Restoring the Spiritual Heart of Christchurch
In a heartwarming Christmas tradition, our parish annually transforms a vacant lot beside the church into a hub of festivity by selling Christmas trees. Beyond bringing holiday cheer, this initiative yields a modest profit, turning once-waste land into a source of productive income. This practical and efficient project stands in stark contrast to the more time-consuming traditional parish fair.
This year, a significant encounter occurred when a purchaser expressed satisfaction at witnessing progress on the Anglican Cathedral reinstatement. He saw the building work as the final step in restoring the spiritual heart of the city.
Reflecting on the situation, a Roman Catholic colleague in Auckland proposed a pragmatic approach—selling both the Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedral sites and encouraging the Churches to utilise their alternative worship facilities in the central city. This perspective, coming from one unfamiliar with life in Christchurch, adds an interesting dimension to the ongoing deliberations.
Anglicans have a sentimental attachment to their buildings; Cathedrals do emphasise a symbolic significance in the lives of faithful people. However more locally at parish level, such is the grasp to hold onto traditions. There is a reluctance to touch donated items, from lightbulbs to cherished gardens, and all things that highlight the deep connections to past parishioners, people and events. The destruction of so many church buildings in the city and beyond has caused (and continues to cause) great angst.
Christchurch's tumultuous seismic events, with over 11,200 earthquakes and aftershocks in 2010 and 2011, have left an indelible mark on both the city and its people. The city's post-earthquake state is akin to the biblical narrative of Israel wandering in the desert, waiting for deliverance into a "land of milk and honey".
Cantabrians are a resilient lot! We are a people whose lives have been shaped by events such as the earthquakes, and we often reflect a longing for the pre-earthquake city's normality, beauty, and spirituality. The Anglican cathedral is a cultural and spiritual symbol, and has always been integral to Christchurch's identity. Thus, restoring the Cathedral (amongst other things) embodies a collective commitment to preserve the city's cultural heritage. After all our city does bear Christ's name, so it is hard divorce ourselves from its Church of England traditions and the formation of that which was intended to be an Anglican settlement.
Christchurch's post-earthquake challenges present us with a metaphorical battlefield, requiring resilience and determination to rebuild the damaged city. Legal confrontations and city-wide resolve underscore the community's commitment to seeing the Anglican Cathedral restored to its former glory.
As the city grapples with the seismic aftermath, the church might well look to history, drawing parallels with Moses leading Israel through the Red Sea waters and into the desert for 40 years. But even so, Moses was not to lead Israel out of the desert, this was given to his successor Joshua. Despite years of exile in an arid and barren land for four decades, Israel was to finally find its home. We living in a city overcome by turmoil for the past 10 years, can rightly find hope and potential in the reconstruction of the cathedral. The reinstated building will signify an end of a difficult journey and the beginning of a new chapter for Christchurch.
Many Cantabrians long for the return of the city's vibrant, beautiful, and comfortable past. While this may be some time away the potential truth posed by our Christmas Tree buyer is real. Regardless of one's spiritual beliefs, religion, race or creed, one cannot underestimate the energy empowered through the completion of the Cathedral in the Square. There is no doubt in the minds of those innumerable people who fought so hard to see the cathedral rebuilt in all its glory, that this would mark the start of a renewed Christchurch; a start that would embrace the hope, peace love and joy that this building represents to us all.
Fr Mark Sullivan is an Anglican Priest and Vicar of the Parish of Heathcote and Mt Pleasant in Christchurch. He is a born and bred Cantabrian who has worked in five dioceses around Australasia. Please call him on 027 475 9946 or email him at skywgn185@gmail.com for further information or assistance.