Exploring hesitations at the Kaihāpai Kōrero

By Mike Bryan, The Salvation Army

I joined with a dozen or so other Eco Church champions for the first online Kaihāpai Kōrero last week. I have come to know that Eco Church sessions are always worth attending whether in person or on-line, as I get to meet others who are facing similar challenges to those I face and so get encouragement. I have also observed that they are meticulously organised with lots of short varied activities that hold my attention.

This event was no exception. We heard from three speakers on the "hesitations" that can stop us from progressing Eco Church in our contexts. Anna Baird was working through the tension between inclusion of all viewpoints in her church whilst pushing forward with action. Rebecca Webb shared about the hesitation of churches to engage in sustainability issues for fear of being seen as "Liberal". Finally James Beck shared the common problem of the need for more than one driver of the kaupapa within the local church and how to build involvement with the practical work. 

We discussed our own experiences in breakout rooms and this was an opportunity to network with people in our area and to encourage each other in the challenges we face. We were also encouraged to share a Bible passage that speaks to our situation. Irene Parminter gave us Mark 4:27: "Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how." 

Irene suggested that we could take comfort from knowing that our creation care work is a partnership with God and that our job is to sow seeds and not worry as much as we sometimes do that they do not always grow.

The hour long session finished with a round of short success stories from each of our contexts. This was a great way to finish - hearing about the amazing variety of ways that the NZ Eco Church movement is partnering with God and seeing seeds grow and bear fruit.

These meetings happen once a quarter on the second Monday night of each school term. I wholeheartedly encourage more Eco Church champions to come to the next one and look forward to seeing you online.

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If you're part of the Eco Church team in your church, the Kaihāpai Kōrero is for you! This once a term online gathering is open to all Eco Church kaihāpai from churches around the country. The Kaihāpai Kōrero is a space for connection, sharing, encouragement and collaboration. We'll listen and share and learn together about the joys and challenges of being on the eco church journey. Connecting and sharing with others on the journey is a great way to keep Eco Church momentum and enthusiasm up, so come join us!

To find out when our next Eco Church Kaihāpai Kōrero is, check out our Events page or the A Rocha Facebook upcoming events page.