Church about people, not bricks and mortar

The Very Reverend Dr Helen Jacobi, Dean of Waiapu, reflects on the Christmas message and the role of the church in the community. This is an edited version of an address to Napier Rotary on December 19.

At a social gathering last week someone told me (as someone inevitably does every year) that it is "nice to have the spiritual side of the church there as long as you don't have to go all the time".

This seems to be the way many people look on the church today as a sort of cultural adornment. For those of us who dare to claim we are Christians, it is harder to separate spirituality and everyday life.

Perhaps that's why it has been so interesting to watch the debate about the future of the Christchurch Cathedral as it has played out in recent weeks. As the people of Christchurch grapple with the enormous task of rebuilding their city, what should happen to the Cathedral has become a matter of division.

The Dean of Christchurch, my friend and colleague, Peter Beck, has just resigned. He is going to stand for the City Council in a forthcoming by election. Some have taken it upon themselves to comment publicly and to criticise Bishop Victoria Matthews for losing her Dean.

There are obviously many different opinions about the Cathedral in Christchurch and no one at this point has the information needed to go forward and make a decision about its future. All that has been decided is to demolish the unsafe portions and to see what is left and explore options from there.

What interests me in watching this debate from Napier is the expectation from people of all quarters that they should have a role in deciding the future of the Cathedral.

Christchurch Cathedral perhaps more than any other of our eight Anglican Cathedrals has been seen as the "centre" or "heart" of the city. The current and former Deans have rightly emphasised the notion that the cathedral is there for all people. All are welcome and the building should be used for a vast array of events.

The Deans have always also equally been clear that the cathedral is primarily a place of worship in the Anglican tradition; that has never been up for negotiation.

The issue behind this debate is really what is the role of the church in our communities, and who gets to decide that role? As Dean of Waiapu it is an issue I spend a lot of time thinking about.

When our cathedral in Napier fell in 1931, there was no question it would one day be rebuilt, and it took 30 years. There was no question it was the church's job.

The wider community contributed, generously, but it was clearly to rebuild the Cathedral as a church.

Today we pride ourselves too on being a church for all yet we are also clear we are first and foremost an Anglican church and a Cathedral for our Bishop and Diocese. If we were not to be those things we would be little more than an events centre.

What provided in Christchurch the heart of the city was not only the beautiful building, but the 130 years of prayer and song and liturgy; the hundreds of Cathedral regulars who act as hosts; the wisdom and experience of clergy and laity offering celebration and solace.

The Anglican daily cycle of prayer and people gathered for worship are what create a Cathedral, not bricks and mortar.

As Peter Beck said the day after the earthquake and has said ever since: The church is about people, not buildings.

As we gather with families and friends for Christmas this year it is, I hope, the people that are important and not the presents and the tinsel.

If you go to church this Christmas, I hope you will see in the Christmas story something deeper. The Christmas story tells us that God walks with us in times of joy and sorrow.

The Christmas story tells us that God can be born among us just as babies are born every day. The Christmas story is not generic, it is Christian; it is not Santa; it is religious and spiritual in a specific and down to earth way. The technical term is "incarnation": God born, God with us.

So I pray there will be a lot of the spiritual side around this Christmas.

Like the cathedral here in Napier, the Cathedral in Christchurch will be built anew; it will be an Anglican cathedral: it will be there to witness to the glory of God.

And at the Cathedral's heart will be none other than Jesus Christ himself, who is born anew every year at Christmas.