Media Releases

October 2014

At its biennial General Assembly yesterday, the Presbyterian Church agreed by a majority vote to request that the Church’s Property Trustees, who manage the major funds of the Church, divest from fossil fuel investments.

The General Assembly also encouraged all congregations and members of the Church to seriously consider the same action in relation to their own investments.

4 October 2014

The Right Rev Andrew Norton is the new Moderator or elected leader of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. He begins his two year term from 4 October 2014.

The Moderator of the Māori Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Rev Wayne Te Kaawa, has supported calls by Tainui and Kingitanga leader Tukuroirangi Morgan to have an annual national day to commemorate the New Zealand Wars.

The Moderator says, “This is no longer a Māori versus Pākehā issue as many New Zealanders had members of their family fighting on both sides. Today many Iwi have settled their outstanding claims with the Crown and a national day would also help the country grow in maturity by recognising its past”.

Ten years ago, a tireless passion for the value of children led one woman to set about improving the way the Presbyterian Church engaged with children both in churches and in their communities.

A decade on, Jill Kayser has established the Kids Friendly movement, created a national network of more than 600 people who are committed to ministering with children and led countless workshops on fostering faith in school-age children.

Our Moderator has written to the Bishop of Peshawar in Pakistan to express our Church’s deep sadness over recent tragic events in the country, including a bomb attack on Christians and a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in south-western Pakistan. Read the

12 July 2013.

Thursday 11 October 2012

At last week’s General Assembly gathering, the Presbyterian Church upheld the historic Christian understanding of marriage as the loving, faithful union of a man and a woman.

“We are being faithful to what we understand Christ is calling us to as a Church,” said Moderator of Presbyterian Church, the Right Rev Ray Coster.

7 October 2012

The Rev Andrew Norton of Auckland will be the next leader of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Andrew has been elected Moderator Designate and will take up the role of Moderator in late 2014. The result of the election was announced at General Assembly 2012 in Rotorua on Sunday 7 October.

Andrew is the mission leader of St Columba Presbyterian Church in Botany Downs.

7 October 2012

The Presbyterian Church recognised today its growing number of Korean and other Asian congregations with a decision to adopt a policy statement about becoming a cross-cultural church.

The Church’s decision to adopt a statement embracing cross-culturalism is a continuation of its long history of respecting diversity.  The Presbyterian Church has an existing bicultural covenant with its Maori Synod, Te Aka Puaho, and the new policy statement will be expressed within the context of that relationship.