘a e Tamaiki FefineLalahi (Senior Girls) pea mo ekalasi ‘a e Tamaiki Fefine Iiki(Junior Girls Under 18’s).  ‘I hekalasi ‘a e Tamaiki FefineLalahi, na’e fainolo ai ‘aPonsonby mo Henderson.  ‘I hekalasi ‘a e Tamaiki Fefine Iiki,na’e fainolo ai ‘a Dominion moEpsom.

‘I he ‘Akapulu Malemale,na’e kalasi ‘e ua ‘a e va’inga ‘aia ko e kalasi ‘a e TamaikTangata Lalahi (Senior Boys)pea mo e kalasi ‘a e TamaikiTangata Iiki (Junior Boys Under18’s).  ‘I he kalasi ‘a e Tamaiki

Tangata Iiki, na’e fainolo ai ‘aEllerslie mo Papatoetoe.  ‘I hekalasi ‘a e Tamaiki TangataLalahi, na’e fainolo ai ‘aDominion mo Ellersl ie .

Kau Ikuna he Ngaahi Sipoti

‘Akapuku Malemale TamaikiTangata Lalahi - Ellerslie.‘Akapulu Malemale TamaikiTangata Iiki - Ellerslie.Netipolo Tamaiki Fefine Lalahi- Ponsonby.Netipolo Tamaiki Fefine Iiki- Dominion.Volipolo Tamaiki Tangata- Ponsonby.Volipolo Tamaiki Fefine - NewLynn.

Na’e foaki foki ‘a e silaSportsmanship Shield ki hePotungaue To’utupu maau taha,fiefia taha, tauhi taimi lelei taha,mo faka’apa’apa ki he kaufakamaau mo e kaungaa va’ingafakatou’osi, pea na’e ma’u ia‘e he Potungaue To’utupu ‘aMangere (Lotofale’ia). Na’efoaki ia ‘e he Faifekau MeleSuipi Latu fakataha mo e ngaahiipu mo ngaahi sila ki he ngaahipotungaue na’a nau ‘ikuna ‘a engaahi va’inga taki taha peana’a ne fakahoko ai pe mo eouau tapuni ‘o e Tapuaki Games2010.

Tau nofo fakana’una’u kihe ta’u 2011.

Fakatauange ke ho‘ata ‘i hemo‘ui ‘a e kakai Metotisi Tonga hetapa kotoa pe ‘o Aotearoa kuotoetu‘u mo‘oni ‘a Sisu. Ke ha ‘a e‘imisi ‘o Sisu Toetu’u ‘i he‘etau leamo e to‘onga kae ’uma‘aa hotauva mo hotau kaungafononga, ‘i‘api he famili mo e kainga, ‘i hesiasi, ‘i ‘apiako, ngaue‘anga peamo ‘etau fekau‘aki ‘i he komiuniti.

‘Oku ou talamonu atu moe lotuki he aofangatuku ‘o e ngaahi‘Apitanga Pekia kotoa pe, KE TOE ‘OFA ‘i he ngaahi lotofale ‘o eSiasi pea ke tau fakaakeake ai ‘iLaumalie pea tala ai ‘a KalaisiToetu‘u ‘i he ‘etau mo‘ui faka‘aho.

‘Oku ou fakamalo atu ki he VaheUelingatoni mo e ngaahi KoloniaMetotisi ‘i hono ‘atakai ‘i he lotumo e ngaue totoivi ne mou fai ‘otauIkuna ai ‘ia Sisu ‘i he ‘uluakifakataha Vahefonua ‘o e ta‘u ni ‘iFepueli. Fakafeta‘i ki he ‘Eiki ‘etaumataa ‘a e fakatahataha mo e ngaahifeohi‘anga fakalaumalie, melino mofiefia. Fakamalo atu he ngaahi hivane mou teuteu ‘o fai‘aki ‘etaufakalangilangi ‘Otua pea pehe fokiki he ngaahi tepile ‘ilo laulotaha nemou fai hono tokonaki mo teuteu ‘omakona mo malohi ai ‘a e kaufakataha mo e kotoa ‘o e kau ‘a‘ahi.

‘Oku tau fakamalo foki ki he fakaafelea ‘o e Vahefonua, Faifekau ToketaSiotame Havea ‘i he‘ene ngaahi ako,lotu mo e poupou kuo tau ta‘imalieai. Fakatauange ke hoko pe kotoaeni ko e tapuaki ki he‘etau fonongapilikimi ‘oku fai mei taimi ki ‘Itaniti.

Na‘e lava lelei ‘i he Sapate 21Ma’asi 2010 ‘a e fakanofo ‘oFaifekau Kepu Moa ko e FaifekauPule ‘o e Vahenga Ngaue Kosipeli‘i Christchurch. Na‘e lava ai fokimoe polokalama ako ‘aho kakato ‘oe kau Taki Lotu ‘o Gisborne na‘efakahoko ‘i he ‘Ofisi Lahi ‘o e Siasi,Connexional Office he Monite 22Ma‘asi. Ko hono teu‘i e kau Taki nike nau tauhi ‘a e Vahenga NgaueTonga ‘i Gisborne ‘o a‘u ki ha taimi‘e toki fakanofo ai ha Faifekau Puleki he Vahenga Ngaue ni. Koefakaikiikii ‘e toki fakakakato ‘i hekaha’u vave ni mai.

‘Oku ou fakamalo atu ki hengaahi ngaue kotoa pe ‘o e kuohili,ko‘eni, moe kaha‘u ‘oku mou faima‘ae ‘Otua ‘o ngaholo ai e Vaka‘o Hono Siasi ‘i he Vahefonua TongaO Aotearoa. Ke ‘O‘ona ai pe ‘a eLangilangi mo e Kololia. ‘Oku outu‘a‘ofa atu mo e lotu hufia.

Setaita Tokilupe T. KinahoiVeikune.

FAKAFETA‘I, KUO TOETU‘U ‘A E ‘EIKI,KUO TOETU‘U MO’ONI, HALELUIA!!

Mei he Tesi ‘a e Faifekau Sea

Na‘e fakahoko ‘a e Fakataha ‘ae Vahefonua ‘a e Kakai Fefine Tonga‘o e Siasi Metotisi ‘o Nu’u Sila(TDNZMWF) he ‘aho Falaite, 26Fepueli 2010 ‘i he holo ‘o e SiasiWesley-Taranaki, Well ington.

Ko e fakataha fakakoloa eni pea koe fuofua fakataha eni ‘a e Palesitenifo’ou ‘a e Potungaue, Silila Kilikiti, ‘aia kuo ne fetongi mo hoko atu ‘a etoenga ‘o e ta’u ngaue ‘e tolu ‘o ePalesiteni malolo, Seini Mafi Filiai,kuo ne foki atu ki Tonga mo hono familike hoko atu ‘a e taliui ki he ngaue ‘a e‘Eiki mo e Konifelenisi SUTT.

Na’e kau ki he fakataha ni ‘a eFaifekau Sea VTOA, Faifekau SetaitaKinahoi Veikune ko e Palesiteni ‘o ePotungaue ‘a Fafine ‘a ‘Aokalani-Manukau, kae ’uma’a ‘a e ngaahi hoa‘o e kau faifekau, kau setuata, mo ekau fakafofonga ‘e 38 mei he ngaahiPotungaue ‘a Fafine ‘i he tapa kehekehe‘o Nu’u Sila ni.

Ne mahino mei he ngaahi lipootingaue ne a’utaki mai ki hefakataha’anga ni ‘a e ngaue‘osikiavelenga ‘a e kau fefine fakakolomo fakasiasi ‘i hono ngaue’i ‘a e ngaahipolokalama kehekehe ‘a e potungaue‘o hange ko e Kaluseti, Akotapu, AkoTohitapu, ‘A’ahi, kae ’uma’a honofakalele ‘a e ngahi Polokalama Tokonikehekehe. Fakafeta’i e ngaue!

Ko ngaahi Ngaue ki he kaha’u ‘ae potungaue ‘oku kau ai ‘a epolokalama Semina Fakafeitu’u ‘a ia‘e fakahoko he ‘aho Tokonaki 29 ‘oMe 2010 pea ko hono kaveinga ko e“ K a u F e f i n e F e t a u h i ’ a k iFakakovinanite mo Sisu“ (Women’sCovenant Relationship with God) peako e fakakakato eni ‘a e polokalamamei he Palani Ngaue 2009/2010. ‘Okutakitaha fua fakafeitu’u pe ‘a e fakamolefakapa’anga ‘o e polokalama ni pea

‘oku ‘i ai ‘a e ‘amanaki lelei ‘e malavape ‘e he ngaahi potungaue ‘a fafine ‘ofakahoko lelei ‘a e taumu’a ngaue ni.

Na’e toe tufaki ai pe foki mo ePalani Ngaue & Patiseti 2010/2011(fakaangaanga) ke foki atu mo e kaufakafofonga ’o talanoa’i pea ke tokifakafoki mai ki he Fakataha Fakata’u,Falaite 6 ’Aokosi 2010, ke fakapapau’iai. Ko e Palani Ngaue ni ’oku kau ai’a e fokotu’utu’u ke fai ’a e Po HivaFakafeta’i ’i ’Okatopa 2010 pea mo e’Apitanga ke fakahoko he ta’u 2011 kiAokalani.

Na’e tali foki ‘ehe fakataha ke to’o’a e $1,000.00 Special Project mei hepatiseti lolotonga 2009/2010 ’o ’ave kihe NZ MWF pea ke ngaue ’a e KomitiPule ki hono vahevahe mo fakahingoa’ae pa’anga ni ki he ngaahi Projectskehekehe’ae NZMWF.

Na’e fakafiefia foki ko e ma’ufakataha ‘a e kau fakafofonga meiTauranga pea na’a nau lava mai mo‘enau kole mo ‘enau faka’amu kefokotu’u ha’anau Potungaue ‘a Fafine.Ko ia, ne tali lelei ‘e he fakataha kekau ‘a Tauranga ‘i he Polokalama‘A’ahi ‘a e Komiti Pule pea ke fai eni‘i he faingamalie vave taha.

Ko hono fakakatoa, ‘oku ‘I ai ‘a efakamalo loto hounga ‘a e potungaueni ki he Faifekau Sea VTOA ‘i honoteuteu’i ‘o e Polokalama Ako ma’aekau Faifekau, kau ngaue mo e kau takilotu ‘a e Vahefonua ‘a ia na’e fakahoko‘e Faifekau Siotame Havea pea ‘inasiai ‘a e kau fakafofonga ‘o e feohi’angaTDNZMWF. Fakafeta’i e ma’u koloalahi pea fakafeta’ i he ma’ufakahinohino lelei he ‘oku ‘aonga ia kiha’a fafine ‘i he ngaue mo e fetakinimafakataha ‘oku tau fai ‘i Hono Sino-ha-mai ka ko e Siasi Tapu ‘o Kalaisi.

Siniva Vaitohi, Sekeli tal i .

Potungaue ‘a e Kakai Fefine Tonga‘o e Siasi Metotisi ‘o Nu‘u Sila

TAPUAKI GAMESVahenga Ngaue ‘Aokalani/Manukau

Ko e ngaahi Potungaue Talavou & Finemui ‘e 16 'i he Laka Fakaava 'o e Sipoti Tapuaki Games.

Ko e ongo timi ‘Akapulu Malemale Tamaiki Tangata Lalahi 'a Ellerslie mo Dominion 'oku nau fe'iloaki‘i he hili 'a e tau fainolo. Na'e 'ikuna 'e timi Ellerslie 'a e fainolo.