A way to realising Treaty dream of one people, united

I have had the privilege and pleasure of spending nearly two years in Taranaki as Dean of the Taranaki Cathedral of St Mary’s. In April, Gay, my wife, and I return home to Christchurch with grateful hearts for all that we have enjoyed and experienced here.

And it has been a steep learning curve indeed! No sooner had I arrived in New Plymouth than I joined the-then mayor, Andrew Judd on his Peace Walk to Parihaka. Now I know something of the story.

I have read ‘Ask that Mountain’, but to actually be faced and challenged by the facts of history and the ongoing striving of Ma¯ ori for justice was salutary and moved my heart and will in a powerful way. To be present when the Crown made its fulsome apology to the people of Parihaka was a profound privilege bathed in tears.

And so I began to learn, and to come to terms with, the story and the challenge the cathedral of which I am Dean lays out for me in the journey towards true partnership in this province and nation. Many of you will know that the cathedral is closed for earthquake strengthening. This historic building, which dates back to 1846, carries the story of this province in the relationship between Ma¯ ori and Pa¯ keha¯ from then to today.

What the cathedral community and the wider Anglican family recognises with a huge groundswell of support from across the province and beyond is that it has a powerful role to play in the future. And so we have asked ourselves - ‘what do we want this cathedral to be for our province and our church?’. The vision is to enable all who enter the cathedral and its precincts, whether casual visitor or regular churchgoer, in fact people of all faiths or none, to feel a sense of welcome and belonging.

We hope they will have a deep and real engagement with the spiritual essence of this church and context; experience an honest telling of our shared history, encounter the healing power of forgiveness and reconciliation and leave with a sense of hope for the future of Aotearoa. Tomorrow is the 178th commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Despite all the broken promises and dreams which have followed that fateful day, the Treaty has a robustness and an integrity that will not be denied.

It continuously calls us back to a vision of partnership between Ma¯ ori and Pa¯ keha¯ which I have no doubt will be realised one day. The Treaty will not go away. In 1990, on the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty, the-then Bishop of Aotearoa, Te Whakahuihui Vercoe, noted in his speech at Waitangi that day there was much more to be done.

‘‘Some of us have come here to celebrate, some to commemorate, some to commiserate, but some to remember what happened on this sacred ground,’’ he said.

‘‘But since the signing of that Treaty 150 years ago I want to remind our partners that you have marginalised us.

‘‘You have not honoured the Treaty.

‘‘We have not honoured each other in the promises we made on this sacred ground.

‘‘May God give us the courage to be honest with one another, to be sincere with one another, and above all to love one another in the strength of God.’’

And the late Archbishop Brown Turei wrote in this paper in 2015 at the time of the 175th anniversary: ‘‘If we can renew within ourselves the faith and the courage of our forebears who first signed the Treaty, we may well rise to fulfil our true potential as one people.

‘‘If our sense of servant-hood can overpower our sense of entitlement, if our hunger for justice can overpower our selfish greed, if our hope can be more relentless than our grievance and if our love can be more powerful than our litigation, we will fulfil the greater promise of the Treaty of Waitangi: one people, united.

‘‘Until then, we need to pray for peace, and to strive to deal with injustice and oppression.’’

St Mary’s Cathedral stands for such a vision. On our national day tomorrow I hope we will all take time-out to enjoy the beauty and delights of this blessed land, and give thanks for all that has been and is being achieved.

Our celebration is deepened by our recognition that we have a long way to go in realising the dream which is the Treaty of Waitangi and that we are up for the journey together.

Until then, we need to pray for peace, and to strive to deal with injustice and oppression.

Archbishop Brown Turei