Two Cultures, One Church
Richard Tankersley
10 Feb 2010
Richard Tankersley knows what it’s like to have a foot in two cultures, so it’s not surprising that he’s involved in St Stephen’s church at Tuahiwi, near Kaiapoi.
“It’s seen as a bi-cultural touchstone by some people,” says Richard about the church, which has historical and present-day Maori links and is also part of Tikanga Pakeha, the pakeha cultural strand of the nationwide Anglican Church. “If you look at me, I look like a Pakeha. I also have Ngai Tahu ancestry, which is a valuable thread in my genealogy, and I’ve chosen to engage with that,” he says about himself.
In the same way, Richard’s spiritual heritage is a mixed bag. “My mum was a Roman Catholic and my dad was a nominal Anglican. My dad’s mum was Anglican and his dad was Presbyterian; on the Catholic side, my grandfather was a Protestant and a Freemason. I come from a very interesting ecumenical background,” he cheerfully admits.After becoming a lapsed Catholic and then “wandering off” and having no church affiliation, Richard likes to say he “emerged” as an Anglican in the early 1990s. He’s been a lay minister for about fifteen years and helps run the twice-a-month services at St Stephen's as well as provide pastoral care in a part-time unpaid capacity. He was licensed as a Kaikarakia – a prayer leader – in 2001.
“Kai is a suffix like an -er in English. So kaikorero – ‘korero’ for speech – is a speaker. Kai is the ‘one who does’, so kaikarakia is ‘one who does prayers’. I’m a prayer leader,” he offers as a way of explanation, but the role is that of a full licensed lay minister, more akin to that of a Deacon, but within the house of the LaityGeographically speaking, the Anglican church at Tuahiwi sits in the middle of a “smallish diamond shape” of land between Rangiora and Kaiapoi. Built in 1867 and of timber construction, it is thought to be the first Anglican Maori Mission church in the South Island and was the brainchild of one Reverend James Stack. Stack was a fluent Maori speaker and encouraged the development of a mission settlement at Tuahiwi under the auspices of the Anglican Church. Local Maori gifted twenty acres of their reserve land to the Mission for this purpose.
Over the years, St Stephen's has been incorporated into neighbouring parishes – but nine years ago had the distinction of becoming the first ever mission and ministry unit in the diocese. “The people decided that they really wanted to have the church looked after within the community rather than have it seen as an add-on to the Rangiora parish. From the first of February, 2001, it became a mission and ministry unit: the first of the MMUs!” says Richard.
Currently, a team of five people – including Richard – volunteer their ecclesiastical efforts and enthusiasm to oversee the ministry unit. Rev Maurice Gray is the priest-in-charge and the only ordained member of the team, although has been recently unwell and so has pulled back from some duties while he recovers. Services follow the prayer book diglot communion service Te Hakari Tapu, which has the English and Maori translations side by side. Reserved sacrament is used if Maurice is not there to consecrate the bread and wine.
The regular organist, now in her eighties, has retired from music duties. When Maurice and his guitar aren’t at services, the congregation usually sings unaccompanied. It’s a situation many smaller congregations can probably relate to. “We’ve had a larger team in recent times, but until then I needed to prepare for the eventuality that none of the people who are comfortable at reading will turn up. So I’d do the opening, the opening prayers, then I’d do the readings… and I’d do the sermon,” says Richard, breaking up into a fit of laughter at the thought of being a one-man-band. “Hopefully I’m able to assign some tasks once the congregation is assembled,” he adds.
At the other extreme, when a tangi (funeral), family reunion or other community event is held, the church can be full to overflowing.
“We’re lucky to fit 100 people into our little church, but I’ve walked out of the church after a funeral and found another 500 people on the lawn,” says Richard.
He also knows of families now living in Australia who have made a point of having their children baptised at St Stephen’s while visiting family back in New Zealand. “The ministry is not just about the local area; it’s about families who chose to associate – through family ties – to the locality, to the church,” says Richard. With its rich history, St Stephen’s provides Maori and pakeha families with a connection to the land, the community and Christianity. “Over the years, we’ve held engagements and received visitors and what-have-you, for people to advance their connection with Maori things or their bi-cultural journey,” explains Richard, who is also a part-time Commissioner for the Human Rights Commission.
“We’ve got Maori families and pakeha families that look to our church, so we’re a bi-cultural church rather than a Maori church.”
Richard hopes the Tuahiwi church will continue to be a bi-cultural touchstone, not only for those associated with it but also for the diocese as a whole. “I do believe St Stephen’s Tuahiwi has the potential to be a touchstone not just to the families that look to it as their church but, by extension, to the whole diocese. The limitations on [that happening] are really the limitations of resources and limitations on intentions,” he says. His personal opinion is that he’d like to see that potential explored.
Someone who is in the midst of exploring partnership potential is Andrew Starky, who is Temuka’s part-time vicar. His vision is that Tikanga Pakeha and Tikanga Maori will formally mission together in his community. Andrew is also part-time vicar of Te Nga Wai parish in South Canterbury and, for a fifth of his working week, is the Rural Anglican Life Missioner for the diocese.
In his role in Temuka, Andrew is responsible for two churches, including Holy Trinity at Arowhenua. Although Holy Trinity is located down the road from the local marae and has had long – if not always cordial – links with local Maori during its 78-year history, the congregation is now small and predominantly Pakeha.
Andrew hopes to formally work alongside Okeroa Boyce, a deacon within the Tikanga Maori cultural strand of the Anglican Church, to provide better pastoral care to Maori and to revitalise Holy Trinity. “We need to work in partnership more in the mission of the Church. A lot of our Tikanga Pakeha and Tikanga Maori contacts are important, but symbolic. Being a practical fellow off a farm, I’d like to see us get involved together, helping each other in more practical ways,” says Andrew. “We have to show that people’s lives have been changed and people are coming to know Christ through our joint efforts. As a nation we need to be able to work together and the constitution of our Church provides a vision for that,” he adds.
Although Andrew is a fourth-generation pakeha and grew up in Amberley, North Canterbury, his father grew up on a marae in Morrinsville.
“My grandparents lived in Morrinsville and my father grew up as a young child on the marae there – I’m not sure of the whys and wherefores – but he actually spoke Maori before he spoke English. He always had a special place in his heart for that part of his life.”
It wasn’t until Andrew was an adult and got involved in the church that he first visited a marae. It was an Anglican hui in Mangere and he ended up sleeping next to John Gray, who subsequently became the Bishop of the South Island hui amorangi (diocese). “I haven’t really sought this out; it’s found me,” says Andrew, referring to the Maori threads of his life.
He acknowledges that Arowhenua provides an opportunity for partnership that most other parishes don’t have, but encourages everyone to find ways for Maori and Pakeha to work together and build a better understanding of each other. “It needs to become more pervasive: people need to be able to see it’s not just an idea, that it's not just being politically correct to say 'kia ora.' In situations like Arowhenua, we can add value to the mission of the church by working together. That’s where the rubber needs to hit the road,” he says, as a challenge to himself as much as to the wider church.
With Waitangi Day just been, it provides an ideal opportunity to reflect on the joys and challenges of belonging to a diverse church family. One that strives to make the gospel and person of Christ known in ways that respect and connect with all cultures, and across all tikanga.
WORDS: Megan Blakie
PHOTO: Dave Wethey
