May 2008

Dear Members and Friends of our Christchurch Community,

We have just had our national conference on “Prayer and the Future of the Earth”. I believe that everyone who was able to attend will have experienced how rich and fulfilling community can be at its best. It was a magnificent experience and I hope that Paddy and Peter will share their impressions with you. I feel immensely grateful that this was possible and I hope that each of us present there will carry back to our homes what has come alive within and between us. We ended the conference reflecting on all that we experienced there and also took some time to look forward. I would like now to tell you briefly what I was then able to share.

Over the last few years we have been asking ourselves what we can do to grow strong and healthy communities where the members can freely draw inspiration in their personal spiritual development. We have expressed a longing for daily services and study groups. We would like more than one priest to work alongside many members, so that the few who presently carry too much work and responsibility do not get worn out. What we have been doing so far has been the best we could under the circumstances. However, it is now time, with the help and support of all our members and friends in New Zealand , to make some changes. We will all need to work together on this.

When Christ sent his disciples into the world he sent them out two by two. Our experience has shown that we also need to aim for this; that at least two priests work together in one community (ideally, even more! ) Because we lack both financial resources and priests, we have come to the conclusion that it will not be possible for us to build more than one centre in New Zealand at present. Both the council and the synod of priests have after much consideration decided that Auckland is the best base at present for building a community where every priest working in New Zealand will be resident. Here we will try to become visible both to ourselves and to the world, as a community that is a living expression of the presence of Christ. This is a huge undertaking and success will largely depend on the active support of all members and friends in New Zealand . The hope is that once we have journeyed a fair way along this path then other communities in this country will follow on in the footsteps of Auckland . No decision has yet been made as to who the priests will be working in Auckland . What is clear, however, is that another priest is going to join us by the end of the year.

I also shared at the conference some news regarding the Wittchow family and the Hawkes Bay community. It has become clear over the last few months that the Wittchows will not be able to stay in New Zealand . There are three reasons for this.

After his arrival in New Zealand it became increasingly clear to Martin that he cannot agree with the way that we celebrate the festivals here in the Southern hemisphere. This is a question that many anguish over and is debated in the Steiner schools, while still others have no problem celebrating Christmas in summer and St John in winter. Martin agrees that we need to stand united in all questions regarding the rituals of The Christian Community ; however, he feels that he could work much more wholeheartedly with the festivals in places where they coincide with the seasons.

Another, totally unrelated difficulty has arisen in the fact that Max, the youngest family member was unexpectedly not granted residency in NZ and that both the New Zealand and German authorities have recently made clear that he will not be able to remain in NZ much longer and has to return to Germany. Everyone who knows the family will understand that it is totally unthinkable that Max return to Germany without Ruth and Martin.

The third reason for Martin's leaving came about when a large community in Germany found themselves in desperate need of an experienced priest. Martin was considered ideal for this task and when asked whether he was prepared to take it on, he and Ruth agreed, in light of the above mentioned reasons. Andso, at the beginning of next year Martin and part of his family will leave our country to continue his work in Germany . Martin's departure will be a huge loss to the Hawkes Bay community which will again become a visited community like Christchurch and Wellington . We will make every possible effort that the seeds sown in the regular religious work there will not vanish. It is also my hope that the community will find ways to continue its life in the weeks between visits.

We have Martin to thank for his conceiving the idea and carrying the initiative for this conference.  He was also the main speaker and I would like to say that I have heard many talks over the years, but Marin's talk on the theme was absolutely outstanding!  I hope that many people in Christchurch will take the chance to meet with Martin and to hear him give the same talk again, although it is actually very difficult to give the same talk more than once, because time and place as well as the participation of everyone present are very important for the flow of words and thoughts.  However, I believe that even something only remotely similar to what we were able to witness at Kapiti Coast  will be worth listening to.  Please do not miss this opportunity and come to the talk by Martin Wittchow at 7.30pm on Friday 16 th May at the  Cracroft Guide Centre . The theme is “Prayer and the Future of the Earth”.

With the warmest regards,

Hartmut Borries

 

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