At last, frost has stopped the grass growing in the olive grove, but the major activity is pruning and preparing for the next season of growth, and already some of the trees are showing visible signs of preparing for flowering in November. And of course the macadamias are now ready to pick, and the pruning of excess growth is necessary as is fertiliser, lime and the communication a gardener has with the garden.  Even as we pick and prune, the macadamia grove is filled with the scent of new blossom, and both white and pink racemes of bloom adorn the trees. All this is part of my life experience just now, and can serve as a paradigm for the growth into wholeness to which all of us on the pathway of life are called. Nothing in the natural order stands still; if it is alive, it is growing and changing it seems. The gospels have Jesus making comparisons with the natural order to make a point about life, relationship with God, relationships within the human family, within church, about ministry and mystery. So I am mindful of John 15 where Jesus says “I am the vine, my father is the gardener”. He talks about pruning for growth and fruit, meaning of course discipline and that reflection  on life that disciples of the Way give prayerfully so that they might be better ministers of love in daily life.

Some of us have recently attended the Licensed Ministry Conference where we heard Robin Greenwood talk of transformation of Church. He was really talking about the sort of pruning that might be needed so that the witness to Jesus Christ might go on, and communities of disciples might gather in Christ’s name to celebrate the goodness of God. He offered us some new ways of looking at old problems and offered field theory and the Life of the Holy Trinity as a relational model for life and ministry in the name of God. I hope you were as stimulated and  encouraged as I was. Since the mid nineties, Robin has helped his readers reflect on Priesthood, Local Church Life, ministry teams and now the structures of the church which either inhibit or encourage life and mission. I was glad to meet him personally, to spend time in his company  and to show him some of the wilder places of the Waimate Archdeaconry; including that special ministry unit of contemplative prayer, called St Isaac’s retreat house in the Hokianga, to the groves of Kauri at Puketi Forest and of course, Tane Mahuta, while Margaret introduced him to  what Local Ministry teams actually look like in the Bay of Islands.

On a more professional note, Two useful book that I have recently pondered over are “The Equipping Pastor”, by Paul Stevens and Phil Collins ( Alban Institute, 1993) and “Can our Church Live?” By Alice Mann, ( Alban Institute, 1999). I am also reading some of the work of  the late John Main OSB who writes on the importance of prayer as stillness, waiting and silence, and recommends the practise of waiting on God in prayer morning and evening. The practice he recommends is using a word of scripture like “Maranatha” Our Lord Come! which one repeats over and over until one descends into silence. This reminds us that in St Augustine’s words, that our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. It is from the basis of this relationship with the Eternal that all loving service springs. This practice kind of unhooks us from the heresy of believing that the coming of the Kingdom depends on our ceaseless activity. ( I put that last bit in for me, mostly.)

I am as interested in sustainable church life and ministry as I am in sustainable culture of orchard systems. I am eager to see local learning communities such as Education for Ministry proliferate in our archdeaconry, the growth of mutual ministry whether ministry units are lead by vicars or by ministry support teams, and I want to see local churches find ways of engaging in authentic local mission, whilst assisting one another to live into the potential that God has for all.

Grace and peace to you
Christopher Honoré
Joint Archdeacon