An amazing week in the beautiful city of Christchurch, 25 degrees one day, then plummeting to 8 degrees shortly thereafter! Warm days, cold days, the Lord God made them all!
“Listening to the Story” is part of the kaupapa (reason for being) for Te Raranga. Having just read Keith Newman’s latest book “Beyond Betrayal”, a wonderful unfolding of the gospel story in Aotearoa, you see clearly the interweaving of good days along with bad days throughout our history! Keith says ‘both Maori and missionary were betrayed’ after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. I love the key metaphor Keith uses for his book, that we go ‘backwards into the future’. As we listen to the story – both the pain and the obvious impact of the gospel – we learn from the past, hopefully carrying us into the future as we seek to express in fresh ways God’s intent for this wonderful city and nation.
The hui at Northcity Church Oct 18th and 19th is a gathering of a diverse group of leaders including Keith and local Maori church ministers, seeking to understand the great call on our nation for “two peoples to become one”. In listening to the story we want to foster an environment where we can share deeply and honestly about our history and our future together. Because of this, the hui will include a forum question and answer time – where we have the chance to wrestle through these questions together from a variety of perspectives and worldviews. I’m excited about this continuing conversation, both at the hui next weekend and on an ongoing basis as Te Raranga simply becomes the vehicle to facilitate the conversation and embodiment of Wairua Tapu’s (Holy Spirit’s) working amongst us.
Arohanui
Donald Scott