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Trust to honour - Alan Brash

The Very Rev Alan Brash, former Moderator and a pioneer of the ecumenical movement in New Zealand, is being honoured with an appeal to mark the 50th jubilee of an organisation he helped establish.

The Christian Conference of Asia, of which Alan Brash was a founding member, has established an endowment fund to provide education, peace, justice, aid and development programmes in various countries. 

The appeal offers New Zealanders the opportunity to honour
his life and his contribution to ecumenical endeavours by contributing to the Alan Brash Memorial Fund.   In December 2007 the funds raised in New Zealand will be donated to the CCA Endowment Fund.

In the spirit of CCA, the appeal is an ecumenical initiative, and Christian World Service is involved in collecting donated funds. The Right Rev Pamela Tankersley, who is the New Zealand representative on the CCA’s General Committee, explains that CCA plans to use the funds raised to support initiatives such as:

  • Theology scholarships for deserving candidates from developing countries like Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia
  • Bringing together Asian theologians to produce theologies that are con­textual and relevant for our times
  • Bringing together practitioners from diverse faith com­munities to draw out the ethical, religious, theological and missiological implications on issues of ecology, global warming and genetic re­search

Contributing to the Fund, which will be administered by CCA, is “about helping us play our role in the Asian church,” says Pamela.

Alan Brash is recognised as a strong pacifist and was prominent for many years in the ecumenical movement in New Zealand. He was awarded an OBE in 1962 in recognition of forging closer
links between New Zealand and Asia.

His children, who include former National Party leader Don Brash, have given their warm support to the initiative and former Governor General Sir Paul Reeves has agreed to be a patron of the appeal.

Pamela, who was present at the Auckland launch of the appeal on 26 August, says the steering group chose the two locations for the launch – Mairangi and Castor Bays (North Shore) and St Ninian’s Riccarton – because of Alan Brash’s involvement in these parishes during his retirement.

Pamela says one of the main purposes of the appeal, alongside raising funds for programmes, is to honour the former Moderator, whom she describers a “one of our ecumenical heroes”.

Parishes or persons wishing to make a donation to the appeal can do so via Christian World Service by phoning 0800 747-372 or visiting their website at www.cws.org.nz. Or for more information, check out the Presbyterian website at http://www.presbyterian.org.nz

By Jose Reader