BISHOP S NEWS FOR FEBRUARY 2010

Transcription

1 The Anglican Diocese of Wellington As a Christian Faith Community we worship, we witness, we teach, we serve, we care Bishop s Office P O Box Wellington 6144 Telephone BISHOP S NEWS FOR FEBRUARY 2010 Archbishop Jabez Dies in Suva Archbishop Jabez Bryce, Bishop of the Diocese of Polynesia, has died in Suva. Archbishop Bryce, who was 75, had led the Diocese of Polynesia for almost 35 years and he was, at time of his death, the longest-serving Bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 2006 he was also chosen as one of the three leaders of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia the far-flung Anglican province which includes Anglicans in New Zealand, and in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and American Samoa. Jabez Leslie Bryce was born in Vavau, Tonga, in January 1935, but grew up in Samoa. He went to Auckland to train for the ministry, and was ordained Priest in In 1975 he was ordained as Bishop, and he led the Diocese of Polynesia from a colonial past his predecessors had all been either British or Australian into a genuinely Pacific present. His stature, seniority and leadership in the church in the Pacific was recognised in August 2008 when he was chosen to crown the new Tongan King, His Majesty King George Tupou V. Archbishop Jabez was keenly focused on the mission of the church, and this bore fruit in 2005 when he led the Diocese to choose three assistant Bishops Bishop Apil Qiliho, an indigenous Fijian; Bishop Gabriel Sharma, an Indo-Fijian; and Bishop Winston Halapua, a Tongan who lives in New Zealand to strengthen the outreach of the Diocese in its various regions and islands. In 2008 he also presided over the centenary celebrations of the Diocese, which he had led for fully one third of its life. He was, by reason of his birth, almost uniquely equipped to do that: his mother was Tongan, his father had Samoan and Scottish heritage while he himself had lived in Fiji since Archbishop David Moxon, the senior Bishop of the New Zealand Dioceses, had known Archbishop Jabez for 40 years. He says that during Archbishop Jabez s time the Diocese of Polynesia has grown in a hundred ways in its sense of identity, its ethnic diversity and in its Pacificness. 1

2 And Archbishop Brown Turei, the third of the leaders of the church, describes Archbishop Jabez simply as: A prince of the church. A man who was dignified, kindly, who liked things done decently and in order because that reflected what the church meant to him. Throughout his priesthood and episcopacy, Archbishop Bryce was also a keen ecumenist, building bridges between the various Christian denominations in the Pacific. He served the Pacific Conference of Churches for many years and was a president of the Pacific region of the World Council of Churches. In those roles he also spoke out for the wider good of the Pacific for instance, advocating for the ending of French nuclear bomb testing at Mururoa Atoll in the 1970 s. He was also a strong proponent of interfaith dialogue in Fiji. Archbishop David Moxon says he will always recall the grace, strength and energy of the man. Jabez leaves so much to value and treasure behind him; and he will be honoured and remembered for a long time as the greatest of the Bishops of Polynesia. Archbishop Jabez s health had been failing for some time, and he died peacefully in the Suva Private Hospital on Thursday evening. He is survived by his wife Tilisi and their two children, Jonathan and Fitaloa. The funeral service will be held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Suva on Thursday, February 18 at 10.30am. The funeral gathering (reguregu) will be on Tuesday and Wednesday (February 16 and 17) in the grounds of Holy Trinity Cathedral from 9.00am to 9.00pm. Bishop s Letter GST It looks as though GST is about to go up to 15%. With regard to the essentials that might not be such a big deal for high income earners but for those at the other end there will be stresses and strains. The proposed changes which we are not going to debate here, come as a reminder that life goes on regardless of the rises and falls in GST and that we shouldn't rely on material wellbeing alone for our happiness. Of course a reasonable standard of living is a realistic expectation and we would always hope that people do not suffer hardship. Nor would we wish to stifle entrepreneurial ship when it does good. But at the end of the day our happiness is derived from a wider, deeper base that may include the material but should also include the Christian faith dimension. The Psalm set in the lectionary on the day that I am writing this puts it all into perspective. Ps 27:3-6 Trust in the Lord and do good: then you shall do well in the land, and there find safe pasture. Find your delight in the Lord: and the Lord will give you your heart s desire. Commit your life to the Lord: put your trust in the one who will act for you, so that the Justice of your cause will break forth as the light: your righteousness like the Sun at noon. 2

3 The Psalmist helps us focus on God at the centre of life and source of all goodness and satisfaction. But we can also see that it is not a one-way relationship. That is to say, we are called to trust in, to find our delight, to commit our life to God and at the same time we are to do good. So it isn't simply a matter of asking God to uphold us so that we can find safe pasture, we are expected to be righteous disciples living out the gospel. During this season of lent might we reflect on what that might mean for us. +Tom Bishop of Wellington Acts of the Bishop Licence for the Office of a Priest Holding the Office of Archdeacon for Ministry Development Max Anthony Gerritsen, MPhil, BSc, DipEd, DipTchg, LTh, Cert. School Management 14 Licence for the Office of a Priest Holding the Office of Archdeacon for Mission Danny Christopher Te Hiko, BE (Civil), BTheol (Melb) 14 Licence of a Priest Holding the Office of Interim Priest in the Parish of the Chinese Anglican Mission Kay Lynette Stevens Webster, BNurs, BTheol 31 January 2010 Licence of a Priest Holding the Office of Priest Assistant in the Parish of Churton Park John Duff Daysh, BA, LTh 1 Licence of a Priest Holding the Office of Priest Assistant in the Parish of Waikanae Timothy Mark Bustin, DipMin 1 Licence of a Deacon Holding the Office of Deacon in Charge of the Parish of Churton Park Wayne Austin, NZCE (Civil), CertBM 1 Licence for the Office of Lay Minister to Anoint with Oil Joan Scott, Parish of Waikanae 5 Licence for the Office of Lay Minister Diane Benge, Parish of Waikanae Liturgical/Worship Leader and Preacher 5 February 2010 Gillian Berridge, Parish of Lower Hutt Liturgical/Worship Leader and Preacher 5 Richard Brons, Parish of Waikanae Preacher 5 3

4 Heather McIntosh, Parish of Naenae-Epuni Liturgical/Worship Leader 5 Chapel Prefect s Letter of Authority to Act as a Worship Leader Caitlin Brandt-Shailes, St Matthew s Collegiate School, Masterton 19 Permission to Officiate Hector Percival Harold Davis, MA, BA (Hons), BEdStud, TCDip, Adv DipTchg, DipEdStud, DipEdGuidCouns, CRBDip 1 Eleanor Ruth Sanderson, PhD, MDS, BSc (Hons) 1 Permission to Minister Patti Florence Lao-Wood 31 January 2010 Faculties St Jude s, Lyall Bay in the Parish of Lyall Bay Remove first pew on south side of the Church the one closest to the piano and pulpit 2 St Peter s, Palmerston North in the Parish of St Peter s, Palmerston North Alterations to Choir area of the Sanctuary 2 Wellington Cathedral of St Paul in the Cathedral District of St Paul Erect a plaque honouring Dean Walter Hurst 2 Vacancies in the Diocese of Wellington Parish of Churton Park Expressions of interest and CV to: The Right Reverend Dr Thomas Brown P O Box Wellington Telephone: bishoptom@paradise.net.nz Vacancies in the Province Please see the Diocesan website for more information. Click on the following link: Diocese of Auckland St Peter s, Takapuna Diocese of Christchurch Parish of Merivale Part-time Children and Families Minister 4

5 Diocese of Dunedin Parish of All Saints, Dunedin Parish of Oamaru-Maheno Diocese of Nelson Parish of Picton Nelson Cathedral Diocese of Waiapu Parish of Havelock North All Saints, Taradale, Napier Vicar Dean/Vicar Associate Priest Priest Associate 5