One was retold when a photo was shared of a girl at St Peter's School who was chosen to try on the new bishop's mitre.

The photo was taken by Waikato Times senior writer Mary Anne Gill who revealed that her son James unknowingly played a round of golf at the Cambridge Golf Club with two high-ranking church officials, the late Bishop Denis Browne and Anglican Bishop David Moxon.

David, Denis and James

James Gill, who went on to represent New Zealand in two Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Championships, stumbled upon the bishops at the Cambridge Golf Club one Monday.

James, without realising their religious status, asked to join the pair for a game.

The two men, of course dressed in golf attire rather than religious robes, agreed to play several holes.

"When he got home and I asked him who he had played with, he said ‘two guys called Denis and David'" said Mary Anne Gill.

It wasn't until days later that the family realised the two men were none other than Bishop Denis Browne and Anglican Bishop David Moxon.

Composure in check

Gill, reflecting on her son's golf experience, expressed a mix of amusement and relief.

"I asked him if he had sworn or said any blasphemies during the game" she said with a laugh.

"He said no, and Bishop Denis never told me otherwise."

While James has since moved on to play professionally in Europe and represent New Zealand, the memory of that day at Cambridge Golf Club remains a cherished story for the Gill family.

Source

• Waikato Times

At the meeting, the Kingi formally invited the Pope to New Zealand to visit him at Turangawaewae Marae.

It was Kingi Tuheitia's first visit to Rome and his first such Papal engagement, usually reserved for heads of state.

They exchanged taonga.

The Latin words on the taonga the Pope presented means "Be Messengers of Peace" The dove and olive branch are international symbols of peace.

Kingi Tuheitia was accompanied by his wife Makau Ariki Atawhai and his daughter Te Puhi Ariki Nga Wai Hono i te Po.

Nga Wai Hono i te Po was baptised in the Catholic Church at the request of her grandmother Dame Te Atairangikahu by Bishop Max Mariu.

Dame Te Atairangikahu chose to do this as a means of joining the two rivers, Waikato and Whanganui.

Nga Wai Hono i te Po was confirmed and made her first communion during a mass celebrated by Pa Hemi Hekiera and Monsignor David Bennett at Ngaruawahia as part of Kingi Tuheitia's coronation hui.

The Royal party was also supported by a delegation that included the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Sir David Moxon and Archdeacon Ngira Simmonds.

A post on the Kiingitanga facebook page reported that The Anglican Church was pivotal in securing the audience with the Pope, "thus embodying the aphorism of the Second Maori King, King Tawhiao who said 'in the palm of my hand I hold three treasures - the Anglican, the Methodist and the Catholic churches.'"

After his meeting with the Pope, Kingi Tuheitia was received by the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The discussion focused on social and political issues facing Maori and indigenous communities, including employment, health and education, and the need for cultural and interfaith unity.

The king's mother, the late Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikahu, visited the Vatican to meet Pope John Paul II in 1975.

The last papal visit to New Zealand took place in November 1986, when Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in Auckland Domain, where he wore a Maori feather cloak and addressed a huge crowd.

"The visit of King Tuheitia to the Pope is a very, very significant event because it is part of the vision that he set out at the Koroneihana last year, to commemorate and celebrate the 160th anniversary of the Kiingitanga", Ta Wira Gardiner wrote on Facebook.

"One of the messages was to make the Kiingitanga an important instrument and an institution both domestically and internationally, reaching out to the Pope was one of those aspects of internationalising the Kiingitanga."

Source

• supplied
• rnz.co.nz
• vaticannews.va
• facebook.com
• Image: facebook.com

It shows a major development in ecumenism by establishing that difference is not cause for suspicion or reproach but is rather an opportunity for mutual listening, learning and conversion.

The statement, Walking Together on the Way: Learning to Be the Church — Local, Regional, Universal, was released to the public July 2 after seven years of joint meetings and consultations.

In their introduction co-chairmen, Catholic archbishop Bernard Longley and Anglican archbishop Sir David Moxon wrote that the document sought to develop the issues of authority and ecclesial communion "in a new way."

Moxon, who is a New Zealander, was the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative in Rome from December 2012 until June 2017, when he retired and returned to New Zealand.

He had previously been the Bishop of Waikato in the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki, the archbishop of the New Zealand dioceses and one of the three primates of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

The document proposes that the understanding how the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion structure authority and exercise authority in communion on the local, regional and global levels are key for understanding how each body discerns its teaching and practices on critical issues in ethics and moral theology.

It says this is also key for understanding and addressing questions, debates or divisions experienced internally within the churches.

This means the document also seeks to inform, enrich and help not just the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion on an ecumenical level, but also in dealing with their own internal debates and tensions.

Catholics can learn from Anglicans in giving a greater role to the laity in matters of church governance and more authority to local bishops' conferences.

Anglicans should focus on setting up structures and processes that safeguard the worldwide identity of its Communion and avoid becoming too focused on one province.

Source

• thebostonpilot.co
• en.wikipedia.org
• thetablet.co.uk
• Image: southportcatholicchurches.org

St Johns is the theological college for the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. It has been located at Meadowbank for 170 years.

It was established in 1843 by George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand.

St John's College Chapel was built on the grounds in 1847 and is the oldest surviving church building in Auckland. It also has a Historic Places Trust 'A' grading.

The graveyard, lying to the west and south of the chapel, holds the remains of some of New Zealand's earliest settlers.

This includes early Maori and Pacific Island college scholars, early missionaries and their families.

The anniversary celebrations included student lectures, a formal dinner, a church service, and tours around the site.

Moxon presented three lectures during his visit. The first lecture focused on his work in Rome and the Anglican Centre, the second was about ecumenical work and the third focused on what is required for men and women training for mission work.

Archbishop Moxon, permanently based at the Vatican, has a 35-year relationship with the college that he describes as "an enormously enriching place, like no other where students live and must continually encounter issues and people in one place".

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: teara.govt.nz

Archbishop Sir David Moxon and Emeritus Bishop Denis Browne will be recognised for their outstanding leadership and contributions to the Waikato community at the University's graduation ceremony in April.

They will both receive honorary doctorates.

Sir David is currently the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See and director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.

"I'm honoured to be receiving the honorary doctorate alongside Bishop Denis.

We have been colleagues and friends for a long time in a common cause - the common good and the spiritual health of the wider community," says Sir David.

Bishop Denis retired in 2014 from a 50-year career as a priest and bishop.

He says his honorary doctorate is a reflection of the work that's gone into aligning church services with university life, "and receiving this honour alongside my good friend, Sir David, is an added bonus."

University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley says their honour is well-deserved.

"Both David and Denis have worked tirelessly in pursuit of church and community wellness, in the Waikato region in particular, so it's fitting they both receive Honorary Doctorates together."

Sir David and Emeritus Bishop Denis will receive their Honorary Doctorates on 21 April at the afternoon graduation ceremony.

Source

• waikato.ac.nz
• Image: waikato.ac.nz

Before taking up his present appointment Moxon was the Bishop of Waikato,

The blessing took place in front of the 3000-strong congregation at the Papal Basilica of St Paul's outside the Walls, the venue for the final day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Rome.

Moxon said he and Archbishop Gennadios (the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch), were called to the side of the Papal Throne.

"And he said 'let's share this together'. He received his papal pastoral staff, began the prayer and raised his hand. and we raised our hands also."

"It was incredibly moving to be part of what (I think) was an unprecedented invitation, which said far more even than the words which were actually recited." Continue reading

In his view there is broad agreement on 80% of core doctrine, while the remaining 20% presents significant challenge.

Moxon was formerly the Anglican Bishop of Waikato.

He is currently the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.

Moxon said agreement has not yet been reached on the Gift of Authority document published in 1999 and the 'Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ' statement published in 2005.

He was speaking after the the fifth session of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission concluded last week.

The group, known as ARCIC III, met from April 28th to May 4th to discuss relations between local, regional and Universal Churches and how moral or ethical decisions are made within each tradition.

During an audience with the group on Thursday, Pope Francis said these discussions remind us that ecumenism is not a secondary element in the life of the Church and that the differences which divide us must never be seen as inevitable.

Following that audience, Philippa Hitchen interviewed the co-presidents of ARCIC III, Moxon and the Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham in the UK, Bernard Longley. Listen to interview

Commenting on Pope Francis' words about the ecumenism of the martyrs, Moxon said that in off-the-cuff remarks the Pope spoke of the Anglican and Catholic martyrs of Uganda who were murdered together in the 1880s.

Moxon also mentioned the martyrs of Papua New Guinea from different churches who were killed during the 2nd World War and where ecumenical solidarity is now extremely strong.

Source

• Vatican Radio
  Image: Vatican Radio

Eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking worldwide by 2020 is the goal of the newly-formed Global Freedom Network.

An accord was signed at the Vatican on March 17 by representatives of Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and of the grand imam of Al-Azhar University in Cairo.

The global initiative aims to prevent modern forms of slavery; to protect, rescue and rehabilitate victims; and to promote concrete measures that condemn or criminalise human trafficking.

The network hopes to grow to include all the world's major faiths.

Archbishop Moxon, the director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, was closely involved in negotiations leading up to the accord.

He called human slavery "a plague on a vast scale in many countries across the world today ".

"This situation is not improving, but is probably deteriorating," he said.

Human trafficking has proven resistant to government, police and legal efforts to fight it, he added.

Archbishop Moxon said the idea for the network took root during a meeting last year between the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The two men looked for ways to pursue concrete cooperation, Archbishop Moxon said.

Development continued during subsequent anti-trafficking conferences and initiatives held at the Vatican.

Archbishop Moxon said the initiative is an example of mission-based ecumenism.

One of several aims for the network is to get faith communities to ensure their "supply chains" and investments are free from using or profiting from slave labour.

It is estimated that between 12 and 27 million people worldwide are enslaved into forced labour and sexual exploitation.

Sources:

• Catholic Herald
• The Tablet
• Independent Catholic News
• Image: Rappler.com

The essay was written by former Anglican Bishop of Waikato, David Moxon, who is now the Anglican Communion's official representative to the Holy See.

Moxon wrote:
"For those of us in the "Fourth Age of Middle-earth," in the present, we could do no better than end with Tolkien's words to his son about the Eucharist, the centre of his own 20th-Century Christian faith, which was the centre of his world" Continue reading

Read whole essay in L'Osservatore Romano

Former deputy Mayor and All Saints assistant minister, John Hornblow and his wife Jenny have recently returned from Italy, where they worked as assistants to Archbishop David Moxon, past Archbishop of New Zealand, who is now the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.

The Hornblows' visit was planned to help him settle into the new role, which involves welcoming visitors from around the world, and developing relationships with the leadership of the Catholic Church.

Mr Hornblow said Palmerston North already had a tradition of Anglicans and Catholics co-operating - the social services agency Across being a case in point.

Mr and Mrs Hornblow will speak about their trip at the All Saints Community Centre on Sunday, November 24, at 2.30pm.

Source

• The Manawatu Standard
• Image: TheTimes.co.uk

Moxon, who is now the worldwide Anglican Communion's newly appointed ambassador to the Catholic Church in Rome, joined the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in the meeting on Friday evening (NZ time).

It was the first time all three men, who have all been appointed in recent months, have met.

Moxon said the differences between the two churches was touched on, but the main focus was on common ground.

"Poverty, reconciliation in places of conflict, oppression, violence, global hunger - those kind of needs in the world ought to draw us together."

Moxon says the two men got along very well and are building on the foundation previous leaders have built.

Archbishop Moxon, who was formally the Bishop of Hamilton, was chosen by the new Archbishop of Canterbury's predecessor Rowan Williams.

Source

• NewsTalkZB
• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Screenshot Youtube

Archbishop David Moxon is currently the Bishop of Waikato, Senior Bishop of the New Zealand Dioceses and an Archbishop of the Anglican Church in New Zealand and Polynesia.

He will step down from these roles in April and expects to take up the roles as the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See and the Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome in May next year.

The representative role involves relating to the Vatican and the Pope on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion; while the Anglican Centre is an Anglican "embassy" in Rome which promotes Christian unity though hospitality, prayer and education - and which brokers new joint endeavours by the Catholic and Anglican churches.

Archbishop Rowan Williams says he and the Governors of the Anglican Centre in Rome are delighted with the appointment.

"There can be few people in the Communion so well qualified for this work.

"Archbishop David has done distinguished service to the Anglican - Roman Catholic dialogue both locally and globally, and brings to this post both a wealth of experience and a range of profound friendships across the confessional frontiers. I wish him every blessing in his new role."

Source

Bishop Welby, a former oil executive who gave up a six-figure salary to become an Anglican priest, will succeed Archbishop Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury.

During a news conference at Lambeth Palace in London, Bishop Welby said he has been influenced by both Benedictine and Ignatian spirituality and his spiritual director is a Benedictine monk.

A press release from the Church of England said he has "frequently said that the Roman Catholic approach to Christian social teaching, beginning with the encyclical of Leo XIII's, Rerum Novarum, up to Pope Benedict XVI's Caritas Veritate, has greatly influenced his social thinking."

Bishop Welby, 56, is a father of five. He gave up his oil industry in 1989 to study for the Anglican priesthood and was named bishop of Durham in June 2011.

Archbishop Bernard Longley, Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, and co-chairman of ARCIC Three (the Anglican Roman-Catholic International Commission), said he was delighted by Bishop Welby's appointment.

"In Bishop Welby it will be good to have a strong ally in the work of evangelisation that lies ahead of all the churches, especially during the Year of Faith when the Catholic Church is seeking an evangelisation that is ‘new in its ardour, methods and expression'.

"Bishop Welby's long experience of business and commerce suggests that he understands the contemporary context for the task of evangelising our culture," Archbishop Longley said.

"With my fellow co-chairman of ARCIC Three, Archbishop David Moxon (Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia), I look forward to the steer that Bishop Welby will bring to Anglican-Roman Catholic relations."

Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told Vatican Radio he hopes to attend Bishop's Welby's enthronement in March and that he will be inviting the new archbishop to Rome for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

Sources:

Catholic News Service

Independent Catholic News

Image: The Telegraph

Polynesia's Anglican Archbishop, Winston Halapua, says it is important for all races to unite for what he deems a 'worthy cause' by supporting the Fiji government towards the election process.

"The power of democracy is already set in 2014, we see that the mechanism and various channels are being made to have the election," he said.

"As the leader of the Anglican Church I would like to encourage our people to engage dynamically."

New Zealand Archbishop David Moxon echoed similar sentiments saying the church was praying for the Fiji government and her people.

"A time line for this process has now been offered. We continue to invite prayer for this crucial journey, as the people of Fiji discover, determine and discern for themselves the form of governance that best suits their needs," he said.

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Image: AnglicanTaonga

Archbishop David Moxon, and Bishops Brown Turei and Winston Halapua say the church is trying to keep open the lines of communication with the present Fijian administration.

Archbishop Moxon says all issues considered at the Synod, including Fiji governance, will be given the same kind of respect and honour that was shown when Synod members were welcomed on Friday.

He said the Synod will encourage and pray for the journey, that is underway, to free elections and democratic governance in Fiji.

Strict guidelines from the Fijian military regime meant permits had to be obtained to hold the synod, which will run from 7th to 12th July at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi. 160 senior church members, from New Zealand and elsewhere in the Pacific, are attending it .

The General Synod is the main forum for discussion and decision making in the Anglican Church and it meets every two years. It has not visited Polynesia since 1990.

The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, is a constitutionally autonomous member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia encompasses the area described by its title. The 1992 Constitution of this Church provides for three partners to order their affairs within their own cultural context. Within Aotearoa New Zealand, Tikanga Pakeha comprises seven Dioceses, Tikanga Maori comprises five Hui Amorangi, the boundaries of which differ from those of the dioceses. Tikanga Pasefika encompasses Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands, and is known as the Diocese of Polynesia.

Source

• Scoop
• Scoop
• Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
• Image: Anglicantaonga

• having a Jesus centre
• belonging deeply together
• giving our best for the least

Bishop Duckworth told the cathedral congregation of close to 2000 who attended his ordination that he was thinking about those who couldn't be with them today - that is, the inmates - and he told the congregation of a wero that those inmates, who are in the faith-based unit at Rimutaka, had laid upon him.

Please, never forget us. We need you to stand up for us, and to stay faithful to those of us who need you most.

Bishop Duckworth was ordained in the Cathedral of St Paul in Wellington on Saturday 30 June.

Bishop elect Duckworth was led into his cathedral by about 140 supporters. They included his wife, Jenny Duckworth, and his family and members of the two movements which he and his wife helped to found: Urban Vision, and a contemporary monastery of St Andrew's at Ngatiawa, near Waikanae, where they have been living.

Archbishop David Moxon was the chief presider, supported by Archbishops Brown Turei and Winston Halapua.

Source

• Anglicantaogna
• Anglican Communion News Service
• Image Anglicantaonga

The Catholic co-chairperson, Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, speaking before the meeting said,"I do understand those doubts, misgivings, and sometimes frustrations and disappointments particularly on the part of those people who have committed many years to dialogue and who at the outset thought the prospects of unity were much more realistic than they are now. New challenges, new obstacles have come in the way in the path of unity.

"At the same time that mustn't deflect us. And it hasn't deflected the Catholic Church from our commitment to search for a way towards the unity that we believe is the will of Christ for all the baptised."

The Anglican—Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) is an organization created in 1969 which seeks to make ecumenical progress between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. The sponsors are the Anglican Consultative Council and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (formerly the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity).

ARCIC seeks to identify common ground between the two communions. In recent years internal changes in both churches has put strain on ecumenical relations.

Source

• The London Tablet
• Vatican Radio
• ENS
• Image: Anglican Communion News Service

Hinting at the pressures of the job, he said he hoped his successor would have 'the constitution of an ox and the skin of a rhinoceros'.

Before he steps down the Archbishop of Canterbury will visit Christchurch in November to offer his support to the quake-ravaged city. This visit will be his final international duty.

Archbishop David Moxon, Archbishop and Primate at Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, speaking on behalf of Archbishops Brown Turei and Winston Halapua has paid tribute to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

"He was greatly respected by us," he said, "as a deeply prayerful, thoughtful person, as someone of huge intelligence.

"But he was above all wise, in the Biblical sense, with a great heart for the diversity of the Anglican Communion, across all its cultures, and with all its theological tensions.

"We will miss Archbishop Rowan's grace and mind very much, and we wish him well."

Source

• Anglicantaonga
• The Press
• The Daily Mail
• Image: The Guardian

This was just one of the many tributes made to Sir Paul Reeves at his funeral in Auckland yesterday which was attended by more than a thousand mourners, included The Archbishop of York, The Governor General, and the Prime attended the the former Governor General

Students from Hato Petera College and Te Aute College formed a guard of honour and performed a haka as Sir Paul was taken from the Church and the end of the service

On the way to the Cathedral the cortege had driven through the Domain where 380 St Peter's College students formed a guard of honour and performed a haka. Sir Paul's grandson attended the school.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Stuff.co.nz