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Moderator
Adieu: Farewell Message from the Moderator
With the recent death in Christchurch of Alan Brash, aged 89, the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand loses its best-known minister on the world Christian scene. His name was synonymous with ecumenism, having been involved (with his father, Dairy Board executive Tom Brash) in the formation of the World Council of Churches, and in the nineteen seventies served as WCC Deputy General Secretary. He made numerous, if controversial, visits to Communist countries to build bridges across the Cold War divide. His contribution to international Christian aid was also immense, and should not be forgotten in a more selfish age when governments are turning their back on the world's poor. Nor should his contribution to the church in New Zealand be overlooked, as a parish minister (and ardent pacifist!) in Wanganui, as twice General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, and as a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church - the first son to follow his father in this role.
You will recall that Dr. Eldin Villafarņe, Hispanic Pentecostal guest speaker at Assembly 2000 in Dunedin, was accompanied by a younger colleague, Dr. Bruce Jackson, assistant dean of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary's Boston campus. Eldin has just informed me that Bruce died at his West Roxbury home on 5 August, after a ten month struggle with brain cancer, aged only 45. He had been in the forefront of the development of the Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME) for more than twenty years. The obituary in the Boston Globe paid tribute to his influence 'on the lives of countless multiethnic pastors and Christian leaders'. Movingly, Bruce had described his 2000 visit to New Zealand as 'the highlight of my ministerial experience.' He had been looking forward to visiting New Zealand with his wife Sandy and daughters Kaitlin and Rebecca.
Last month I mentioned a number of prominent New Zealand Presbyterian sportsmen and women. One, Linda Vagana, of North Shore Pacific Islanders Church, has since announced her retirement from international competition, after more than sixty representative games for the Silver Ferns, New Zealand's women's netball team. We are proud of the vitality she brought to her play, and grateful for her being such a fine role model for New Zealand youth.
There is an interesting sequel to my piece on Presbyterians in sport. In Invercargill, during my Moderatorial visit to Southland Presbytery, I was given a copy of a fascinating photo. It shows New Zealand's first women's basketball team (as netball was then known). It was at First Church, Invercargill, in 1907. Basketball was introduced to New Zealand by the Rev. John C. Jamieson, energetic first Travelling Secretary of the newly-formed Bible Class Movement. He organised New Zealand's first basketball tournament, at the Presbyterian Bible Class summer conference, held in Invercargill that year. As with many of the leading English and Scottish soccer league clubs, it seems that at least one major New Zealand sports code had its origin in a church youth club or movement.
I went to Southland with some apprehension, in view of the huge issues of rural depopulation and demographic change that have affected the region for twenty years, and signs of tension between clergy and lay workers (in a Presbytery where half the ministry is now provided by lay pastors). But it was a wonderful time. Yes, there are small, declining, struggling parishes. But there is also evidence of grappling with challenges, and the newly-formed Central Southland parish, based at Winton (combining Centre Bush, Forest Hill, Oreti and Winton-Lochiel parishes), is perhaps the harbinger of a new way forward for rural congregations. As far as I know, this is our church's first strategic rural amalgamation to lead to the formation of a team ministry, the running of both traditional and contemporary services, and the achievement of sufficient mass to impact the wider community. It is a model worth watching, which could provide a way forward for effective mission to other areas of rural New Zealand.
Dennis Povey and his colleagues at Presbyterian Support Otago (P. O. Box 374, Dunedin) are to be congratulated for the underlying compassion and high quality of research that has gone into their recently published booklet How Much is Enough? Documenting 'life below the poverty line in Dunedin, 2002', it describes the constant struggle poor New Zealanders have to juggle their budget, when there is never enough income for even life's basic necessities. It conveys a disturbing sense of what it is like to live in constant fear of going under because of unforseen exigencies, and without hope of any likelihood of improvement.
Dennis was appreciatively interviewed by Wayne Mowat on National Radio's afternoon programme 'In Touch with New Zealand' on 29 August. He came across credibly and authoritatively, voicing a justifiable concern for the underclass of New Zealanders on whom the free-market reforms of the last fifteen years have fallen unfairly heavily. We should all be concerned, as was reported on Radio New Zealand News recently, that only 20% of New Zealanders now own 70% of this country's net wealth. It bodes badly for our social cohesion as a nation.
The Church Schools Conference in Christchurch on 8-9 August once again showed the strong sense of morale and purpose that characterises our Church Schools at present. They are consciously reaffirming their Christian character, positioning themselves more strongly over against our secular culture, and seeking to renew the engagement of our Church with young people. The thirteen Presbyterian Church Schools merit greater recognition as a strategic part of our Church's mission to contemporary society, and deserve greater equity of treatment within our national educational framework.
I would like to thank all who have prayed for me during my Moderatorship, especially while recuperating from my heart attack earlier this year. I am deeply appreciative of many who have written messages of comfort and support, as well as those who have organised my Presbytery visits, or provided transport and accommodation on my travels.
I value your devotion and loyalty to the Presbyterian Church, and to the mission of Jesus Christ. My prayers and encouragement are with Michael Thawley as he takes up the Moderatorship of our fine movement.