The South Calling — Lakeside Wanaka by Wynston Cooper

I te Pāpaho - Media and Latest News

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Keeping up to date with recent news about our parishes, organisations and the wider church.

Local & Wider News

  • Christchurch Cathedral Project media release 6 April — CCRL
  • Christchurch Cathedral project to be Mothballed unless a $30m lifeline is found — The Press
  • Olive Webb, Fearless Fighter for Marginalised New Zealanders — RNZ

EPN Special with Al-Ahli Arab Hospital Director Suhaila Tarazi: a very special conversation captured on the fly at the Episcopal Parish Network Conference in Houston, Texas, with Dr. Suhaila Tarazi,he director of the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, which was recently in the news for a bomb that fell in their parking lot (The Living Church podcast, 8 April 2024). 

Cathedral upgrades to go ahead: A HISTORIC church in the heart of Dunedin will become ‘‘ a space for the whole city’ ’ once a $4 million upgrade project is completed.Logic Group has been granted a consent from the Dunedin City Council to conduct maintenance work on St Paul’s Cathedral in the Octagon. The cathedral was constructed more than 100 years ago and is listed as a category 1 historic place by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. The western end of the cathedral was significantly damaged in a fire in 2020 and much of the proposed work aims to fix it, along with making it more usable and accessible. The work is part of a $4 million redevelopment project announced in 2021 but since delayed. The Very Rev Dr Tony Curtis, dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, said it was great work could now get under way. ‘‘ It is extremely good news to have the resource consent through. ‘‘ We’re hoping to have the building consent for the work downstairs through towards the middle of the year and then we’ll gradually see the facilities continue to improve.’’ The application proposed a wide range of alterations to the cathedral, namely refurbishments to its apse, nave and crypt. The fire had torn through the ceiling and roof of the apse, dropping debris that had damaged the floor level. The apse would receive a new timber-joint subfloor along with a new altar layout to accommodate different cultural tikanga (custom). A new multi-functional space would be created in the crypt, and the original exterior stone wall retained and made a feature. New ceiling treatments and accessibility upgrades — ramps, a new staircase and an accessible lift into the existing stairwell — would be installed. Dr Curtis said there had been a ‘‘ very long delay’ ’ to the repairs due to consultation with insurers and heritage advocates, as well as obtaining the proper consents. This latest resource consent, which had taken three years to obtain, allowed work to finally commence on the rest of the building, he said. At every stage, they had looked to preserve the cathedral’s taonga while incorporating new additions, Dr Curtis said. A ‘‘ very exciting’ ’ feature was a new stained-glass nativity window, to fill an arch of slightly tinted windows overlooking Harrop St, that would be made by Dunedin artist Peter Mackenzie. It would contain features of classical Pre-Raphaelite art combined with elements of New Zealand’s unique flora. ‘‘ One of the things we were very keen to ensure is that no matter who you are, you will feel welcome and you’ll be able to access everything at the cathedral and come to all our events,’’ Dr Curtis said. ‘‘ No matter what difficulties the building presents, we’re going to overcome those and make it a space for the whole city.’’ (ODT, 9 April 2024)

Chronic Fatigue and Christian ministry: How living with a long-term illness challenges a fast-paced, skills-based church culture (11 April 2024, Diocese of Nelson Korero) 

National Anglican News at Taonga 

Wellington celebrates Bishop Ana

The Diocese of Wellington hit full celebration mode last weekend as they gathered to support the Right Reverend Anashuya Fletcher to be ordained and installed Assistant Bishop of Wellington on Saturday 13 April 2024.
• Watch the livestream of Anashuya Fletcher's episcopal ordination

3Tikanga youth reconnect

Young people from across the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia have enjoyed reconnecting in worship, work and talanoa at Tikanga Youth Exchange and Tikanga Youth Synod after a long break from in-person events.

Christchurch faces mothballed Cathedral

The project to reinstate Christchurch's Cathedral in the Square is facing an indefinite break in works, which would leave the Diocese and the city of Christchurch with a broken Cathedral at heart.
• 'Gothic pile' or 'heart of the city'?

The Wider Church and World