A number of significant people in the history of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand (NZ) and Polynesia are honoured in the Calendar, but many others also, helped build the church, with their faithful service and enthusiastic support. Beginning with those in the Church Missionary Society (CMS), who bravely laid the foundations of Christianity among Maori. We must particularly remember the missionaries’ wives, who toiled and laboured beside their husbands, often in very difficult conditions. Maori themselves were vigorous evangelists among their own people, some martyred for their faith. The inclusion of the Pacific Islands goes back to Bishop Selwyn’s time. The Anglican Church in Melanesia became a separate province in 1974, but the association with the Diocese of Polynesia (founded in 1925, but with a long historical prelude) remains an important component of the church’s life.

There are those who helped form the church for the settler colonies. People intent on establishing their familiar church in a new land, but without the English connection with the state. A focus as always was The Book of Common Prayer (Te Rawiri), along with the hymns and music of the Church of England.

The following generation was dominated by raising funds to build Churches, mostly in the familiar Gothic revival style, and providing equipment for the many activities of the church. An emerging significant movement was the Mothers’ Union, a product of the late 19th century concern for purity and godliness. It gave women a status otherwise denied them in the decision making processes of the time.

World War I, the Great Depression and World War II dominated the early part of the 20th century. A growing social concern was reflected in the work of the city missions in the major centres. Church youth benefited from important developments in Bible classes and youth groups, a significant feature from the 1920s on.

The post-war era saw a need to build a uniquely NZ church, embracing the strong voice of the Maori church, and the Pacific island peoples, addressing issues of cultural diversity. The charismatic movement brought a signifigant rivival though the 60's-70's. Jesus continues to nurture his Church through the sometimes difficult eddies of time, including now a global online presence.

The NZ Church has developed a distinctive style of its own among the churches of the Anglican Communion. We acknowledge today all those faithful witnesses gone before us, who gave, prayer, resources, faithful service, and sometimes their lives for Christ, and aided in the spread of the gospel and the growth of the Church in NZ.