Over the past six months, many headlines have been generated by the Presbyterian Church raising its voice on issues affecting New Zealand society.
In December, the Church issued a media release lamenting the increasing consumerism of Christmas. Moderator the Right Rev Dr Graham Redding said Christmas has become the season of overconsumption of everything, including alcohol, leading to mental and emotional suffering.
His comments prompted a TVNZ One News story that aired on Christmas Eve, featuring interviews with parents who said they felt under pressure to buy their children the latest expensive gadgets, and an interview with Graham who asked families to remember the story behind the holiday. Graham was also interviewed about the Church’s views on Radio Rhema.
In mid-February, the Church launched e-minister to the wider community by distributing printed flyers nationwide and releasing a media statement. Many Spanz readers will know that e-minister, the Church’s Internet-based advice service, has been available on our website since 2003 but the service had been little known outside the Church. The re-launch of e-minister was timed to coincide with the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday. In the Church’s media statement, Graham said that many in New Zealand society experience a spiritual wilderness caused by the temptations and burdens that weigh upon them, “and as a Church we are committed to offering services such as e-minister to help people in their search for meaning and purpose”. Graham was interviewed by Radio Rhema and by many of the country’s newspapers; to date stories on e-minister have appeared in 18 newspapers nationwide. While e-minister answers queries online in an anonymous way, questioners are also encouraged to seek out their local church and minister.
March proved to be a busy media month for the Church. Many media outlets published stories on tithing in response to Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki’s controversial stand on the issue. The Church was asked by the Herald on Sunday for comment: Graham said, “It is a form of spiritual abuse to pressure people in God’s name to give beyond their means” and that the principle of tithing may be set down in the book of Deuteronomy but “there’s no consensus about how the concept should be applied today”.
Early in the month, the Church marked Children’s Day by announcing in the media the forthcoming launch of a new social issues study guide on parenting. The booklet has been sent out to all parishes and to relevant community organisations. Graham was interviewed about the “Parenting Today” booklet for a newspaper story and on Radio Rhema, and he said that the praise and encouragement of children is integrally related to the encouragement of parents and caregivers, and that “the home environment is the single most important factor in shaping children’s wellbeing and determining their future.”
The Church released its Easter message to the media in late March. This year the Church reminded the country that Easter is a religious holiday and not a Cadbury’s event! The Church said that too many children associate Easter with an over-consumption of chocolate and are unaware of its religious origins. The Church’s Easter message sparked debate in the media, with TV One Breakfast host Paul Henry discussing with Peter Lineham from Massey University whether the Presbyterian Church “is correct that children are losing the real meaning of Easter behind a sea of chocolate”. The Dominion Post, the NZ Herald and TV3 News also had news coverage of the Church’s Easter message. In our Easter media statement, Graham said that “it is good that Easter is a time of celebration for many children, but the Church would like them to know what they are celebrating. It is an important part of our cultural and religious heritage”.
In Wellington, the Church had good Easter coverage in the local media of an event run jointly by Assembly Office and the Pacific Island Presbyterian Church in Newtown. PIPC Newtown took Easter morning tea to three schools in the Miramar area; the children received 480 Rosedale Easter buns donated by Delmaine Fine Foods, as well as chocolate milk. If your church would like to work with Assembly Office to shout a local school Easter buns next year, please email angela@presbyterian.org.nz
You can follow the Church’s ongoing media coverage on our website: “What we’ve said” www.presbyterian.org.nz/speaking-out/what-weve-said lists all our recent news stories and has links when available, and all the Church’s media statements can be found in the “Media releases” section of this page.