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From the Moderator
From the Assembly Executive Secretary
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Presbyterian Church Schools
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From the Moderator
Tena Koutou Katoa
Synod of Otago and Southland annual meeting
What a wonderful season of the year autumn is. The changing colours of the trees are just stunning, and it is lovely to enjoy God’s good creation all around us. As I write this I am preparing to go to Cromwell for the Synod of Otago and Southland annual meeting and the autumn colours there will be even more intense. It will be good to spend time with the members of Synod, who are also members of the Southern Presbytery, my home presbytery. Connecting with colleagues and others within our Church structures is very important and helps strengthen relationships in our wider Church community.
Alpine Presbytery gathering
Recently I attended the Alpine Presbytery gathering in Christchurch and enjoyed renewing acquaintances and meeting new people. It was encouraging to hear what is happening in that presbytery and I continue to be impressed by the number of creative, faithful, humble and gifted people we have within our Church.
Presbyterian schools
While in Christchurch I also spoke at two chapel services at St Andrew’s College, and met with some senior staff at Rangi Ruru Girls’ School. Our school chaplains do very good work in this space with a large number of young people - the Rev Stephanie Wells provides an important link between the Presbyterian schools and the Church.
I also joined the folk at St David’s Union church in Ashburton for worship as I travelled back to Oamaru.
Coming up…
Coming up is a retreat for the ministers of the Northern Presbytery at Long Bay; preaching at Knox Church in Dunedin; the Women Ministers’ retreat in Waikanae; the 150th celebrations of a Fielding church; and then a few days of visiting ministers as part of a little road trip.
As we enjoy this season of autumn, we reflect on the fact that our lives, both individually and corporately, also have their seasons and God is with us in them all.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”.
[Ecclesiastes 3: 1]
Rose
Right Rev Rose Luxford
Moderator
From the Assembly Executive Secretary
Dear friends and colleagues
I write this following attending the annual meeting of the Synod of Otago and Southland held in Cromwell. In addition to the business that fills these gatherings, we had an opportunity to hear what was happening in a few of the churches in the Central Otago region. One could not help but be encouraged as we listened to the stories from these places. Creative, intentional and varied; in common was responding to the opportunities to engage in God’s mission. It was a highlight of the meeting!
The power of the story – of sharing how God is at work – inspires us and touches lives. How is our telling of these stories going in our settings?
Update your office bearer contacts
We use electronic communication to share information, update on important matters and pass on other news. Our office’s ability to do this is dependent on church councils advising updates to key contact people, changes in email etc. Please pass on any changes to Nani from our office, so that we can ensure we are communicating with the appropriate office bearers.
Matters for consideration by presbyteries and church councils
General Assembly 2023 follow-up information for, and actions required by, presbyteries and church councils has been sent out. If your church council has not received this, please advise our office.
Calling a newly trained minister
This year six people will complete their training as interns. They represent a range of backgrounds and experiences. All are eager to commit themselves to ministry within the life of a congregation. Profiles for each of them will shortly be available from Rev Dr Carlton Johnstone and Very Rev Richard Dawson who are coordinating introductions and discussions between final-year interns and ministry settlement boards.
Assembly Office move
In keeping with the Council of Assembly’s commitment to returning the Church to a balanced budget the PCANZ Assembly Office and The Presbyterian Church Property Trustees (CPT) will from 21 May be in a new shared office space - Level 4, 94 Dixon Street, Orbit House, Wellington.
We look forward to lower annual running costs for the Assembly Office through our sharing of resources as we work alongside one another in serving the Church.
The move will take place Friday 17 May and Monday 20 May, and the office will be closed on both days. We open at our new location, usual hours, from Tuesday 21 May. The only change to our contact details will be our physical address – all phone numbers and PO Box remain the same. If you have an urgent query on our moving days, please contact me on 027 569 1971 or Russell Garrett 022 548 4903 (CPT). If you are interested in more information about the new office, see the communication sent to the Church today here.
Noho ora mai
Wayne Matheson
Assembly Executive Secretary
Presbyterian Youth Ministry
Connect Online Training 14 May - Communicating the Gospel to an unchurched Generation
Our next training is Communicating the Gospel to an unchurched Generation. We find that many of our youth leaders do not have the knowledge or confidence to clearly articulate the gospel message to young people. In this session, Mike Turinsky will share from his decades of experience in sharing the gospel with teens who don’t know the first thing about the Christian faith. Join us Tuesday 14 May, 7-8.30pm. For information on all training topics and to register please see here.
Connect Youth Ministry and Young Adults Conference 26-28 July - Forrest Lakes Camping & Conference Centre Otaki
Keep an eye out for more information on our national Youth Leader and Young Adult Conference this month. We continue to hear how life-giving this event is for those who attend. Please encourage youth leaders and young adults in your congregation to attend and encourage your session to set aside funding to make it easier for them to do so.
Take 15: Prayer for the 1.6 million Young People of Aotearoa New Zealand
Join us for 15 minutes each week as we pray for the 1.6 million young people on New Zealand. Kicking off in term three, we are inviting you to join us on zoom each week on Thursdays at 1-1.15pm. See here for more.
Important dates for 2024
2024 has lots of great training and ministry opportunities from PYM. One of the simplest ways to catch them all is to subscribe to our Google Calendar, with this link you can easily add PYM dates to your own Google (by clicking the + icon at the bottom right of the screen) or Outlook Calendar.
May the Lord continue continue to draw young people to Godself this year!
Matt Chamberlin
National Youth Director
Presbyterian Church Schools
Presbyterian Church Schools: Structure, Part 4
Our Presbyterian schools are divided into two core organizational structures – independent and integrated.
The Association of Integrated Schools has this definition: “State integrated schools are part of the state network and operate in a very similar fashion to state schools with generally two key differences – state integrated schools have a “special character” protected in law, and the land and buildings of the school are privately owned. A proprietor (usually a trust, church, or some other entity) takes responsibility to protect and enhance the special character of the school and, by levying parents, (with some assistance from the government) maintain school property to a standard similar to comparable state schools.”
Unlike many integrated church schools, Presbyterian school properties are not owned or run by the Presbyterian Church. Instead, they have a Board of Proprietors or Governors (there are multiple names) who oversee the facilities and uphold the conditions of the founding Trust document. This body is also responsible for the special character that they have contracted with the government to uphold, although the day-to-day details may be delegated to senior staff. Staff may also produce the annual report for the Ministry of Education on how the special character has been demonstrated. But ultimately, the responsibility for the special character of an integrated school rests with the proprietors.
Independent, or private schools do not receive any government funds and so have no responsibility to report to the Ministry of Education. Because of that, they also do not have to have a Board of Trustees as all government-funded schools must (including integrated schools). Their Governers concentrate on finances and overall visioning, while senior school staff are responsible for management and implementation.
Nationwide we have six integrated schools and six independent schools under the Presbyterian banner.
Stephanie Wells (Rev)
Director of Presbyterian Church Schools Resource Office
Global Mission
Global mission encounters for young adults
There are currently two global mission encounters available for young adults.
I Love Taiwan is an annual two-week programme hosted by the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. Participants learn about the culture, context, and mission of the church in Taiwan with their peers from around the world. A travel subsidy is offered for this and all costs within Taiwan are covered by the host church. Information can be found here.
And the Leprosy Mission in New Zealand is offering a Youth Advocate Scholarship in 2025. Read about this here.
Vanuatu
See photos of Jae Ahn, our English teacher at Talua Theological Training Institute in Vanuatu on Facebook here.
As well as teaching English, Jae Ahn is providing tuition in digital communications, social media, and how to access educational sites on the internet. He and members of his home church, the Korean Presbyterian Church in Auckland, have donated several mobile phones to students and their spouses at the college for this purpose. If you have an unused mobile phone you are willing to donate, please get in touch with me and I can arrange to have it sent to Vanuatu.
We recently received a request from the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu for an education specialist to help them review and develop their education policy. This could involve spending several months in Vanuatu. This role will not be salaried but living costs and expenses will be covered if the right person can be found for the role. If you have had a career in education and have an interest in supporting mission in developing nations, get in touch with me to discuss further.
Myanmar
The expatriate Myanmar community in New Zealand despaired over the Government’s decision to allow a diplomat from Myanmar’s military junta to attend an ASEAN meeting in New Zealand in April. The junta continues to perpetrate widespread atrocities in Myanmar. We are in regular contact with the Presbyterian Church there which is providing humanitarian support in crisis conditions, including among internally displaced persons needing food and shelter. Continue to pray for their resilience as they endure this situation.
Phil King
Global Mission Director
Presbyterian Research Centre
Two important deaconesses
We were very excited recently to receive two collections of records relating to women who did important work for the Presbyterian Church. The first collection of material relates to Rev Doreen Riddell, who was the founding principal of St. Thomas’ School at Jagadhri in North India, where she worked for nearly 30 years. The school continues to thrive and now has over 1000 pupils.
The second collection relates to Kathleen Allan (formerly Sr Kathleen Every) and mostly includes material from her time as a travelling youth worker for the PCNZ Youth Department during the late 1930s and 1940s. Kathleen was also the first woman in New Zealand to be trained as a military chaplain, as well as briefly being principal of the Deaconess College, before leaving to be married. She was a strong supporter of the role of women in leadership in the Presbyterian Church and was the first woman in Taranaki to become an elder.
Both of these women were deaconesses, and the PRC Deaconess Collections are listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World for New Zealand. You can find more information here.
Seeking PWANZ and APW group material
It is important that we not forget the important role that women have played in the life of the PCANZ, both individually and through women’s organisations. We are still looking out for any material relating to PWANZ or APW groups that have now wound up. Please contact us about sending this material to the Archives, email us.
Rachel Hurd
Archivist
Presbyterian Research Centre (Archives)
Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership
Applications for Ministers Study Grants
Applications are invited for Ministers' Study Grants. The deadline for the next application round is Friday 31 May. Guidelines and the application form can be found here. Please send your application to Susan Peters.
Workshops in presbyteries (Central and Kaimai)
This month we are running elders’ workshops in Kaimai (Thursday evening 16 May in Tauranga) and Presbytery Central - Nukuhau Tapu (Saturday 18 May in Gisborne). Check your presbytery website and communications for details.
NOM Interns 2025/2026
If your church is interested in hosting a NOM intern for 2025/2026 we are now beginning to gauge interest. Please email Geoff New for an Expression of Interest form. We will begin the process of considering where interns will be best suited for their placement mid-year. The deadline for expressions of interest is Friday 31 May.
Forge Aotearoa
Do you wonder what God is doing in Aotearoa NZ? Are you interested in conversations about the future church and mission? You are invited to a sacred pilgrimage - Haerenga Tapu. Join us as we discover the story of God and explore what it means to be a missional wayfinder in Aotearoa New Zealand. Friday 24 May – Sunday 26 May at Te Maungarongo Ōhope Marae. For more information and registration please click here.
Yours in Christ
Rev Dr Geoff New
Principal
Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership
Christian World Service
Pray for the World
We live in the world that God loves. CWS encourages churches to remember people who do not have the food and water they need for daily life. We are mindful of rising temperatures and the increasing pressure of the climate crisis on the world’s poorest people. CWS asks for your prayers for Sudan which has been at war for over a year, for Haiti where there is hunger, violence and instability, for the peoples of the Middle East. We pray for Pacific peoples living with the consequences of climate change and for communities in Aotearoa. In each of these places and others where conflict prevails, there are people working to turn the world from death to life. Pray for them and if you can, please support make a donation to help. Thank you.
Mother’s Day Gifts
Gifted is a good place to find a gift for your mother or yourself for Mother’s Day on May 12. CWS offers a choice of 24 gifts. Each gift acts as a donation to a programme run by a CWS partner, for example providing seeds to a small-scale farmer in Sri Lanka or funding School for Girls in South Sudan. We will send you an email or printed card.
End of the Year Receipts
CWS has sent tax receipts to donors for the year ending March 31. If you have not received your receipt or need another copy, please contact Italy, email CWS or ph 03 366 9274. Thank you for working together to make sure more people have water, food and justice. The beginning of the new tax year is a good time to consider setting up a monthly donation through your bank account or the website. Find out more about becoming a Partner for Life or call Italy 0800 74 7372.
Notices
CCA urges observance of Asia Sunday 12 May - Myanmar: God of Hope, Fill Us With Joy and Peace
In the context of the worsening human rights situation and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) decided this year's Asia Sunday to be focused on Myanmar. Download the order of worship and read the full message from CCA here.
The Treaty of Waitangi, a Covenant of Reconciliation with Dr Alistair Reese - 7-28 May in Auck, Well, Chch, Dun
Come hear Dr Alistair Reese a historian and public theologian who spoke at the Presbytery Central Gathering last year, and at Waitangi this year. We are at a decisive moment as a nation, a time when the agreement by which tangata whenua and tangata tiriti live together is being called into question. Dr Reese will consider the role of the Church in the Treaty and weigh, with us, how best to honour it. Tatai Hono Marae, Auckland, 7 May; St John’s in the City Presbyterian, Wellington, 14 May; Knox Church, Dunedin, 27 May; Christchurch Cathedral, 28 May. Koha. Register here.
Glen Innis Holiday Homes – now available to more ministers!
Two holiday houses at Glen Innis Station, Central Hawke’s Bay, are available to National Ordained Ministers each year at no cost (a refundable bond is required). One of the houses (Maud Hooper) is now also available for use by Local Ordained Ministers, Amorangi, and Local Shared Ministry team members - outside school holiday periods - at a cost of $200 per week (plus refundable $100 bond). The fee covers cost of making the house available - a great value holiday. Maud Hooper House offers self-contained accommodation for up to seven adults and one baby, with modern facilities (WiFi, dishwasher etc) plus access to games room, swimming pool, tennis court in beautiful country surroundings. See more info, including cost and booking details here.
Presbyterian Investment Fund
The interest rate paid on the PIF On Call Fund is currently 5.50% p.a. (where it has been since 1 January 2024). A reminder to please provide advance notice (of at least 3 days) for major (>$100,000) withdrawals. The interest rate on the PIF Long-Term Fund remains at 3.0% pa plus inflation. Rates are subject to change. The PIF is open to parishes, but not to individuals. For details on the Long-Term Fund or further information, email the Trustees’ Executive Officer, Russell Garrett.
Cults, Christianity, and Conversations: Shincheonji cult – Wellington, 3 May
Dr Terry Pouono from Laidlaw College will host an event with Olive Leaf to explore the Shincheonji cult, an active religious movement in New Zealand. Hear from a former member of the Shincheonji movement, a Korean Christian, and a representative of the Olive Leaf network. May 3, 7pm at Wellington Central Baptist Church. Free, parking, light supper. Register here.
Bill and Margaret Best Travel Fund
Are you a minister considering domestic or overseas travel as part of your study leave? Are you a lay worker or elder in a PCANZ church considering a study course that requires travel? The Bill and Margaret Best Travel Fund offers travel grants to church workers wanting to further develop their area of service to the Church. The Fund is administered by the Personnel Workgroup, and the closing date for applications is 30 September each year. Criteria and application form can be found on the Church website here, Bill and Margaret Best Travel Fund. Please contact Kate Wilson with any queries.
Invite to the IRCA Oceania Network ZOOM - 7 May
International Rural Churches Association (IRCA) Oceania invite you to ZOOM discussion 11am, 7 May. Kitchen table type conversation as we introduce ourselves and share news and challenges, connecting, breaking into the busyness to reduce the sense of isolation prevalent in rural church leadership. Read more.
Christian Medical Fellowship of New Zealand: Reflect Conference 18-25 May in Auck, Well, Chch
Connect with Christian health workers and students to be encouraged in living for Christ through daily work in health. Hear from inspiring speakers presenting on embodied hope for ourselves, patients, and the world. Musical worship, enriching fellowship, edifying teaching, good food and a unique ecosystem of Christian health networks to explore! Register here.
Participate in the 2024 State of the Sector Survey for Not-For-Profits
Community Networks Aotearoa invites you to take part in the 2024 State of the Sector Survey for Not-For-Profit organisations to have a voice. Conducted biennially for 10 years, the survey provides an integral snapshot into the community and voluntary sector. $50 fuel vouchers given at random to those who do the survey. One survey per not-for-profit group/org. Responses are confidential - data will be consolidated and no organisation identifiable. Survey link here. Closes 31 May.
Free resource - Plastic Jesus: Real Faith in a Synthetic World
Arocha NZ recommends a Creation Justice Ministries resource that fits with this year’s Earth Day theme on plastics: Plastic Jesus: Real Faith in a Synthetic World. It includes stories of individuals and communities making a positive impact, sermon starters to spark meaningful discussions in your church, worship resources to unite in prayer and reflection, and actionable steps to address the plastic crisis. Download here.
Church Register
For any queries concerning the Church register, contact Kate Wilson.
Minister Changes
Rev Paul Loveday, Minister Emeritus ended as Moderator Presbytery Central – Nukuhau Tapu, 1 December 2023.
Rev Leanne Munro, other recognised minister, started as Moderator Presbytery Central – Nukuhau Tapu, 1 December 2023.
Rev Tengaru Paniora, other recognised minister Southern Presbytery to minister Tokoroa – St Luke’s Pacific Islanders, Kaimai Presbytery, 18 February 2024.
Rev Ernie Trask, Minister Emeritus, Kaimai Presbytery to Presbytery Central – Nukuhau Tapu, 9 March 2024.
Rev Dr Guy Pilkinton, from other recognised minister to minister Waitara – Knox Presbyterian Church, Presbytery Central – Nukuhau Tapu, 15 March 2024.
Rev David Dell, other recognised minister, started as administrator, Lower Hutt – Hutt City Uniting Congregations, Presbytery Central – Nukuhau Tapu, 26 March 2024.
Rev Pennie Otto, Local Ordained Minister, Niue Takanini Pacific Island Presbyterian Parish ended as executive officer, Pacific Island Presbytery, 31 March 2024.
Rev Great Muller, other recognised minister to minister New Plymouth – Knox Fitzroy Presbyterian Church, Presbytery Central – Nukuhau Tapu, 7 April 2024.
Rev Michelle Shin, chaplain Auckland Hospital to minister Albany Presbyterian Church, Northern Presbytery, 11 April 2024.
Rev Richard McLean, minister Plimmerton Presbyterian Church, Presbytery Central - Nukuhau Tapu to other recognised minister and executive officer Southern Presbytery, 15 April 2024.
Removals from roll
Book of Order 10.34b – ministers engaged in another occupation for more than five years
Rev Jae Hyun Kim, Presbytery Central – Nukuhau Tapu, 16 April 2024.
Resignations from the PCANZ roll
Rev John Wilkie, local ordained minister Hawera Presbyterian Church, Presbytery Central, 26 December 2023.
Rev Matt Cave, other recognised minister, Kaimai Presbytery, 17 April 2024.
Parish changes
Kaitangata Stirling Lovells Flat Parish, Southern Presbytery, dissolved 8 April 2024.
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Events
Check out details about upcoming events including training workshops, opportunities to serve and more. Learn more
Jobs
Check out our job vacancies page and the ministerial vacancies table and featured ministerial vacancies for the latest vacancies available in Aotearoa and around the globe.
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