Thought For The Week 6 February 2022

Nau mai haere mai ki ta tatou karakia karakia i tenei ra
Welcome to our service of worship today on this holiday weekend celebrating the founding of our nation through the Treaty of Waitangi. Many nations are birthed thorough war and conquest; even the Biblical history of Israel is soaked in blood. But our nation is uniquely founded primarily on an agreement between two peoples, the Māori and the British, pledging to work cooperatively in mutual respect. Those good intentions were trampled on by subsequent generations-to the point of bloodshed- and Māori have borne the brunt of injustices for 180 years. Injustice and inequality still remain yet great progress has been made in recent times.
Addressing the breaches of the Treaty and recompensing for the stolen land and unjust laws which put Māori at a disadvantage has helped greatly, as has the revival in speaking Te Reo. I am hopeful that we will continue in the path of addressing past injustices so that our future can be one of true peace and partnership and an example to the world of how the sins of colonialism can be put right.
After 5 weeks of shared worship at Trinity we look forward to commencing our 2 sites of worship with the diversity in worship styles this offers our community. We also run Journey 21, a contemplative outdoors based gathering who meet on the 3rd Sunday each month at 9am at the CBay carpark.
Stay safe,
Brent Richardson
Categories: Thought for the week