Other Actions Taken

Kohimarama Forest: ADJust, Rev. Jacynthia Murphy (did personal research, spoke to locals and iwi, called Board members, keep in touch w community group) 
https://www.facebook.com/ADJust.auckanglican/posts/682127993165511

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Black Live Matter Protest in Auckland: two marches, one under COVID restrictions, the other with karakia beforehand at St-Matthew-in-the-City 

https://www.facebook.com/ADJust.auckanglican/posts/305092500869064

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Fares Free Campaign : free fares for under 25s, CSC holders, tertiary students, and mobility cardholders – lobbying, media, getting community organisations and politicians involved. Started as just CSC holders in Wellington, then collaborated with student unions to include students, then went national and kept growing 

https://anglicantaonga.org.nz/news/tikanga_pakeha/fares_free

Creation

Climate Change: Tikanga Pasefika brought forward in 2014, divest from fossil fuels GSTHW, passed at diocesan and amorangi synods and taken to general synod, passed and have now divested, other Churches in the communion and denominations following suit 

Karakia 4 our Climate: (interdenominational, provide spaces for prayer for climate): Strike 4 Climate 2019 (Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton), karakia at HTC hīkoi to march at Aotea Square with ADJust, encouraging churches to partake in submission processes (promote policies, provide space for questions, sharing info on church pages, provide paper submissions), lobby Church leadership, mobilisation 

Zero Carbon Act Submissions: Wellington held ‘breakfast briefings’ for young people telling them about the issues, sent them around churches to get people to sign submissions incl. drawing from children and the like, got 800 submission from Wellington Anglicans by the last submission process.

Living Wage Movement

"The payment of the worker is more than charity; a just wage is a right under God."(1) 

"One of the most important themes of the Bible, in both testaments, is that each individual has an expectation that they will be treated with dignity and that this can only be achieved when social and economic policies do not cause inequality to increase to excessive and morally unacceptable levels."(2) 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand is a movement consisting of three types of groups: faith-based religious groups, unions, and community/secular groups. It is a movement which advocates for more employers to adopt the living wage: an amount calculated annually which takes into account basic living costs such as food, transportation, housing, and childcare.(3) Individual Anglicans as well as Anglican groups have been heavily involved in the movement since it launched in 2012. This presence remains strong 10 years on with three Anglican representatives on the National Governance Board from Anglican Care, the Anglican Diocese of Wellington, and St Peter's on Willis Street (Wellington).(4) Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand have engaged in a number of types of political activism over the years, including holding candidate forums during both general and local elections and holding Living Wage Week in November 2021.(5) They are probably best known for accrediting employers as 'Living Wage Employers' and promoting such employers, for example by providing a Christmas Catalogue exclusively of employers committed to paying the living wage.(6) Multiple Anglican Diocesan Synods, including Dunedin and Waiapu, have passed motions supporting the living wage, with some Diocese being Living Wage employers themselves, including Wellington.(7) 

Bibliography

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand Faith Network, A Living Wage: A Gospel Imperative, 2. 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand Faith Network, A Living Wage: A Gospel Imperative, 3. 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand, "About - Living Wage." 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand, "The Living Wage Movement - Living Wage 2019." 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand, "Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand | Facebook." 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand, "Christmas Catalog - Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand." 

Taonga News, "Dunedin calls for living wage;" Anglican Diocese of Waiapu, "Waiapu Synod passes their Living Wage Motion;" Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand, "Accredited Living Wage Employers in NZ - Living Wage 2019;" Collins, "Barefoot Bishop Justin Duckworth steps in to living wage debate - NZ Herald." 

Anglican Diocese of Waiapu. "Waiapu Synod passes their Living Wage Motion." Facebook, September 12, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1488917634735336&id=1412385835721850. 

Collins, Simon. "Barefoot Bishop Justin Duckworth steps in to living wage debate - NZ Herald." nzherald.co.nz. Updated February 25, 2015. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/barefoot-bishop-justin-duckworth-steps-in-to-living-wage-debate/VQK2GPQLYDRYTVSKWQP4NG3OTU/. 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand. "About - Living Wage." Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.livingwage.org.nz/about. 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand. "Accredited Living Wage Employers in NZ - Living Wage 2019." Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.livingwage.org.nz/accredited_employers. 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand. "Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand | Facebook." Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/LivingWageAotearoaNewZealand/events/?ref=page_internal. 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand. "The Living Wage Movement - Living Wage 2019." Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.livingwage.org.nz/the_living_wage_movement. 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand. "Christmas Catalog - Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand." Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.livingwage.org.nz/christmas_catalog. 

Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand Faith Network. A Living Wage: A Gospel Imperative. New Zealand: Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand Faith Network, 2013. 

Taonga News. "Dunedin calls for living wage." Updated October 4, 2013. https://anglicantaonga.org.nz/news/tikanga_pakeha/dunedin_calls_for_living_wage. 

The Hīkoi of Hope: Te Hīkoi mō te Tūmanako mō te Rawakore

One large and public political action that Anglican not only were involved in but that the Anglican Church initiated and organised was the Hīkoi of Hope Te Hīkoi mō te Tūmanako mō te Rawakore. The idea originated out of a discussion at General Synod Te Hīnota Whānui in May 1998. A motion was brought forward expressing concern over potential further cuts to social welfare benefits. During the discussion of the motion, Synod members shared stories from communities across the motu of rising poverty and social inequality more generally as well as increasing demand on Anglican social services. Professor Whatarangi Winiata moved an amendment to add a hīkoi to the motion and the motion was passed by Winiata and the original mover, the Rev’d Charles Waldegrave.1  

Three and a half months later, the Hīkoi of Hope began on 1 September 1998 with hīkoi starting in the North, South, East and West of Aotearoa. Approximately 40,000 people took part in the Hīkoi over the next two months as the hīkoi slowly converged in Te Whanganui-a-Tara on 1 October 1998. 8,000 people gathered on Parliament grounds to conclude the Hīkoi with a Liturgy of Hope and Lament. The Hīkoi was led by Anglican Church leaders, as well as other Christian leaders and social service agencies.2 Seen amongst the Hīkoi was the red, white, and black woven, flax cross of our Province in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia emblazoned on large flags and t-shirts. Many signs and banners read the main slogan of the Hīkoi: ‘enough is enough.’3 

The purpose of the Hīkoi of Hope Te Hīkoi mō te Tūmanako mō te Rawakore was to bring attention to the reality of poverty in Aotearoa.4 In doing this, the Hīkoi addressed five main areas where more could be done, particularly by the New Zealand government: the creation of real jobs, that incomes and benefits be at a level that can bring people out of poverty, a trustworthy public health system, affordable housing, and accessible and affordable education. Along the way, hīkoi shared and collected stories of rising poverty and social inequality which were brought together with an open letter outlining the Hīkoi’s five main areas and presented to Parliament. The Hīkoi, initiated and led by the Anglican Church, is not only an important event in our history as a Church but also in our nation's history, with politicians and media at the time bringing attention to its significance. As a result, government and religious leaders meet regularly to discuss these and other areas of social concern.5 

Quotes about the Hīkoi of Hope Te Hīkoi mō te Tūmanako mō te Rawakore from participants and organisers: 

"When that liturgy of community, of compassion, of non-violence, of hope, of egalitarianism, when that hits the streets and is made public, well, that becomes liturgy made flesh, and that is a very very threatening thing."6  

“The Polynesian concept of fononga contributes to the Hikoi in its embracing of purpose and solidarity. The Hikoi is a moving of people in solidarity and intention. We walk with the poor and for the poor who are part of us.”7 

"In the past when we've made the trips into parliament or written to parliament, the public don't hear about that - most Anglicans wouldn't hear about it - but this is something that's actually really catching everyone's attention."8  

"The Hikoi reminded us again that the way of Jesus Christ is marked by relationships of justice, love, peace and liberation."9 

"If Christians can't get out and try and make the world better, who will?"10 

Bibliography

The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia Te Hāhi Mihinare ki Aotearoa ki Niu Tireni, ki ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa. Proceedings of the Fifty-Third General Synod / Hīnota Whānui. Hastings: General Secretary of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, 1998. 

Beck, Peter, Lloyd Popata, and Winston Halapua. "Report of the Hikoi of Hope - Te Hikoi mo te Tumanako mo te Rawakore." In Proceedings of the Fifty-Fourth General Synod / Hīnota Whānui, R87-R89. Hastings: General Secretary of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, 2000. 

Davidson, Allan K. "Church debate and dissent - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand." Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated April 20, 2018. https://teara.govt.nz/en/anglican-church/page-5. 

Guy, Laurie. Shaping Godzone: Public Issues and Church Voices in New Zealand 1840-2000. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2011. 

Kaa, Hone, Susan Adams, and Winston Halapua. Theological Reflection on the Hikoi of Hope. Whakatāne: National Hikoi Coordination Group, 1998. 

Rodger, Ronald, prod. Walking On: The Hikoi of Hope Te Hikoi mo te Tumanako mo te Rawakore: Documentary. 1999; Wellington: Social Justice Commission of the Anglican Church, 2008. DVD. 

The Social Justice Commission of the Anglican Church. The Hikoi of Hope Te Hikoi mo te Tumanako mo te Rawakore: Walking On: Introduction. Inspirationaltv.net, 2008. From Vimeo. Video, 8:55. Posted by "justice.net.nz," June 11, 2008. https://vimeo.com/1157736. 

Homosexual Law Reform

Later in the 1980’s, some Anglicans were involved in the decriminalisation of homosexuality albeit in less public forms of political activism than the nuclear-free movement and the 1981 Springbok Tour. In 1979, the Anglican Diocesan Synod of Christchurch passed a motion to remove legal penalties for homosexual acts between consenting, male adults.1 Other Synods joined them in calling for decriminalisation in the following years and the Provincial Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Anglican Church produced a resource outlining a Christian view in support of homosexual law reform.  

In 1985, Anglicans that advocated for homosexual law reform joined an ecumenical coalition of supporters who together made a submission to Parliament expressing Christian support for the Homosexual Law Reform Bill.2 The Homosexual Law Reform Bill became the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986. 

Bibliography

Davidson, Allan K. "Church and Community - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand." Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated April 20, 2018. https://teara.govt.nz/mi/anglican-church/page-4. 

The Provincial Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Anglican Church. The Christian and Homosexual Law Reform. New Zealand: The Provincial Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Anglican Church, 1985. 

The Peace Squadron and the Nuclear-free Movement

Riding off protests in the late ‘60s against the Vietnam War, the ‘70s and ‘80s marked a wave of social and political consciousness, using protest as a means for voicing collective concerns. The protest movements of this time, in particular the nuclear-free movement and the 1981 Springbok Tour, have been itched into Aotearoa’s collective history and identity. Anglican’s took part (and were, at times, central) in these protest movements. 

One such protest movement was the Peace Squadron – a flotilla of small, private boats and vessels that would seek to blockade the arrival of nuclear warships and submarines from the United States into Aotearoa. The idea was inspired by similar protests by Quakers in the United States who blockaded a ship exporting arms to Pakistan in 1971. The Rev’d George Armstrong brought this idea to a group of students and staff at St John’s Theological College who had already written telegrams to Prime Minister Rowling requesting that the nuclear warship visits cease. In October 1975, the first Peace Squadron set sail beginning with a Peace Eucharist followed by a procession led by children to Mission Bay in Tāmaki Makaurau where a Blessing of the Water was held.1 

Subsequent Peace Squadrons got bigger, more popular, and more theatrical. In October 1976, the Peace Squadron comprising of 150 boats, canoes and surfboards protested the arrival of the USS Long Beach. Though the Long Beach made it to port, the Peace Squadron brought the ship to a stop twice on its way into the Harbour. The next Squadron in January 1978 protested the arrival of the USS Pintado nuclear submarine. This time the Peace Squadron of 100 or so boats was expected by New Zealand forces who provided the Pintado with an escort: the HMNZS Waikato and helicopters flying low at mast-level. Perhaps the climax for the Peace Squadron was with the arrival of the USS Haddo nuclear submarine in January 1979. This time, the Peace Squadron of 200 vessels waited for the Haddo to enter the inner Auckland Harbour, in part to reduce the risk of high-speed charges and low-flying helicopters by New Zealand police and navy but with the added effect of giving those on the shore a better view of the spectacle. The Peace Squadron held-up the Haddo in the Harbour channel for a time, and at one point a protestor jumped onto the hull of the Haddo.2 It is images like this, as well as the juxtaposition of small boats and canoes alongside nuclear warships and submarines and of New Zealand forces attempting to get local protestors out of the way of American submarines that stand out in the mind and would have been provocative at the time. Throughout this time, the Rev’d George Armstrong remained the spokesperson for the Peace Squadron, carrying through its Anglican roots, though it became something much bigger that helped to move public opinion in favour of a nuclear-free New Zealand.3 

In another form of political activism, some Anglican churches, including St Matthew-in-the-City in central Tāmaki Makaurau, declared themselves Nuclear Weapons Free Zones to publicly declare in a simple yet effective way their support for the nuclear-free movement.4 

Quotes from the Rev’d George Armstrong: 

"After much over-speaking by churches and religious people, we recognised that it was now time for some straightforward doing: to do the truth rather than just speak it."5 

“I felt 'at last, I had a real Church. At last, I had a real crowd of people who were practicing what they preached.'... quite a few of the Peace Squadron people looked at me twice and said 'oh, maybe there's something in this Christianity that I've abandoned that I missed.’”6 

"It wasn't me [who had the idea], it was those people [the Quakers in the United States] who did that action. And it wasn't them either because they got the idea from the Bible - they got the idea from their Christianity. So,... if you say 'where did the Peace Squadron come from?,' you could say 'pretty directly through Christianity, in a way.'"7 

Bibliography

Armstrong, George. "The Peace Squadron Revisited." In Pursuing Peace in Godzone: Christianity and the Peace Tradition in New Zealand, edited by Geoffrey Troughton and Philip Fountain, 56-72. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2018. 

Burford, Lyndon, and Lucy Stewart. Stories of Peace - Rev. George Armstrong and the Peace Squadron. From Vimeo. Video, 10:07. Posted by "Stories of Peace NZ," July 17, 2018. https://vimeo.com/280459125. 

Disarmament & Security Centre Aotearoa / New Zealand. "The Peace Squadrons." Accessed March 8, 2022. http://www.disarmsecure.org/nuclear-free-aotearoa-nz-resources/the-peace-squadrons. 

Gregory, Justin. "The Peace Squadron." Eyewitness, October 26, 2016. Podcast, website, 12:58. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/eyewitness/audio/201820402/the-peace-squadron. 

Guy, Laurie. Shaping Godzone: Public Issues and Church Voices in New Zealand 1840-2000. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2011. 

Matheson, Peter. “Revolution at the Kitchen Tables: Churches and the 1980s Peace Movement.” In Pursuing Peace in Godzone: Christianity and the Peace Tradition in New Zealand, edited by Geoffrey Troughton and Philip Fountain, 73-85. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2018. 

Newnham, Tom. Peace Squadron: The Sharp End of Nuclear Protest in New Zealand. Dominion Road, Auckland: Graphic Publications, 1986. 

Victoria University of Wellington. Pursuing Peace in Godzone - The Peace Squadron Revisited. From YouTube. Video, 6:06. Posted by "Victoria University of Wellington," March 16, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_cQ3Ybf2Qk. 

Against Apartheid and the 1981 Springbok Tour

Perhaps what we remember most about the opposition in Aotearoa against apartheid are the protests of the 1981 Springbok Tour. However, such opposition and Anglican involvement in it started years before 1981. In 1960, Bishop Wiremu Pānapa (then Bishop of Aotearoa) opposed the exclusion of Māori players from the All Blacks team sent to South Africa, and led a petition to Parliament calling for equality between Māori and Pākehā in Aotearoa New Zealand.1 In response to the 1976 Tour, the Provincial Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Anglican Church called on Anglicans to boycott the ’76 Tour as a way to express their opposition to apartheid in South Africa.2 

Leading up to the 1981 Springbok Tour, several Anglican Diocesan Synods (such as those in Auckland, Christchurch, Nelson, and Wellington) passed motions calling on the Rugby Union and the New Zealand Government to stop the ‘81 Tour.3 Prominent Anglican leaders, such as Archbishop Paul Reeves (then Archbishop of New Zealand and later Governor-General of New Zealand) and Bishop Allan Pyatt (then Bishop of Christchurch) opposed the Tour and some, such as Bishop Peter Sutton (then Bishop of Nelson), took part in prayer vigils and protest marches.4 Church buildings, such as St Matthew-in-the-City in Tāmaki Makaurau, acted as meeting places for those who opposed the 1981 Springbok Tour, and some Anglican clergy were involved in anti-tour groups, such as Rev’d Andrew Beyer who chaired MOST (Mobilisation to Stop the Tour) and Rev’d Canon John Denny who was one of the protest leaders in Kirikiriroa.5 

Some of the most prominent images that came out of the 1981 Springbok Tour are from various protests, and the same goes for Anglican opposition to the Tour. When the Springboks landed in Aotearoa, students from St John’s Theological College were there outside the international airport in Tāmaki Makaurau. 60 staff and students gathered for a service of repentance and solidarity with the Black people of South Africa as the Springbok rugby team made their way through airport customs. Those who gathered to pray and protest were led by the Melanesian Cross, a cross that has been involved in many protests over the years and has come to be seen as a symbol of Anglican protest and political activism. On 25 July 1981, a dozen St John’s staff and students were among the around 350 protestors that stormed the pitch at Rugby Park in Kirikiriroa. Among these students were future Anglican Church leaders, such as Archbishop Philip Richardson (now Archbishop of New Zealand). A wooden protest cross was fashioned for this protest carried by St John’s students wearing cassocks. In a dramatic image indicative of the violence that would ensue during and after this protest, the cross was brought down as rugby supporters try to stop the students from protesting on the field. The game was cancelled.6 

Bibliography

Bester, R., ed. Harvest of Grace: Essays in Celebration of 150 Years of Mission in The Anglican Diocese of Nelson. Nelson: Standing Committee of the Diocese of Nelson, 2010. 

Davidson, Allan K. "Church Debate and Dissent - Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand." Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated April 20, 2018. https://teara.govt.nz/en/anglican-church/page-5. 

Guy, Laurie. Shaping Godzone: Public Issues and Church Voices in New Zealand 1840-2000. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2011. 

Manuka, Henare. "Pānapa, Wiremu Nētana – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography – Te Ara." Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Accessed March 28, 2022. https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4p2/panapa-wiremu-netana. 

Matthews, Philip. "The Springbok Tour, 1981: Ten Days That Shook Christchurch | Stuff.co.nz." Stuff. Updated August 14, 2021. https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/126011335/the-springbok-tour-1981-ten-days-that-shook-christchurch. 

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. "Two Members of St John’s College Run onto Rugby Park, Hamilton, While Two Supporters of Springbok Rugby Tour Try to Stop Them, 1981 | Collections Online – Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa." Accessed March 28, 2022. https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/44053. 

National Council of Churches in New Zealand. The Churches and the Springbok Rugby Tour, 1981. Christchurch: National Council of Churches in New Zealand, 1981. 

The Provincial Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Anglican Church. Christians, South Africa and the Tour: A Statement. Wellington: The Provincial Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Anglican Church, 1976. 

Walton, Steven. "1981 Springbok Tour: Protestors Recall Violent ‘Battlefield’ and Vicious Punches | Stuff.co.nz." Stuff. Updated August 13, 2021. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125996999/1981-springbok-tour-protesters-recall-violent-battlefields-and-vicious-punches.