Last Sunday, the Wardens were thrilled to be able to announce the appointment of Fr Jordan Greatbatch to Saint Michael and All Angels. The following is a letter from Fr Jordan, telling us a little more about himself.

Kia ora koutou,

Grace and peace to you from God.

Greetings to you all in this season of preparation. A season of preparation not only for the Feast of the Nativity but also preparation for welcoming me as your new Vicar. And of course, my own preparation as I look to join you in the season of Lent 2023. Our lectionary readings in Advent speak of a tension, a beginning but also an end. I am acutely aware of this tension within myself as I farewell the Parish of All Saints and join you in the ministry of St Michaels. Thankfully just like our readings in Advent there is in this tension a hopefulness that no matter what the future may hold Christ is present with his Church. And so, it is in this spirit of hope that I look forward to meeting you all and beginning my ministry amongst you.

As you know I will be joining you from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Auckland has been home for almost 38 years of my life. Born in the suburb of Pakuranga to a family of 4 boys I moved to the suburb of One Tree Hill when I was nearly a year old. My interests include music, cooking and history. I grew up playing a lot of sport, primarily rugby and cricket which I continued to play into my twenties. I do still enjoy watching both codes of sport, acknowledging I am now moving into ‘Canterbury’ territory! While on the topic of sport I will quickly clear up an often-asked question, are you related to the New Zealand Cricketer Mark Greatbatch? The short answer is no, but perhaps, maybe. Greatbatch is not a common name and there are a handful of families here and in Australia. We have had contact with Mark Greatbatch’s family over the years and we suspect we all come from the area of Staffordshire, which among many things was famous for its pottery. My family roots are English and Irish with my ancestors on both sides arriving in New Zealand in the 1800’s. My ‘southern connection’ is on my father’s side where my Great Great Grandfather born in Ireland immigrated to Riverton in 1874 on board The Otago. I am looking forward to exploring more of the ‘mainland’ especially the deep south.

Major events in life shape us into who we are. For me, that event which had not only implications for me personally but also for my vocation as a Priest was the death of my mother at the age of seventeen. I had been brought up as an Anglican since the age of eleven when my parents decided to return to Church. The death of my mother coupled with the angst of teenage years saw me leave the Church at around the age of seventeen. It wasn’t until my older brother who had remained a committed Anglican invited me to Church one day at the age of 21. At this time, I was training as a lighting and sound designer and technician for the theatre industry. Theatre and film making had been a passion in my high school years which saw me adopting it as a career behind the stage rather than on it. Following my training I worked as a freelance light rigger and sound designer for theatres here in Auckland. It was an exciting time of my life when I got to work with such theatre legends as Roger Hall, Raymond Hawthorne, and George Henare. My homecoming to the Anglican Church and the Parish of Epsom saw me getting involved with lay ministry. I ended up running the then large young adult’s ministry as well as being lay preacher and liturgist. This led to an internship at the Parish which had me doing some theological study part time. This experience began that quiet yet persistent inner call to ordained life. This call was encouraged by my Vicar at the time who supported my application to discernment at the age of 24. I was accepted to begin the process of discernment to ordained life in 2008 and began my training at St John’s College in 2009. This move to St John’s was also the start of my movement towards Anglo-Catholicism. While at the Parish of Epsom I felt drawn to the then 7.30am service which was the Book of Common Prayer and Organ led. This more traditional and contemplative style of worship spoke to me, and I was eager to know more. This was further developed through attending Holy Trinity Cathedral during my time at St Johns and experiencing the Triduum at St Albans, Balmoral. At College I was fortunate to have the late Bishop Jim White as my Dean who encouraged more Catholic forms of worship and thought. A highlight of this time was when +Jim invited the Melanesian Brothers to spend a semester at college leading us through Lent and Easter. I became good friends with the brothers, and we spent many hours discussing Anglo Catholicism in Melanesia. Their leading of Mass was a particular highlight with all the beauty that accompanies good liturgical worship.

While at St John’s I finished my theological degree in two years having done part time study beforehand as mentioned. My Bishop however wanted me to remain at college for the full three years of formation which left me with one year left before ordination. Around this time the future Bishop of Waikato Helen Ann- Hartley was at college visiting from Cuddesdon College in Oxford. Through conversation over a cup of tea I explained my situation. She suggested I explore going to Cuddesdon for a semester. This became a reality and in my final year of college I spent a semester at Cuddesdon. It was here that my ‘conversion’ to Anglo-Catholic spiritualty and practise was complete. I spent a wonderful time there studying and participating in the rich worship life of the community. I was also fortunate to go on two pilgrimages to Walsingham and Rome.

I then returned from Cuddesdon halfway through the year of 2011 to finish my time at St John’s, completing the Anglican Studies programme. I was ordained Deacon at the end of 2011 and began my curacy at All Saints, Howick. All Saints offered me time in a busy and large Parish. It also had good Anglo Catholic roots with the late Bishop Bruce Moore having served there as Vicar.

Priested in 2012 and nearing the end of my time at Howick I was approached to apply for the position of Vicar at All Saints Birkenhead. The Parish of Birkenhead was historically what can be described as Broadchurch. Still faithful to the Prayer Book and Common Worship I was able to join a community that was open to my Catholic spirituality however this came with certain restraints. While at Birkenhead I lead them to a stronger emphasis on the Church year and Feasts as well as exposing them to more Catholic forms of worship and practise. In my first few years incense and the sung Eucharist were introduced for High Days. However, for many in the parish incense was not a part of their tradition and so this became confined to a Saturday Vigil service that I introduced. This took place on Saturday evenings in the same way as Vigil Masses in many Roman Catholic Churches. I was able to build a small yet devoted group who enjoyed this form of worship. Unfortunately, this service became a casualty of Covid, and it ceased. Other important parts of my ministry here was the purchasing of an Aumbry and lamp for the Reserved Sacrament, reinstating Evensong a few times a year and sharing with the parish my own contemplative catholic spirituality through Taize style services and retreats. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Birkenhead over these past 8 years and they have been a welcoming and supportive community whom I love. However, when the opportunity came to apply for St Michaels, I felt my own Anglo Catholic faith and the great tradition of St Michaels would be a good match. And so, I now find myself called to be your next Vicar, an immense privilege. I want to reassure you that I will come prepared to continue the great Taonga of Anglo-Catholicism that has made St Michael’s not just a spiritual home for the Anglo Catholics of Christchurch, but also the province of New Zealand. I look forward to being a part of your community as together we seek to draw people into ‘worshiping the Lord in the beauty of holiness.’

In any ordained ministry there is often someone alongside to encourage and support. My girlfriend Natalia has hopes to move to Christchurch as well at some stage. And this appointment has allowed us to start making some more concrete plans on our future together. Natalia comes from Chile and is currently in New Zealand on a resident visa, she hopes to one day make New Zealand her permanent home. Natalia was brought up Roman Catholic. She however now worships in the Anglican Church.

With the telling of my story, I hope soon to hear your stories. Stories of how God led you to St Michael and All Angels. And through these stories I hope that we as a Parish will be able to tell that greatest of stories that we will celebrate in a few weeks’ time. That the God of the universe came to us in the incarnation, born in humility and love so that he would draw us into the life of the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May you all have a profound Advent and a joyful Christmas, and I look with anticipation to meeting you all.

O Lord our God,
make us watchful and keep us faithful
as we await the coming of your Son our Lord;
that, when he shall appear,
he may not find us sleeping in sin
but active in his service
and joyful in his praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord

Pax et bonum
Peace and goodwill

Father Jordan