Dear Friends,
Today is Waitangi Day, the day on which we celebrate the birth of our nation that took place when the Queen’s representative signed the Treaty with the chiefs of the various Maori tribes. That there is such a treaty as a declaration of intention for national life is a blessing for us all, as we try to make our country a good place for all who live here. But that alone does not make living together an easy matter.
In 1986, Sir James Henare wrote an introduction to a useful little book by Hiwi and Pat Tauroa about Maoritanga. He said, ‘Knowledge is the dawn of understanding. Understanding is the first sign of tolerance, and tolerance is the bright light of racial harmony. Someone once said, rather cynically, that tolerance was composed of nine parts apathy to one of brotherly love. Unfortunately apathy has been prevalent in New Zealand for far too long, and many, unwitting or otherwise, have believed it to be a formula for racial understanding and tolerance. The deliberate exodus of the Maori from their rural isolation into the urban community, for economic reasons, is a major factor of Maori evolution that has brought both races into closer contact and greater awareness of the other’s cultural and racial differences. Each ethnic group has something to give the other and something to learn from the other.
Barriers are being created unnecessarily by the hypersensitivity of the Maori, and by the insensitivity of the Pakeha to Maori aspirations. But with goodwill, greater understanding, and better knowledge of the other’s values and culture, these barriers can be demolished.’
Our Church has even re-written its Constitution to promote a serious respect for all our different ways. Many of us in the 80s and 90s took part in events to learn Maoritanga, and perhaps we need to do so again. Today we celebrate what we do enjoy together, and pray for good and healthy relationships with the tangata whenua, as well as with all other groups who have settled in this land with us.
May God bless you all.
Fr Peter Williams
A Thanksgiving for our Country:
Blessed are you, God of the universe.
You have created us, and given us life.
Blessed are you, God of the planet earth.
You have set our world like a radiant jewel in the heavens,
and filled it with action, beauty, suffering, struggle and hope.
Blessed are you, God of Aotearoa New Zealand,
in all the peoples who live here, in all the lessons we have learned,
in all that remains for us to do.
Blessed are you because you need us,
because you make us worthwhile,
because you give us people to love and work to do
for your universe, for your world and for ourselves.
A New Zealand Prayer Book/ He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa.
Today is Waitangi Day, the day on which we celebrate the birth of our nation that took place when the Queen’s representative signed the Treaty with the chiefs of the various Maori tribes. That there is such a treaty as a declaration of intention for national life is a blessing for us all, as we try to make our country a good place for all who live here. But that alone does not make living together an easy matter.
In 1986, Sir James Henare wrote an introduction to a useful little book by Hiwi and Pat Tauroa about Maoritanga. He said, ‘Knowledge is the dawn of understanding. Understanding is the first sign of tolerance, and tolerance is the bright light of racial harmony. Someone once said, rather cynically, that tolerance was composed of nine parts apathy to one of brotherly love. Unfortunately apathy has been prevalent in New Zealand for far too long, and many, unwitting or otherwise, have believed it to be a formula for racial understanding and tolerance. The deliberate exodus of the Maori from their rural isolation into the urban community, for economic reasons, is a major factor of Maori evolution that has brought both races into closer contact and greater awareness of the other’s cultural and racial differences. Each ethnic group has something to give the other and something to learn from the other.
Barriers are being created unnecessarily by the hypersensitivity of the Maori, and by the insensitivity of the Pakeha to Maori aspirations. But with goodwill, greater understanding, and better knowledge of the other’s values and culture, these barriers can be demolished.’
Our Church has even re-written its Constitution to promote a serious respect for all our different ways. Many of us in the 80s and 90s took part in events to learn Maoritanga, and perhaps we need to do so again. Today we celebrate what we do enjoy together, and pray for good and healthy relationships with the tangata whenua, as well as with all other groups who have settled in this land with us.
May God bless you all.
Fr Peter Williams
A Thanksgiving for our Country:
Blessed are you, God of the universe.
You have created us, and given us life.
Blessed are you, God of the planet earth.
You have set our world like a radiant jewel in the heavens,
and filled it with action, beauty, suffering, struggle and hope.
Blessed are you, God of Aotearoa New Zealand,
in all the peoples who live here, in all the lessons we have learned,
in all that remains for us to do.
Blessed are you because you need us,
because you make us worthwhile,
because you give us people to love and work to do
for your universe, for your world and for ourselves.
A New Zealand Prayer Book/ He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa.
