Thought For The Week 5 February 2023

Kia ora tautou Presbyterian Church whanau!

Waitangi Day comes this year at a time when co-governance is a hot topic. We have a new Prime Minister preparing for an election year and many of us are lamenting the vitriol meted out to Jacinda Ardern by a small but vocal group within our community. We have a melting pot of issues and responses. As a Church, what is our part in all of this?

I am representing you at Waitangi this year, at the 5am Dawn Service and the 10am Ecumenical Service.

Te Aka Puaho Moderator and Moderator elect, Marina Rakuraku and Tamiana Thrupp, have been helpful mentors in preparing me for this. For them, the Church’s part is to draw attention to God and the gospel message of Jesus Christ. “Stick to that and you will be good!”, they urged me.

I am mindful of the message brought to this land by Samuel Marsden on Christmas Day 1814, and the further messages from a succession of missionaries and church leaders. They have not always got it right! But I do think we are called as Christians in this land to continue to seek the right words and actions in honouring both God and the bicultural journey we are on together.

As Presbyterians we particularly acknowledge the special place of Te Ake Puaho and Te Maungarongo Ohope Marae in our life together.

 New Moderator for Te Aka Puaho

On 11 February, Tamiana Thrupp will be inducted as the new Moderator of Te Aka Puaho. We uphold him in our prayers and we give thanks for the work and contribution of Marina Rakuraku, the outgoing Moderator.

Nga mihi nui
Hamish

Hamish Galloway
Moderator
Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa NZ
moderator@presbyterian.org.nz