Prayers for General Synod in Tonga

From 15 to 22 August, representatives from across the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia will gather in Tonga for the 67th General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui.

General Synod is the highest decision-making body of our three tikanga Church, bringing together bishops, clergy and lay representatives from Tikanga Māori, Tikanga Pākehā and Tikanga Pasifika. While each diocese holds its own synod, General Synod provides an opportunity for the whole Province to meet together under the leadership of our three Archbishops, discerning God's call for our shared future.

This year's gathering carries the theme "One Mission, One Vaka/Waka, One Ocean", a powerful reminder that although we come from different cultures, languages and contexts, we travel together in the mission of Christ.

Delegates will be welcomed by the Anglican Church in Tonga and hosted by local parishes and communities throughout the week. The programme includes worship, talanoa conversations, visits to local communities, and sessions exploring some of the most pressing issues facing the Pacific region.

For many New Zealand delegates, the gathering will offer an opportunity to listen more deeply to the experiences and wisdom of our Pasifika brothers and sisters. As members of one Province, we are called not only to share faith and fellowship, but also to share one another's burdens and hopes.

Among the themes to be discussed during the week are equity, the oceans, climate change and a theology of the ocean. These conversations are especially significant in the Pacific, where the impacts of climate change are already being felt. Rising sea levels, changing weather patterns and threats to coastal communities are not distant possibilities for many Pacific peoples. They are present realities that affect homes, livelihoods, culture and identity.

Gathering in Tonga provides an opportunity for the Church to engage with these issues not as abstract topics, but through relationships with communities who are living with their consequences. As followers of Christ, we are called to care for God's creation and to stand alongside those most affected by environmental change. The discussions at General Synod will help shape how our Church responds to these challenges together.

As the delegates prepare to travel, we invite the Diocese of Wellington to uphold General Synod in prayer.

Prayer for the 67th General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui

Theme: One Mission, One Vaka, One Ocean

Loving and embracing God, Creator of the great ocean, the islands, and the lands we call home. We thank You for our ancestors and missionaries, for the journeys that guided them through the years and the challenges they faced. Through Your grace, You have brought us together in this time as one Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia.

You have woven us together in Christ as Tikanga Māori, Tikanga Pākehā, and Tikanga Pasifika enriched by cultures, languages, songs, stories, and traditions.

Draw us closer to You in our 67th General Synod. By Your Holy Spirit, help us to honour the gifts of our differences, not as barriers to our journey, but as blessings that witness to the unity of Your Church. Grant us wisdom and peace, and empower us to discern together.

Keep alive within us the vision You have given: One Mission, One Vaka/Waka, One Ocean. May we remember that we are called not for ourselves, but for the sake of Your Kingdom.

We place our Church, our Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Lay Leaders, our communities, and our future into Your loving hands. Guide our waka, keep us united as one people, journeying across one ocean toward the future You are preparing.

We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who calls us into one Body, one hope, and one mission. Amen.

Note: This prayer was shaped around the theme One Mission, One Vaka/Waka, One Ocean, a vision that celebrates the unity of the Church even in the midst of diversity. It reflects the shared journey of Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia, lifting one voice together as we prepare for the 67th General Synod.