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Sitting in that chair before the service began. Photo (c) Audrey Whittaker My family have gone and the house is quiet and tidy and spacious once again, and I'm kind of sorry about that. I had the best weekend ever. On Friday evening Dean Trevor James and Rev'd Michael Wallace were responsible for a wonderful farewell service. Two of my brothers and my sister were present with their spouses, as I expected, and in the weeks leading up to it Clemency had arranged, unbeknownst to me,  for my daughter Bridget, my son Nick and their respective families to be present. I realised this only when my bit of the procession got to the front pew and I saw Noah sitting on his Amma's knee. I heard the clang of my own jaw dropping on the floor. After the service Trish Franklin MCed a session at which people said some very pleasantly surprising things about me. The Selwyn men presented me with a spine tinglingly formidable haka and the women, a waiata. I was given some chairs for o...

Last hour Last set of minutes Last fill of the tank Last gasp Last call Last cab off the rank Last synod Last Christmas Last year Last Easter in a few days Last time under the pointy hat Last time I'm Last in the procession Last smile Last glance Last straw Last chance Last toss of the dice Last night Last time to be Last one out Last time to switch off the light Last book Last chapter Last page Last word Z Last thing I heard Last thing I knew Last thing I thought of Last thing I do Last will Last testament Last resting place Last seen Last time with you was the Last at Last. Nothing Lasts forever

I led worship and preached in Knox Presbyterian Church today, and felt unnervingly at home. The music was polished and beautifully presented while remaining accessible. I like the building. It soars skyward and gently embraces all in the right places. It's large enough to seat 800 people, but even with today's congregation of  150 or so it didn't feel empty.  In my time I have been a member of the South Canterbury and Waikato Presbytries, so I have know the minister of Knox, Kerry Enrright since the mid 1980s, and ever since he has been here we agreed that one day I'd make this ecumenical gesture. Well, today was the day. This afternoon Selwyn College opened again for business. All Saints, which functions as the college chapel was full to bursting with the 190 nervous students and a far greater number of their even more nervous parents. I preached (for the seventh and last time!) and inducted the new warden, Ashley Day. We all trooped out into the sunshine for spee...

This large space spends most of its life as a basketball court, but tonight with the chairs laid out in neat rows and the hoops folded up into the roof it is the space for celebrating the achievements of the pupils of St. Hilda's for the year. The ceremony is about 2 hours long, but I have always quite enjoyed it, and tonight will be my last one, ever. There are speeches, and two groups - a country rock trio and a classical duo - sing with exquisitely honed  talent. I take my turn to shake young hands and give out trophies and books. We applaud the outgoing prefects and the newly announced ones, sing the national anthem, I say a blessing and walk into the night. **** This space is also used as a gymnasium, and there are chairs in rows, but both the the audience and the tableful of trophies are smaller.  Again, there are speeches by a number of people including Clemency, and I learn something new about the person I have lived with for over 40 years. There is a photo of us...

Francesco Tuccio with one of his crosses in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, where is was recently received, blessed and installed. For some of this week I was in Alexandra, on the team of a 3 day Cursillo event. Cursillo is a lay led programme of spiritual renewal which has benefitted many thousands of people since its beginnings in Spain in the late 1940s. I was present as a Spiritual Advisor to the team of women and men from across the diocese who were running the event. My role meant I delivered a number of  short addresses and was engaged in several very deep conversations. I will write of this experience later in the week, but suffice it to say that I arrived home late yesterday afternoon, had a light dinner and then went to bed and slept for about 10 hours straight. **** This afternoon I went to Mornington Methodist Church to be present at a service of dedication for a Lampedusa Cross. Lampedusa is a tiny island a few miles off the coast of North Africa, and the ...

About 6 weeks ago I announced my impending retirement. I am obliged to give three months notice but gave the diocese about ten months because there needs to be some very major changes made, and we need the ten months to make them. The simple truth is, we, in the Diocese of Dunedin can no longer afford a full time bishop. This year we are balancing the budget because the St. John's College Trust Board has recognised my role as a ministry educator and has allowed us to use some of the funding we use for educational work to be applied to the episcopate. I have spoken of the reasons for the changes in our circumstances before. At our peak, back in the early 1970's there were about 10,000 people worshipping in Anglican Churches in Otago and Southland every week. Last year there were around 2,000. In other words, there has been an 80% decline over the last 40 years. The infrastructure of our church was developed to serve a spiritual environment which has changed bey...

A beautiful morning on El Camino Santiago Today I wrote to Archbishop Phillip and informed him of my intention to resign as Bishop of Dunedin on Easter Monday, April 17 2017. I also informed our Diocesan Registrar and the Diocesan Council. I am giving this amount of notice because we need to make some very important decisions as a diocese.  In my opinion (and actually, in this matter my opinion isn't the one that counts, but still...) the diocese should not be subject to a long interregnum and to make an appointment as soon after my departure as possible we would need to set processes in motion in the not too distant future. Further, some very careful thought needs to be given as to how we will pay for episcopal ministry in the future and maybe some hard choices and some innovations may need to be made. Clemency and I drove to Invercargill and back on Sunday for Evening Church in All Saints Gladstone. The church was pleasantly full and the service was pleasantly in...

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...

I had a day off today and went for a drive in the country, North past Waikouaiti and Palmerston and then Westward through the Pigroot to Naseby and St. Bathan's. I took my camera in case I happened on something picturesque, which was likely, given the amount of snow that has fallen on my diocese over the last week. Taking a camera out into the countryside is a wonderful excuse. A bit like the way having grandchildren is a great reason to buy and read all those lovely books that you are far too sophisticated for, having a camera and a bag of lenses gives a sense of purpose to an otherwise aimless jaunt through the hills for the sheer joy of seeing all that snow. I love snow. When I was younger and my legs stronger and my wallet fatter I liked to ski on it. Now I just like to see it; the whiteness of it, the sensuous rounded humpiness of it; the softness of it as it falls and gathers; the vast quiet power of it as it smooths the angles and artificiality of the landscape. Perhap...

On the last morning of the Bishop's conference on Pangaimotu Island, just off Nuku'alofa in Tonga, we had been asked to walk around to the other side of the island for our morning Eucharist. So, leaving our little ferry by way of a floating jetty we walked the ten minutes from Big Mama Yacht Club, where we had been meeting, and found Archbishop Winston Halapua waiting for us. He was dressed in an alb and was talking on his cellphone. Here, in this place where it felt about as remote as it gets he was still connected. Which was why he had asked to meet us there. The spot he chose was one where, as a small boy, he had gone fishing with his father. As he explained it, the clergy stipend back then wasn't nearly enough to feed the twelve members of the Halapua family, so his father put food on the table using his expertise with a throw net. Little Winston's job was to gather the fish his father took from the net and form them into a sort of raft to float back to the main...

St. Mary's Riverton. The buttresses make it appear to be leaning. Beside it is the old assay office, now used as some sort of holistic healing centre. .  On a good day there can't be many towns in New Zealand prettier than Riverton, and yesterday was a good one. St. Mary's church was pleasantly full for a chrism Eucharist   We renewed baptismal and ordination vows and licensed Aaron Galey-Young as a deacon in Gladstone parish, blessed James and Barbara's engagement ring and commissioned a small team  to work with special needs people in Kenya. Leaving the church after the service at about 8.30 pm the sun was going down  and some children were setting a flounder  net. I sat in the church for a while afterwards then slept in my caravan parked beside it through a warm Southland night.