Anglican Fundraising Campaign letter

March 2024

Dear Parishioners

The journey is well underway to reinstate the Christchurch Cathedral. Across the Diocese, from Christchurch, throughout Canterbury, Westland and Chatham Islands, there is an excitement that the Reinstatement of our Cathedral is happening. Our leadership donors have generously contributed $24 million towards the project.

As your Bishop, I am launching the Anglican Campaign to call upon the Diocese of Christchurch to lead the way in the community phase of the fundraising campaign to reinstate our Cathedral.

When Synod voted for Reinstatement it was made clear there was no expectation for the parishes to fundraise. I do believe, however, that there are many Anglicans within the Diocese who would like to support the Reinstatement. The Anglican Campaign offers the opportunity, the call to action for those amongst us for whom the ministry of the Cathedral means something special, who believe that a Cathedral reinstated in the heart of our city will be healing and unifying for all.

Our reinstated Cathedral will provide a gathering place for everyone and it must be safer, more flexible, more functional and more comfortable than before. We are making it fit for this century and the next. It is important for us as a Diocese to shoulder some of this load if we expect the wider community to do so. Now is the time for us to lead and show the way.

Finally, it is our Cathedral. When completed it will be owned by the Diocese, an awe-inspiring expression of our faith, standing strong in the Square that bears its name. It is important that we can declare to our city and our province that Anglicans have supported the Cathedral and its ongoing role for all faiths and none.

I invite you to join Teresa and me in this important mahi. Your support, at whatever level, will make a meaningful impact on the success of this campaign. Together, we can rebuild not just a physical structure, but also the spiritual foundation that has long been a source of comfort and inspiration for the people of Canterbury, and indeed Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Let us rise to the challenges the earthquakes presented, united in our commitment to restore and revitalise our cherished Cathedral.

Arohanui

+Peter