Where we want to be

Last Updated on Saturday, 20 November 2010 09:39 Friday, 19 November 2010 15:28

Address by Liz Greville, supported by Lawrence Field, to the Wairarapa Families Anglican Trust, on behalf of the parishioners of St. Andrew's in the Paddock, supporting a submission for funds for our new hall, and offering a more holistic view of our project.

The philosopher and theologian, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, has written a book called The Politics of Hope and this has influenced to a great degree the vision of our future at St. Andrew's.

In the introduction, this is asked:

• “what sort of society do we want to live in?
• What kind of people do we aspire to be?
• On what basis can we, as widely differing individuals of all faiths and of none, join together to our greatest mutual benefit within a single society?”

You may well ask what any of this has to do with a small church hall and toilet.

The proposal we offer in our application is at first glance, a small hall for a growing congregation. I suggest that it needs to be seen within the larger context of the community and society.

Congregation growing
Our average Sunday attendance five years ago was 22.  Last year it was 40, with the number of services almost tripled.

No doubt you are all aware of the societal changes afoot, with well-documented statistics of declining church attendance and an increasing interest in spirituality. At St. Andrew's in the Paddock we appear to be defying the trends. Why is this?

Sense of Community
I believe we have established the core of a meaningful presence in Upper Plain, along with the recognition of ourselves being a ‘community’ into which others are welcomed with no pre-defined expectations.

The provision of rites and rituals within our community are important to the locals, as evidenced by those who seek our services. These are often for people who are not our regular worshippers, not necessarily of any particular faith tradition but locals who have that innate human need to mark important occasions.

The Upper Plain area has become more densely populated and that has been reflected with the increased attendance by ‘locals,’ especially at our celebrations of Easter and Christmas.  Please bear in mind that our little church has seating for 45.

Tight fit
Last Christmas Eve we squeezed 130 people in. A good proportion of those I did not recognise, but was assured by many after the service that this was ‘their church'.

As with any increase of usage, it comes with challenges – we do have a tap now, outside, because parishioners made it so, with the agreement of a neighbour who allowed us to connect to his metered water supply. We have no sink and no drain.

Temporary housing
Our children’s after school programme, the internationally recognised, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has, as indicated in our paper, moved into temporary premises in town. There are positives in that - not wishing to appear too shallow – I can’t tell you the relief of not having to hold a three-year-old over the dark abyss of the portaloo, as they ask if there are any spiders and ‘please don’t let go of me!’ Echoes of the long drop?

However our tenure will, of course, end when Dave Borman needs to begin the development of his building and there is a dearth of suitable buildings for us to move to – and certainly it would be extraordinary if they too, were rent-free.

We believe that it is important to have the Atrium back by St. Andrew's so that the synergy between the congregation, the church, the children and their parents is re-established – it is very difficult trying to maintain that, at a distance. To quote a parishioner, “the siting adjacent to a ‘living’ church is vital.”

Catechesis
The catechesis programme is the spiritual arm of the Montessori child development philosophy. It is interdenominational, interfaith and, unashamedly, quality over quantity. We currently serve children aged from three to eight living throughout the Wairarapa, from a variety of faith traditions or, with little or no
connection with ‘church’ at all.

Although this is a foundational Christian programme it is also a preparation for the realities of life covering geography, history, understanding of world religions, and the learning and affirmation of life skills.

St. Augustine believed that children were born with original sin. This thinking persevered in our culture until the Reformation, when it became the accepted understanding that children were a blank piece of paper on which you wrote.

Child spirtuality
Dr. Montessori believed, based on her concentrated study and observation of children, that at birth they already have a spirituality and our job is to allow that to unfold as the child develops. They are taught to wonder, they are not told to believe this or believe that, they are encouraged to explore concepts and develop understandings of human frailties.

One of the strengths of Anglicanism is the ability to hold in tension theological differences. This programme suits us.

Our vision
In our application we offered a variety of visions into the future that we see as probable – some may never reach fruition, others not even imagined may become part of something greater.

It seems to me that if we are to take our role within the community seriously then we first need to identify what we are not.

• We are not - into white elephants
• We are not - empire building
• We are not - trained social workers
• We are not - a sect seeking members

Well then – what are we, and what can we be?

• We are ‘church’ for our community
• We are a sign of activity and encouragement in our community
• We offer education in life-long skills to the children
• We offer education for adults in a variety of forms
• We offer meaningful ceremony for rites of passage
• We provide spiritual food and support for anyone who comes to us
• We offer hope
• We reach out with our humanity into the community using our collective skills and compassion.

With a hall

• We can host the only training for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd  available in New Zealand. (As an aside I have had visits from the Anglican Schools' Office, the Roman Catholic education in schools – both these develop and monitor the teaching of religious education in all of those schools nationally, and a Roman Catholic diocesan educator for parishes. Our bishop is also very supportive of the programme for our diocese)
• We could provide and facilitate community-building opportunities
• We could provide the facility for others to build community too.

In a book called The Moral Sense, by James Q Wilson, is written the following – and I quote

We come to you not with some wild fantasy, but with a modest proposal developed with honed skills, with a desire to make a contribution to our community – our moral imperative if you will. We have, over these last few years, done the hard yards, we have proven that what we have begun is sustainable, and growable, with the appropriate facilities.

We ask of you, the opportunity to further encourage, and support a building for the benefit of our Upper Plain and wider community. We would love to be able to place a plaque on the hall crediting the Wairarapa Families Anglican Trust for your financial help.