Moderator of the General Assembly

 

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The Right Rev Peter Dunn of Invercargill is the Moderator, or elected spiritual leader, of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. He began his two-year term from the afternoon of Monday 20 October 2025.

Peter was installed as Moderator at St Paul’s Trinity Pacific Presbyterian Church which is currently hosting the Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly.

He is the senior minister of Windsor Community Church in Invercargill where he has served since 2012.

Born in Dunedin, he studied at the University of Otago and graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts. From 1987 he studied at the Presbyterian Theological Hall, completing a Bachelor of Divinity in 1989.

Peter ministered at the Waipu Presbyterian Parish in Northland from 1990, where he served for 22 years. It was a significant ministry experience that offered many joys and challenges.

Prior to being called to ministry, Peter was a carpentry apprentice at age 17 in Gore and gained an Advanced Trade Certificate in Carpentry. He took his skills to Invercargill and joined the large workforce constructing the Third Potline at Tiwai Point Aluminum Smelter.

Peter has served on the Presbyterian Church’s Council of Assembly; as Co-convenor of its Resourcing for Mission Policy Group; as Synod of Otago and Southland Moderator; on the leadership of the Northland Uniting District Council - later renamed Churches Together in Northland (CTN); was a member of the group that worked to form the Northern Presbytery; and was on the board of Presbyterian Support Northern. He has represented the Synod on the Southern Presbytery Council, and is a Co-convenor of the Synod Executive.

Peter is humbled and honoured to have been elected Moderator, following on from several other Southern Presbyterians in recent years. Having previously worked with the diversity of the Church locally, regionally, and nationally he looks forward to sharing his missional mindset, his skills in conflict resolution, and to being a good leader and preacher. 

Peter is a follower of the Celtic model of spiritual exploration that finds the thin places where heaven and earth meet through prayer, contemplation and listening for the voice. 

During his term as Moderator, Peter will focus on his chosen theme that is at the core of the Presbyterian Church: “We believe”.

The catalyst for his theme was engagement with people in his church associated with its community outreach. “They come from non-Christian backgrounds, with no experience of what it means to belong to a Christian Community. We give them space and time to find their sense of belonging. What most want is a safe place, so they will watch with suspicion how we, as a Christian Community, interact. If they see that we do not live out our faith, it is over between us. People often can come to our church two or three years before they come to faith. Then, we believe together,” he says.

Over the coming two years Peter will be asking those in the Presbyterian Church to affirm what “we believe together as faithful Christians”, which is, he says, “the heart, the soul, the mind and the integrity of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand”.

"We are just beginning to rediscover the power of the Gospel, the relevance of the Good News, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in lost and broken lives. As a Christian Community, we believe. Not that I believe, you believe, or that person over there believes. We believe together. We do not believe as individuals. As Christians, can I say, as Presbyterians in Aotearoa New Zealand, our Christian faith is communal; it is the faith we confess together."

Peter says his "We Believe" logo can 'move in the imagination'. He uses the analogy of a braided river to consider who we are as the Presbyterian Church. "The cross is the anchor feature. Being in the stream of Reformed Theology, the cross is empty because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The wavy lines represent a braided river. Even if you are colour blind, I do hope you can play with that image. The wavy lines might also represent a howling norwester you get in these parts, I am thinking about the wind of the Holy Spirit reviving the good old PCANZ".

Two periods of study leave that changed Peter's view on “the meaning of life and everything” were: in 2008, a solo retreat for 40 days and nights in the depths of Fiordland “finding nature is amoral, and God is Creator”; in 2015, five weeks in Jordan on an archaeological dig on the site of ancient Sodom, “myths fall as biblical clues and scientific endeavour hold a conversation”. Followed by 10 days on Patmos Island “having deep discussions with a Greek Orthodox Priest in the Monastery of St John the Theologian, and being able to sit for hours most days in the Cave of the Apocalypse where traditionally John received the vision that became the Book of Revelation. The Christian faith has a deep heritage that speaks into modern times”.

Looking back on his ongoing faith journey, Peter can see the strong foundation in his childhood. His father was a Presbyterian minister and his early life was in Owaka, followed by 10 happy years in the thriving rural parish of Knapdale-Waikaka. Here he was nurtured in faith through family, Sunday School, Bible classes, youth group, and a significant spiritual time at the Mataura Presbytery Bible Class Camps at Camp Columba, Pukerau. From age 15, Peter was encouraged into youth group leadership by senior Bible Class leaders at East Gore Church.

Another support is wife Helen. They were active members of St Andrews Presbyterian Church, Invercargill, where they had married in 1981, when Peter felt a call to ordained ministry and Helen supported him. Together, with church and community support, they raised a family of three girls and two boys. Now grown with families of their own (grandchild number 13 is due to arrive in 2024) they are involved in local churches in New Zealand and Australia, with one serving overseas with a missionary organisation in Asia.