Last week’s hui at Northcity church was a great opportunity to listen to and reflect upon our story as a nation. It seems that the next 18 months present us with a great opportunity to celebrate our identity as Kiwis/ New Zealanders, with the much talked about bi-centennial of the first gospel sermon in NZ coming up in Dec 2014, then Feb 2015 the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, then April 2015 the centennial of ANZAC day. All ‘nation forming’ events, shaping our national identity. We were inspired by the powerful and (generally!) very positive influence of the early missionaries. Alongside that we felt the pain of the land wars that clearly interrupted what had become a significant response of Maori to the good news of Jesus. But are we in days when Te Rongo Pai (the good news) can again be foundational in the rebuilding of our wonderful city/nation. What if we truly embraced the kaupapa of“my strength is not in myself alone, but in the strength of the group”, listening to and learning from one another, allowing Wairua Tapu to weave us together to the Praise of His Glory!
Arohanui
Donald Scott