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The venue for synod was the Invercargill Working Men's Club. It is big, well equipped, comfortable. Everything - the heaters, the sound system, the projector - works perfectly. The food is great. But the best part is the people. I look out at the rows of people sitting 8 each around a table and know them all. I had feared that we might all get a bit tense and argumentative, what with the lack of money and the uncertainty and everything, but no. The need for change has been accepted, and we are getting past the understandable but futile desire to find a quick fix. We aren't lacking in clever people, and we have all the money and buildings we need; it's just that the organisation we have evolved over the last 150 years is now on the verge of being unworkable. **** People spoke with respect and they listened. A number of people made excellent contributions, but I was particularly grateful to Ginny Kitchingman our accountant, and Diccon Sim our chancellor for being calm, ...

Opening Prayer E te Atua to matou Kai-hanga Ka tiaho te maramatanga me te ora, I au kupu korero, Ka timata au mahi, ka mau te tika me te aroha; Meatia kia u tonu ki a matou Tou aroha I roto I tenei huihunga. Whakakii a matou whakaaro a matou mahi katoa, E tou Wairua Tapu Amine. Introduction and Thanks Welcome, welcome thrice welcome as we gather here in St Matthews to celebrate our common life and plan together for our future. As we gather in this place, I am mindful of all who have carried the torch of faith before us, and who pass it to us today. In particular, we remember those of our number who have died in the past year, particularly Jim Brooks and Stan Mawhinney. It has been my privilege to journey amongst you for yet another year, and I am grateful for the strong team amongst whom I work at Peter Mann House. Alec Clark , has continued his work as ministry educator while accepting the additional duties of being Vicar General. I know from experience...

Kia wehe ki te atua te timatanga a te matauranga Mau nga rongo ki te whenua Arohanui ki te tangata Nga whanau o te Karaiti Whakatau mai Whakatau mai Whakatau mai Whakatau mai i raro i te aroha o te atua Whakatau mai i raro i te marumaru o tenei whare Whakatau mai I roto e te aroha o te tangata Whakatau mai Whakatau mai Whakatau mai The Year Past Over the past year there is one social and personal malady to which I have never been prone: boredom. It has been a full and rich year, and one in which I have been often aware of the movement of the Holy Spirit in my own life and in the life of our Diocese. We have been witness to all that makes us human, sharing together may joys and sorrows. During this past year several key members of our diocese, past and present, have died. These include: Canon Alan Blackburn who was ordained in 1938 and served as a priest in this diocese until 1975. At his death at 95 years of age he was New Zealand's longest surviving ...

The big day is here. Or in about 48 hours time, depending on which big day you are talking about. Today's big day is this long awaited and very significant synod. I would not generally have time to blog in the middle of chairing it, but the other 120 members are busy at the moment and I have time to myself sitting in the chaplains office here at St. Hilda's Collegiate School where the synod is being held. People are in Bible study and then they will discuss a draft proposal for the revision of our diocese, developed by me over the last six weeks. The proposal is mostly concerned with structural matters and I am not so naive as to believe that the long standing problems we face can be solved with a bit of reorganisation. The Anglican Diocese of Dunedin is caught in the eddies of the great social and spiritual tides sweeping through Western Civilisation and to swim in them we will have to make spiritual and social changes ourselves. As it was for St. Francis the house of God...

In a couple of weeks our diocese will hold its annual synod, and given the significant changes that are in store for us I have asked that this weekend, August 31 - September 2, we set aside time to pray, specifically, about our future. John Franklin has done a great job of organising this weekend and I am excited and humbled by the  inventiveness and enthusiasm with which people have taken up the call. I will be attending events in Gore and Dunedin over the next couple of days and look forward to hearing what happens in other centres. When we pray together this weekend three  things will happen: We will be bound into community. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he told them to begin "Our father" not "My father". All the personal pronouns in the Lords prayer are plurals. We shouldn't be surprised at this, for the revelation of God has always been given to communities - Israel, the disciples, the Church - and its implications worked out by communitie...