Te Kopara 12
[1] Te Kopara, Number 12, Gisborne, September, 1914.
‘Iti te Kopara, kai takirikiri ana i runga i te Kahikatea.’
Although the Bellbird is small, he plucks at the Kahikatea. [cf Nga Pepeha 908]
THE HUI TOPU OF THE MAORI CHURCH OF THE DIOCESE OF WAIAPU, 1914.
The Bishop’s Address.
My brother clergy and laymen:
I am pleased that our Hui Topu is being held so soon after my consecration as Bishop, for it means that I am seeing early on my Maori friends from all parts of the Diocese and will hear your views on the big issues facing the Church.
My first words must be to honour Mr Goodyear who worked faithfully for many years at this end of the Diocese. His death is a loss to the whole Diocese and not only for those who lived close to him. He was loved by all those who knew him and he rejoiced at seeing most of this area returning to the Lord’s flock.
We are nearing the centenary of the coming of Mr Marsden and it is right that we look at the fruit of the work of that ‘Apostle to the Maori People,’ of his preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Bay of Islands.
You have heard about the people of faith who followed him. They preached and the Maori People flew to the Kingdom of Christ, wishing to become soldiers of Christ, and when Bishop Selwyn arrived he discovered that all the Maori People had been baptised into the Church.
Some, looking back, say that ’the glory has departed’. Speaking of those days causes sadness, sadness for the Pakeha, sadness for the Maori. People no longer fight for the things that were preached before. But they not only abandon the fight but no longer do good works. It is the same in all countries: ‘the word is swiftly accepted and there is rejoicing,’ but then comes the testing and the brightness of the first love is darkened. It was the same with the Church after Christ. How good it was at the beginning! There were tongues of fire! There were signs from God, signs of his power. That was visible power, something that
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entered into people. Afterwards came persecution and the Christians were scattered. Those sufferings brought birth; the children of the Church were born. It is the same here. It was easy in those days to say the words, ‘I am a Christian.’ Everyone was eager to join the Church; people were all tired of past practices and cast them off. But things are different now. The siren calls of the world are strong; worthless activities and pleasures are pulling people away and Pakeha ways are intruding on the Maori village. However, Christ continues to call. What will be the result? Who knows? We will not know until we see the fruits. The growth of goodness is an internal thing and we will not soon observe it, but we only see outward signs now. These are some:
1. The people have attended Peneti’s missions and have been stirred up. Men and women have repented. Some of the young men are thinking of going to Te Rau to be taught. Praise God who has brought this about.
2. People are listening to the minister. If the minister is diligent and faithful in his work and is powerful and proclaims the truth in his preaching there will be a great increase in the fruits of the Spirit amongst the people. Lwet us praise God who is urging on the clergy.
3. There is a desire to take the Gospel to all the peoples of the world. The day is past when you have taken only for yourselves the good things of God. They were given freely to you and now you are thinking of giving them freely to people who have not yet received them. I hear that some of you are thinking of going to preach in the islands of Melanesia. I hope, at this Hui, to arrange some way in which that task can be fulfilled. We’ve talked enough; let’s get up and do something.
I have a word of caution for you about Missions. A mission can give rise to problems if the minister does not follow it up conscientiously. ‘All the effort of clearing away the weeds is wasted if there is no planting afterwards.’ [cf Nga Pepeha 200] The thing that equips the minister for this is learning, reading books. I want to arrange some means by which some good books can be sent to the Maori clergy for them to read.
A word about money. The collection for the Ohinemutu Church showed that Maori people are able to give generously. The thing that has not been learned is giving regularly each month, each year, to provide stipends for the ministers. Some ministers have to work very hard. It would be good were there to be two clergy in such places. That could be achieved if this practice of giving towards clergy stipends was adopted. It would be good if a proportion of the profits of sheep-farming could be set aside for clergy stipends and if a person has no sheep he can set aside part of the profits of his work.
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Hukarere is still in debt. It is right that the Maori People should meet this obligation. It is your school, for your daughters. So let the Pakeha see your goodwill towards the school and your love for your daughters: if you pay off the debt they will see it.
Another matter is the bringing together of the Pakeha side and the Maori side of the Church. There are not two Churches. The Church is One. We are all one body in Christ. Some ministers are Pakeha, some are Maori. In some places where there is a single parish the Pakeha minister is doing his work by himself and the Maori minister is doing his work by himself, neither joining the other in his work. Would it not be possible for them to work together? If the Maori minister speaks English could he not work amongst the Pakeha people some days, and if the Pakeha minister speaks Maori could he not work amongst the Maori some days? I have written to the Head of St John’s College in Auckland to ask if it is not possible to teach the Maori language to some of the men being trained as clergy. In this fashion the two peoples will grow into one Church.
My great desire is that all the Maori ministers attend the Synod in Napier so that we can seek ways of addressing some of the problems of the Maori side of the Church. One of these is educating the children. If a Sunday School is set up in each village then the Church will be strengthened in the future.
But the most important thing is the work of every Christian. Teaching and preaching are insignificant compared with how we reveal Christ in our actions; in this way we fulfil our lives which are hidden in Christ in God. This is the thing that will turn people to God.
May the Holy Spirit guide and direct us now that our words and our works may honour God and extend the rule of Christ throughout the whole world.
FOOD FOR TE KOPARA, 1914.
January: Tame Hohaia, 5/-; Kaka W Powhitu, 5/-; Hone Iraia, 5/-; J Maka, 5/-
February: Wiremu Tokena, 5/-; Ev H Paerata, 2/6
March: H Kareanui, 5/-; Hone Ngata, 5/-; Rev Poihipi Kohere, 5/-; H Roera, 5/-
April: Pahu Ratapihi, 5/-; Hunia Rae, 5/-; Huni Korimete, 5/-; Miss Heron, 5/-; Right Rev Bishop Williams, 5/-; Manihera Waititi, 5/-; Materoa A Parata, 5/-; Rewi Tamihana, 5/-; W A Aperahama, 10/-
May: W T Prentice, 5/-; Waaka Te Ranui, 2/6; Rev E H Te Ngara, 5/-; Humphrey Haines FRCS, 10/-
June: Hapi Love, 5/-; Hiraka Te Rango, 5/-; Rev W G Williams, £1; Miss Harrison, £1
July: Rev F Spencer, 5/-; Rev Teri Te Paerata, 10/-; Takopa Kimihanga, 5/-
August: Rena Te Hemara, 5/-; Tepu Takuira, 5/-
September: Hemi Te Awapuni, 5/-; Apero Te Huiki, 5/-; Wetini Rangiapohia, 5/-; Paora Kurupo, 5/-
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THE MOST TERRIBLE FIGHTING IN THE WORLD.
Multitudes of fallen men.
Who is winning; who has been defeated.
The conflict now.
Spiritual lessons.
Who is winning; who has been defeated.
The conflict now.
Spiritual lessons.
One cannot question the facts of this story and its correctness because if one looks at the accounts handed down by the great nations of the world from ancient times up until now one cannot find a war fought in those days comparable in size to the present one. The major war in the past which was said to be huge was that of Napoleon in 1815 but it bears no comparison with the present war. In that war five nations were engaged – the English, the Dutch, the Belgians whose country has been overrun by the Germans, and Prussia, which is now fighting against England, Russia and France; these four nations were fighting the French. In this war there are eight major powers involved. England, France, Belgium, Russia, Japan, and Serbia are the six nations fighting Germany and Austria. Italy is at present sitting on its heels in regard to the war and to fighting against Germany. Who would have imagined, who would have predicted that all the nations of the world may be caught up in this war? Secondly, think how many soldiers from each country are involved in the fighting, and from this we see that this is indeed the largest battle in the world. Let us say that only half of each nations soldiers are engaged in the fighting at present then the following table gives their numbers
Nation Soldiers (Not including sailors)
England 400,000
France 1,250,000
Russia 2,700,000
Serbia 200,000
Belgium 300,000
Total 4,850,000
Germany 2,750,000
Austria 1,250,000
Total 4,000,000
You can see that nearly nine million are fighting and perhaps Japan will bring it up to nine or even ten million.
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If we were to include the number of sailors on the warships then the number would be higher. Yes, there has never been a war so large in the past right up to the present day.
Innumerable Men have Fallen.
Nor is there any difference; just as the war is huge so are the casualties. Perhaps for the first time this war will cause people to tremble at the news of those killed. Consider that there are so many men packed together that when they are shot they cannot fall down but remain standing, clinging to one another, because they are so densely packed. In those placed where casualties are heaped up the heaps can be six feet high. It is Germany that is suffering so much. Our own side has not suffered so many deaths. It is reported that in the past week a train carrying German bodies to their capital city, Berlin, was completely full of bodies from the floor to the roof, packed in as if they were herrings in a tin. When the people standing at the station saw the contents of that train they thought they had been defeated. Because so many Germans had fallen they could not be buried but were just left there in heaps. Let me explain here why so many Germans were killed and so few of our people. The reason is that because Germany has so many soldiers they think that it is best to defeat the enemy by committing sheer numbers, that is, they put them under pressure simply because they do not have a comparable number of soldiers and in that way they defeat an army which does not have a limitless number of men. You will be able to appreciate the huge numbers if I explain to you that in the engagement of the English with the Germans close to the French border there are eight Germans to each Englishman, that is, 200,000 English to 1,600,000 Germans, so that when the Germans advance in close array there were five or six men to every single [?maata] of the English. Because the English did not advance in close formation and knew how to fight flat on the ground their casualties were not great. Yes, the falling of men is terrible.
Who is Winning and Who is Being Defeated?
It is not difficult to answer this question since Germany has retreated rapidly and Austria has been overpowered by Russia and Serbia. Germany was trying to get to Paris, the French capital city, on 3rd September. In 1870 when they were fighting the French, that was the date on which they took that city; they arrived in the city with heads held high. They thought they could achieve the same thing a second
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time but they could not achieve it this time because it was not only the French that they were up against but also the English. Germany thought that if the English were not involved they would get there. Perhaps yes, or perhaps no. Its retreat did not go well. During the two weeks they were retreating their total casualties were 44,000. It is obvious that Germany must bring an end to its activities. The people at home in Germany are now lamenting and asking Germany to stop the war. Germany’s survival now depends on it ending the war but it is not an acceptable way of surviving because it is deeply in debt, its debt being in the region of 200 million pounds, and it will learn that the reparations it will have to pay for the expenses of this war will truly bring it down. Russia is the nation most keen on getting revenge against both Germany and Austria. It has taken many German cities and the Tsar, that is, the King, has said that he will fight on until her reaches Berlin. It has taken 180,000 German and Austrian prisoners over the past two weeks, along with 450 heavy artillery, 400 food wagons, 12 flags, and 7 aircraft. Serbia is also fighting strongly and has captured or killed many Austrians. The nation that has suffered most is Austria. More than half of its men have been killed or taken prisoner by Russia and Serbia.
The Conflict Now.
We have had no new reports during the past three days. We think that the English and French are moving to encircle and break through the German army to shatter and destroy it. All the indications we have at present is that the Germans are in a bad place. The problems that are afflicting Germany now are food shortages and weariness; they are tired and things are going badly for them. I forgot to point out that one of the German generals and some thousand men under him have been captured by the English during the past week.
Spiritual Lessons.
The Psalmist in Psalm 46, verse 10, says, ‘Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted on the earth.’ Although it is not known how many thousand years ago God uttered these words they retain their authority today. Yes, it is very clear that the people who know God and who seek to exalt him in this world and to grow his kingdom on earth are the people he will exalt. However many years Germany has been preparing to fight and to subject the world to itself, the outcome of arrogance, and has now sought to actualize its desires, it will not succeed. The
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Lord says different and that he alone is to be exalted on the earth. Germany is seeking to exalt itself on the earth and this goes against God’s plan, it is fighting against him. But if a people listen to God and fulfil his commands then they will be blessed by God. What is the basis of England’s strength? It is none other that its honouring and fearing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and its seeking to grow the Kingdom of God on the earth, so that ‘the Lord is exalted among the nations and exalted in the earth.’ People, the lesson for us is clear even though we are a small nation. If we remember the Lord and honour and fear him then we will be blessed. If we exalt him he will exalt us. Indeed one can ask, ‘Where is Israel, God’s own people, now?’ It is no longer identifiable as a people. And why? Because they forgot God. Or where are the people from the time of Israel? Who knows? Why have they disappeared? Because they fought against God. Although the word of the Lord was set before them, what of that? They disobeyed it and they were the victim. Where is Rome today? It has gone the way decreed for those who disobey the commandments of God, wandering off to fulfil their own wishes. ‘Be still, then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.’
LATEST NEWS
In the battle between the French and the Germans at Mauberge it is said that 50,000 Germans fell.
Churchill has given instructions for the rapid setting-up of an English army of 1,000,000 men to go to the war. Churchill thinks that in this way the war will be brought to a quick conclusion. (Churchill is the head of the English Navy.)
Serbia has made it known that like England, France and Russia, while it will not stop fighting for a time, as is the case will all these powers it want an end to this war.
On 23rd news came of the shelling by Germany of three English battleships in the North Sea. (This is the sea patrolled by English warships because if this sea was controlled by Germany it would have access to England.) Those three battleships were attacked by vessels sailing under the surface of the sea. Those vessels are
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called ‘submarines’; perhaps we should call them ‘whales’ because they travel like whales submerging sometimes and rising to the surface again. These are dreadful ships; they are small and squat. Their main weapon is the torpedo; when they are close to the enemy ship they release their torpedoes. When those torpedoes hit the ship they explode and so the ship is destroyed. This is what the Germans did to these three English ships and all three that were damaged sank. There were 755 men on board each one of these ships making a total of 2265. Seven hundred of these 2,265 sailors were saved. This was a tragic event for the English because they were secretly struck by the Germans.
Russia has 6,000,000 soldiers prepared now to go to fight. At present it has 1,000,000 men fighting; 500,000 against Germany and 500,000 against Austria. News has arrived that Russia and Serbia have defeated Austria. It is said that as many as one million Austrian troops have been captured by these powers or have become casualties, almost half of all Austria’s soldiers. Austria has been overpowered.
THE MAORI CONTINGENT
The Dominion Government has agreed that Maori may go to the war. At last the Maori desire to stand with their Pakeha brothers in the wars faced by the Empire of England is fulfilled. This is a great honour for us Maori that in the world’s most dreadful conflict we are being permitted to share in the Empire’s sufferings. Five hundred Maori soldiers are to go. Those five hundred will be chosen from all the large tribes of Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu. We have received telegrams from Sir Timi Kara and the Hon A T Ngata telling us that they will be in Gisborne on October 3rd to see the people chosen from the East Coast, from Ngati Porou and from Ngati Kahungunu at Te Wairoa. News is that some will go to protect Samoa and some will be sent to Egypt. Farewell, you young fellows, farewell. Farewell! Be men, be brave! We Maori were a brave people in the days of our ancestors; therefore go and let you hearts bear the strain like those of our ancestors.
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Go, intent on holding on to the reputation of our ancestors for bravery. Don’t permit it to be wiped away from us, their descendants in these days. Go! ‘Fear God. Honour the King.’
May God bless and protect you who are going. May he guide you in all the bad things you may have to face, and if it be his will, may he bring you back to Aotearoa, the land of your birth.
DIOCESE OF WAIAPU
The Maori Church.
Some provisions set down by the Synod Committee for the Maori Section of the Church:
1. The stipends of the Maori Clergy are to be paid monthly.
This is important, but it will not be achieved if the Maori Parishes do not send to Napier the stipend money for the Minister. If that stipend money is sent promptly then the Minister will receive his stipend promptly.
2. An annual amount of £2-0-0 will be deducted from the stipend of each Minister for the Pensions Board.
That £2-0-0 will provide the Pension for the Minister when he gets old or suffers sickness.
3. The stipend for the Ministers of Hawkes Bay and of Rotorua are to be provided by the Maori Church only, one part coming from the Clergy Sustentation Fund and one part from the people of the Parish.
The grants from the Clergy Sustentation Fund to the stipends of the Ministers are not the same: £90-0-0 is required in the case of Hawkes Bay and £40-0-0 in the case of Rotorua.
4. The same practice is to apply to the Parishes of Gisborne, Whangara, Tokomaru, Hikurangi, Waiapu, Te Kawakawa, and Te Kaha, that is, they will be met by the Clergy Sustentation Fund and the people of the Parish.
The money required for these seven parishes is almost £400.
5. All the churches and clergy houses are to be adequately insured.
6. That the Maori Parishes be billed for part of the cost of the Diocesan Synod each year so that the Pakeha section alone does not have to carry that burden.
7. That the Maori Parishes take note of the collection days designated by Synod:
For the Maori Church – on the First Sunday of Advent.
For poorer parts of the Diocese – on the Fourth Sunday in Lent and the first Sunday in September.
For Melanesia – on the Day of Pentecost.
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RULES OF THE PAPER.
1. Te Kopara is published monthly.
2. The subscription for the paper is five shillings (5/-) a year paid by postal note or stamps.
3. Anyone wishing to take Te Kopara should send the money with the covering letter.
4. Articles are welcome from all parts of the country, but the Editor reserves the right to decide on what to print. Write clearly.
5. Address all letters to:
Te Kopara,
Te Rau,
Gisborne.
A NOTICE
To those wanting a Prayer Book or Hymn Book. I now have plenty of books. The prices are:
Large, soft cover 2/6
Large, red cover 3/-
Large, hard cover 4/-
Large, superior cover 5/6
Small, soft cover 1/-
Small, red cover 1/6
Small, hard cover 2/6
Small, superior cover 3/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, soft cover 1/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, red cover 1/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, hard cover 3/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, superior cover 4/-
Prayer Book, New Testament and Hymns, red cover, 3/6
Prayer Book, New Testament and Hymns, superior cover, 5/6
Hymns 6d
Words for the Prayerful Heart 3d
I will pay the postage to send the books to you
H W Williams,
Naurea, Gisborne
People wanting a Bible or a New Testament should apply to the Bible Depository Sunday School Union, Auckland.
Bible, 2/6, 3/6, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 1/-.
New Testament with explanatory headings. 2/6, 3/-, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.
Small New Testament with the Psalms. 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 3/6, 4/-. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.
Printed and published by H W Williams at Te Rau Printing Works, Berry Street, Gisborne, New Zealand.
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