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Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) starts this Monday! It’s a great opportunity to appreciate the taonga (treasure) of te reo that we are gifted to share in. As a three tikanga Church with a bilingual prayer book, we have some constitutional and liturgical structures in place to worship together in fullness as a bicultural nation – but what about our people?
I’ve been chatting with a few members from our diocese about their relationship with te reo Māori.
Our stories
“Te reo Māori is such a gift,” says Sara Phillips. She felt called by God to learn te reo, and now teaches it at a school in Blenheim. She’s also married to John Phillips, vicar of the Awatere Christian Joint Venture.
It has been gifted to me by many people, and each of those people has enriched my life in some way. I am so grateful to each one of them.
I went to mass once a month that was in te reo Māori. It gave me the opportunity to worship God freely in te reo Māori using rhythms of prayer that I knew in English to help. I then spent many hours reciting prayers and psalms so that those words became part of my own speech.
I believe that it is a joy to learn te reo Māori more than a responsibility. When we learn te reo Māori, as when we learn any living language, we don’t just learn words, we learn some of the heart of the people whose language it is. As the people of Aotearoa, we are blessed to have the opportunity to converse, worship, and pray in the language of this nation.
I don’t think God really minds what language we worship him in, just that it is glorifying him.
Greta Greenwood, our Children and Families Enabler, was raised in Nelson with limited exposure to “things Māori”. But whenever she travelled to the North Island, she was fascinated by the richness of Māori culture. As an artist, she felt a strong connection to Māori arts and decided to learn more. While at university in the North Island, Greta got involved with the university's marae, took some reo papers, and majored in Māori and Art during her Primary Teaching degree.
I believe that all cultures are a beautiful reflection of our God. If we believe in a Creator God, then the diversity we see around the world must be an image of him. It is our responsibility to protect, celebrate and embrace what our creation has to offer. My life is enriched through this connection to our creation, which makes perfect sense really! Our Māori culture is a unique gift to our wee part of creation. Rich in nga toi (the arts), I love all that it has to offer – from kapa haka (performance arts like haka, poi and waiata), to raranga (weaving) and kōwhaiwhai paintings.
It is proven that the most powerful way to keep a culture alive is through language. Te reo is therefore a vital response to embracing and nurturing our culture.
Brad Wood is our Youth Enabler. Four years ago, Brad and his wife Claudia felt a strong conviction from the Holy Spirit to learn te reo Māori and explore the history of Christianity in New Zealand. They committed to beginning the journey by applying for the Level 1 Certificate in Te Reo through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. After a year on the waitlist, they were ecstatic when they finally got accepted! They loved it, and went on to complete Level 3 Tikanga and Level 4 Home-based Tikanga and Te Reo certificates in 2022.
Both of our young children are growing up in a schooling environment where te reo Māori is spoken every day and it’s been amazing to see them learning this language too. In fact, they now are so used to singing Happy Birthday in te reo that it seems like they can hardly remember the English version! It’s been exciting to see our children growing to love this language and for all four of us to be learning it together.
This learning journey has not only impacted my family life but my faith life too. By embracing te reo and Māori tikanga (customs and culture), I’ve opened avenues for deeper relationships with our Māori brothers and sisters in Christ and I’m now better able to honour them. I’m also now better able to understand the bicultural foundations upon which the New Zealand Anglican Church operates, through our unique three tikanga structure.
Te reo in our churches
“I recently learned that the Anglican Church is the oldest institution that has recognised tikanga Māori,” Greta shares.
Over the years, many have recognised the Treaty through land agreements but only recently have we begun to honour tikanga. Across the land we are seeing pockets of tikanga and te reo immersing where we haven't seen it before – in our news, at our meetings, on our road signs, in our planning and implementation and in our schools. And so, of course, we should expect to see te reo in our churches. We are part of this place, where long ago we pledged to protect our Māori culture.
Through choosing to use te reo Māori in our language and liturgies, we speak volumes about our commitment to cultural identity and understanding. In a Pākehā diocese, embracing te reo Māori isn't just about adopting a language – it's about adopting a posture of humility to bridge divides and enjoy the fullness of our unique and beautiful bicultural context.
“Liturgy describes the People of God,” R.G. McCullough writes in the opening pages of the prayer book. “Liturgy expresses who we believe we are in the presence of God. Liturgy reveals the God whom we worship. Liturgy reflects our mission.”
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
He says it’s all about people taking small steps to learn a little more of our indigenous language. It might be learning a new waiata, or finding some of the Māori prayers in our New Zealand Prayer Book.
Are you thinking of taking it further?
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa offers two great free courses that you can take from home: a Level 1 Certificate in Te Reo and a Level 3 Certificate in Tikanga. Te Wānanga o Raukawa offers a free Level 4 Certificate in Māori Protocol and Language.
If you’re in Nelson, Blenheim or Motueka, you could enrol in the NMIT Te Pūkenga Level 1 Certificate in Te Reo.
Te manaakitanga
Ma te mārie a te Atua
e kore nei ē taea te whakaaro
e tiaki ō koutou ngākau ō koutou hinengaro
i roto i a Karaiti Ihu;
ā kia mau kia ū hoki ki a koutou
te manaaki a te Atua Kaha Rawa,
a te Matua, a te Tama, a te Wairua Tapu
āianei ā āke tonu atu.
Āmine.
May the peace of God
which passes all understanding
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
and may the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
be with you and remain with you now and always.
Amen.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) starts this Monday! It’s a great opportunity to appreciate the taonga (treasure) of te reo that we are gifted to share in. As a three tikanga Church with a bilingual prayer book, we have some constitutional and liturgical structures in place to worship together in fullness as a bicultural nation – but what about our people?
I’ve been chatting with a few members from our diocese about their relationship with te reo Māori.
Our stories
“Te reo Māori is such a gift,” says Sara Phillips. She felt called by God to learn te reo, and now teaches it at a school in Blenheim. She’s also married to John Phillips, vicar of the Awatere Christian Joint Venture.
It has been gifted to me by many people, and each of those people has enriched my life in some way. I am so grateful to each one of them.
I went to mass once a month that was in te reo Māori. It gave me the opportunity to worship God freely in te reo Māori using rhythms of prayer that I knew in English to help. I then spent many hours reciting prayers and psalms so that those words became part of my own speech.
I believe that it is a joy to learn te reo Māori more than a responsibility. When we learn te reo Māori, as when we learn any living language, we don’t just learn words, we learn some of the heart of the people whose language it is. As the people of Aotearoa, we are blessed to have the opportunity to converse, worship, and pray in the language of this nation.
I don’t think God really minds what language we worship him in, just that it is glorifying him.
Greta Greenwood, our Children and Families Enabler, was raised in Nelson with limited exposure to “things Māori”. But whenever she travelled to the North Island, she was fascinated by the richness of Māori culture. As an artist, she felt a strong connection to Māori arts and decided to learn more. While at university in the North Island, Greta got involved with the university's marae, took some reo papers, and majored in Māori and Art during her Primary Teaching degree.
I believe that all cultures are a beautiful reflection of our God. If we believe in a Creator God, then the diversity we see around the world must be an image of him. It is our responsibility to protect, celebrate and embrace what our creation has to offer. My life is enriched through this connection to our creation, which makes perfect sense really! Our Māori culture is a unique gift to our wee part of creation. Rich in nga toi (the arts), I love all that it has to offer – from kapa haka (performance arts like haka, poi and waiata), to raranga (weaving) and kōwhaiwhai paintings.
It is proven that the most powerful way to keep a culture alive is through language. Te reo is therefore a vital response to embracing and nurturing our culture.
Brad Wood is our Youth Enabler. Four years ago, Brad and his wife Claudia felt a strong conviction from the Holy Spirit to learn te reo Māori and explore the history of Christianity in New Zealand. They committed to beginning the journey by applying for the Level 1 Certificate in Te Reo through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. After a year on the waitlist, they were ecstatic when they finally got accepted! They loved it, and went on to complete Level 3 Tikanga and Level 4 Home-based Tikanga and Te Reo certificates in 2022.
Both of our young children are growing up in a schooling environment where te reo Māori is spoken every day and it’s been amazing to see them learning this language too. In fact, they now are so used to singing Happy Birthday in te reo that it seems like they can hardly remember the English version! It’s been exciting to see our children growing to love this language and for all four of us to be learning it together.
This learning journey has not only impacted my family life but my faith life too. By embracing te reo and Māori tikanga (customs and culture), I’ve opened avenues for deeper relationships with our Māori brothers and sisters in Christ and I’m now better able to honour them. I’m also now better able to understand the bicultural foundations upon which the New Zealand Anglican Church operates, through our unique three tikanga structure.
Te reo in our churches
“I recently learned that the Anglican Church is the oldest institution that has recognised tikanga Māori,” Greta shares.
Over the years, many have recognised the Treaty through land agreements but only recently have we begun to honour tikanga. Across the land we are seeing pockets of tikanga and te reo immersing where we haven't seen it before – in our news, at our meetings, on our road signs, in our planning and implementation and in our schools. And so, of course, we should expect to see te reo in our churches. We are part of this place, where long ago we pledged to protect our Māori culture.
Through choosing to use te reo Māori in our language and liturgies, we speak volumes about our commitment to cultural identity and understanding. In a Pākehā diocese, embracing te reo Māori isn't just about adopting a language – it's about adopting a posture of humility to bridge divides and enjoy the fullness of our unique and beautiful bicultural context.
“Liturgy describes the People of God,” R.G. McCullough writes in the opening pages of the prayer book. “Liturgy expresses who we believe we are in the presence of God. Liturgy reveals the God whom we worship. Liturgy reflects our mission.”
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
He says it’s all about people taking small steps to learn a little more of our indigenous language. It might be learning a new waiata, or finding some of the Māori prayers in our New Zealand Prayer Book.
Are you thinking of taking it further?
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa offers two great free courses that you can take from home: a Level 1 Certificate in Te Reo and a Level 3 Certificate in Tikanga. Te Wānanga o Raukawa offers a free Level 4 Certificate in Māori Protocol and Language.
If you’re in Nelson, Blenheim or Motueka, you could enrol in the NMIT Te Pūkenga Level 1 Certificate in Te Reo.
Te manaakitanga
Ma te mārie a te Atua
e kore nei ē taea te whakaaro
e tiaki ō koutou ngākau ō koutou hinengaro
i roto i a Karaiti Ihu;
ā kia mau kia ū hoki ki a koutou
te manaaki a te Atua Kaha Rawa,
a te Matua, a te Tama, a te Wairua Tapu
āianei ā āke tonu atu.
Āmine.
May the peace of God
which passes all understanding
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
and may the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
be with you and remain with you now and always.
Amen.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
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