A Conversation with MPs
We want our city to flourish and we believe Auckland-based Members of Parliament want the same. Leveraging this common ground, we invited electorate MPs based in Tāmaki Makaurau to participate in a conversation with church leaders. The 2018 Faith & Beliefs Study commissioned by the Wilberforce Foundation showed 16% of people attend church at least once a month, so church-attenders make up a sizeable constituency of around 250,000 people in our city.
MPs and church leaders were encouraged to be respectful and firm in their comments; to share their ideas for a flourishing city and how we might listen more and collaborate further with one another.
The MPs who spoke were:
David Seymour, ACT Party MP for Epsom
Simeon Brown, National Party MP for Pakuranga
Michael Wood, Labour Party MP for Mt Roskill
Chlöe Swarbrick, Green Party MP for Auckland Central
Other MPs from across the city were present in support.
The Auckland Church Leaders who spoke were:
Lyndon Drake, Archdeacon of Tāmaki Makaurau, Māori Anglican Church
Luke de Jong, Senior Pastor, LIFE
Ani Tangimataiti, Senior Pastor, 12 Stones Ministries Assemblies of God Otara
Steve Lowe, Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Auckland
Brett Jones, National Superintendent, Wesleyan-Methodist Church of Aotearoa NZ
Each speaker articulated their points clearly, and the conversation was constructive and meaningful.
Comments afterwards from church leaders included:
“I think the value of a meeting like today is that we get to hear where church and politics are in sync. And also it tells the MPs that we want and need to be in the mix”
“What a wonderful time. It will no doubt go some way to furthering understanding and providing more opportunities for pastoral and political engagement on areas of common concern in the future. “
Comments afterwards from MPs included:
“I enjoyed listening to all the speakers on the panel and I agree it is a good initiative bringing church leaders in Auckland together with MPs who are elected to represent local communities. What I found really useful was meeting leaders who are not necessarily from our area and just having a conversation so the informal session prior to the panel was invaluable. Thank you for hosting us and the refreshments were scrumptious as well.”
“Generally I thought it was a well-run and constructive engagement. It was positive to focus on the vision that people have and where the commonalities lie….Arising from the discussion I wonder whether there might be value in working together to meet and discuss issues on a periodic basis – about 3 times per year might be reasonable and manageable.”
Picking up on this final comment, we continue to engage with MPs to figure out how we can collaborate for a flourishing city.
