Waitangi Day 2021: Deep Korero at Rangiatea
The 6th of February has long been a day of complex emotions for every New Zealander, but the leaders of our tikanga Pākehā and tikanga Māori whānau in Ōtaki did not shy away from having the crucial conversation at this year's Waitangi Day commemoration in the coastal town. Along with live entertainment and activities for the family, the day consisted of a joint church service at Rangiātea Anglican Church, and a panel discussion on Te Tiriti, followed by evening prayers.
The audience had gathered from as far away as Wellington, and represented multiple generations - all of whom were eager to engage with the story of the Treaty. The beauty of the day was that in an area so rich with history, the kōrero addressed the way that local Māori and Anglican missionaries had been involved in the Treaty's formation. But the pain of that story meant that members of our Movement were faced with a wero (challenge) from local Māori elder, Rupene Waaka.
Waaka spoke of the concept of tuku: a gift that is given with the expectation that certain conditions will be met. He told attendees how the land they were standing on was gifted to the Church Missionary Society for the purposes of building a school for Māori. The Crown refused to acknowledge the conditional nature of the gift and the land was transferred to the Church in 1940, and there hasn't been a school on that land since. To make a point, at the turning of the first sod for the Kāpiti Expressway, iwi leaders presented the Minister of Transport with a red blanket, noting that another unjustly taken block of land in Manawatū was paid for in red blankets.
Bishop Justin was then tasked with preaching on Matthew 18:21-35, a parable about forgiving one's debtors. He spoke about the myth of redemptive violence, where there are endless cycles of tit for tat. In contrast, Jesus tells of the power of redemptive suffering, which results in transformation. He acknowledged how the Church had engaged poorly with the state and had sided with them and with settlers, and that Pākehā, much like the indebted people in the parable, needed to seek mercy and forgiveness from Māori. He told attendees that he didn't have the answer, but that the answer was in the room, and that we needed to be part of the process of redemptive suffering.
Members of the panel discussion echoed that this is a process, a journey. Rev. Jean Malcolm, co-Vicar at St Peter's on Willis Street, told attendees that her phone autocorrects Waitangi Day to "waiting day" - and that this appropriately described that we are waiting for a time at which we can celebrate, not just commemorate. Rev. Dr Rangi Nicholson, Priest Assistant at Rangiātea Church, echoed many speakers who look forward to the teaching of New Zealand history in schools. There have been many injustices, he said, including the oppression of Māori Anglicans until the establishment of the three-tikanga Church in 1992. Now, the Church's constitution empowers Māori to make decisions, but they lack resources - so they are not fully empowered.
He believes the three-tikanga model gives the Anglican Church an opportunity to help the nation, but questions whether we will address past injustices in time to celebrate the bicentenary of the Treaty in 2040. We will need to search for win-win Gospel solutions. “Māori will need to be merciful, and Pākehā will need to be generous,” he said.
