Dean's 'almost' Last Word

Peter Beck will shortly conclude his time as Dean. In his final report, he speaks of his time in 'the best job in the church.'

"This is my last report to you. First of all I want to say what an immense privilege and honour it has been through God’s grace for me to serve as Dean of Christchurch. It has indeed been for me the best job in this Church. I have been a priest for over 38 years and this community of faith is one of the healthiest and most functional I have ever been part of. Thank you for your support, your encouragement and your critique. I know I am leaving at a crucial time in the Cathedral’s history. It has been a very hard decision to make and not done without a great deal of thought and prayer. I don’t always understand the nature of God’s call but it does seem right to pass the baton on to a new dean to focus on the building of the new cathedral, a dean who will have the confidence not only of the Cathedral community and the Chapter, but also of the wider diocese and of our Bishop.
The decision to stand in the by-election for Burwood Pegasus ward of the City Council was not a hard one to make. We live on the edge of the ward in the eastern suburbs and as the Patron of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Network I have been intimately involved in the very difficult issues so many people are facing. Either it was coincidence or synchronicity or the mysterious movement of God’s grace, but with the surprising resignation of Chrissie Williams as the city councillor, it seems right to step up and seek to continue to serve the people of this city and my God and my church in this way. Again this was with much prayer and seeking to be open to God’s call. And it does feel like a call. I guess I will have to wait until 10 February, the election day, to find out whether or not I got it right!
If I have any legacy as the Dean, I hope I will be seen as someone who with the cathedral community sought to continue to offer a place of hospitality and welcome to people of all faiths and none, where Anglican Cathedral worship has been offered to the very best of our ability, and where even within its busy bustle, the peace and serenity of God’s presence pervades through the beauty of this place and the welcome by its people. I have sought to  foster the church’s engagement with the life of the city following the example of my immediate predecessors, ministering to its needs and debating and discussing the critical issues which are part of our lives.. What a  privilege we have to be the stewards of the icon of our city with the opportunities this gives for Christian ministry and in so many ways engaging the city in the deep things of what it means to be human beings in community. This  has been exhilarating and deeply humbling.  It is a precious role that this Cathedral has played over the years, and I sincerely hope that this delicate and vital relationship with the wider community  will continue.
That is why I have been so persistent in promoting the cardboard cathedral as a beautiful symbol of hope for our city’s future and a presence for the cathedral to exercise its role as the spiritual heart of the city and diocese as a new cathedral is born. I do want to encourage you in developing the Ministry Action Plan, to be bold in continuing to do what we do well and thinking outside the square for the new initiatives in ministry and mission which are uniquely those of Christchurch Cathedral.
I have been profoundly blessed by a staff team which over the years has not only [largely!] put up with me, but has regularly gone the extra mile for the Cathedral’s ministry and for our community. The great army of volunteers which helped to keep the cathedral open 365 days a year have been amazing and I know many of you continue in your volunteer service through the veggie coop and the other ways  we reach out into the east. Others  are champing at the bit to continue their ministry to the city and diocese as soon as the transitional cathedral can be opened.
There is so much I could say and so many to thank. Suffice it to say in words I have used a lot recently, words of Dag Hammarskjold,  ‘For all that has been thanks. For all that will be, yes!’

Peter Beck