Thank you!

I am so glad that the first thing I want to say to you all as bishop is a huge thank you. Thank you for your support on Saturday, thank you for the many, many messages of prayer that have come in over the past few weeks, thank you for your encouragement. Particular thanks to those who took part in the service; those whose whole weekend ended up being taken up with travel; the Dean for all the effort and skill he put in to making it all go smoothly; and of course the Diocesan Office staff, especially Nicola, who has been living and even dreaming in terms of organising people and numbers and tickets and transport and catering for months.

There is an even bigger “thank you” which is an ongoing one. Thank you all for your faithfulness in the ministries you offer. On the whole I have spent more time among the laity than the clergy over the past four years, but that has enabled me to learn how deeply your parishioners appreciate you. None of us can predict how our shared ministry will unfold, or what our Diocese will look like in ten years, but working with you all to find where God is leading us will be a joy.

The way forward

On that theme, I am very aware that for at least a year we have been holding off on a number of decisions “until the Bishop comes” or “until we hear the Bishop’s vision for the Diocese.” I have no shortage of ideas about that vision, but I’m going to ask us to hold on for another 1/3 of a year before I suggest anything definite. Diocesan Council will be holding a hui in that time to discuss their ideas on the way forward, and while I am happy to guide that discussion I do not want to restrict it. I would also like to meet with each of the stipended clergy and as many others as I can, individually, before the end of July. Some of you I will hope to make time to see while I’m visiting to take a service; others I’ll catch up with at Ministry School; still others I’m hoping may already be planning to come to Dunedin in the next few months and can line up a time to see me with Nicola. Group discussions are valuable, but they can sometimes take on a life of their own, or be led by a few stronger voices. I want to be able to genuinely hear each of your voices and hearts.

Ministry School

Please take a moment to sign up for Ministry School this year. We do have an excellent presenter, but the most important reason for coming is so that we can connect, support, and continue to get to know each other better. Having just said that I don’t want to pre-empt our future direction, I am sure that whatever that direction is, it will need to be shaped by peace, justice and joy, all undergirded by love of God and each other. We are a small diocese numerically, which makes it even more important that our relationships with each other are strong. All stipended clergy have, of course, already agreed to come to these annual Ministry Schools, but I would rather you came because you saw the importance of them than because you are obliged to.

Seder Meals

I do not know of any parishes who are planning to hold a Seder meal this Holy Week, but we are being strongly discouraged from doing so by the Province and the Council for Ecumenism. If that worries you, perhaps you could take a moment to read an explanation of this from the Jewish point of view, here.

Chrism Masses

On a happier note, you are all encouraged to attend one of our two Chrism Masses in Holy Week!

1. Tuesday evening, 6pm at Holy Trinity, Gore, followed by a light supper

2. Wednesday evening, 6pm, at St Paul’s Cathedral, Dunedin, followed by a light supper.

Please RSVP to Nicola by April 10th indicating which of these you are able to attend, so that she can arrange for catering.

Long Service Leave

We need to establish a Long Service Leave register for our stipended clergy. Nicola will have details of how long each of us has been in ministry since we started, or since we last had long service leave, but it would be helpful if you could let us know if you are hoping to take LSL in the next two to three years. We are going to ask you to book in ahead wherever possible, and to avoid being away when someone else is also away. Finding cover for your parish when another priest, or even two other priests, are also taking LSL, is extremely difficult.

Note, too, that the application rounds for St John’s College Trust Board funding for your LSL are now only once a year. Any applications for funding for 2026 will need to be in by August 31st, 2025.

Supervision

Could you all email Nicola with the name of your current supervisor before the end of April, please?

Whakapaingia te Atua e whakamine nei i a tatou.

Ngā manaakitanga,

+Anne