Bishop Andrew's Address to 1st Session of 67th Synod of the Diocese of Waiapu

Oranga Ake o Te Iwi o Te Ao - Tātou Tātou

E te Atua kaha rawa, whakapaingia mātou i tēnei hui whakahirahira. Whakakotahitia mātou i roto i tō aroha, ārahina mātou e tō Wairua Tapu, kia tupu ai tō rangatiratanga i waenganui i a mātou. Āmine.

Almighty God, bless us as we gather together. Unite us in your love and lead us by your Holy Spirit, so that your kingdom may flourish among us. Amen.

E te whanau a te Karaiti, members of Te Pīhopatanga, clergy and lay representatives of our Diocese, staff of the Diocese, honoured guests, friends in Christ, Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we gather for this Synod, we come from many places and many contexts. We come from our cities and towns, our coastlines and valleys, our parishes and ministry units, our schools, chaplaincies, administrative offices, social services and communities. We come carrying stories of faithfulness and challenge, of joy and disappointment, of hope and uncertainty.

Yet despite the diversity of our circumstances, we gather as one people.

That conviction lies at the heart of our Synod theme:

Tātou Tātou.

This theme emerged from our last meeting of Standing Committee on 3 September as

we discussed with one another our hopes and aspirations for this Synod. Through our

conversation it became clear that we were being prompted to turn our attention to

‘Tātou Tātou’ – our life together. There are many themes that will emerge from this

central thought, points of connection, strands of whakapapa, unity as the Body of

Christ. As I have reflected on those words in preparation for this Synod, my thoughts

have repeatedly returned also to the waiata deeply woven into the life of Aotearoa

and especially significant within the life of the Anglican Church, Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi.

Composed by the Anglican priest Canon Wi Te Tau Huata, while on a journey with his whanau from Heretaunga to Wairoa for a hui, the song remains one of the most enduring expressions of collective identity and common purpose in our nation. Wiremu Te Tau Huata was not merely a composer; he was a priest of our church serving in Waiapu and Waikato in Māori pastorates and parishes. Wi was also a chaplain during WWII for the 28th Māori attalion, a trusted friend to many in the difficult theatres of war. On his return to Aotearoa Wi shone as a community leader and reconciler whose ministry was marked by bringing people together across divisions.

The words of the waiata we know so well are deceptively simple:

Tūtira mai ngā iwi,

Tātou tātou e.

Stand together, people. All of us together.

Many of us have sung those words countless times, perhaps without thinking deeply about their meaning. Yet in those few words lies both a challenge and a vision.

The waiata is not asking us simply to gather in the same room. It is asking us to stand together. To align ourselves with one another. To recognise that we belong to each other. To understand that our flourishing is inseparable from the flourishing of those around us.

The refrain does not speak of some of us, or only those who think alike, nor only

those who share every opinion or preference.

It speaks of all of us. Tātou Tātou.

When I hear those words, I hear an echo of the Apostle Paul's vision of the Church,

from his writings to the Church in Corinth in the description of the Church as a body,

another text we know so well.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 NRSVue

One Body with Many Members

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be

weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect, 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.

As Paul writes to the Corinthians he reflects on the nature of the Church as a community with many members, many gifts, many callings, yet united as one body in Christ.

Paul’s writings are at one level simple enough for the youngest among the Church community to capture a sense of what it means to be together. The young child among our congregations can appreciate that if the whole body were an eye, we would ask where the hearing would be. Equally we can expand our thinking about how God is calling us to recognise Christ’s life in each of us in much deeper ways as well, maintaining childlike curiosity but living in faith seeking deeper understanding of what the nature of a Christian community might look like.

Simply, the Apostle Paul understood what Canon Wi Huata understood.

Human communities flourish, orange ake is fulfilled, when their members recognise their interdependence. The Church flourishes when its members recognise that they belong to one another. Embodying this requires us to understand and believe that we are born in the image of God, exist as brothers and sisters in Christ, and walk humbly with one another seeking to serve Christ together.

That is not always easy. We sometimes imagine that unity means uniformity. It does not. The Body of Christ has never been characterised by sameness. The Church has always been diverse.

Different personalities. Different spiritual gifts. Different cultural expressions.

Different perspectives. Different experiences.

Indeed, diversity itself is not a threat to unity. It is one of God's gifts.

The challenge for the Church is not difference. The challenge is learning how to remain one body amidst difference. That is the challenge before us in Waiapu, as it is for all of the Church around the world.

We are a Diocese of rural communities and urban centres. A Diocese shaped by tikanga Māori and tikanga Pākehā. A Diocese of large congregations and small congregations, with different histories in our communities, different priorities and different experiences.

Yet none of these differences diminish our fundamental identity. We are one Body in Christ.

One Diocese, connected to one another and our whole province through shared history and whakapapa. One people called by God to imagine and reimagine the life of Christ lived out in the communities of Waiapu. One mission entrusted to us to seek to form communities that express Faith Giving Life.

Tātou Tātou.

If standing together is God's vision for the Church, it helps us if we look at what prevents us from doing so.

The deepest challenges facing the Church are not always those we most readily identify. Much of our discussion rightly concerns governance, demographics and sustainability. These are important matters. Yet Scripture repeatedly reminds us that the greatest challenges facing God's people are ultimately spiritual.

Paul's words to the Philippians are striking:

Philippians 2.1-4 NRSVue

1 If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.

When we hear those words, many of us instinctively apply them to our personal lives. Yet Paul was writing to a community. A church, the body of Christ, a community of people learning how to live together. So his words speak directly to us and to all human communities of disciples throughout the ages, learning each day to live together in a manner of Christ-like demeanour.

The greatest threat to Christian community is not scarcity. It is self-centredness. Not disagreement. But pride. Not difference. But the refusal to honour one another within our differences.

Conceit has damaged communities. Bitterness has damaged communities. Resentment has damaged communities. Gossip has damaged communities. Fear has damaged communities.

Throughout history the church, communities of disciples, have often found themselves diminished not because they lacked resources, but because they lacked grace.

Where relationships fracture, trust erodes, and where lazy assumptions replace attentive understanding, gradually the witness of Christ becomes less visible.

These are temptations of the spirit … to ignore the Christ in one another and seek after the ease of self-centred reliance and an assurance of one’s own righteousness. None of us is immune from these temptations. Clergy are not. Lay leaders are not. Bishops are not.

Yet the Gospel continually invites us into a different way. The path of discipleship in Christ which is a way of humility, a way of generosity, a way of reconciliation. The Way, the way of Christ.

Paul continues:

Philippians 2.5 NRSVue “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Everything changes at that point. Because in Christ Paul is calling the church to be united. Christian unity is not simply a strategy. It is not merely an organisational necessity. It is not a management technique. Christian unity is rooted in the character of Jesus.

The One who did not cling to status. The One who emptied himself. The One who washed feet. The One who welcomed those others rejected. The One who forgave even those who crucified him.

Whenever we speak about the future of the Church, we are speaking not first about structures but about discipleship. How we can learn to walk more closely in the footsteps of Christ, to live into the abundance of life that is promised in Christ.

The future of Waiapu will not ultimately be determined by the resolutions we pass. It will be shaped by the people we become. If we become people increasingly shaped by the mind of Christ, then the abundant life of Christ will shine forth. If we become people known for humility, reconciliation, generosity and service, then God's Spirit will continue to do remarkable things among us to bring about flourishing.

The most important strategic question before us is therefore not "What shall we do?" It is: "Who shall we become?"

We’re familiar with the words Jesus said to his disciples during evening of the last

supper as he prepared them for the new reality that awaited them.

John 13:34-35 NRSVue

“He ture hou tāku ka hoatu nei ki a koutou, kia aroha koutou tētahi ki tētahi; kia rite ki tōku aroha ki a koutou, waihoki kia aroha koutou tētahi ki tētahi. Mā konei ka mātau ai te katoa, he ākonga koutou nāku, me ka aroha koutou tētahi ki tētahi.”

” I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The simplicity of these words don’t immediately show forth the deep resonances of the impact of love in the world. We hear them and have sung these words many times over. They sit easily in our mind and perhaps in our heart as well, but when we let them rest deeply in the corners of our total being and shine forth into the world, they become words that shake loose the bonds that hold a world captive to all that would take life away. Those words deserve careful reflection.

Notice what Jesus does not focus on the buildings we inhabit, the committees we attend, the constitution that forms us, the statements we make, or even our preaching – as important and relevant as all these things are as treasures for us – these are not the things alone that Jesus speaks of when he speaks of our witness to world as disciples.

Rather the earth shattering, paradigm moving, life giving faith that Jesus speaks of will be known through the quality of our love. The credibility of our witness depends upon the integrity of our relationships. We live in a world where many have become sceptical of institutions, sceptical of religion itself.

Yet people continue to hunger for community. They continue to search for meaning.

They continue to seek hope. They continue to long for places where grace is real. The

Church's greatest witness is not simply what it says. It is what it embodies.

Before we proclaim Christ's love, we must practise Christ's love. Before we speak of reconciliation, we must pursue reconciliation. Before we invite others into Christian

community, we must become that community.

The world does not need a Church that merely talks about grace. The world needs a Church that demonstrates grace. The world does not need a Church that merely teaches forgiveness. The world needs a Church that forgives. The world does not need a Church that merely preaches compassion. The world needs a Church that lives compassion.

Our life together is meant to be a proclamation of our faith, of the earth shattering, paradigm moving, life-giving love of Jesus.

This brings us to our wider vision:

Oranga Ake o Te Iwi o Te Ao – The flourishing of God's people and God's world.

In the same way that Paul challenged the early Christian communities to look beyond themselves and their own interests, the vision of Oranga Ake calls us beyond ourselves. We are called to be a Church that exists for more that our own preservation. We are called to serve and participate in the life of communities of disciples shaped and formed by a desire to see the vision of a world with the character and imprint of God’s love across all parts of our existence. A world marked by service to human need, transformation of communities focused on justice and reconciliation, the care and renewal of the earth. A world in which we live out Aroha, Rongo and Hari.

Across our Diocese we encounter communities carrying significant burdens.

Families facing economic pressures. Young people wrestling with uncertainty. Individuals experiencing loneliness and isolation. Communities confronting environmental challenges. People struggling with grief, addiction, violence and despair.

God's mission draws us towards these realities.

It compels us to serve. It compels us to advocate. It compels us to accompany. It compels us to love.

But there is an important truth we must remember.

The path toward Oranga Ake begins with Tātou Tātou.

The way we live together matters. The way we treat one another matters. The quality of our common life matters. Understanding and living into our whakapapa matters.

Because the world will encounter Christ not only through our programmes, but through our relationships.

If we truly seek the flourishing of God's people and God's world, then we must first attend to the health of the body through which that mission is expressed.

What then might Tātou Tātou look like in the life of Waiapu? Not surprisingly it looks like all the things you already, we already know.

It looks like listening before speaking, seeking understanding before judgement, and being curious rather than defensive.

It looks like generosity of welcome and embrace, manaakitanga and whanaungatanga. It looks like acts of love that build up the wairua and confidence of our communities, celebrating the gifts and successes of others.

It looks like refusing to be trapped in an imagination of our own creation that ministry is a competition with our colleagues and parishioners.

It looks like a self-awareness that leads us to be able to recognise that another person’s flourishing contributes to our own.

It looks like mutual responsibility, one in which we care not only for the immediacy of our context but that of our sisters and brothers throughout the Church, our Haahi. It looks like a commitment to equity in the life of our whole church understanding that challenges faced by one part of our Church belong to us all.

It looks like a selfless recognition that struggles experienced by one parish are not somebody else's concern, but that they are ours with them.

It looks like courage, bringing truth and respect to bear on all difficult conversations and situations. It’s about addressing conflict before it becomes division, and humbly adopting a posture which allows for the choice of reconciliation when resentment would be easier.

It looks like encouragement. Building one another up with words of hope and support.

It looks like prayer offered regularly and consistently for one another.

It looks like recognising the many faithful acts of service that often go unnoticed.

Above all, it looks like love.

Practical, visible, costly, Christ-like love.

Despite the challenges we face, I remain profoundly hopeful for Waiapu, for our relationships across Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa, the Dioceses of New Zealand and the Diocese of Polynesia.

I see hope throughout Waiapu.

There is hope to be found in faithful clergy serving communities with dedication and in laity carrying significant responsibility with grace and commitment.

I find hope in our relationships that continue to deepen and strengthen across tikanga, and the witness of these relationships to the wider church of the hope we have for our future together.

Hope is present in acts of quiet generosity that rarely attract attention but faithfully reflect the love of Christ, or in the life of a young person discovering faith.

Again and again I see evidence that the Spirit of God remains active among us.

As I have said on prior occasions God has not finished with us. Christ continues to call us. The Spirit continues to lead us. Our task is simply to remain faithful. To remain together. To continue walking the path set before us.

As I conclude, I return to the words with which I began.

Tūtira mai ngā iwi.

Tātou tātou e.

Stand together, people.

All of us together.

The invitation before us is not only to sing those words, but to live them, and in doing so bear witness to the Christ in whom we find unity.

The invitation is to wear the marks of Christ as we heard in this morning’s reading from Galatians. We are challenged daily to choose humility over conceit; generosity

over jealousy; grace over bitterness; reconciliation over division.

My prayer, my hope, my belief is that we are a community of disciples who have been, and will continue to be, shaped by the love of God expressed through our history in Waiapu, called to strengthen our common life to reflect the love of Christ.

May we stand together side by side as the Body of Christ.

May we serve together side by side as the people of God.

May we seek together side by side Oranga Ake o Te Iwi o Te Ao.

And may our life together Tātou tātou e proclaim with integrity and joy the aroha, rongo and hari we have received in Christ.

Āmine.

Tūtira mai ngā iwi

Tātou tātou e

Tūpra mai ngā iwi

Tātou tātou e

Whāia te māramatanga

Me te aroha

E ngā iwi

Kia tapatahi

Kia kotahi rā

Tātou tātou e

Tātou tātou e

Hi auē hi