Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 2025

There have been some wonderful resources over the past few years to help as as we explore these matters together. You may have noticed the following link in the Nourishing Faith article, which looks at what Te Tiriti means for us down in the south of the country. What does it mean for Pākeha as well as Māori?

Sometimes we do not realise ourselves why we and others should have such an emotional response to issues like this, but historian Dr Alistair Reese can perhaps help us understand that a little better. Check out his article on Pākeha identity and the Treaty.

Common Grace Aotearoa is another Christian resource and response that many have found very helpful. They say:

As Christians, we witness to the sacred covenant, the promise of mutual flourishing, that Te Tiriti o Waitangi represents.

For tangata Tiriti, it gives us all a place in this land, and responsibility to honour what it promised.

Christians were central to brokering and forming the Treaty at the time,  and since its signing the Church sadly participated in and enabled much of the breaches, land loss and structural oppression that tangata whenua faced. 

The New Zealand Christian Network gives some helpful historical background to the Treaty:

Christians should neither disregard nor distort the Treaty, nor deify it. It was a governmental document, not a religious document. But we do well to remember that among other things it reflected Christian biblical values of justice, order, and human equality.

If you have an opportunity to take part in any Treaty commemorations this Waitangi Day, be there prayerfully, listening to what the Spirit continues to say to the Church and our country.

Why not join in a prayer for our country, Aoteaoa-New Zealand, as found in A New Zealand Prayer Book:

FOR OUR COUNTRY

God of the southern sea
and of these islands,
of Māori, Pākehā *
and of all who dwell in our land;
we give you thanks and praise for our country,
and for what we have achieved together.
Increase our trust in one another;
strengthen our quest for justice,
and bring us to unity and a common purpose.
You have made us of one blood;
make us also of one mind.

* This may be adapted in Polynesia

E te Atua o te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa,
me ēnei motu, o te iwi Māori, te iwi Pākehā,
me rātou katoa e noho nei i tēnei wāhi.
Ka whakamoemiti,
ka whakawhetai ki a koe mō tēnei whenua o mātou;
mō ngā mea pai katoa kua whiwhi tahi nei mātou.
Whakanuia tō mātou aroha tētahi ki tētahi,
whakakahangia tō mātou whai i te tika
kia kotahi ai mātou i runga i te whakaaro kotahi.
Kua hanga matou e koe hei toto kotahi;
i raro i tēnei whakaaro kotahi.
Āmine.