General Synod on Zoom
General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia met on Zoom. Has any other General Synod met virtually?
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pacific
Our Anthem ‘God Defend New Zealand’
Recently, Harper Nielsen, a nine-year-old Australian girl, has had people re-looking at the Australian national anthem by refusing to stand and sing Advance Australia Fair in her school. The criticism of “for we are young and free” is not new – clearly ignoring indigenous Australians for whom that land has been home for millennia. Criticism
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Winter Soulstice Matariki
In the Southern Hemisphere, at the time of the winter solstice, a cluster of seven stars, called ‘the Pleiades’ in the Northern Hemisphere and ‘Matariki’ in Aotearoa New Zealand, becomes visible on the horizon just before dawn. For Maori, this marks New Year. It is a time to remember those who have died, particularly in
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Matariki
I do not think we have really been deeply inculturating Christian spirituality into the Southern Hemisphere. Today is the beginning of Matariki. Matariki is the Māori name for the Pleiades. In the winter sky just prior to dawn this star cluster marks the Māori New Year. Different tribes celebrated Matariki at different times. For some
Benedicite Aotearoa
O give thanks to our God who is good: whose love endures forever. You sun and moon, you stars of the southern sky: give to our God your thanks and praise. Sunrise and sunset, night and day: give to our God your thanks and praise. All mountains and valleys, grassland and scree, glacier, avalanche, mist
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Jabez Bryce – Anglican longest-serving bishop dies
Archbishop Jabez Bryce, the longest-serving bishop in the Anglican Communion, has died aged 75 in Suva, Fiji. Archbishop Jabez was the first Pacific Islander to become an Anglican bishop. Jabez was born in Vavaʻu, in Tonga, he grew up in Samoa and trained for the priesthood at St John’s College in Auckland, New Zealand. His
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