Joyful Celebrations: A Glimpse of the Ordination Service at St Paul's Cathedral
The Rt Rev'd Dr Anne van Gend was ordained and installed as the 11th Bishop of Dunedin at St. Paul's Cathedral on 29 March 2025.
On a sunny autumn day, the cathedral in Dunedin’s Octagon was filled with over 400 people with radiant smiles, love, and a palpable sense of celebration as Bishop Anne was officially welcomed to her new role.
Friends, family, community members, and clergy gathered to witness this special event, including bishops from all of our three Tikanga churches, and Australia.
Many people have worked behind the scenes on this for the past few months, and on Saturday morning all those involved in the service gathered for a rehearsal at 9.30 am for the service which began at 1 pm.
The service was led by Archbishop Don Tamihere, Archbishop Sione Ulu’ilakepa and Archbishop Justin Duckworth, supported by the Cathedral of St Paul's Dean Tony Curtis.
In his sermon, Tikanga Pakeha Archbishop Justin Duckworth said that he was surprised how serene the (then) Bishop Elect Anne was prior to the service, and was told that as she wasn’t the one having to deliver the homily, she wasn't under the stress of doing this!
Focusing first on Isaiah 61: 1-8, Archbishop Justin talked about the dynamic of the exiles from Babylon returning to the promised land and encountering total devastation. For the church in our world, we are facing with a similar landscape of change: increasing secularism, the decline of the church, the death of volunteerism and a post-colonial landscape. It can be tempting for churches and leaders to be either focused on managing decline... or a kind of triumphalism that pretends everything is alright. If we get caught up in responses such as this, it's important to remember that our God is one who rejoices over one sinner who repents, who loves to restore and renew us. God is the one who does all this, not us.
This was illustrated in the Gospel reading (John 21: 15-19) where three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. This was essentially a call to repent, and was a reminder that we need to love Jesus, feed the sheep and pour out our lives for others. It's all about submitting humbly to Christ's leading, not attending meetings and getting caught up in things that end up not being important.
Archbishop Justin recalled how the Hebrides Revival began with two sisters: Peggy and Christine Smith. One was 84 years of age and blind, the other 82 and crippled with arthritis. They were greatly burdened because they'd been told no young person attended public worship at their church. They decided to pray twice a week. On Tuesdays and Fridays they got on their knees at ten in the evening, and remained there until three or four in the morning; two old women in a very humble cottage who were part of a turning around of the church. In this diocese (as well as others in the country) we are blessed with similar resources: people of faith who can pray and be part of a renewal that God can bring.
After words of commitment and the ordination, the service proceeded with recognition of Anne's new ministry as Anne was vested and symbols of ministry given. She was then officially "installed" by being lead outside the cathedral and striking the doors three times with the Diocesan Crozier, before being led up to the high altar and invited to take her seat on the Bishop's throne.
(Above: a brief video of Anne entering the cathedral - apologies for sound quality, words are in the video descriptor or the attached Order of Service below)
The service concluded with the Eucharist, a final blessing from Bishop Anne, photos on the steps and afternoon tea in the adjacent Fullwood Room.
This ordination service was a testament to the power of faith, love, and a reminder of what God can still do for all of us on the journey. It symbolised the Anglican community’s commitment to the road ahead: not easy or without challenges, but one where we continue to look to God for renewal and the way ahead.
Postscript:
Those who attended the service may have noticed that St Hilda's Collegiate Kapa Haka group were down to lead Te inoi o te Atua - The Lord's Prayer, as part of the eucharist. Unfortunately the group had to cancel due to illness... but we had organised to give each member a double scoop gelato at Gelato Junkie in the Octagon. So... what to do? We delivered 20 vouchers for Gelato Junkie to give to their first 20 customers on Saturday... a random and expected gift from us to strangers! We hope it spread a little joy...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) was used to help edit this article.