With Waitangi day just gone, I have found myself reflecting again on the bi-cultural story of our nation. Over the years I have been so fortunate as a Pākehā New Zealander to spend time on marae. I find myself reflecting on those experiences and how they have shaped both me and the work that I find myself doing with A Rocha and the Eco Church Project.

Here is what I have come to understand – care for creation, justice, and relationship with tangata whenua are deeply connected — and inseparable from what it means to follow Jesus in this place.

Waitangi Day calls me to remember, to grieve, and to hope. When I was in my mid twenties, I spent time on a marae and was met with generosity and openness as stories of painful injustice experienced by Māori were shared with us. Standing on land that holds the memory of battles fought and covenants dishonoured, and hearing those stories spoken aloud, left me feeling deeply sad. It was the first time I truly allowed the weight of that history to sink in. Scripture reminds us that lament is a faithful response to injustice — a way of telling the truth before God and one another, rather than turning away from pain.

A few years later, a five-day noho on Wairūrū marae brought a very different experience. I was again welcomed with warmth and generosity — it felt like a big awhi/embrace. It began to stitch something back together in me. I was invited to participate in a way of life deeply connected to land and sea, to stories told through waiata and mau rākau, and keeping traditional rōngoa alive. Life was not perfect, and the impacts of injustice were still present and deeply felt. Yet I met people who genuinely cared for their people and the whenua, actively nurturing both. 

This summer, I had the privilege of returning to Wairūrū marae. I was again reminded that it is okay to grieve, and also to walk forward together. As Christians in Aotearoa, I believe we are called into partnership — Māori and Pākehā, people and land, and with the God who holds us all. Walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8), we are invited to listen deeply, honour indigenous wisdom, care for the land, and faithfully weave justice, reconciliation, and hope into our shared future.