"Religion" meets "Society": The sermon of Bishop Marsden

"Religion" meets "Society": The sermon of Bishop Marsden

Two hundred years ago, on a visit from Sydney, Bishop Marsden delivered a Christmas Day sermon to the Maori of Northland. The event has become recognised as the effective inauguration of Christian missionary activity in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

The Māori people already living in here – the tangata whenua – sensed both opportunity and danger in missionary activity. But, happily, the quarter-century between the sermon and the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi saw the establishment of the roots of Christianity in Aotearoa New Zealand and the beginning of a durable bi-cultural system.

To help us understand the motives on all sides – missionary, Māori, settlers and agents of government – a panel discussion under the auspices of The St. Andrew’s Trust for the Study of Religion and Society will take place on Tuesday, December 9th at 12:15pm at St Andrew’s on Terrace, 30 The Terrace, Wellington. All are welcome and there is no entry charge.

The speakers will be retired Anglican Bishop Richard Randerson, who was the first chair of the Marsden Cross Trust Board and Dr Geoff Troughton, Senior Lecturer at the School of Art History, Classics and Religious Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. The discussion will be chaired by Noel Cheer.

The St Andrew’s Trust for the Study of Religion and Society offers to the general public speaking events which promote religious literacy, tolerance and relevance.

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