Letter to the Editor, Tuesday January 26, 2016

Saving St Mary's

A letter to St Mary's Pukenui steering committee and Pukenui community representatives.

Firstly, I want to thank you for inviting me to your community meeting last Thursday (January 14, 2016). It was a blessing for me to be among you, as it was the first time since my appointment as vicar of St Saviour's Kaitaia, that I had the pleasure of spending some time with you as the wider community.

My time with you allowed me to understand a little better what you expect and need from us as a church, and I thank you for your openness and honesty in that.

It is regrettable that you as a community were not made aware that St Mary's had been offered to the church leadership, and therefore to my mind, the people of Pukenui. For my part in that, I apologise.

At Thursday night's meeting you, as a representative body of the Pukenui Community, 'unanimously resolved that the church was not available for sale without consultation with the wider community, and that any sale be delayed for three months to give the community time to discuss the church's future'.

I would like to honour your wishes to that degree, in the hope that we may begin to rebuild relations between yourselves and us as an Anglican worshipping community.

A resolution was passed at the meeting January 14 regarding the three-month period you requested. Following on from that date I suggest that a decision be made to the future of St Mary's and her role in the community by April 14,2016.

I would like to confirm that we have withdrawn the property from sale and give the community the three months requested to discuss the future of the church. I suggest two possible ways forward:

1) You purchase the property yourselves. If this is the option you would like to pursue, we would like to see a feasible proposal from the governing trust to purchase the property and a plan as to how St Mary's will function as a place of Christian multi-denominational religious practice and how the congregations will look to be of service to the wider community.

Or:

2) That you provide a feasible plan as to how the community intends to re-engage with the Anglican Church in the Parish of Kaitaia/the Far North, and re-integrate us as an Anglican presence in the community.

I hope this is helpful, and look forward to hearing from you and meeting with you in April.

Rev Dino Houtas

Vicar, St Saviour's Church

Anglican Parish of Kaitaia