Bishops’ News 9th June 2020
Dear family in Christ
As I write this, we have just had the announcement that we are moving to Level 1! We have all done so well. I can’t wait to be in the room with our people, with no limitations. I encourage you to take the time to celebrate well with your friends and family, and use this time well as an opportunity to connect with your neighbours and communities.
Last week, I took part in our Diocese’s contribution to the global week of prayer, Thy Kingdom Come. Although I was the only one in the 24-7 prayer room early on that Thursday morning, in a way that was a bit of a blessing. Spending the hour praying and worshipping God as I watched the sun come up was so, so good.
With the dawn and the sun rising, the knowledge of God as creator, redeemer and giver of life could only result in one posture: one of worship. Spending time in God’s presence is like a healthy contagion – the opposite of COVID-19 – where being present to God in prayer and worship results in a growing desire to seek God in more prayer and more worship: ‘for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ (Matthew 6:21).
This, and the global events of the last two weeks, have made me reflect further on what has been the constant theme of the COVID-19 season: what do we really desire? Do we choose in all that we do to seek the God who is creator, redeemer, and giver of life?
This Sunday past, our Cathedral family gathered with representatives of different faith communities to message a positive alternative to the inflammatory photo shoot that President Trump held outside St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. In a joint statement, Archdeacon Don Rangi of Te Upoko o te Ika, and Dean David Rowe wrote of how the inhumane death of George Floyd and the subsequent outpouring of grief at generations of racial injustice, echoes the ‘deep wounds of division’ in our own land which ‘require our ongoing prayer and active repentance.’
God breathes life into us and into all creation, not takes it away. In Aotearoa, the hongi is a powerful symbol of the worth of the other, as we share breath together and acknowledge the life, beauty and mana of the created being we see before us.
The more we spend time in God’s presence, face to face, with open hearts, the more we will ourselves with humility reflect God who desires that all people know their true worth, and ‘righteousness [will] shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.’ (Psalm 37)
As we as a global society grapple with this critical issue, I encourage you not to forget the hidden places of our world which don’t reach the news headlines. As so often is the case, global threats reach parts of the world after the news headlines move on to the next crisis. We are currently running our Global Response to COVID-19 campaign – please give creatively and generously from whatever plenty you have, knowing that in New Zealand the pandemic situation has been managed well, but in many other parts of our world, this is not the case.
In Christ
+Justin
PS. Many of you have been praying for Bishop Ellie as she underwent surgery this week on her neck – thank you so much for this support. +Ellie is now home from hospital, and begins the long road to recovery – please continue to hold her and her family in your prayers. Before going into hospital, she completed this piece of writing on Christian crisis leadership, which we share with you here. As usual, Bishop Ellie brings profound wisdom and we continue to be blessed by her even as she takes time to heal from surgery.
P.P.S. This Sunday is Te Pouhere Sunday, when we celebrate the diversity of our three-tikanga church. Attached here is a letter and call to prayer from our three primates, Archbishop Fereimi Cama, Archbishop Philip Richardson and Archbishop Don Tamihere.
