There's a little game I play whenever I go to an Anglican gathering. I count the number of people in the room younger than me. I seldom have to use two hands. Except today.
I am in Wellington attending a meeting of the Tikanga Pakeha ministry council. This is the group of people who are responsible for administering education and formation of lay and clerical leaders for the 7 Pakeha dioceses in New Zealand. We have all flown into Wellington airport very early in the morning and been put up in a comfortable hotel near the Anglican centre where we are meeting.
There are 20 of us in the room and there are 2 (Two!) who are older than me, and neither of them is older by much. There are ten women and ten men. There are 7 Baby Boomers and 3 Millennials, and the rest are Generation Xers. They are all erudite, well educated and faithful, so just being here is encouraging for the future of our church. As I look to the future of my diocese I take note of several women and men whom I would be very happy to see elected as Bishop of Dunedin.
We have a brief Bible Study led by Jim White from Auckland and Karen Kemp, the Pakeha dean of St. John's College introduces us to a revitalised and very creative way of delivering theological education locally, and integrating local studies with what is happening at the college. We have reports from a group combatting sexual abuse and others promoting EFM ( a method of lay education in theology) Caira ( a means of providing low cost supervision) and from the School of Deacons. We look at ways of integrating what the different dioceses do in their processes for selecting candidates for ordination.
There is a movie tonight, a fundraiser for the sexual abuse group. I buy a ticket and give a small donation but It's been a long day, it's raining outside and it's very warm in my room on the 6th floor with a view out over Thorndon. So I sit on my bed, write this and hope that maybe they can sell my theatre ticket a second time.
I am in Wellington attending a meeting of the Tikanga Pakeha ministry council. This is the group of people who are responsible for administering education and formation of lay and clerical leaders for the 7 Pakeha dioceses in New Zealand. We have all flown into Wellington airport very early in the morning and been put up in a comfortable hotel near the Anglican centre where we are meeting.
There are 20 of us in the room and there are 2 (Two!) who are older than me, and neither of them is older by much. There are ten women and ten men. There are 7 Baby Boomers and 3 Millennials, and the rest are Generation Xers. They are all erudite, well educated and faithful, so just being here is encouraging for the future of our church. As I look to the future of my diocese I take note of several women and men whom I would be very happy to see elected as Bishop of Dunedin.
We have a brief Bible Study led by Jim White from Auckland and Karen Kemp, the Pakeha dean of St. John's College introduces us to a revitalised and very creative way of delivering theological education locally, and integrating local studies with what is happening at the college. We have reports from a group combatting sexual abuse and others promoting EFM ( a method of lay education in theology) Caira ( a means of providing low cost supervision) and from the School of Deacons. We look at ways of integrating what the different dioceses do in their processes for selecting candidates for ordination.
There is a movie tonight, a fundraiser for the sexual abuse group. I buy a ticket and give a small donation but It's been a long day, it's raining outside and it's very warm in my room on the 6th floor with a view out over Thorndon. So I sit on my bed, write this and hope that maybe they can sell my theatre ticket a second time.
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