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Taranaki's Dean resigns

The Dean of Taranaki Cathedral has resigned, saying he's not the person called to lead the cathedral community through its next phase.

Taonga News  |  17 Jan 2016  |

The Dean of Taranaki Cathedral, the Very Rev Jamie Allen, has announced his resignation.

Dean Jamie, who has lead the New Plymouth cathedral community for six years, told worshippers at the cathedral’s Sunday services that his resignation would take effect after Easter.

Dean Jamie’s resignation follows from the decision announced last October to close the cathedral from the end of this month for an indefinite period for earthquake strengthening.

The cathedral, parts of which were built in 1846, is the oldest stone church in New Zealand and, in the wake of the Christchurch quakes it has been assessed as significantly hazardous – scoring just 15 percent on a new code of compliance.

The cathedral’s owners, the Taranaki Anglican Trust Board, decided to close it indefinitely for safety reasons[1].

Dean Jamie told yesterday’s services that he feels he is “not the person to lead this community through this next phase.”

“Since the Detailed Seismic Assessment was completed and the subsequent steps taken; as I have prayed and journeyed through each part of this” (it has become clear to me) “that this is not what God is calling me to do; a new chapter of ministry is beginning here and the focus of the next chapter will be different, and is not where my gifts lie…”

“I ache for the huge needs of this suffering world and our community and I am called to be where the focus of my work is responding to this need.”

The "new" cathedral's first Dean

St Mary’s Pro-cathedral in New Plymouth was consecrated as a fully-fledged cathedral in 2010 – and Jamie Allen was recruited from the UK to become the “new” cathedral’s first dean.

Yesterday he said he wanted to thank the cathedral and the wider Taranaki community “with all my heart for everything that you are and all that you have given; for your support, welcome and care for us as a family – especially through our loss[2].

“You are inspirational, loving, understanding, courageous and kind; you are ‘as Christ’. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve you in this way.

“Taranaki is our home, now. I know that God will continue to lead and bless all that is done, and that the right person will be appointed to lead the cathedral through the coming years. You are at the very heart of my prayers.”

In a message sent out to the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki this morning, Bishops Philip Richardson and Helen-Ann Hartley say that they “respect” the reasons for Dean Jamie’s resignation “and will greatly miss the energy and focus of his leadership of Taranaki Cathedral.
“More will be said of his singular contribution to the development of the Cathedral's ministry over the past six years when he concludes this role in early April.

Challenges ahead

“But for now we want to acknowledge that Jamie has given shape and voice to the place of the Cathedral at the heart of New Plymouth city and wider Taranaki. He has made an incalculable contribution to the Church's ministry and to the well-being of the community.
“The challenges facing the Cathedral in the immediate future are considerable and we will seek to work with the parish to quickly bring clarity to the leadership of the Cathedral following Jamie's term.
“In the meantime may we ask for your prayers for Jamie, his family and the whole Cathedral community as we all accept the challenge of change and embrace new beginnings.”

The cathedral community will meet in the parish hall for the foreseeable future, and announcements will be made shortly about transitional arrangements following Dean Jamie’s mid-April departure.

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[1] The timing of its reopening will depend on the finding of further engineering reports, options for the future and fundraising.

[2] Dean Jamie and his wife Suzy’s daughter Carrie died in March 2012, aged 12, and she is buried in the cathedral graveyard. 

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