Last January we escaped the frigid temperatures of Beijing and went south to New Zealand for summer in the Southern Hemisphere. It was a long awaited wish of mine to return to the beautiful place where I lived back in the '80s.
In many ways, little had changed; still is green, the road are still narrow, but most importantly the people are still very friendly.
A new experience was visiting Ngatiawa, a contemporary monastery about an hour north of Wellington. We were visiting Andrew Jones and his family who now make this place their home.
There we spent a few lazy and relaxing days. The environment was unique and quite uplifting. We particularly enjoyed prayers three times a day. There was a reading from Scripture, a few songs and spontaneous prayers. Each time was short and always left me longing for more... an interesting way to encourage people to come back.
One the many folks we met there was Justin Duckworth, whom together with his wife Jenny initiated the community. Justin impressed me with his vision for the nations and his care for the poor. Little did I know that I was meeting the soon to be elected Anglican Bishop of Wellington!
In a seemingly surprisingly move the establishment has chosen a "fringe" guy to lead. The choice is surely out of the box. However from what I learn about Justin it will bring the oldest church in New Zealand to the cutting edge of relevance.
Read for yourself the insightful report in the national newspapers
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