The absent three Tikanga context
May 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Some more thoughts from John HebentonI was asked whether my comments about the lack of any three Tikanga context referred only to youth. Actually, I would say we are one of the places where there is some kind of three Tikanga youth context. But there is very little three Tikanga context within the wider church. Sure, General Synod is grand, and the bishops get together twice a year, but apart from that there is very little happening. And there is very little commitment to each other as a result. There are issues coming up on this GSTHW agenda that reveal that, the St. John’s College review and resource sharing are two. We are simply not committed to each other. When we meet we seem to firstly seek to preserve what we have and our own mana, rather than being genuinely concerned with the needs of our brothers and sisters (rather than partners) and developing a common mana. We exist as three churches who happen to meet occasionally. Maybe we need to stop using partnership language, and talk about maybe marriage, or some other way which helps us talk in ways that aids our commitment to each other, that helps us realise and live out being one church, committed to each other. I realise I am quite idealistic, but this constitution is idealistic. We can do better.
Tikanga Toru Youth Commission
May 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Thoughts from John HebentonThis morning a grand thing happened. The General Synod Te Hinota Whanui passed the third reading of the bill establishing the Tikanga Toru Youth Commission. (Yes we do things the same as parliament, and this now acts as a piece of legislation within our church) Well done Sepi Hala’api’api who moved the bill, and Bishop David Rice who seconded it. My hope is this commission can help establish a three Tikanga context and mind set among young people so that we can become committed to each other in a way that is almost entirely absent from our church at the present. My dream is that the young people can lead the way for our church and help us all understand what a gift our three Tikanga constitution is, and start trying to live it out.
It did have a rocky road. Tikanga Maori asked hard questions and there were all sorts of unstated agendas at play, as always. And some of what plagues us as a church was also at play that is that the three Tikanga is something we do when we have time, instead of being a priority. That is our reality now, but I hope we can change that over the next few years.