Bishop Steve running 100km to raise money for Bishopdale College earlier this month reminded me of another bishop in our diocese who took up a huge journey nearly two decades ago.
That’s Richard Ellena, Bishop of the Nelson Anglican Diocese from 2007 to 2018.
I called him to talk about it.
My first question was about why he chose to do it.
Richard said that he’d been considering how to celebrate the approaching 150th anniversary of the Nelson Diocese. The usual ideas came up – have a special service, make a big cake, write a book.
“It was quite by chance,” he said. “I was sitting at my desk thinking, No, we've got to do something creative here.” He was leaning back in his chair when the “crazy idea” struck: “Why don't I walk the boundaries of the diocese, like those first bishops did 150 years ago?” On top of a historical hike, he decided to make it a spiritual journey, a 40-day Lenten pilgrimage.
On 17 February 2009, Bishop Richard set off from the Nelson Cathedral steps.
Richard headed through Māpua and Motueka, onwards to Tākaka. From Collingwood, he took the Heaphy Track west to Karamea before trekking down the Buller coastline to Greymouth and heading inland to Reefton. Dipping down into the Christchurch Diocese, Richard took a few days to rest before picking up again in Waiau. Then he walked to Kaikōura, up the East Coast to Blenheim, and over the Maungatapu Track back to Nelson. Richard’s wife Hilary accompanied him with a campervan, brewing coffee and offering a place to wash and sleep.
The route was around 1,000km long, split into roughly 30km a day. Richard stopped at any parish he could, often preaching on Sundays, and welcomed people to join him for any stretch of the walk.
Interesting that “discipline” and “disciple” are from the same root word. Real discipleship is commitment to life change – it is a discipline and I sometimes wonder how many Christians are willing to make this commitment. I actually want to take that journey!
Bishop Richard's Blog: Day 12 – Karamea to Corbyvale
“It was really a community thing,” he told me. “Every church did something different on the way through.” Some churches held a service for his visit, some gathered for a cup of tea, some wanted to pray. The whole ministry team came over and met up in a little cafe in Charleston. “It was really a uniting thing for the diocese.”
About a hundred people walked with Richard at the start. Other times he was accompanied by 20 people, or in a small group of two or three. “Sometimes it was just me on my own and it was a chance to think and pray and dream.”
Richard had many interesting and meaningful encounters along the way. He recalled walking alone along the Karamea Bluffs during a storm – dark clouds above, branches all over the road. In the middle of nowhere, he met a man clearing the debris. After the initial “What are you doing here?” and “What are you doing here?” Richard learned this man was a freemason, and the two had a significant conversation about life and faith.
I’m intensely aware how often in the Gospels we have Jesus teaching as he walked on the road. There is something really powerful in this.
Bishop Richard's Blog: Days 17-18 – Charleston to Griegs
He told me his second cousin joined him from Christchurch for part of the inland route. She wasn’t a Christian at the time, but decided to walk with Richard and Rev Mike Hawke for the day. “She went back and joined the church,” Richard laughed, “and she’s now a church warden – all as a result of a walk.”
For another part of the journey, Richard was joined by a man who had lost his wife some years earlier, and, during the pilgrimage, his 18-year-old daughter passed away. The father walked with Richard and a few others on the East Coast, and they talked openly about why bad things happen to good people.
Amanda told the congregation ... she only did 6km but she felt very much a part of the whole experience. And then she added, “that’s all God asks us to do – the small path that he has for us.” Very profound. Giving me stuff to think about.
Bishop Richard's Blog: Days 21-22 – Greymouth to Reefton
It wasn’t just parishioners who were interested in Richard’s journey. When he reached the Langford Store near Collingwood, he found a dozen locals gathered for a chat over coffee. It turned out the store owner had done a letterbox drop inviting people to come and meet the bishop. “Next moment, the phone went off in the store – and it was Radio New Zealand. They wanted to know how I was getting on and what spiritual insights I’d had.”
I’ve learned how important it is to take ourselves totally out of our routine existence in order to be challenged and extended by God.
Bishop Richard's Blog: Day 11 – Karamea
40 days, 1,000 kilometres and 8 kilograms later, Richard ran up the Nelson Cathedral steps to finish the journey.
His learnings are beautifully summarised in a postscript on the blog he kept for the pilgrimage.
I learned that the world outside the church is so open to spiritual reflection. It’s not closed to Christ – it just wants to see a visible sign of authentic Christianity being lived out, not just to hear about it. I learned that when you remove the distractions all around and make life simpler and quieter, God‘s voice becomes louder. I learned that God teaches his greatest lessons when you follow his nudging and step outside your routines – and your comfort zone. I learned how powerful the first words of John 9 are: “as Jesus was walking along…” and how much I would miss if I stayed behind the desk and the computer!
Bishop Richard's Blog: Day 41 – Home
17 years on, and here we were chatting about everything he learned along the way. I thought of Bishop Steve’s reflection after his ultramarathon: “Trust the process. Keep moving. One step after another.”
I asked Richard how he felt about the Bishopdale fundraising campaign. “When I saw Steve was doing this to raise money for the college, I was delighted,” he said. “I'm passionate about Bishopdale College. I would love to see it flourish and grow.”
Bishopdale College was born, reborn and thrived because of passionate and dedicated bishops. The dream began with Nelson’s first bishop, Edmund Hobhouse, who purchased land with a college in mind, but it fell to his successor Bishop Andrew Suter to found the college. The following century brought periods of closure and uncertainty. Bishop Peter Sutton oversaw a revival of the college in the 70s. Then in 2004 Bishop Derek Eaton addressed Synod regarding the reconstitution of the college with a full campus, and after Bishop Richard Ellena succeeded him, that vision became reality in 2008. “I just had the privilege of being the ‘midwife’ as we brought it back to life.”
Now faithfully serving in the parish of Havelock and Sounds, Richard said one of the topics of discussion at vestry the night before was on how the parish can support Bishopdale. The vestry agreed to donate a month of tithes to the college, but Richard hopes they can do even more. “It's critical Bishopdale keeps going, so I'm thrilled that Bishop Steve has picked up the mantle – picked up the baton, I should say, and is running with it.”
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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.
Bishop Steve running 100km to raise money for Bishopdale College earlier this month reminded me of another bishop in our diocese who took up a huge journey nearly two decades ago.
That’s Richard Ellena, Bishop of the Nelson Anglican Diocese from 2007 to 2018.
I called him to talk about it.
My first question was about why he chose to do it.
Richard said that he’d been considering how to celebrate the approaching 150th anniversary of the Nelson Diocese. The usual ideas came up – have a special service, make a big cake, write a book.
“It was quite by chance,” he said. “I was sitting at my desk thinking, No, we've got to do something creative here.” He was leaning back in his chair when the “crazy idea” struck: “Why don't I walk the boundaries of the diocese, like those first bishops did 150 years ago?” On top of a historical hike, he decided to make it a spiritual journey, a 40-day Lenten pilgrimage.
On 17 February 2009, Bishop Richard set off from the Nelson Cathedral steps.
Richard headed through Māpua and Motueka, onwards to Tākaka. From Collingwood, he took the Heaphy Track west to Karamea before trekking down the Buller coastline to Greymouth and heading inland to Reefton. Dipping down into the Christchurch Diocese, Richard took a few days to rest before picking up again in Waiau. Then he walked to Kaikōura, up the East Coast to Blenheim, and over the Maungatapu Track back to Nelson. Richard’s wife Hilary accompanied him with a campervan, brewing coffee and offering a place to wash and sleep.
The route was around 1,000km long, split into roughly 30km a day. Richard stopped at any parish he could, often preaching on Sundays, and welcomed people to join him for any stretch of the walk.
Interesting that “discipline” and “disciple” are from the same root word. Real discipleship is commitment to life change – it is a discipline and I sometimes wonder how many Christians are willing to make this commitment. I actually want to take that journey!
Bishop Richard's Blog: Day 12 – Karamea to Corbyvale
“It was really a community thing,” he told me. “Every church did something different on the way through.” Some churches held a service for his visit, some gathered for a cup of tea, some wanted to pray. The whole ministry team came over and met up in a little cafe in Charleston. “It was really a uniting thing for the diocese.”
About a hundred people walked with Richard at the start. Other times he was accompanied by 20 people, or in a small group of two or three. “Sometimes it was just me on my own and it was a chance to think and pray and dream.”
Richard had many interesting and meaningful encounters along the way. He recalled walking alone along the Karamea Bluffs during a storm – dark clouds above, branches all over the road. In the middle of nowhere, he met a man clearing the debris. After the initial “What are you doing here?” and “What are you doing here?” Richard learned this man was a freemason, and the two had a significant conversation about life and faith.
I’m intensely aware how often in the Gospels we have Jesus teaching as he walked on the road. There is something really powerful in this.
Bishop Richard's Blog: Days 17-18 – Charleston to Griegs
He told me his second cousin joined him from Christchurch for part of the inland route. She wasn’t a Christian at the time, but decided to walk with Richard and Rev Mike Hawke for the day. “She went back and joined the church,” Richard laughed, “and she’s now a church warden – all as a result of a walk.”
For another part of the journey, Richard was joined by a man who had lost his wife some years earlier, and, during the pilgrimage, his 18-year-old daughter passed away. The father walked with Richard and a few others on the East Coast, and they talked openly about why bad things happen to good people.
Amanda told the congregation ... she only did 6km but she felt very much a part of the whole experience. And then she added, “that’s all God asks us to do – the small path that he has for us.” Very profound. Giving me stuff to think about.
Bishop Richard's Blog: Days 21-22 – Greymouth to Reefton
It wasn’t just parishioners who were interested in Richard’s journey. When he reached the Langford Store near Collingwood, he found a dozen locals gathered for a chat over coffee. It turned out the store owner had done a letterbox drop inviting people to come and meet the bishop. “Next moment, the phone went off in the store – and it was Radio New Zealand. They wanted to know how I was getting on and what spiritual insights I’d had.”
I’ve learned how important it is to take ourselves totally out of our routine existence in order to be challenged and extended by God.
Bishop Richard's Blog: Day 11 – Karamea
40 days, 1,000 kilometres and 8 kilograms later, Richard ran up the Nelson Cathedral steps to finish the journey.
His learnings are beautifully summarised in a postscript on the blog he kept for the pilgrimage.
I learned that the world outside the church is so open to spiritual reflection. It’s not closed to Christ – it just wants to see a visible sign of authentic Christianity being lived out, not just to hear about it. I learned that when you remove the distractions all around and make life simpler and quieter, God‘s voice becomes louder. I learned that God teaches his greatest lessons when you follow his nudging and step outside your routines – and your comfort zone. I learned how powerful the first words of John 9 are: “as Jesus was walking along…” and how much I would miss if I stayed behind the desk and the computer!
Bishop Richard's Blog: Day 41 – Home
17 years on, and here we were chatting about everything he learned along the way. I thought of Bishop Steve’s reflection after his ultramarathon: “Trust the process. Keep moving. One step after another.”
I asked Richard how he felt about the Bishopdale fundraising campaign. “When I saw Steve was doing this to raise money for the college, I was delighted,” he said. “I'm passionate about Bishopdale College. I would love to see it flourish and grow.”
Bishopdale College was born, reborn and thrived because of passionate and dedicated bishops. The dream began with Nelson’s first bishop, Edmund Hobhouse, who purchased land with a college in mind, but it fell to his successor Bishop Andrew Suter to found the college. The following century brought periods of closure and uncertainty. Bishop Peter Sutton oversaw a revival of the college in the 70s. Then in 2004 Bishop Derek Eaton addressed Synod regarding the reconstitution of the college with a full campus, and after Bishop Richard Ellena succeeded him, that vision became reality in 2008. “I just had the privilege of being the ‘midwife’ as we brought it back to life.”
Now faithfully serving in the parish of Havelock and Sounds, Richard said one of the topics of discussion at vestry the night before was on how the parish can support Bishopdale. The vestry agreed to donate a month of tithes to the college, but Richard hopes they can do even more. “It's critical Bishopdale keeps going, so I'm thrilled that Bishop Steve has picked up the mantle – picked up the baton, I should say, and is running with it.”
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
