Abbots Langley Methodist Church
Magazine
September 2007

Fresh Expressions of Church

from Alan Bannister

Here is Part 2 of Margaret and Alan Bannister ’s experiences of different churches as they travelled to the Antipodes last year:

Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul

In January Margaret and I went on a trip to visit our Australian Granddaughter in Sydney . On the way we had attended churches in Singapore and Queensland , and we were now on the next leg of our journey to visit our new relations in the North Island of New Zealand.

In the capital, we joined the choral evensong service in the Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul. This large, airy building was so reminiscent of churches here in England , and although it had only been completed in 2000, there is something of the 'between the wars' feel about the place. Wellington has a reputation as a centre of excellence for church music. They have five choirs and we enjoyed hearing the Cathedral Choir. This is a mixed choir of men, women, boys and girls and we heard them singing classic church music. We were particularly impressed by a young girl soloist who had a really beautiful voice. Only later did we realise that she was blind; how she managed to learn her part, and even more how she kept in touch with the conductor I cannot imagine.

The service was a celebration of the work of the Anglican Association of Women – a sort of Mothers' Union plus. Their outreach is worldwide and we heard from a group who had just returned from working on a project with children in Africa .

New Plymouth Methodist Church

By the following Sunday were in the town of New Plymouth , on the west coast of the North Island .

The modern Methodist Church was built in the 1970s and must have been the pride and joy of the woodworkers who constructed the interior. Sadly the choir stalls do not get used on a regular basis, but the church still has an active congregation. The Methodist Church in New Zealand has long connections with the Maori and Samoan people. The Samoan men often dress for Sunday worship in what I think is called a lava-lava – a kind of kilt. Tailored from black fabric, they are made in the style of a well made city suit.

Our brief discussions with members about the history of their church showed some dark past that still rankles. Talk of murdered missionaries, churches merging and historic artefacts going astray suggest an even more interesting past than the Abbots Langley Methodist Church upsetting the Vicar's wife when land was purchased for the present church.