by Garth Nowland-Forman

Te Kete Aroha o Waipounamu 2024 Theology on the Edge

Janet Marsh

/ Feb 21, 2024

Last year, as discussions were taking place about the possible amalgamation of all the geographic South Island synods, the idea was proposed for a School of Theology. On 27 January, Rev Dale Peach was inducted as Superintendent of the newly established South Island Synod and the next day, a keen audience gathered at Aldersgate, Christchurch to discuss theology with a diverse team of presenters at the inaugural School of Theology.

Where the road runs out

and the signposts end,

where we come to the edge of today,

be the God of Abraham for us,

send us out upon our way.

Methodism was born out of preaching, singing and teaching. This dynamic approach fuelled a revolution of social change that altered the course of British history. We, in the islands of the Pacific, inherited those hefty spiritual genes. In recent years, however, the educational imperative has fallen to the side, especially in the South Island of Aotearoa, where small, often struggling congregations are scattered over an expansive area. Resourcing these faith communities seemed an impossible task. The road was running out. Which is why, in March 2023, as we explored the tentative amalgamation of all the South Island synods into one, the question was posed: Why don’t we hold a School of Theology? It was greeted with enthusiasm and a small group of interested participants began exploring the possibility of launching it at the inaugural Synod of the whole South Island the following year.

In January 2024 it happened!

I’d like to add, ‘Just like that with the click of a finger’ but that would be disingenuous of me. It happened because a small group of inspired and dedicated people worked hard to launch it. Just as Margaret Mead stated: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

It was not an easy task and there were some dilemmas and disappointments in the months between March 2023 and January 2024 as we zoomed and emailed our way through endless planning and possibility meetings. The outcome was a group of more than 50 people, predominantly Methodist, but Catholics and non-denominational people as well, gathered at Aldersgate, Christchurch, from Sunday 28 January through to Tuesday 30 January. Attendees flew down from Tauranga and Auckland and up from Dunedin and Invercargill. Some drove south from the Marlborough/Tasman region and across from the West Coast. Others came from the suburbs and outlying areas of Christchurch. There were lay and clergy, active in ministry and retired, female and male, gay and straight, Asian, Pasifika, and European.

We came because we wanted to learn

The four keynote speakers were: Dr Peter Lineham, Rev Tara Tautari, Dr Kathleen Rushton, and Dr David Tombs. They were chosen because they were experts in their respective fields; they had something to say and we were ready to hear it.

Peter Lineham, with meticulous detail through statistics and census results, painted an honest picture of institutional church life in Aotearoa today. It was sobering. We are living in ‘The End of the Age of Progress’ so what does that mean as we see institutional religion in decline all around us? How do we identify ourselves as people of hope, from supportive faith communities, when we are perceived as being divisive and judgemental? How do we recover our mission focus? There is a lot of work to be done to present faith communities in a positive and supportive light but the task is not insurmountable. Peter quoted Brian McLaren, “But before Christianity was a rich and powerful religion, before it was associated with buildings, budgets, crusades, colonialism or televangelism, it began as a revolutionary non-violent movement promoting a new kind of aliveness on the margins of society.”

Tara Tautari spoke on ‘Rekindling the Vā of Papatūānuku’ which was a specific challenge to us in the Pacific re our relationship with the planet and climate justice for the earth. Simple questions such as ‘What is your relationship to the earth?’ and ‘What is the rain saying to you?’ led to enlivening discussions on our views and attitudes to this planet we call home, how we treat her and how can we let the planet live. (Vā is Samoan for the sacred relationship which exists between people and the environment and Papatūānuku is te reo for the earth.)

Kathleen Rushton offered two presentations on ‘Participating with Jesus in Completing the Works of God in an Unfinished, Evolving Universe’. The basis for her intense and thought-provoking biblical exegesis was John’s prologue: Jesus came and ‘pitched a tent in us.’ How do we as human beings, created in the image of God, participate in doing and being God’s work in the world?

David Tombs, with his longstanding interest in contextual and liberation theologies, spoke on Jesus’ experience of sexual abuse. This was a perspective which many of us had never considered before. Honing in on Matthew 27: 26-31, we considered words such as ‘stripping’, ‘flogging’, and Jesus’ nakedness in full view of a cohort of Roman soldiers. (Consider this: how many is a ‘cohort’?) In his second session, David spoke on the pastoral care needed for those who have suffered abuse at the hands of the church and its leadership and the shame experienced by the victims of such treatment. These sessions were confronting and several expressed their sense of being ‘freaked out’ by the disclosure exposed in this passage of scripture.

Alongside the keynote speakers, additional learned and respected presenters hosted workshops on ‘Mental Health: Pastoral & Theological Perspectives’ (Dr Lucy D’Aeth and Dr Matthew Croucher); ‘The Second Testament through a Jewish Lens’ (Rev Janet Marsh); ‘Being Church Differently’ (Rev Darryn Hickling and Rev Heather Simpson), and ‘Liturgy on the Edge’ (Rev David Poultney). We thank Rev Dr Mary Caygill, Rev Dale Peach, Rev Lyn Heine, and all our presenters for the time and energy they poured into their presentations.

We also learned from each other. One of the aspirations of the organisers was that people would have time to talk to each other. Another was that it would be a safe space in which to voice differing opinions and critiques. These hopes were more than fulfilled.

The feedback at the end of the event was overwhelmingly positive: inspiring, informative, challenging, and relevant were words that were frequently heard. And there was enough constructive criticism to keep us on our toes for future events.

We extend our thanks to Aldersgate for hosting us, for providing nourishing food and drink, for technical expertise and for your musicians. Most of all we thank you for the knowledge embedded in Garth Nowland-Foreman: St Garth of Aldersgate!

Great gratitude goes to the PAC trust (Prince Albert College Trust) for a generous donation that enabled us to kickstart the School of Theology and to keep costs to a minimum.

We thank Chris and Jan Webster, from Greymouth, who created and gifted the logo to us. The name Te Kete Aroha o Waipounamu also originated on the West Coast. We are grateful.

And we thank all the willing attendees, the divine guinea pigs, who shared and spoke, who listened, and questioned, and learned. The good news is that plans are already afoot to hold the next Te Kete Aroha o Waipounamu in 2025. Bring it on! See you there.

Janet Marsh compiled this report in conjunction with co-organisers Dale Peach, Garth Nowland-Foreman, Mary Caygill, David Poultney, Lyn Heine and Lucy D’Aeth.

These are the links to the whole event: