Message from Bishop Andrew

Kia ora koutou,

Bishops on retreat

Vaughan Park Retreat Centre in the Diocese of Auckland is a wonderful place for quiet reflection looking out over the beauty of nature encapsulated around Long Bay, on Auckland’s North Shore. Over this past weekend this was the venue for the retreat for the Pakeha Bishops and their spouses. Raewyn and I appreciated the opportunity to be in this place of beauty and reflection for a weekend with this group. As many of you know the Pakeha Bishops meet weekly on a Thursday morning by ZOOM for prayer and discussion, and for most weeks most of us are able to be there. This past weekend offered a different opportunity to share in retreat with one another following an Ignatian styled retreat led by Fr Mark Chamberlain. An experienced spiritual director and retreat leader, Mark led us beautifully through times of reflection, quiet and sharing. We’re grateful for the space to be away together like this with the company of others who share similar vocations in the life of our Church.

AI – artificial intelligence

I’m sure that many of you will have had some discussions about AI in some respect over the past few years. It seems to be present in our lives in many forms, and perhaps for most of the time we wonder about how it is intruding in our lives or how it can help us prepare a shopping list. This week I’ve enjoyed a professional development day with the Institute of Directors in Auckland looking at the role and impact of AI in Governance. There were some key takeaways from the day including reference to how quickly the development of AI has taken off in the past year … even since December 2024. The rate of development and change is so fast at the moment that a specialist in AI making a presentation at the conference day had prepared his notes ahead of time last week, and noted today how they were in some respects already outdated. The implementation of AI in Governance requires strategic alignment and, perhaps both reassuringly and ironically given the rate of development, a slow and cautious approach. It’s important to take issues of privacy, data protection and skills development seriously, as well as looking at opportunities to bolster workflow and innovation. It was a thoroughly satisfying day and well worthwhile. How would you imagine AI might fit into your world in terms of mission and ministry?

Consultation on the Archbishop of Canterbury

A committee and process have been formed to assist with the selection of the next Archbishop of Canterbury. In recent years the Anglican Communion Office has been working towards a process to gather views from across the entire Anglican Communion on what is required for the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Now that this See is vacant the process has begun and you are invited to participate in the consultation. You can find information about this work here. I encourage you to have your say!