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Sunday 1 October
Overseas guests inspire Assembly
Global Mission Enabler Andrew Bell introduced visitors from Vanuatu, Myanmar and Australia to General Assembly, and included his own call for parishes to embrace the concept of overseas mission.
Pastor George Aki, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu, said his Church felt inspired and encouraged by the mission of the Presbyterian Church.
Mr Aki said that the same waves “break on both our reefs”.
The relationship between the two Churches stretches back to 1800, he said, with the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu now growing like a “tall coconut tree in the soil of Vanuatu”.
Mr Aki talked about the evangelistic work of those trained at Talua College. He also spoke about seeking to build up youth participation in activities, worship and conventions.
He mentioned the gratitude in his Church towards the Rev Roy Pearson, his wife Anna and their family, who served in Vanuatu for three years and are now returning home.
Other visitors from the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu are: Pastor Kalsakau Urtolo, Mrs Winna Urtolo, and Mrs Rosemary Ova.
Presbyterian Church of Myanmar’s the Rev Dr Denthuama spoke about the history of his country, which shares borders with many other countries and is also known as “golden land”. Myanmar (previously known as Burma) became a socialist country in 1962, with missionaries and foreigners expelled. All church hospitals and schools were nationalised by the government.
In 1988, the military took control of the country. According to the UN, Myanmar is one of the 10th poorest countries in the world. “Now the black market has become our real economy.”
It is difficult for young people to feel hopeful about the future, he said. Many people have gone overseas as migrant workers to earn money for their families.
Dr Denthuama was the recipient of a scholarship partially funded by the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand that allowed him to study in Singapore.
He spoke of his hopes for mission partnership between our two Churches. “Friendship and partnership in the Gospel is very crucial.”
The Presbyterian Church of Myanmar was founded in 1956, with a 50th jubilee thanksgiving service held earlier this year. “The main focus of our jubilee is to stand by your own self.”
The Rev Terence Corkin, Assembly General Secretary of the Uniting Church in Australia, spoke of the long history of relationship between our two “close cousin” Churches.
‘We are here for those who are absent’
Incoming Assembly Executive Secretary the Rev Martin Baker told Assembly stories from his ministry that powerfully illustrated different ways of approaching situations.
He posed a number of questions to the house: “what needs to happen for us to see things differently; to see each other and the possibilities of our relationship with God? What does it take to see our mission differently?”
Mr Baker answered by characterising the heart of the Church as its confessional faith and by quoting Isaiah: “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not see it.”
He said the hardest question about mission is also the simplest: “who are we here for?” For ourselves as a church? Or for the world God loves?”
“For me it’s a no-brainer.
“We are here for those who are absent.”
This change of focus requires insight into the situations of those outside our context, he said, with any mission planning that fails to take this into account being a waste of time.
New things that God brings about are not based on the contingencies and forms of the past, he said.
Mr Baker talked about a family tramping trip to the Greenstone Valley, where people from a diverse spread of countries, plus “a few odd New Zealanders” were sharing a crowded hut. Why was this the highlight of the trip for his children, he asked. Why was everyone smiling, talking to people previously strangers and sharing food? Because a threshold had been crossed. “You’ve given up your identity, in a way.”
People asked about each others’ journeys long before enquiring “what do you do?” Material privation and a lack of space didn’t seem to matter.
Props such as data projectors, buildings and worship styles might not be as important as we always think, he said.
“For many of us, the most transforming encounters we have with Christ have been where all those props have been deemed irrelevant.
“There is great value in purpose and authenticity.
“Maybe we are more likely to find Jesus in the tramping hut that in the new 800-seat auditorium.”
Mr Baker called for commissioners to pause outside their churches next Sunday and examine them anew.
Download the Rev Martin Baker's keynote speech here.
Download Martin's exercise in developing a strategy for parish growth
Outgoing Moderator urges ‘more courage and less caution’
The Very Rev Garry Marquand describes his two years in office as energising.
“Everywhere we have been, we have received such a wonderful welcome from the people of our Church.”
Garry said he had been involved in some stimulating discussion of mission and some “truly inspiring services of worship”.
Of particular note, among many other events, was participating in the funeral for the Maori Queen, attending Connect conferences, sharing in the reopening of the Wananga at Ohope, honouring the late Sir Norman Perry, and experiencing Studentsoul in Dunedin.
Garry expressed his thanks for the relationships and sense of teamwork he’s developed with the Church’s employees. He particularly thanked outgoing AES Kerry Enright.
He also paid tribute to the Church’s ministers around the country. “Some of our ministers are serving in very challenging circumstances.
“The ministers of our Church are a fantastic group of people.”
Ecumenical and international connections were enriching highlights, he said,
“I believe we should strengthen our relationships with the churches of the non-Western world. They have so much to share with us about mission. Let’s humble ourselves and learn from them.”
He talked about his passion for local congregations and the development of healthy, strong congregations around the country that could be a resource for others.
But words alone mean nothing without actual reform, he said.
“To reform ourselves in mission, we have to do more than just change our language. “We need more courage and less caution; we need more faith and less defensive.
“For God’s sake, let us learn how to trust one another.”
Garry closed by especially thanking his wife Val for her support.
To download The Very Rev Garry Marquand's address, click here.
Supporting the servants
Following a tortuous track through a maze of amendments, Assembly eventually decided to –
- from July 2008, link annual increases to the basic stipend to the Average Weekly Earnings Wages Index rather than the Consumer Price Index.
- Abolish the existing Seniority Allowance and replace it with a new one, bringing target ministerial remuneration for a minister with 11 or more years’ experience to around $42,700 from 2007 and $48,000 from 2008.
- Give parishes discretion to pay a minister up to 20 percent above the basic stipend without having to get presbytery approval.
- Require parishes to regularly review, with their minister, the adequacy of their financial package.
Parishes are expected to budget up to $1000 per year for parish-approved ministry formation, and pay reasonable costs (including travel) associated with supervision.
Provision and replacement of computer equipment for minister’s sole use is the parish’s responsibility, with negotiation over possible purchase when a minister leaves. The costs of computer consumables and internet costs, and mobile phones where provided, will all be paid by parishes, with appropriate adjustments for personal use.
Calling parishes will be expected to reimburse reasonable relocation costs for a minister’s move.
Assembly decided that weekly working hours should be based on a unit system. A single unit is a morning, afternoon or evening’s work, with a fulltime position totalling 12 units per week and part-time pro rata. Ministers are encouraged to take two days off each week, and can take a three-day weekend once every school term without cutting into their annual leave entitlement.
Assembly Assessment
Reporting back on its church-wide consultation, the Review team presented its findings “with pleasure”. The national assessment, introduced in 2002, was they said working reasonably well, and church opinions about options for improvement had consolidated into the recommendations before Assembly 2006. Assembly agreed to reduce assessable income by the amount paid as a housing allowance or rent for a minister’s home.
Significant debate was generated by the proposal to include in the assessment legacies given for parish’s general purposes, with words like “tax’ and “siphoning off” starting to enter the discussion. In the end the Review’s proposal was defeated, with all legacies (general and specific) excluded from a parish’s assessable income.