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Moderator's Factsheet

Introducing the Moderator

The Right Rev Pamela Tankersley from Palmerston North is the current Moderator (national leader) of the Presbyterian Church. She was elected at the 2006 General Assembly and will remain as Moderator until the 2008 Assembly in Wellington.

The Moderator presides over the Assembly, represents the Church nationally, and has a pastoral role within the Church. The Moderator can be a layperson or a member of the clergy.

Pamela has been at St David's in Palmerston North since 2003. Prior to that, she spent nine years at St Ninian's Uniting Parish in Karori, and six years in Gisborne.

When asked about what skills and gifts she brings to the role, Pamela advised that her understanding of Presbyterian people and structures would prove useful, and as the fourth woman Moderator of the General Assembly she would bring a woman's perspective to matters.

In terms of focus for the future, Pamela says the Church provides an alternative to individualism that is prevalent in society today, and she talked of the importance of mission, and the need for the Church to be "Christ focussed and community-facing."

Pamela is married to Roy who is a church musician, and they have three adult children, Jayne, Alice and Simon and two grandchildren - Harry and Oliver.

The Church

In the 2006 Census Presbyterians registered the third highest religious affiliation in New Zealand, with 385,347 people. The Church has 420 parishes around the country, with over 35,000 attending worship each week. Around a quarter of parishes are cooperating ventures with other denominations, primarily the Methodist Church. There are about 317 ministers serving in these parishes and as chaplains in hospitals, schools, tertiary institutions, the military and prisons, other workplaces and overseas. The Presbyterian Church has national coverage from Northland to Southland.

The Presbyterian Church is part of the reformed strand of Christianity and traces its roots back to the Church of Scotland and the Reformation in Europe. Having now been in Aotearoa for more than 160 years it is now a Kiwi Church, with major groupings of Pacific Islanders and other immigrant groups, such as Koreans and Indonesians. There are more Pacific Islanders' in the Presbyterian Church than any other church in New Zealand. The Church has a Maori Synod Te Aka Puaho, which is strongest in the Bay of Plenty and Urewera, where Presbyterian missionaries worked closely with Tuhoe.

The Presbyterian Church is governed by the elders of the Church and is highly participatory. Major policy directions are made at the Assembly.

Strategic Direction

The Church is investigating innovative ways it can engage with New Zealanders in their contexts and cultures. To achieve this, the Church aims to create and sustain healthy congregations. Congregational health is gauged by the quality of relationships with God, with the wider environment, with the wider church and within its own life. Developing leaders through Leadership for Mission programmes is an important part of the strategy to take the Church forward.

Specialist Ministries

The Presbyterian Church supports a range of ministries. Youth ministry has a national coordinator. There is a strong network of youth leaders ministering to youth.

Women are a central part of life of the Church. The Association of Presbyterian Women earned consultative status as a non-governmental organisation at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and aims to use this position to further promote the welfare of women and children, not only in New Zealand but in other places through our links with other churches, especially in the Pacific and Asia.

The Global Mission office based in Auckland coordinates mission abroad. The Office also provides leadership on crucial issues affecting the world community. As a Church with strong international links, Presbyterians work in partnership with churches and ecumenical agencies all over the world. These agencies include the World Council of Churches, Council for World Mission and the Christian Conference of Asia.

Social Involvement

A key part of the mission of the Presbyterian Church is engagement with the wider society. Presbyterian Support is the largest provider of Church-based social services, and the Church is concerned with social and international issues, such as climate change (the Church has formed an Ecological Task Group) and poverty reduction, both independently and through its participation in New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services, Christian World Service, Christian Conference of Asia and the Interchurch Bioethics Council.

The Church is committed to producing on a regular basis social justice resources for use in congregations. These study guides address social issues identified as important to the Church and the wider community.

Through the Moderator’s Public Voice campaign, the Church has raised its voice on the need for more funding for teen mental health, more church-based after school child care, more action on family violence and the need to make ageing in place a reality.