Message from Bishop Andrew Hedge
- joannestevenson
- Aug 21
- 3 min read
It’s good to be back and to return to Waiapu following my sabbatical rest. The sabbatical was a valuable opportunity to take a break for three months and is made possible by a grant from the St John’s Trust Board. In the course of my time away I attended two conferences in USA, spent time exploring my ancestral roots in Scotland, Cornwall and London, and had some rest time visiting friends and exploring parts of France and Germany. It was a truly valuable time to refresh, reconnect and rest. The final part of my time away included joining a pilgrimage with Rawhia, and members of our wider church whanau to the Episcopal church in Navajoland in USA. The pilgrimage provided an incredible insight into, and opportunity to participate in, the life of the indigenous Anglican communities of the Navajo people. There will be much more to share about that particular pilgrimage in the coming weeks and for those of you who follow Te Pihopatanga O Aotearoa on social media, you may have already seen some of the stories of that pilgrimage begin to be shared.
An important part of preparing to leave on sabbatical was knowing that our team across Waiapu was positioned well to continue to function without me for the three months. I’m very grateful for the work that Colleen, Robert, and Jeremy did to be my substitute points of contact while I was away. I left with the confidence that everything would be well, and returned with gratitude for all the work that has been done while I’ve been away.
We’ve had all our board meetings this week which has been a good way to see how things have developed and monitor the work across the Diocese, ACW and WBDT. It’s pleasing to see the rollout of the strategic plan through ACW and to hear the enthusiasm with which that was met by staff. It is significant that we have common language for vision and values across the Diocese and our growing familiarity and confidence with both. The BLT have been working hard as well developing planning and focus around Koru ministry, Ministry Education and ongoing development of the strategy.
In the coming weeks our focus turns toward Synod in October and preparations of papers, workshops and presentations. I look forward to joining with members of Synod when we gather in Rotorua.
At the end of next week I will travel to Papua New Guinea for the bi-annual church partnerships meeting. I’ll be visiting parts of PNG with Mark from our Missions Board to introduce him to key mission opportunities in PNG and we will be there at the same time as a missions group from the CofE and the Diocese of Norwich. I’m looking forward to the time spent with the Anglican Church in PNG and invite your prayers for our visit, for the Anglican Church of PNG, and for all those in leadership in the church as they navigate the difficulties they face.
Finally today, I’ve included a few photos … just a taster of some of my time way in Navajoland. I remember as a child sitting through hours of a family relative’s slideshow of their travels … I recall what that can be like, so here are just a few and a taster of perhaps more to share along the way.
Blessings,
+Andrew
Bishop Andrew and Rawhia Te Hau Grant
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