Five presbyteries, encompassing all Presbyterian parishes within Southland and Otago below the Waitaki River in New Zealand, are joining together to form the Southern Presbytery. The presbyteries will be united in February to better connect with their communities and to try and attract more youthful members.
The merger will create central governance for all parishes controlling such things as property trading and administration.
The decision was based on a desire to free up people for missionary work rather than tying them down in administration roles, said Rev. Geoffrey Vine, facilitator for the combined presbyteries reform team.
A task force had worked on the merger for a year, following a decision at the 2008 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand that the number of presbyteries be reduced, with North Otago and Dunedin merging into one presbytery later that year.
The presbyteries had been independent for about 150 years, and this was the “biggest shake-up” the church had undertaken during this time, said Vine.
The move to a single presbytery meant the church had come “full circle” since Thomas Burns established the Presbytery of Otago in the 1850s.
The decision will not affect jobs or reduce the number of churches.
“It marks an important new direction for the Presbyterian Church as ministers and elders, freed of the cumbersome work of governance issues, will be seeking a higher profile in the community.”
The Southern Presbytery will merge on Feb. 13 at Calvin Church in Gore, and will be ratified in October by the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.
– Otago Daily Times and The Southland Times
