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FIRST
POLYNESIAN ANGLICAN BISHOP TO SERVE IN NZ |
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By Ruci Farrell |
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It comes as no surprise
that the Venerable Reverend Dr Winston Halapua will be ordained in Suva
as the first Polynesian bishop of the Anglican Church of New Zealand.
The 59-year-old man dedicated man of the cloth is not the first and
certainly not the last in his family, to be elected a bishop in the
Diocese of Polynesia.
Dr Winston’s late father, the Right Reverend Fine Halapua, was
Suffragan Bishop in Nuku’alofa and Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of
Polynesia in 1967.
Reverend Susan Halapua, Dr Winston’s wife whom he met as a fellow
theology student in England, serves the Otahuhu congregation where his
sister, Elenoa Mancini, was recently ordained the first Tongan woman
priest in the Diocese of Polynesia.
Fellow bishops in the Diocese of Polynesia will observe the traditional
laying of hands on Dr Halapua at his ordination in Fiji’s capital Suva.
He returns shortly after to be inducted in Auckland where he has been
principal of the Diocese of Polynesia Theological College and
Archdeacon for the last nine years.
A landmark decision made at the Synod of the Diocese of Polynesia last
year will see the Diocese of Polynesia restructured into five Episcopal
regions to better cater for the more immediate needs of its followers
in the Pacific.
The Bishop of Polynesia, Bishop Jabez Bryce, told the synod in Suva
last year that while the work in the diocese was established 134 years
ago, the reality today is very different to what it was then.
He drew parallels between the three cultural strands or ‘tikanga’ in
the Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia to the five strands
in the Diocese of Polynesia.
“We have grown but changes need to be brought about to enhance the
proclamation of God in Oceania and beyond,” Bishop Bryce said.
Dr Halapua will have pastoral oversight for all the peoples of
Polynesia in Aotearoa New Zealand. This will include oversight for
existing Samoan, Tongan and Fijian congregations. |
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Reverend Susan Halapua and Reverend Edward Subramani with
(middle) Dr. Winston Halapua – first Polynesian bishop of the
Anglican Church of New Zealand. (Photo: Ruci Farrell) |
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Reverend Elenoa Mancini, sister of Dr. Winston Halapua, at her
ordination in Otahuhu as the first Tongan women priest in the
Diocese of Polynesia.
(Photo: Ruci Farrell) |
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Of
the 178,923 Pacific Islanders listed as Christian in New Zealand
at the 2001 Census, 6, 303 identified themselves as members of
the Anglican church. (Photo: Ruci Farrell) |
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While he answers to a
Tongan background Dr Halapua is a Fiji citizen and sees himself as a
‘multicultural person’ having studied the Christian mission and
ministry in Tonga, Fiji, England, Israel and Aotearoa New Zealand.
There is a huge opportunity here to build a unique mission for Pacific
people grounded in this country.”
A scholar in sociology, Dr Halapua is keenly aware of the importance of
culture and context in the task of Christian mission.
“We have to make the mission of God more effective and relevant here.
We have second and third-generation Pacific Islanders and others who
have come here recently and struggled to settle. The mission among them
needs to respond to those different voices and needs.”
Of the 178,923 Pacific Islanders listed as Christian in New Zealand at
the 2001 Census 6,303 identified themselves as Anglican.
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Copyright Event Polynesia Ltd.
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