High-visibility clothing is not the normal way to identify Anglicans, but it’s a different take on the Hikoi of Joyful News through Otago and Southland. 

Participants in the hikoi were easy to spot yesterday as they made their way through Queenstown and Wanaka, sporting bright yellow caps proclaiming “Good news since 1814.”

The Lenten journey, led by Bishop Kelvin Wright, is one that is both spiritual and physical, as it marks 200 years of the Gospel in New Zealand.

It’s a long haul, travelling from Stewart Island to the Waitaki River in a month.  

Bishop Kelvin and his companions will walk, ferry, cycle, train and fly during the hikoi.

Yesterday Bishop Kelvin was joined by local supporters as well as the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, and his wife Margaret.  

The morning began with a ferry carrying about 30 supporters to meet Bishop Kelvin and fellow walkers at Kingston.

Dr Sentamu embraced Bishop Kelvin as he stepped off the Kingston wharf.

The ferry then headed back to Queenstown under the shadow of the Remarkables.  

Lunch at St Peter’s Church was followed by the walk to Frankton for a donated helicopter trip across the Crown Range.

The largest group of walkers – in vivid vests and caps – then joined the hikoi from the outskirts of Wanaka to St Columba’s Church. 

Bishop Kelvin told the gathering that the hikoi was a chance to meet and listen to people, rather than to preach to them.

There had been a loss of confidence in the Gospel, he said, so the hikoi was a way to introduce people to a God already active in their lives.

The hikoi pauses for ecumenical event in Wanaka today to mark the bicentennial of the Gospel.

Bishop Kelvin will preach, then rest up before hitting the road for Mt Pisa, Cromwell, Clyde and the Central Otago Rail Trail next week. 

A prayer for Te Harinui.  

God of our pilgrimage, we have found the living water. Refresh and sustain us as we go forth on our journey, to share the Good News of God’s love in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.