Nā Shakayla Andrews-Alapaki tēnei atikara.
Anglican hymns fill the cathedral as Bishop Susan Wallace is formally installed as the new Māori Bishop of Te Waipounamu.
“I want to say how honoured I've been by the numbers that have shown up to support this day. It's been a bit of a journey since we lost my papa two years ago, and even when I started working with him, I never, ever expected that I would be following so closely in his footsteps.” she said.
Wallace is the second woman to become a bishop in Aotearoa. Archbishop Don Tamihere said her appointment continues a strong legacy of service established by her parents, particularly her late father, Bishop Richard Wallace, who served as the second Bishop of Te Waipounamu.
“He hononga ki ngā mahi kua kitea, kua rongo i roto i ōna mātua i te wā i a Pāpā Rīhari me te mōhio whānuitia o te iwi he whakapau kaha ki te mahi ki tōna iwi i roto i ngā āhuatanga katoa. Ko tērā anō hoki, ko tōna māmā e whakapau kaha hei kaimahi tūturu mā te iwi” he said.
Raised staunchly within the faith, Wallace described herself as a "whakapapa mihingare", with generations of Anglican faith on her mother's side. She said her father's conversion to the Anglican Church from Ratana faith helped shape the family's commitment to ministry and service.
The installation ceremony attracted prominent leaders from across New Zealand and overseas, including Te Mākau Ariki Atawhai and Dame Areta Koopu. Students from Hukarere Māori Girls' College and Te Aute College also took part in the ceremony, helping Wallace into her significant new role.
In attendance was Archbishop Marinez Bassotto of Brazil, recognised as the first female Primate in Latin America. Wallace said hearing prayers and sermons delivered in Portuguese, Tongan and Māori reflected the diversity and unity of the Anglican communion.
Having been appointed to Māori Bishop of Te Waipounamu in April, Wallace says one of her key priorities is advancing women's leadership within both the church and wider communities.
“there was an opportunity to utilise the call of the people here in Te Waipounamu to elect a woman bishop to actually lean into that perhaps as an example of where women's leadership could and should be within not only the hahi, but also within our communities.”
The celebrations concluded at Te Waipounamu Māori Girls' College, where much of Wallace's ministry has been based. From there, she begins the next chapter of her leadership, committed to serving her people, her church and the communities of Te Waipounamu.
In addition to her ministerial commitments as Bishop, Wallace is also the Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio representative on the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu board and has held the seat since 2017.
Nā Shakayla Andrews-Alapaki tēnei atikara.
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Ko ngā hīmene o te hāhi Mihingare e iere nei i te whare karakia nui, arā ko Pīhopa Susan Wallace te Pīhopa hōu o Te Waipounamu.
“I want to say how honoured I've been by the numbers that have shown up to support this day. It's been a bit of a journey since we lost my papa two years ago, and even when I started working with him, I never, ever expected that I would be following so closely in his footsteps.” hei tāna.
Ko Wallace te wahine tuarua hei pīhopa ki Aotearoa. E ai ki a Archibishop Don Tamihere, e haere tonu ana ngā mahi o ōna mātua i roto i tāna tūranga hōu. Ko Pīhopa Richard Wallace tōna pāpā, te pīhopa tuarua o Te Waipounamu.
“He hononga ki ngā mahi kua kitea, kua rongo i roto i ōna mātua i te wā i a Pāpā Rīhari me te mōhio whānuitia o te iwi he whakapau kaha ki te mahi ki tōna iwi i roto i ngā āhuatanga katoa. Ko tērā anō hoki, ko tōna māmā e whakapau kaha hei kaimahi tūturu mā te iwi” hei tāna.
Mai i tōna tipuranga, he pūmau tōna whakapono ki te hāhi. E ai ki a Wallace, he “whakapapa mihingare” tāna mā roto mai i ngā tātai whakapapa o te whānau o tōna māmā ki te hāhi Mihingare. Hei tāna, nā te whakawhitinga mai o tōna pāpā mai i te hāhi Ratana ki te hāhi Mihingare, i tangata whenua ai te noho o te whānau ki te hāhi.
I tae tawhiti mai ētahi o ngā kanohi kitea o te motu pēnei i a Te Makau Ariki Te Atawhai rāua ko Dame Areta Koopu. I whai wāhi mai hoki ko ngā tauira o Te Kāreti o Hukarere me Te Kāreti o Te Aute i roto i te whakatau, e hāpai ana i a Wallace me tōna tūranga hōu.
Waihoki, i tae mai a Archbishop Marinez Bassotto nō Brazil. Koia rā te paraimete tuatahi ki Amerika ki te Tonga. Hei tā Wallace, mā te rongo i ngā inoi i roto i ngā reo Portuguese, reo Tonga, reo Māori hoki e kite ana i te kōtahitanga o te hāhi Mihingare.
Nō te marama o Āperira, i tūātea ai a Wallace ki te tūranga me tōna aronga nui kia hāpai ake i te rangatiratanga o ngā wāhine i roto i te hāhi me te hāpori whānui.
“there was an opportunity to utilise the call of the people here in Te Waipounamu to elect a woman bishop to actually lean into that perhaps as an example of where women's leadership could and should be within not only the hahi, but also within our communities.”
I mutu ai ngā whakanuitanga ki te wāhi tawhito o Te Waipounamu Māori Girls’ College, ki reira mahi ai a Wallace i ngā mahi Mihingare. Nō reira, e timata ana e ia i tōna ara hōu me tōna pūmau ki te taunaki i tōna rahi, i tōna hāhi me ngā hāpori whānui o Te Waipounamu.
Hei tāpiri atu ki ōna mahi hei pīhopa, ko Wallace te māngai mō Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio i runga i te poari o Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Kua puritia e ia te tūranga mai i te tau 2017.