Tikanga Toru Youth Commission

This morning a grand thing happened. The General Synod Te Hinota Whanui passed the third reading of the bill establishing the Tikanga Toru Youth Commission. (Yes we do things the same as parliament, and this now acts as a piece of legislation within our church) Well done Sepi Hala’api’api who moved the bill, and Bishop David Rice who seconded it. My hope is this commission can help establish a three Tikanga context and mind set among young people so that we can become committed to each other in a way that is almost entirely absent from our church at the present. My dream is that the young people can lead the way for our church and help us all understand what a gift our three Tikanga constitution is, and start trying to live it out.

It did have a rocky road. Tikanga Maori asked hard questions and there were all sorts of unstated agendas at play, as always. And some of what plagues us as a church was also at play that is that the three Tikanga is something we do when we have time, instead of being a priority. That is our reality now, but I hope we can change that over the next few years.

You can read more reflections from others, and me, if you follow the link above.