Dear Friends,
I am writing from Clergy Conference, being held this year in Methven. Thank you for your prayers for the conference. We have had a very good time together. We conclude our time together with lunch today.
The Reverend Barbara Vincent died last Friday. Her funeral is at 2pm this Friday 14 June 2024 in St Peter’s Church, Main South Road, Upper Riccarton. Clergy are asked not to robe, but to form a guard of honour. After a career in teaching, Barbara was deaconed in 1980 and priested in 1981. She served in the Parishes of Malvern, Mt Herbert, Waimate, Temuka, Akaroa, Amberley and Oxford before spending many years serving in the Parish of Malvern. In more recent years, Barbara has been a parishioner in the latter years of retirement in Heathcote-Mt Pleasant and Upper Riccarton-Yaldhurst. In my personal experience of Barbara – many years ago when I was first ordained and we were on the then Diocesan Ministry Committee together, and more recently in conversations – she was an intelligent, learned theologian and a forthright communicator of her convictions.
Rose Marriott, widow of the late Reverend Wal Marriott, died recently. A memorial service for Rose will be held at 2pm Sunday 30 June 2024 in St Silas church, Main North Road, Redwood. All welcome.
This weekend is an open weekend for visits to the Cathedral in the Square – though all available places for tours have been filled. On Monday night there was a superb section of Seven Sharp profiling the Cathedral and tours within it – it can be viewed at this link. Please pray for our Synod on 22 June 2024 when we will be considering the progress on the reinstatement of the Cathedral to date, and the funding requirements from here to its completion.
On Saturday morning Teresa and I enjoyed speaking at a well-attended event organised by the Diocesan Council for World Mission, at Holy Trinity, Avonside. We spoke about our visit to the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in 2023. Later that day we travelled to Temuka for 125th celebrations of worship, mission and ministry in St Peter’s church and surrounding districts. The parish celebrated this event with a wonderful meal on Saturday night and a festive service on Sunday morning.
On 26 June 2024, the final report of the Royal Commission on Abuse will be presented to the Governor-General and tabled in parliament, and consequentially become a public document. As a Diocese and as part of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, we are already aware of testimonies of abuse which was perpetrated by clergy, lay ministers, and other officers of our ministry units including schools and orphanages. No abuse is ever acceptable, in any age. We deserve the searchlight the Commission has shone on our history. On 26 June the Commission’s searchlight will both highlight the wrongs that have occurred and the work we yet need to do to become the safe church we have not been. We are making progress towards being a safe church but we are not there yet and it will be important that we study the report and its recommendations carefully and with a collective will to act on that which is not yet achieved.
This Sunday 16 June is Ordinary 11 and the Gospel is Mark 4:26-34. This passage concerns the growth of the kingdom of God. From our present-day perspective, we can see that this growth has occurred. We also see that the kingdom is far from completely established on earth, so we continue to pray, ‘Your kingdom come’.
Arohanui,
+Peter.