Progressive minister moves on
JOINING hands with people to sing Pokarekare Ana after marriage equality became law is a moment that the Rev Dr Margaret Mayman will remember for the rest of her life.
She was in the gallery looking down at Parliament’s debating chamber during the passage of the bill in April. ‘‘Whether you wanted to marry or not, people could tell this meant a great deal for lesbian, gay, transgender people to finally have full and equal equality.
‘‘The excitement in the House and people singing, I will never forget being a part of that.’’
The senior minister at St Andrew’s on The Terrace has accepted a position at the innercity Sydney ministry Pitt St Church, and is now preparing for a new life in Australia.
And she plans to take her crusading with her, along with her 25-year-old son and her partner, Clare Brockett. ‘‘Sydney, even though it’s a modern, secular city, has some very conservative groups within it. I think there’s a real space for a Christian voice that is life-affirming, loving and seeking justice for everyone.’’
With almost 12 years now under her belt at St Andrew’s, she feels she needs to find one more inner-city ministry from which to explore her faith. ‘‘It’s been a really exciting, transformative time for me and my ministry at St Andrew’s, but I . . . felt that I had one more challenging project ahead of me in life.’’
Raised in Timaru, Dr Mayman has been involved with the Presbyterian Church from a young age, but when she entered the ministry in her early 20s she began to gravitate towards social justice matters and progressive Christianity. ‘‘I really enjoyed exploring the Bible and how it Margaret Mayman says of leaving St Andrew’s on The Terrace, left, for a position in Sydney. wasn’t just God’s words dictated but the product of human communities with different versions of stories. That didn’t diminish my faith at all, it just delighted me to see that what we do is part of a long tradition of trying to understand what it is to be human.’’
She spent 12 years living in New York studying feminist theology before moving to a parish in Christchurch. ‘‘It was a lovely, progressive church and I grew a lot in my time there.’’
The reputation of St Andrew’s for fronting on social justice issues, such as the Springbok rugby tour protests, soon attracted her attention and in February 2002 she moved to Wellington to take up the role of senior minister.
‘‘Often what we’ve ended up doing as a congregation is presenting a more open, inclusive Christian voice around issues that other Christians are traditionally opposed to, such as prostitution law reform and the civil union legislation.
‘‘We want to present to the world a view of Christianity that isn’t just rigid and judgmental, but open to the realities of our complex lives in the 21st century.’’
Louisa Wall’s marriage equality bill was a particularly poignant process for Dr Mayman, as she has performed civil unions for same-sex couples and herself committed to Ms Brockett in a civil union in 2006.
‘‘It was interesting how much less vitriolic the marriage equality campaign was than the civil union campaign. There seemed to be overwhelming community support. Younger people who have grown up knowing gay people all their lives, or know parents’ friends who are gay, are just amazed that there wasn’t marriage equality. It was very much a young persons’ initiative driving it forward.’’
With marriage equality a hot topic across the ditch, Dr Mayman hopes she can bring some of her New Zealand experience to the Australian debate.
‘‘The nice thing about going to church is you connect with a whole network of people who know and love the city you are moving to. I’m going to miss Wellington deeply, as it’s such a beautiful, clean city and there’s a lovely energy to this place.
‘‘I’m looking forward to a new challenge but I worry about the quality of Sydney’s coffee. It’s got a hard task to try to match up to Wellington.’’