President Peter Taylor presides over the induction of Rev Dale Peach as Superintendent of the South Island Synod. by Garth Nowland-Forman

Embracing Change

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In January we were blessed as a family by the visit of our son, Aidan, and his young family from the United Kingdom for the month. Aidan had not been back to New Zealand for 10 years and noticed some changes in that time.

In fact, we had all changed in that time. Aidan had married, bought a house, got a job as an op-shop manager and become a father. Our other child, Eliza, had moved to Invercargill and completed one year retraining as a nurse. Sharon has changed from teaching Year 6 to Year 8. And I had retired, then been appointed as President. All these changes came with their issues, many of them pleasurable, some not.

Our family experiences made me think about how we manage (or don’t manage) change within the church. In many parishes key lay people give up long-held positions, leading to crises as churches try to fill the gaps. Then ageing buildings or climate-related problems create budget holes. But some changes have benefits.

The union of three synods in the South Island, celebrated at the same time as Rev Dale Peach’s induction as their first Synod Superintendent, for me is a good call. For too long Tauiwi meetings have been dominated by geographic synods (English-speaking) to the detriment of the cultural synods. Maybe there should be more amalgamations, signalling an appropriate rebalance of power within Tauiwi, away from the long-standing domination by pakeha, assuming an authority they once had but no longer have. This change will be painful but necessary.

Last year at Conference we appointed a transition team to oversee the change from Mission Resourcing to Ko Te Hāpai ō ki Muri. This is happening, not because Mission Resourcing was a failure but because times change and as Te Hāhi we need to be flexible in our response. Over the coming months the team will clarify what Te Hāpai means and ensure that Kai Hāpai is appointed to do the work Conference has agreed.

These changes, along with those mentioned previously, such as changes to the Disciplinary Code in Section 8 of the Law Book, to ensure a less confrontational approach to disputes, and changes in our response to climate justice, will mean a church prepared to be more nimble, flexible and proactive rather than slow-moving, tradition-bound and reactive.

In traditional theology it was a fundamental truth that God was unchanging (“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever” – Hebrews 13.8); if God can change how can God be perfect? This idea is one many wrestle with, leading to belief that change is somehow bad for God, and therefore also for the Church and for us. But the opposite is true, at least for us. We and the Church are sinful - whatever we mean by that - and so we should be open to improvement and therefore change. This does not mean that every change is good but neither is a slavish hanging on to tradition or old decisions.

With so many important changes coming up I am glad our Church is prepared to change. Are you?