Archbishop John Sentamu turned a wet, boisterous southerly into a warm blessing when he arrived in Christchurch on Friday.

“In Uganda when it rains we say that God is blessing us,” he told at the powhiri in ChristChurch Cathedral. “I can see that God has been richly blessing you!”

Archbishop John and his wife Margaret were accompanied by Bishop Philip and Belinda Richardson as they entered the cathedral to a traditional karanga.

Korero and waiata followed as key Christchurch dignatories, Pihopa John Gray, Dean Peter Beck and Mayor Bob Parker welcomed the Sentamus, with replies from Bishop Philip and Archbishop John.

Mayor Bob Parker spelt out the longevity of the connection between city and cathedral and the Church of England. He cited the foundation of Christ Church (Oxford) by Henry VIII and connected it with the later settlement of Christchurch (Canterbury) as a planned settlement in which church and college had pride of place.

The archbishop's reply was warm, gracious, and inspiring. When he spoke of the love of God, that love could be felt coming out of him.

After the powhiri the several hundred present took part in a short service of worship. Contributing to the service were the boys of the Cathedral Choir, representing one of the only two choristers’ schools in the Southern Hemisphere.

Bishop Victoria Matthews, in her reflection, welcomed Archbishop John and Margaret and drew attention to their presence as a sign of the wonderfulness of the Anglican Communion – which draws together many people with many accents into one family of God.

After the dismissal, the Sentamus were guests of honour at a civic luncheon in the Christchurch City Council chambers. That was followed by a meeting with the Christchurch judiciary.

A dinner with all Christchurch clergy took place later in the evening. On Saturday Archbishop John addressed a diocesan day on the subject of “Church as an agent of change.”

He and Margaret were guests of Te Wai Pounamu on Sunday morning, before flying back to the UK.