It is time!

A Message from Aux-Captain Nan Patea (National Leader, Maori Ministry)

E te ao whakarongo, huri noa to tatou rohe, otira huri noa to tatou whenua, e tika ana kia mihi ki a koutou katoa. No reira, kei te marea nui tonu, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora mai ra tatou katoa.

Ata whakaronga ki te karanga: Haere mai, piki mai, kake mai ki Aotearoa nei, Kaiarahi ma. Heed the call: lead Maori Ministry in Aotearoa.

He karanga tenei ki nga hoia hou: Nei te wa, tu mai! A call to potential new Salvation Army soldiers: it’s time!

He karanga hoki ki nga apiha o Te Ope Whakaora: kia rite, tu mai! A call to existing Salvation Army officers: it’s time!

He karanga ki nga tangata e mohio ana ki te kaupapa o Te Ope Whakaora: hou mai, e tu! A call to people on the periphery, who have a passion for this ministry and are committed to the mission goals of The Salvation Army: it’s time!

He karanga ki nga rangatira o Te Ope Whakaora no nga takiwa o Aotearoa: tu mai, tu maro mai! No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena ra tatou katoa! A call to the leadership of The Salvation Army, New Zealand Fiji and Tonga Territory: it’s time! Stand strong and firm.

This year’s National Maori Ministry Hui was held from 21–24 October in the idyllic setting of the Pakirikiri Marae situated beside the beach in the East Coast town of Tokomaru Bay, with over 120 Salvationists and friends attending. A sign of the commitment to Maori Ministry by Salvation Army leadership was evident in the presence of Commissioners Don and Debi Bell, Colonels Graeme and Wynne Reddish, Lieut-Colonels Lyndon and Bronwyn Buckingham, and Midland divisional leaders Majors Ian and Lynette Hutson.

The Hui’s primary aims were to celebrate the remarkable growth of Maori Ministry within The Salvation Army to date, to chart the course ahead, and most particularly to outline leadership needs in Maori mission and identify people to meet those needs.

Workshops were held, and many challenging and inspiring stories shared in relation to culture and the Church. Some Maori expressed gratitude for the way Pakeha Salvationists had supported and cared for them, helping them find their faith in Christ, which now meant so much to them. One woman said the corps she had become a part of had taken great care of her when she was in need, wrapping her and her whanau with their love at critical times. Only later did she learn this had happened in a coordinated way to ensure she was given the level of support she needed.

A place to stand?

Contributing to the positive feeling of the Hui was the joy of seeing a number of Maori who had come to The Salvation Army through its social service programmes and who were now involved in Salvation Army ministry in various ways. Some of these people had their lives transformed by God through the work and people of the Army. They are true ‘trophies of grace’.

However, along with this gratitude and sense of celebration was a strong feeling experienced by some Maori of being outsiders in the Army, culturally alienated—the ‘only brown face’—and struggling to feel a sense of belonging within the Army. Sometimes this feeling made it difficult to feel fully accepted within the Army and also to feel fully loved and accepted by God. 

For the many Pakeha present, the palpable sense of joy and passion for God that Maori expressed during the Hui helped them see how life-giving it is to be able to worship and practice your faith within the context of your own culture and people. This is something Pakeha Christians in New Zealand probably don’t usually appreciate because, being the dominant culture in New Zealand, Pakeha are often unaware of the extent that their culture is ingrained in the life of the Church. It was also helpful for non-Maori to get fresh and exciting perspectives on culture and faith through the lens of a different worldview than the one they were accustomed to.

Many Maori at the Hui expressed excitement with the development of Maori Ministry and the sense of turangawaewae (a place to stand) it gave them from within The Salvation Army nationally. This was something they hoped could be strengthened at the local level. The need to further develop the Army’s Maori Ministry is made clear when we contemplate the huge number of Maori accessing our various social services, and compare this with the number who could be said to have been touched by the power of the Gospel or who are finding acceptance and belonging within the Army. It is clear that many Maori are grateful to The Salvation Army for providing relief and support through our programmes, but others don’t get to feel that sense of turangawaewae.

The challenge presented by the kaupapa (ideas and principles) of the Hui and in the korero (messages) of Commissioner Don Bell and Lieut-Colonel Lyndon Buckingham was for all present to ‘step up’ as leaders (‘fishers of men’) to advance the mission among Maori nationally, and also to encourage or find others to take up leadership in this mission. One exciting thought was related to the idea that the best potential leaders in Maori mission were those about to access Salvation Army services. If these people were able to find transformation in their lives and an acceptance and involvement in the Salvation Army community, they would surely make dynamic disciples and leaders of Maori mission.

In the workshops, people identified the many ways The Salvation Army currently connects with Maori in the community, as well as new  areas we could look to develop. Many identified a need to become more competent in understanding, working within and establishing Maori cultural, spiritual and social practices. Suggestions included:

• learning and, where possible, using Maori language (Te Reo)
• learning and singing Maori waiata (songs)
• greater use of karakia (prayer)
• incorporating more Maori tikanga (protocol) into worship and social service settings
• connecting nationally through Maori Ministry to develop cultural competence and stronger networks
• connecting with local Maori to help develop Maori cultural skills and knowledge, including cultural arts such as kapa-haka and weaving to teach cultural as well as Gospel and life-skills concepts
• training on biculturalism and/or the Treaty of Waitangi to develop an understanding of the history and context for Maori in New Zealand, along with a deeper knowledge of Maori cultural practices and perspectives.

Inspiration from history

A special and enlightening moment in the Hui came when Major Sam Medland spoke of his years working, with his wife Eva, among Maori on the East Coast as corps officers at Te Araroa Corps in the 1960s. Sam’s sharing, and the 8mm films he showed of those times, emphasised the unique nature of a mission from a past era.

The overt expression of the Medlands’ spiritual and evangelical mission was allied to practical elements of their work, such as Sam being the community photographer, reserve school bus driver, local fix-it man and educational trip organiser for young people. The Medland family were very much part of their community—a truly incarnational form of mission expression.

It was particularly moving to hear how young Maori from the East Coast, caught up in the urban migration to cities, were supported in what must have been a frightening transition into large and impersonal cities among a people with markedly different cultural ways. Some of these young people were lovingly cared for in this transition by Sam and Eva, who found work for them, sometimes in The Salvation Army, and travelled great distances from Te Araroa to visit them and help them settle. 

Much could be taken from this look into the past in relation to Maori Ministry today, especially the model of a mission among and with Maori, rather than a focus and expectation that Maori would somehow simply come and ‘fit in’ with what is very often essentially a Pakeha spiritual expression of worship and community.

The approach taken by the Medlands seemed so much more in line with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) and the command to ‘go’ and make disciples of all nations. An inspiration for all mission—to whatever ‘people’ group.

Laughter and challenge

Along with more serious matters of discussion, there were plenty of moments of fun, laughter and entertainment. Saturday evening’s concert threw up an incredible array of talented musicians, for instance. Most of the music was of a Maori cultural nature, but not all was traditional in style—and the words ‘we’re going to have a Maori hangi tonight’ sung with a party feel alongside the song ‘Ten Guitars’ was repeated several times over the long weeked.

The Hui would not have been complete without watching the All Blacks win the Rugby World Cup final on the big screen in the Tokomaru Tavern. Like New Zealanders nationwide, Hui participants watched in great anxiety as the tense game moved toward its conclusion, at which point the room erupted into scenes of incredible delight and joy.

By Ian Hutson (abridged from War Cry, 3 December 2011, p5-7)