Trumpets, trout and trees: The new Rotorua vicar bringing passion to the parish

Bruce Allport is taking on his next challenge as a first-time vicar at Rotorua's St Luke's Anglican Church. Photo / Andrew Warner

He's a top trumpet player, a keen fisherman and an experienced horticulturist - now Bruce Allport is taking on his next challenge as a first-time vicar at 57.

And Rotorua's St Luke's Anglican Church has embraced the newly-appointed leader of their flock with open arms.

From catching his first trout in the Rotorua lakes to getting a welcome by the community that was "second to nothing", Allport says he won't be going anywhere quickly.

His life had gone down a path he had never expected, saying that if someone had told him five years ago he would be a vicar in Rotorua, he never would have believed them.

Allport had spent most of his life in the Hastings area working as a horticulturist for 27 years.

Bruce Allport is taking on his next challenge as a first-time vicar at Rotorua's St Luke's Anglican Church. Photo / Andrew Warner

Over this time, he had done a lot of council work as well as being the head gardener in Hasting's Cornwall Park for a time.

He said he had always had an interest in trees, shrubs and flowers and the blooming process. It was something so beautiful that could only be described as "God's creation" and it was mans' responsibility to "nurture and care" for them, he said.

"It was a part of my faith that I had always really enjoyed."

Allport had an "on and off" relationship with the church throughout his life but it was not until a tragedy in his family back in the 80s that he says he was truly "called back to God".

He became heavily involved with his local church in Hastings and worked part-time within the ministry while continuing his work as a horticulturist.

It wasn't until his late 40s that he realised working full time in the ministry was what he had been called to do, he said.

He jumped straight into his studies, taking on a diploma of Anglican studies and a bachelor of theology degree along the way.

He delved deeply into the academics but enjoyed what he learned about himself throughout his seven-year journey the most, he said.

"It also showed me that I didn't have to be a certain age to study, learning is so valuable for all ages."

Just as he was finishing up his studies and starting to lead a parish in his Hasting's church, Allport heard the news that a vicar was going into retirement in Rotorua.

"I took some time to see if God was calling me to Rotorua and sure enough God was."

He applied for the position and within weeks, he was called to move into the vicarage and had an installation ceremony held to honour his new role.

He said it had taken him seven years to get where he was and he "couldn't be happier".

Although he never expected to end up in Rotorua, Allport said it definitely came with a number of perks.

Allport had always had a passion for fishing and loved firing up his dinghy on a weekend afternoon to get out on the water.

He described it as a spiritual time for him with the added perks of picking up dinner on the way, he said with a laugh.

Bruce Allport is also a talented trumpeter. Photo / Andrew Warner

But his passions do not stop there.

From the moment he picked up a trumpet at the age of 13, a passion for music ignited in him.

For years, he was involved in various brass bands and had even played for a symphonic band for a time.

However, he said there was a bit of hiatus when his two children were young as they would "scream" when he started playing due to the noise.

"We're only human."

Allport had always been a big family man too, raising two children and being a grandfather in both Hastings and soon to be Whangārei.

Looking forward, Allport wanted to "take his time" to settle into the church, get to know the community and let them get to know him.

He wanted to take feedback and hear the voices of the community when it came to making big decisions for the future of the church, he said.

This was vitally important in a post-Covid world, he said, as they were fighting a battle they had never taken on before.

He had been reflecting on wartime ministers over the last few months and how they were flung in the middle of crossfire to deliver the word of
God.

He said these ministers would do their job with "bullets flying around them" but he compared Covid as a "different type of bullet" setting up a new challenge for modern-day ministers.

Whether it be online services or just checking in on parishioners when they could not see them, he said it taught them to always "be prepared for the unexpected".

"We have a really exciting time ahead of us."