Bishop’s News - September 2022

E te tino Tapu, ka whakapaingia koe, i roto i tāu Tama
i tuohu nei ki te horoi i ngā wae o āna ākonga,
te tohu o te kaimahi tūturu.

Blessed are you, most holy, in your Son,
who washed his disciples’ feet.
‘I am among you,’ he said, ‘as one who serves.’ (ANZPB)

Greetings whānau after what was glorious spring weekend. I hope you all managed to enjoy some sunshine and get out into creation.

This weekend our Castlecliff Urban Vision team along with our friends from the local Assembly of God church joined in the Marton to Whanganui relay run – 66.3km along the back roads and through the valleys. It was a joy to do something hard with friends, but I wouldn’t have wanted to wash any of the team’s feet after that.

At the risk of extending the metaphor, it has made me reflect on the nature of leadership in the light of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. In any relay race, each member serves the entire team. It’s the moment of the passing on of the baton which is the most important.

In a speech to the Church of England General Synod in 2010, the Queen said, “At the heart of our faith stands not a preoccupation with our own welfare and comfort, but the concepts of service and of sacrifice as shown in the life and teachings of the one who made himself nothing, taking the very form of a servant.” As we reflect on the life and legacy of the Queen, let’s continue to pray for those who now hold the baton of leadership and what it means. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand we are of course so mindful of what it continues to mean for us to be a colonised nation, and what leadership looks like with that reality.

Many have commented in recent days on the depth of faith the Queen showed throughout her life and based on this there is a strong part of me that wonders if she would feel uncomfortable with all this attention. Ultimately, it is Jesus who is always at the centre. But the other thing that I’ve been conscious of this weekend is how important it is for each of us to remember, to celebrate, and to mark important moments in our lives.

These might be for each of us very small in comparison to the death of a Queen. Maybe this week you will make a new friend at school, do something that you find scary, apologise to someone, get a new job, break your personal best at the gym, talk about Jesus with someone new. Make sure you celebrate these things with those around you, remembering you’re part of a team, giving glory to God.

In Christ
+Justin