Image of Phyllis Guthardt taken from a plaque in a meeting room at the Connexional Office. by Supplied

RIP Rev Dr Dame Phyllis Myra Guthardt 1 August 1929 – 29 June 2023

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Kua hinga te tōtara i te Waonui-a-Tāne Moe mai rā e te Rangatira, i te aroha o te Atua. A mighty totara has fallen in Tāne’s great forest. Sleep well Phyl, in the love of God

On Tuesday 4 July whanau, friends, and former colleagues gathered at Knox Presbyterian Church in Christchurch to honour, celebrate and give thanks for the enormously rich life of Rev Dr Dame Phyllis Myra Guthardt who died peacefully, just short of her 94th birthday a week earlier. Phyllis served as the first non-Presbyterian minister at Knox Church from 1976 until 1984.

As a cherished daughter, sister, aunt, mentor, friend and esteemed scholar, Phyllis touched many lives and hearts. Words used to describe her included intelligent, trailblazer, progressive, supportive, facilitative, hardworking, dedicated, determined, bossy, remarkable, feisty and a champion.

Rev Dr Susan Thompson returned early from her WCC visit to Geneva, Switzerland to preside over the service. Susan first met Rev Phyllis almost 40 years earlier when she was ‘a shy, young student at Canterbury University’. Susan said, “She encouraged, guided, challenged and at times gently pushed me to do things I never thought of doing. Of being someone I never thought I could be. “As an exceptionally gifted preacher, pastor, scholar and leader, Dame Phyllis lived an extraordinary life and opened doors for women in the church and in the wider world. Her career within Methodism, indeed within the Christian churches in New Zealand, was quite unique”.

In a message from the General Secretary conveying news of Rev Phyllis’ passing to the Connexion, Rev Tara Tautari briefly described the life and career of an exceptionally gifted and endlessly giving friend and mentor.

Born and raised in Nelson, Phyllis was influenced by two significantly gifted and challenging Methodist ministers Ashleigh Petch and Charlie Hailwood at St John's Church, Nelson. Phyllis led Bible Class there and like her mentors, influenced a younger generation.

After training at Christchurch Teachers' College she taught in Nelson, and then went through the processes to candidate for ministry. She spent three years at Trinity College and was the first woman of any denomination in New Zealand to be ordained. Her first appointment was in the Riccarton Circuit, and while there she completed her M.A. with First Class Honours. She received a scholarship to the University of Cambridge, was a student at Newnham College, and completed her PhD in biblical studies. While in the UK she tutored at Homerton College.

On her return to NZ she was stationed at Melville, Hamilton and acted as a Hospital Chaplain. In 1969 she became the first ecumenical chaplain at the University of Waikato, lectured in English and religious studies, and began her long connection with the NZ Tertiary Education system.

From Hamilton Phyllis returned to Christchurch, serving at Upper Riccarton Church and then with the Presbyterian congregation at Knox Church. During her time at Knox she became the first female President of the Methodist Church in 1985. From that time, she became part of the University Council (for 21 years) and was the University's Chancellor from 1998 till 2002. She received an honorary doctorate from Canterbury University, and from the University of Waikato. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993.

Rev Donald Philips, a long-time friend of Dame Phyllis - known as Phyl by her wide circle of close associates - offered a heartfelt tribute to the minister of the Methodist Church of New Zealand whose record he described as unparalleled. “Her achievements as a minister of the Gospel, as an ecumenist, through her commitment to tertiary education in this country, and as a pathfinder in the journey towards gender equality, are remarkable.” After sharing highlights from her 33-year career in ministry, Donald closed his tribute to his friend by acknowledging and thanking her for her “contribution to our lives and to the wider concerns of life in this country”.

He then shared one final personal anecdote. “I followed her as President of the Church and at that moment in the proceedings when she read my name out to be her successor, I dutifully started to walk down the church aisle in New Plymouth to acknowledge the honour. From the podium came that crisp voice: “Donald, walk faster!” Phyl, I will try to do just that.”